“What?! The Demon Dragon King’s already here? How?!” Spectra exclaimed in a shocked voice.

“Teleportation Magic. Most likely,” Sevedant said and he sounded angry.

“Oh great…! Just when we were talking about him, he has to show up!” Wolfenstine said in an exasperated voice.

Spectra looked very worried and she said “Oh no…! The Demon Slayer!”

Without another word, she flew through the wall and out of sight.

“Spectra!” Lakshman called, but she had already gone before he could do anything to stop her.

Sevedant quickly looked at Felix and said “Felix!”

“I know! Phoenix Portal!” Felix said firmly.

The black whole appeared in front of his desk. Felix walked around his desk and walked into it. He was followed by Lakshman, Wolfenstine and Sevedant. The Phintex Raja warped out of the room just as the portal became small and vanished.

At that moment, the black hole appeared at the entrance to Astral Academy. Through it, Felix, Lakshman, Wolfenstine and Sevedant appeared as they walked into the sunlight. They were startled by so much dust that covered the entire field.

Felix then waved his hand and sent a powerful force of wind in all directions. This pushed the dust away and brought everything into view.

The front gates to Astral Academy were utterly destroyed. As they quickly walked forward, they saw a lot of guards collapsed on the ground. Many of them were unmoving and Felix guessed they were either unconscious or dead.

“Where the hell is he?!” Wolfenstine asked in a frustrated voice while looking around.

Demon Dragon King, Razzel, was nowhere in sight. Then they felt his energy and presence coming from below the ground. It certainly looked like Razzel had gone after the Demon Slayer after beating down all the guards that came at him.

At that moment, they saw a guard struggling to sit up. Felix quickly ran over to him and supported him. Then he asked the guard “What exactly happened here?”

The guard coughed once and then said “Phoenix Emperor… This guy just suddenly appeared at the front gates. Then he started emanating this weird dark energy and tried to force his way. We activated the barrier, but he shattered it like it was nothing. Then he blasted all of us away before absorbing these blue orbs from the other guards.”

“Dammit…!” Sevedant muttered in annoyance.

Razzel seemed to take the life of someone without mercy or remorse. It aggravated them, especially Sevedant being that he is a Death Titan and he was the Messenger of Death. As such, these kinds of acts of destruction made him really angry.

Felix glanced at him for a moment before turning back to the guard. He understood the feelings Sevedant was going through and it worried him.

So far, Sevedant had gone easy on Razzel because he did not understand what his objective was, but he was losing it. If Sevedant went all out, Felix feared he might not be able to stop him from utterly destroying Floria Kingdom.

“Where is he now?” Felix asked the guard once he turned back to face him.

The guard lifted a feeble hand and pointed in a certain direction. They looked towards where he was pointing and saw something on the ground.

“Alright. You did well and be proud of your effort!” Felix told the guard firmly.

The guard shook his head and said “Please forgive me for failing my duty, sir…!”

Felix shook his head, but he did not have time to stop and lift the man’s sadness. He had more pressing matters to take care of. So he simply told the man to lie down. Then he joined the others that headed in the direction the guard pointed.

“Wow…! This is one big hole in the ground!” Wolfenstine commented when he looked at it.

Lakshman looked down into the hole and saw a deep stretch of darkness. From up here, it was impossible to tell how deep that hole went or how far Razzel had dug. All he knew was that the Demon Dragon King certainly went after the Demon Slayer.

“Okay. I’ll go first and Sevedant come after me along with Lucky. Um… Wolfenstine… You’ll…”

“I’ll stay here and help with the protection. I’ll get the students to go to the hall which is the safest place in the academy,” Wolfenstine told him firmly.

Felix nodded and said “Good. Alright you two… Let’s go!”

With that, he hovered over the hole in the ground and slowly descended. Sevedant followed right after him and it was finally Lakshman’s turn.

He was just about to go when he heard a shout of “Lucky?!”

Lakshman looked over to where the shout came from. He saw Ondine, Tetra, Emilia, Cantia and Venezuela running over to him with shocked expressions on their faces.

“W-What’s going on?”

“What was that explosion just now?”

“Is something wrong, Lucky?”

“Wow! Where did this big hole from form?!”

