Ten minutes earlier

Zemeron spat out blood as he glared at the smug demon. Though the royal demon quickly regenerated every time Zemeron struck, they seemed wary of Zemeron’s elema and did everything to avoid it. Their fight had gone on long enough and they both took a short break, gasping for breath. Zemeron’s water elema hovered around him like an ocean wave, while the demon stood far from the clutches of his water elema.

“What do you want?” Zemeron asked. “Are you working for Edicles?”

“Who do you think you are talking to, vanquisher? I’m a royal demon. You will respect me.”

“I will not.” Zemeron scoffed.

“Then I will kill you.”

Zemeron raised a brow. “You’re stalling.”

The demon chuckled. “So you’ve figured it out. You’re not totally a lost cause, I guess.”

Zemeron clenched his jaws. “Whatever you and your demon lackeys have planned isn’t going to work.”

“We’re going to find it no matter what.”

Zemeron paused. “What?” What could a group of demons be looking for in Draghein School? “Speak now?”

The demon’s voice was as cold as ice. “I told you to show me some fucking respect, you insolent worm.”

They morphed their black demon energy into a torrent of spikes and hurled them toward Zemeron. His water elema suddenly converged around him like a huge globe. When the thick black spikes landed on the large globe of water, the spikes disintegrated into a puff of black mist. Copying the demon, Zemeron transformed his elema into thick water spikes, sending them straight to the demon. But the demon was ready with a gigantic sword in hand, cutting through the endless barrage of spikes at mind-blowing speed.

That should keep the demon busy, Zemeron thought. “Kurowa,” he whispered.

The demon seemed quite confused by the sudden disappearance of Zemeron’s elema. But then they smirked at the large blue savaz Zemeron cradled. Aiming at the demon’s chest, Zemeron fired his savaz. Just as he thought, the gaping hole in the demon’s chest inflicted by the savaz quickly healed. He fired it over and over, the demon watching him in nonchalance.

“Do you think you can harm me with this weak thing?”

“Actually, no.” He fired the savaz. “It was just to distract you from that.” He nodded at the lone spike racing towards the demon like a bolt of lightning.

The demon narrowed their eyes. Just as they turned around, the long spike of water elema pierced the demon in the neck. Right in the weak point. Zemeron covered his ears when the demon roared.

The demon pulled out the spike from his neck and their hand burned upon contact with the elema. Thick purple blood gushed out from their neck, the wound refusing to close up. But that did not seem to be enough to vanquish the demon.

“You will pay for this.” In mere seconds, the demon’s body completely transformed, their entire body now covered in diamond scales. Massive diamond wings sprouted from behind their back. They held a giant diamond axe while fury burned in their purple eyes.

Zemeron’s eyes almost bulged out of his head. He had seen fast transformations, but this was certainly the fastest he had ever seen. And this had happened despite all the injuries the demon had endured. He didn’t even get the time to stop it. He balled his fist, his heart thumping.

Could he fight this monstrous being? Even before the demon had transformed, all his attacks had been totally useless. This lowblood royal was far stronger than the last one he fought. And now that they had transformed, things would get even more complicated. He could only stand a chance if he too used his most powerful attack.

He assumed a new stance, ready to summon his elevaz.

The demon’s axe froze in mid-air when the skies suddenly turned dark gray. The smell of rain permeated the air followed by low rumblings. Zemeron and the demon looked up at the same time.

Zemeron grinned. “It’s your lucky day, demon.” The demon glared at him questionably. “Well, you did say you wanted to fight the strongest in the school.” Zemeron shrugged. “She’s here now.”

Zemeron covered his ears as the rubbing became louder and louder.

“Who dares attack my school?” Came the voice of thunder. “Die now.”

Even when he had tightly shut his ears, Zemeron heard the deafening thunderous voice that seemed to cut through the air like a sword. And perhaps, it might just as well have been a sword for the royal demon was instantly sliced neatly into two halves.

Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author's preferred platform and support their work!

The demon’s sliced face twisted in shock as if they could not believe they had just been split apart. His body slowly disintegrated into a black mist. They probably would never know what had killed them.

Zemeron’s chest heaved with each deep breath he took. He gazed at the dark clouds where a dazzling figure stood amid the clouds like a warrior goddess.

Zemeron sighed in relief. The Elder was back

----------------------------------------

“Who dares attack my school? Die now.”

With her hands covering her ears, Narvari’s eyes widened as the ninth-order demon suddenly exploded into a bloody pulp. Not even his bones remained. It was like the thunder had splattered him apart from the inside.

Narvari looked up, wondering why that enraged voice of thunder sounded so familiar. She gaped. Someone stood in mid-air in the skies. The darkness faded and the sun’s brilliant rays finally flooded the whole school again. The figure in the skies became clearer.

“Jesus Christ.” She gazed at the woman. “Is that Trixan?”

She did look exactly like Trixan with her long scarlet hair and forest-green eyes. But there was still something different about her. Maybe it was that ethereal and divine appearance she had, how brilliantly she shone with all those intricate golden markings on her porcelain face and arms. Was that really Trixan?

Servin chuckled. “It sure is.”

