Life in the Academy managed to move on in an ordinary fashion and without incident for all of ten days.

While Ain was in classes, such as Magic Theory, War Mastery, Ancient History and Practical Magic, the Factions of the Academy were moving against him. It wasn't anything noticeable at first. It was suspicious when one of the Syndicate members stopped coming by, but after a few days, a total of six had disappeared.

Construction on the estate had unforeseen logistical problems. The suppliers had resources stolen, and others simply refused to work with the Syndicate.

It all made more sense when Ain was stopped within one of the hallways of the Academy.

"Are you Lord Ain?" the demon asked, casting a wary glance at Senon. The demon was not alone; with him were eight others, two of which did not even wear an Academy uniform.

"Who is asking?" Ain asked, a cold smile coming into being as he recognized their Insignias. The Tribune Faction.

"You don't know?" the demon asked. He was quite good looking, by demon standards. His dark red horns curved backwards, over his pitch black hair. His skin was pale, and his red tail swayed idly behind him.

Ain tilted his head.

The demon glanced at Ain's useless arm and smirked. "I am Jax Travain, a Prince of the Demon Court." Jax put a hand on Ain's shoulder and approached.

Senon's eyes narrowed into thin slits. There was a dangerous air about her. Something malevolent and electric.

"And what does a Prince want with a Count like me?" Ain asked.

The demon scoffed. "You? A Count? You are not even a Demon. How could you possibly be a Count in the Demon Court?"

In a way, Ain wished the goblins were here to take care of this pompous prick. But dealing with it in one's own way had its own genre of satisfaction.

Ain coolly removed the Demon's hand from his shoulder and said: "If you have no business with me, you should walk along, little Prince. I have better things to do."

"Oh, we have business," Jax said, eyes becoming deathly cold. "I was going to let you off with a warning, but since you are so rude, I suppose I will have to teach you a lesson."

"Is that so?" Ain smirked.

Senon licked her lips. Battle-lust was already flowing through her veins, boiling her blood.

"It turns out you acquired a piece of land that rightfully belongs to me," Jax said. "I will give you two options. Give it to me, along with some compensation for your rudeness, or die. Right here. On the spot."

Ain laughed out loud. Perhaps for the first time he came to this place, he found something funny enough to genuinely laugh about. With each bellowed syllable, Jax's expression became more and more twisted with anger.

"What is funny, filthy hume?" Jax asked.

"Nothing, don't worry about it, Jax," Ain said, catching his breath. "I am just pleased that you showed me so much respect, bringing not only your lackeys, but that thing too." Ain pointed at one of the unknown demons. "That is a Pit Fiend, isn't it?"

Jax lifted an eyebrow.

"I know, I know, since I know that you drag around a soulless, forbidden thing, you can't let me live," Ain said. "But, you've put me in a good mood. Tell you what, Jax, since your only option is to die today, this is what I will do: I will let you start running, and when I get bored of the Pit Fiend... well, I'll let you figure out what happens then."

Jax blinked. "You are insane."

"You'll soon find out that you are the one who is insane," Senon said, relaxing.

Ain smiled. "I suppose, if you write me a nice apology, I will let you off with only a few broken bones, and maybe a crippled soul."

"Kill him!" Jax called out, taking several steps back.

The two unknown demons approached. The Pit Fiend quietly spoke: "Target acquired."

"A basic intelligence, hmm?" Ain remarked and shook his head. "I am quite curious as to who made you."

The other demon was intercepted by Senon. "The Master said he will play with the Pit Fiend. Stay where you are and behave yourself."

The other demon reached for his weapon, but when he saw Senon assume her stance, and take a deep breath, he was frozen in fear. Every nerve in his body was burning. Something outside of his perception was warning him. It was like a portent of certain death.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

The Pit Fiend approached Ain, and turned, extending his leg for a roundhouse kick. The blow landed against Ain's temple, and the hallway wall next to Ain was blown out and the fragments were crushed. The ground shook.

And yet Ain didn't even move. Not even a little bit.

"Jax, I told you to start running," Ain said, smile fading. "Link release."

The breath Ain released filled the area with an unprecedented sensation of danger and heaviness. Everyone could hear Ain's steady, slow heartbeat in the stilled environment. It was relentless and overpowering. It threatened to deafen them, despite not being particularly loud.

"Anoin! Attack!" Jax called out to the other demon.

Anoin drew his sword, despite his body warning him of the threat. It was more like a reflex - obeying his Lord's command. He barely got half of it free from the scabbard before Senon's blade obliterated the top half of his body. Blood gushed from the remains, and immediately evaporated into a red mist that rolled down the hallway.

Senon's sword was shrouded in a dark mist and impossibly fast. Along the line of her cut, even the air was obliterated, forming a vacuum. The shockwave of the rebounding air particles shattered the windows, as the sound of thunder rolled through the Academy.

Seeing what happened to Anoin, the other demons, except for Jax and the Pit Fiend, turned tail and ran.

Senon sheathed her sword with a loud click. Immediately, she sat down on the ground, cross-legged and closed her eyes.