“What’s the matter, Lakshman?”

The girls each asked their question in their respective order. They could tell something was terribly wrong from the frowning expression on his face. Additionally, they could also feel the twisted energy of the Demon Dragon King and it caused them to fear.

“The Demon Dragon King, Razzel, came and is now on his way to obtain the Demon Slayer, a Sacred Spirit that sealed itself beneath the Astral Academy grounds,” he informed them.

All the girls exclaimed in shock at finding out the shocking news. Well, Tetra was the only one who did not appear to be shocked and instead, she was nodding her head in understanding.

“I see… I thought as much. It felt weird I felt her presence here,” she said quietly.

“What’s the matter, Tetra?” Ondine asked her curiously.

“Ever since we arrived here, I felt the presence of another Sacred Spirit. That feeling was confirmed when I recognised it as the Demon Slayer, but she seemed to have shut herself off from the world. So I didn’t bother to tell anyone about it.”

“Oh? Then why does master know about it? Hmm? Master? Why didn’t you bother to share this information?” Ondine asked as she placed her hands on her hips as she stared at him.

“Uh… Sorry, but Sevedant told me to keep quiet about it until the time was right. Anyway, we’ll talk about this fully later. Right now I have to go down and stop that bastard from obtaining the Demon Slayer,” Lakshman said quickly.

“Then we’re coming along!” Ondine said adamantly and the other girls nodded in agreement

Lakshman thought for a moment whether to bring them with him or not. Then he shook his head and said “No, girls. It’s best if you help around here.”

“He’s right, you know? The one he’ll be messing with is a tough nut!” Wolfenstine said in support of Lakshman.

“What the?! Wolfenstine? Where the hell did you spring from?” Ondine asked and he made a disgruntled expression on his face.

“It’s not safe for you girls to come after us. He’s the Demon Dragon King and is an extremely powerful person. It has to be me, Felix and Sevedant.”

“B-But-!”

“No buts! That’s an order!” Lakshman said firmly and they stiffened in surprise. Then he smiled at them and said “Take care of everyone while I’m gone.”

With that, he hovered above and slowly descended into the big hole in the ground. They watched him dive deeper into the ground until the darkness enveloped him.

“Alright! Let’s move the people the hall where it’s safer for them! You girls go around and inform everyone about it,” Wolfenstine said and the girls began going around to speak to the other students to inform them.

While they were doing that, Lakshman descended downward in total darkness. Looking up, he saw the spec of light that was shrinking by every minute. Then he landed on solid ground and almost stumbled in the total darkness.

At that moment, he heard Felix’s voice say “About time you got here. What took you so long?”

“Girls,” Lakshman said shortly and Felix understood immediately what he meant.

“Well, anyway. I can feel his energy coming from over in that direction,” Felix informed them and he pointed in the darkness which no one saw.

“It’s a bit dark to see properly…” Lakshman said slowly.

That was when Sevedant said “No problem. Spirit Light.”

Three balls of lights erupted out of his hand and floated around them. They expanded until they shone the underground like it was a lit room.

Without further ado, the three warriors ran into the distance where the ground opened a hole. The balls of light floated after them and soon kept pace with them. Thanks to that, they were able to see ahead and avoid the jagged rocks where the ground was opened unevenly.

“Razzel’s a Demon Dragon King, but he certainly doesn’t know how to make holes in the ground!” Felix exclaimed as they avoided another set of rocks that were in their way.

“Razzel destroys. Destruction seeker. Power hungry,” Sevedant said in an angry voice.

Very soon, they reached the place where the ground finally became even. They were surprised to see that there was an overhead entrance erected here as if this was some sort of shrine. Walking through it, they felt they were in a strange place filled with silence and emptiness. It almost felt foreboding to be there.

Just then, there was a violent flash of light from up ahead. Sensing danger, they ran as hard as they could towards the location. Once they arrived, they were shocked to see what was happening.

The Demon Dragon King, Razzel, was firing some sort of energy beam at something in the air. They looked towards what he was firing it at and was shocked to see that it was none other than Spectra, the ghost.

“Spectra!” Lakshman shouted and he charged forward.

Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

Razzel was taken by surprise from his quick movement and Lakshman grabbed Spectra. Then he quickly retreated to where Felix and Sevedant were. Once he got there, he gently let go of Spectra who was barely conscious in his arms.

“Spectra! Spectra!” he said and repeatedly called out to her.

Spectra managed to open her eyes and look into his face. Recognising who it was, she croaked “Please… Save the Demon Slayer…”

Her eyes suddenly closed and she fainted. Lakshman knew there was no waking her up right now. So he gently laid her on the ground and straightened up to face the Demon Dragon King. This was his first time meeting the man, but he already hates him for how he treated everyone, including the dead.

Razzel smiled towards them and said “Well, well, well! Look who it is! Its Felix the Phoenix Emperor and Sevedant, the Demon Titan! How pleasant of you both to drop by. What’s this? A boy who is on par with all of you? How fun!”

As he laughed hysterically, Lakshman stood next to Felix and Sevedant. He wore an angry expression on his face as he stared at him.

Just from appearance, Razzel appeared to be a normal man, but his power was something different. Lakshman could feel an immense power coming from the man, but his ability to sense power was not as refined as the two warriors that stood next to him.

Razzel grinned at them and then held out a box as he shouted “You’ve come to retrieve this from me, right?”

Felix, Sevedant and Lakshman looked at the box he was holding. They could feel a strange energy emanating from it and they suddenly realised what was inside.

“T-The Demon Slayer is inside?!” they exclaimed in shocked voices.

Razzel nodded his head at them as he withdrew and tucked it to his cloak.  Then he said “Unfortunately, it seemed like it didn’t like me. The stupid Sacred Spirit tried to attack me, but I locked in into that Containment Box before it could not do anything anymore.”

“Give her back!” Lakshman shouted at him.

Razzel said “Tat, tat, tat. That’s rude to speak to a Demon Dragon King, boy. Besides, finders keepers. The most important rule people follow when they find something.”

“Grr…! Damn you!” Sevedant screamed and he began surging with power.

“You idiot! Stop!” Felix shouted fearfully.

They were all buffeted by the power that Sevedant was releasing. Lakshman, who was still using Power Counter to observe their power levels, was astonished as Sevedant’s values kept increasing at a rapid pace.

Then he charged straight towards Razzel. The Demon Dragon King reached immediately by beginning to surge with power. Just as Sevedant reached him, Razzel created a powerful barrier to protect himself.

“ARRRRRAAAAAAHHHH!!!” Sevedant screamed as he punched at the barrier.

The force of the impact against the barrier created a powerful shockwave and it sent a shocking wind everywhere. Felix and Lakshman got buffeted by the strong force that was released. Razzel widened his eyes in shock as he realised he was slowly sinking because of the powerful punch Sevedant delivered.

Suddenly the barrier vanished and Sevedant was surprised to see that Razzel had disappeared. A moment later, they all turned around to see that he was several meters away from Sevedant.

“Wow! I never expected you to be this strong!” Razzel said in a surprised voice.

“I’m just getting warmed up!” Sevedant shouted and he charged towards him again at incredible speed.

“That idiot” Felix shouted and he charged into to fight.

With Felix joining the fray, it soon became a battle between two against one. Both Felix and Sevedant were moving at incredible speeds, but Razzel was moving fast as well. He kept blocking and dodging their attacks in this confined space.

With each of their blows, a shocking force was sent everywhere that shook the ground. Lose rubble, rocks and debris kept slowly falling down around them. Lakshman began to fear that they might get buried under all the rubble.

Just then, he suddenly realised something. As the three warriors fought, he could see the box that Razzel was hiding under his cloak. Realising this was his chance to make his move, Lakshman surged with power and dashed forward.

As the battle continued fiercely, Razzel kicked his opponents away as hard as he could. Fighting the two powerful warriors was very difficult, especially when their speeds were slightly faster than his. As he breathed out, he was stunned when he saw Lakshman appeared right in front of him.

Before he could react, Lakshman had delivered countless punches that knocked him off-balance.

“I’ll be taking this!” Lakshman said as he reached out and grabbed the box.

“You!” Razzel exclaimed in a shocked voice.

Razzel instantly recovered and reached forward for box, but it was too late. Lakshman had used Instant Step to disappear and reappear where Felix and Sevedant were standing.

