The battle was over.
At least—for now.
The demons had withdrawn completely after the commander's death and the arrival of the Vice Commander.
But victory did not mean the absence of loss.
The academy grounds were in ruins.
Entire sectors had collapsed during the fighting while emergency teams moved frantically through the battlefield recovering survivors and bodies alike.
Some students cried quietly.
Others sat in complete silence, still unable to process what had happened.
The smell of blood and burnt mana still lingered heavily in the air.
Zael stood atop a shattered section of the plaza silently watching the aftermath.
Black lightning around his body had already faded completely while the cube weapon floated quietly beside him in its dormant form.
Then—
[Ding!]
[Third Class Advancement Quest Completed.]
[Requirements fulfilled.]
[Eligible for Third Class Change.]
[Would you like to advance now?]
Zael's eyes flickered slightly.
Third Class.
A genuine high-tier awakener.
The current him was already capable of crushing most Third Tier experts despite still technically being Second Class.
If he advanced now—
His combat power would likely undergo another explosive leap.
But after only a brief moment, Zael mentally rejected the prompt.
Not here.
Not now.
Far too many eyes were watching.
The academy.
The military.
The higher-ups in the void.
And possibly even things beyond them.
His instincts told him clearly—
Today, he had already revealed too much.
Then another thought crossed his mind.
The battlefield was filled with corpses.
Demonized awakeners.
Abyss creatures.
Even the transformed commander's residual energy still lingered faintly across the ruins.
Under normal circumstances, Devour would allow him to absorb an unimaginable amount of energy from a battlefield like this.
Enough to strengthen himself tremendously.
But Zael suppressed the thought immediately.
Too risky.
Sure, he could probably explain it away to ordinary people somehow.
A hidden talent.
A devouring-type profession.
Something along those lines.
But ordinary people weren't the problem anymore.
What about the authorities watching from the void?
What about monsters like Night Sovereign?
What about the unknown entities capable of detecting "Conceptual Authority"?
No.
Using Devour openly after today would be stupid.
And Zael had no intention of becoming arrogant simply because he had gained power.
Strength meant nothing if you died before reaching your full potential.
So instead—
He quietly memorized everything.
The fear in the higher-ups' eyes.
The interest.
The scrutiny.
The killing intent.
Today had taught him something important.
The real monsters in this world weren't necessarily the demons.
Sometimes they were the people watching silently from above.
Zael slowly exhaled afterward before turning away from the ruined battlefield.
For now, he needed rest.
Then he needed to get stronger.
Much stronger.
Because after today—
The countdown had truly begun.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Zael quietly left the ruined battlefield while emergency personnel continued flooding into the academy.
Nobody stopped him.
Or rather—
Nobody dared to.
Students instinctively moved out of his way as he walked through the shattered campus paths.
Some stared at him with admiration.
Others with fear.
A few looked at him like he was no longer human at all.
Zael ignored all of it.
His mind was elsewhere entirely.
The mysterious caller.
The Gods and Demons Battlefield.
Night Sovereign.
The higher-ups watching from the void.
And most importantly—
The Third Class advancement prompt waiting silently in his vision.
The current him was already standing at the peak of Second Class.
Once he advanced…
Zael narrowed his eyes slightly.
No.
He'd think about that later.
Right now he needed isolation.
Complete isolation.
As he continued walking, several military awakeners could be seen patrolling the academy grounds now.
Unlike the students and lecturers, these people radiated genuine battlefield aura.
Cold.
Sharp.
Experienced killers.
Yet even they looked at Zael strangely as he passed.
Respect.
Wariness.
Suspicion.
One particularly scarred officer muttered quietly to another as Zael walked by.
"That's the kid?"
"The one who killed the commander."
The second officer nodded slowly.
"…Yeah."
The first officer remained silent for several seconds afterward before finally muttering,
"That's ridiculous."
Zael pretended not to hear them.
Eventually he arrived back at the dormitory sector.
Compared to the battlefield, this area had suffered less damage due to the barrier formations protecting it.
Still, cracks and scorch marks remained everywhere.
The moment he entered the building, his communicator vibrated repeatedly.
Zael frowned slightly before opening it.
Dozens of notifications flooded the screen instantly.
Missed calls.
Messages.
Tagged videos.
Clips from the battle were already spreading across the capital network at absurd speed.
Some footage showed his Blade Domain covering the sky.
Others showed fragments of the fight against the commander.
One particularly blurry clip even captured the black lightning dragon descending from the heavens.
The comment sections beneath them were complete chaos.
"WHO IS THIS GUY?!"
"THAT'S A STUDENT?!"
"AEGIS PRIME HAS A MONSTER!"
"WAIT HE'S ONLY SECOND CLASS?!"
"THAT DRAGON SKILL LOOKED ILLEGAL!"
Zael's expression twitched slightly.
"…Troublesome."
His fame had exploded overnight.
And fame was dangerous.
Especially for someone like him.
The moment he reached his dorm room, Zael immediately activated every privacy formation available inside before finally sitting down heavily on the bed.
For the first time since the invasion started—
He relaxed slightly.
Silence filled the room afterward.
Then—
[Ding!]
[Third Class Advancement available.]
[Warning: Advancement will trigger substantial energy fluctuations.]
[Recommended environment: Isolated.]
Zael leaned back slowly while staring at the ceiling.
Outside, the academy was still in chaos.
But inside the room—
Only silence remained.
Then slowly—
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Because despite everything that happened today…
He was still alive.
And stronger than ever.
But then his expression gradually faded again.
Because deep down—
Zael knew something else too.
Today had not been the climax.
It was the beginning.