Ain smirked. "You comprehended the first principle of the Desolation Sword. Good. Very good, Disciple."

"What in the name of the Calamity Lord was that?" Jax asked, jaw slack. He could not believe his eyes. "Anoin was a Supreme Demon of Wrath."

"Hmph," Ain scoffed. "Just a Supreme Demon. Not enough to reach the pinnacle."

Jax stared at Ain. Just a Supreme Demon? But the facts were simple. Whatever Jax thought of the existence that was a Supreme Demon - unlike him, merely a Greater Demon - was unraveled by Senon with one swing of her sword. Not enough to reach the pinnacle. Jax understood the meaning of those words. To these two, a Supreme Demon was nothing special.

Few creatures in the world did not have evolution patterns, or so it was believed. Humans were one of them. Fae were another. But for Demons, becoming a Greater Demon was a great achievement. Just becoming a Demon was guaranteed through age, and there were other varieties, such as Ancient Demon and Demon Lord, that could be acquired through age.

But when it came to the evolution of their Root - their bodies - they all aimed to become Archdemons, and from there, the coveted realms beyond. A Greater Demon would become a Supreme Demon when their Root internalizes the first Aspect: Wrath, Envy, Greed, Pride, and so on. Of course, Ain's understanding on the matter differed from the Demonic dogma that surrounded their society. In Ain's eyes, they were merely unlocking the secrets of their Source.

A Supreme Demon then becomes an Archfiend, and following that, an Archdemon. Even just by becoming an Archfiend, one receives the status of Abyssal Duke in the Demon Court, ranks higher than even a Prince of the Demon Court. The Archdemon was an existence eclipsing even Archfiends. If anything, in this world, the only thing Ain would consider worth being wary of were Archdemons. But surely, not many remained in this age.

In terms of Methods, Archdemons must have practiced a scripture of the Heaven level Methods. Ain alone in this Realm knew that once Humans acquired a Heavenly Saint Method, that their Root and Origin changed - just like Demons have their own evolution patterns. So it made sense, that to become an Archdemon, an existence that can no longer even be considered Demonic, required a similar investment, if not equivalent.

Ain returned the favor to the Pit Fiend, lashing out with a kick to the Demon's mid-section, and the impact crushed the stone the Pit Fiend stood on. The air visibly vibrated and shimmered as the shockwave expanded. The hallway erupted with debris and fragments, entire sections of it pulled into the overpressure blast front produced by Ain's kick.

The air roared thunderously as the hallway imploded into itself. Were someone to measure the force of that ordinary move, as if it was a profound technique, they would likely consider it a Saint-level technique. But to Ain, it was as simple as breathing. It was breathing after all. His Link was wide open. His Circuits groaned under the pressure of magical current produced from fundamental principles flowing from his heart - his Source. Even though he could not produce magical power, every motion contained profound magical force.

What was magic power anyway? It was just capacity to store magical principles and release it to perform magical work. The release itself was limited by the size of the Gate, and the replenishment speed was determined by the size of the Link. The force of the magical energy itself was determined by the soul.

During the Entrance Exam, Ain was not present, but he assumed that the magic power that was measured was the potential to store magical energy. That would explain why Senon passed the test. Were Senon to actually attempt to use the magical energy to power a spell - a practical test - she might not have been able to pass the test with flying colors, the way she did.

Ain and Senon never stored magical power in their Circuits. How Senon's system worked exactly, Ain was not sure. But for Ain it was simple. Most of it left through his breath, and a fraction of it went into his body, tempering it constantly. That is, when his Link and Gates were mostly closed.

However, with his Link open, with each breath, he had enough magical energy coursing through him to erase the lower soul of an inanimate object with just his breath. His heartbeat alone could crush mountains. His glare could inflict madness and catatonia. In relative terms, the current in his Circuits produced enough force - not quantity - to eclipse the total magical potential of everyone in the hallway combined. And that was just traditional magic. Source magic was on a wholly new level.

With most of this energy powering Ain's body, it was no surprise to find that the Pit Fiend's body was broken when the dust settled. It was not quite on the level of Bazuzu-salsa, or that poor Demon Ain accidentally decapitated, but it was grotesque nonetheless.

The Pit Fiend's body was twisted and mangled. The force of the blow broke the entire left side of his body, and launched him several meters away from where the impact happened. It was surprising. Ain expected to find pieces of the Pit Fiend all the way down the mountain, perhaps even in the center of the Capital. But the demon managed to resist the force enough to only be displaced by several meters.

It was quite impressive.

"Cae... Ideta..." the Pit Fiend murmured and a magical symbol appeared above him. His body untwisted. Broken flesh and bone mended itself before Ain's eyes. It was as if time was reversing itself. It was incredible to behold for anyone who had never seen this type of healing magic. It could even bring the dead back to life, so long as the Root remains.

Jax, covered in dust and debris, swallowed hard. A bead of sweat appeared on his forehead. Then he turned tail and ran. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, and he screamed.

"Help! Someone help me!"