She bit her lips. That thunderous voice. Wait, the thunder. Was that Trixan?

Trixan’s green eyes scanned the school. Was she looking for something? Narvari thought. Perhaps, she was trying to find out the extent of damage in the school. As relieved as Narvari was now that the Elder was back, she still could not fathom why she was back so soon. Wasn’t she supposed to be back in three days? Did she find out the school was under attack? Maybe Zemeron had called her. Well, what did that even matter? They were safe now. That was all that mattered.

Trixan suddenly disappeared in the skies. Gosh, she was so fast.

“Everything will be fine,” said Servin. “I’m sure every other demon is dead by now.”

Narvari gaped Servin. He seemed relaxed. Too relaxed. “What just happened?” One minute, the demon was about to attack, the next minute it just exploded. “What happened to the demon?” She suspected Trixan had something to do with it but Narvari could not figure out what.

“Thunder Rage.”

Narvari narrowed her eyes. “Thunder what?”

“Thunder Rage. That’s Trixan’s union.”

“Union? As in the most powerful form of sacred energy?”

Servin nodded. “A combination of elema and sacros. It’s a million times more powerful than elema. I’m not even exaggerating.”

Oh, she believed it. All Trixan had done was speak and the demon just exploded into non-existence.

“Wait, did you just say every other demon in the school could be dead because of Trixan’s voice?”

Servin smiled. “You have no idea what she’s capable of, do you? She’s terrifying when she’s angry. Like very terrifying.”

She pondered over Servin’s words, recollecting the day the Elder had sent chills down her spine when she slightly lost her temper. Servin was right. Narvari did not know Trixan at all. She knew Trixan was powerful, but not this powerful. After all their training, Trixan had never once shown her how strong she truly was.

Servin chuckled. “Don’t worry, Narvari. Trixan doesn’t easily lose her temper. And she would never hurt any of her vanquishers.” He smiled fondly. “Now help me up, will you?” He fell back on his ass when he tried to get up.

“Jeez, old man. Relax.” She held Servin up.

“Who are you calling old man?”

“You’re like forty.”

“Thirty-eight.”

“Same thing.”

Servin chuckled.

As Narvari led her companion through the woods, she couldn’t help but think about Pheera and Yanvirrak. Did they get to safety? She hoped nothing had happened to them.

“What’s wrong?”

Narvari sighed. “Do you think Pheera and Yanvirrak are okay?”

“They’re fine. Don’t worry.”

Narvari skipped over a tree branch. “How could you be sure? What if they had faced a demon far stronger than they.”

Servin laughed. “Pheera is a Zoleris captivator. And Yanvirrak was personally recruited and trained by Trixan just like you. Don’t underestimate those two, Narvari. I never underestimated you.”

Narvari nodded slowly. For hope’s sake, she would believe Servin right now.

----------------------------------------

Haru Watanabe watched Denise and Obinna fight a blond-haired vanquisher through his crystal ball. The demons kept the vanquishers busy to get Denise and Obinna more time. Soon, they would find Bezvaros’s Crystal. Soon, the world would be theirs.

“I’m still curious how you got a vanquisher on your side,” Grayson said, sitting next to Pugard, his massive demon dragon. The same demon dragon who had flown them to the top of the mountain they were on.

Haru had chosen this mountain because it was the perfect distance from the school. While it was close enough for them to swoop in and help Obinna and Denise, it was also far enough to avoid detection.

Haru shrugged. “He’s not on my side. We simply had similar goals.”

“And you think the vanquisher’s goal was to have demons attack his school?”

Haru glanced at Grayson. “Maybe it isn’t his school.”

Silence ensued between them. Then Grayson sighed, looking away. The clouds suddenly darkened. “What’s that?” Grayson gaped.

Haru’s eyes widened. Was that a person in the clouds? He scrambled to his feet, grabbing his binoculars. Then he froze, his fingers numbing.

A thunderous voice fractured the air. “Who dares attack my school? Die now.”

Pugard roared, blood oozing from its muzzle.

“What the hell?”

“We need to go now.” Haru put the crystal ball and binoculars in his bag. “Trixan is back.”

Even from several kilometers away from Draghein School, that woman’s sacred energy had injured Pugard, a seventh-order demon. He didn’t want to imagine what had happened to everyone else inside the school.

“I thought she wouldn’t be back until three days later.” Grayson climbed aboard the demon dragon. “Didn’t we cut the school’s access to communication with the outside world? Why is she back?”

“I don’t know.” Haru eased himself next to Grayson. Pugard whimpered. It should still be able to fly.

Grayson glared at him. “You don’t know? What about Obinna and Denise?”

“Look, they’re probably dead, okay. Even Dero.” And Dero was an eleventh-order demon.

“This was your fucking plan?” Grayson’s voice chilled. “You sent them to their deaths?”

“At least I had a fucking plan,” Haru spat out. “What has the Arch Vessel done? Where the hell is Ziegler? I am doing something. So excuse me if I made a few sacrifices.”

Grayson shook his head, his eyes burning in anger. “Lyle was right. You’ve lost your damn mind.”

Then Pugard rose into the air, taking them further from the monster that was Trixan.