“I got the box!” Lakshman said triumphantly.

“Good man! Now we can take him without worrying about the box!” Felix said as he stared at Razzel with a grin on his face.

“You’re finished, Razzel!” Sevedant shouted at his enemy.

Radiating in purple aura, Razzel looked angrily at Lakshman. He was actually impressed the boy moved even faster than both Sevedant and Razzel combined. This gave him an idea and he reflexively smiled for all of them to see.

“What’s so funny?” Felix asked him cautiously.

“Oh yeah. I’m finished. It’s about time I return to my base,” he said and flashed a smile at them.

“What?” Felix said and he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

He instantly knew something was wrong. The Demon Dragon King was smiling for some reason and it was not good.

“Stay on high alert, you guys. He’s got something in mind and it doesn’t look good…” Felix said quietly to them.

Sevedant nodded at him and Lakshman nervously “Y-Yeah!”

Razzel was standing and smiling at them one moment. The next, he vanished from their sights which startled them. They knew he was still there, but they just could see him anymore. Then he reappeared directly in front of Lakshman where Felix and Sevedant had their backs turned.

Realising he was behind them, Felix and Sevedant quickly turned around to hit him. Lakshman took one step and prepared to hit the man with his own power punch. The next thing they knew, they had stopped moving.

Razzel was holding up a crystal which was glowing dimly. He smiled and said “Well, well! Strong warriors, but weak against this one tiny Time Crystal!”

He roared with laughter as the three warriors were frozen on the spot. All three of them were unable to move their bodies, but they were able to keep track of what was happening.

“Now then. I’ll be taking this… Hmm? What’s this?” Razzel said curiously when he looked at the box.

The Containment Box was emanating a dark aura and it was flowing towards Lakshman. Inside the box, the Demon Slayer was somehow triggered by Lakshman’s presence. Razzel looked at the box and then at the boy standing before him in time frozen.

“I see… Looks like I have more than one reason to capture you now,” Razzel said and he made an evil grin on his face.

Lakshman realised he was in deep trouble and there was nothing he could do. Even the Decisive Player had no solution to how he could break out of a time freeze.

Then there was the sound of cracking noise from the Time Crystal Razzel was holding. He looked at it in surprise and said “Whoops. I better get this over with before it breaks!”

He quickly put his hand on Lakshman’s head and grinned as he said “Thunder Cracker.”

In an instant, Lakshman felt an immense lightning surging through him. He wanted to scream, he wanted to wail, he wanted to yell in pain, but it was no use. Being frozen in time, only his eyes widened in shock from the lightning force. A few seconds later, his eyes went blank and he closed them as he was knocked unconscious.

Once Lakshman was unconscious, Razzel held the box and then grabbed hold of Lakshman’s other hand. Then he turned around to see time slowly returning to normal. Both Felix and Sevedant were moving at him in a slow motion attack sequence.

“Alright then. I enjoyed my time fighting you idiots, but it’s time I go. I’ll see you lot later,” Razzel said and he smiled at them.

That was when the Time Crystal final broke. As it broke, all frozen time was restored in an instant. Just as it did, a magic circle appeared beneath Razzen and Lakshman. It enveloped them in a bright yellow light.

“AAAH!” Felix screamed as he and Sevedant were finally free from the time freeze.

They came forward with their fists raised to deliver a powerful blow to Razzel. However, Razzel had disappeared in a golden yellow light with Lakshman.

Felix and Sevedant fell silent as they came to realise what just happened. The Demon Slayer was reacting to Lakshman which they were unable to understand. However, Razzel realised this and knew he needed Lakshman in order to make the Demon Slayer his. So he took Lakshman with him to who knows where.

In anger and frustration, Felix sank to his knees in the deserted underground. The balls of light were still hovering over them, but their light was not enough to lift the veil of sadness that covered them.

“Dammit…! Dammit!” Felix screamed as loud as his lungs would let him and he hit the ground as hard as he could.

The ground shook violently, but nothing else happened. Felix had failed as the Phoenix Emperor to stop the Demon Dragon King from taking the Demon Slayer and Lakshman. He had failed at being the guardian of the Phoenix Titan.