Leon woke up a drooling Elvis with a slap to his face.
Laughing as Elvis flailed around, he slipped on his clothing, making sure to choose some nice ones.
Soon, Elvis emerged from the bathroom, grimacing.
“Did you have to hit me?”
Nodding in reply, Leon called for the AI and ordered some bacon and eggs.
As the steaming plate arrived, Elvis asked, “How are we going to get to Velereth?”
“Clement’s going to take us via the Glass Realm.”
Rolling his eyes, Elvis went up to Leon’s face.
“It’s CHARON. C-H-A-R-O-N.”
Again, Leon slapped him away.
“But I call him Clement. C-L-E-M-E-N-T.”
Grumbling in distaste, Elvis quickly began gobbling down the breakfast, as Leon promptly followed.
Upon finishing, Leon called Clement again.
“Are you here? Hurry up.”
The old man shook his head, saying, “I’m almost there. Just wait for a few minutes.”
Cutting off the call, Leon and Elvis went outside to wait for the ex-general.
“U-uh… what should I say? He's my role model… agh..”
Hearing the maniacal muttering, Leon stared at Elvis.
“Choose a new role model.”
Seeing Elvis rolling his eyes, Leon chided himself.
‘I let this kid get too comfortable. Tsk, tsk.’
Hearing the creak of the stairwell door open, Leon and Elvis turned towards Clement, who was still wearing his dark armor. He had participated in five duels during his time here and had earned the Nephilim sectors 4, 9, 7, and 14 of the Inner Colonies.
“Hey, Clement.”
“H-hello, sir.”
Nodding at Elvis and shaking his head at Leon, Clement approached them.
“You should follow this kid’s example, Leon. You know, have some respect for me.”
“Get on with it, old man. We don’t have that much time.”
Sighing, Clement held out his arms to the two boys, as they both grasped it tightly.
Immediately, the familiar apartment began to mull over, strange colors appearing in the edges of Leon’s vision. Just like before, an oval mirror appeared before them, causing them to crash before it with the sound of shattering glass.
As all three of them tried to get their bearings, a loud voice came from above.
“All the aspirants who are to be taking the test, please follow the attendees.”
As Elvis began dragging Leon by the sleeve to one of the several forming groups of people, Leon looked around the academy.
Huge black pillars surrounded what looked to be the courtyard, and it was located right in front of a massive cave inside a huge, jagged mountain. Inside the cave stood an enormous stone door, marked with engravings.
“All aspirants! Group up!”
Joining one of the groups, Elvis whispered to Leon, “General Charon said that he had to go. And uh… he told me to tell you never to take off the mask.”
“Okay. But.. where’s the school? Is it inside that cave?”
Elvis nodded. “The stone door is the gateway into the school. According to legend, anyone who has not been selected as an aspirant that tries to enter would be turned into the Lost Ones.”
Leon was about to ask another question when suddenly, the massive stone door began to creak open, dust flying everywhere. The students who had come from wealthier families immediately had servants who protected them with fancy umbrellas, but people like Leon and Elvis had to endure the particles.
Luckily for Leon, the mask provided some protection, but Elvis was struggling with a coughing fit.
The attendant who was leading his group, a burly demon with huge wings that signaled him as a Lost, called for them to follow him.
Entering the cool, dark cave, Elvis seemed to cling to Leon.
Leon chuckled. “Don’t tell me you're afraid of the dark?”
Seeing Elvis’s terrified expression, Leon laughed harder. However, the chuckles quickly stopped as suddenly, millions of stones suddenly lit up, flooding the cave with beams of multi-colored lights.
As soon as the lights came on, a demon with deep-set eyes, and a heavy cloak shrouding his body floated down into the cavern. His eyes seemed to have symbols inscribed in them, generating a terrifying presence.
Carefully, Leon whispered to Elvis, “Who’s that?”
“That's Archduke Leviathan,” said Elvis in wonder.
‘Man sure knows how to make an entrance.’
The Archduke soon settled down onto the ground, the folds of his cloak calmly settling down before him.
“Welcome, aspirants.”
His soft but powerful voice echoed across the vast cave.
“You have come here, to learn, to study, and to help our empire.”
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“And we shall give you that chance.”
He gestured at the cave before him.
“Our academy is the best that has ever been. Not just in this world, but in the elves, and even the dwarves.”
“But of course, to be admitted, you must first pass.”
“We do not believe in mercy, or any kind of organization.”
His eyes turned dark, a smile seeming to hint at his features.
“You will have two hours. Bring me the heads of five demons before that period ends.”
He slowly began to disappear, soft fabrics drifting into the shadows.
“You may begin.”
***
Immediately, a scream tore through the cave as a younger demon was strangled by another. Soon, multiple screams followed, each ending abruptly.
Leon quickly turned to Elvis. “Keep close to me, and power up your Mana circles!”
Nodding, Elvis began to do as he was told, face pale with fear.
Leon began defending Elvis, knocking multiple demons out of the way.
[You have activated the Skill [Dimensional Storage]
Quickly pulling out his falchion, he dodged a blast of fire that hurtled towards his way.
Lighting fast, a girl suddenly pulled up before him, sending multiple threads of fine wire towards his way. However, as Leon blocked the wire with his sword, it wrapped around it, suddenly bursting into flames.
[You have activated the Skill [Mesmeric Trance]
[The Skill has failed. Target’s mental strength is higher]
‘Fuck.’
However, just as the flames were about to reach Leon’s body, an explosion echoed across the cavern.
Elvis was firing multiple shots of pure Mana from a circle that was radiating power, a few of them slamming into the girl’s body.
As her body flew away with a crack, the strings around Leon’s sword unraveled, causing Leon to nod at Elvis in thanks.
“Get the guy with the mask!”
Hearing the shout, Leon turned around, to see multiple demons jumping at him, some charging up their martial arts, and some carrying weapons.
[Cosmos’s First Step: Heat Death]
The demons went flying away, after which Leon quickly did the combo he had been practicing, slicing one demon’s head off.
[You have killed a demon [1/5]
Quickly stuffing the head into his dimensional storage, he quickly blocked multiple arrows heading toward Elvis.
“Duck!”
Quickly complying to Elvis’s shout, Leon went down. A beam of red light followed, shattering the face of a leaping demon.
“How many kills do you have?!”
“I have two!”
Hearing the answer, Leon nodded, quickly disemboweling a creeping demon that had tried to use her daggers to pierce his legs.
[You have killed a demon [2/5]
Just as he was getting confident about how it was going to be much easier, a stream of fire quickly washed over him, Leon only surviving because of his quick reflexes.
Seeing the demon responsible, Leon grimaced under his mask.
A girl with flourishing black hair, sharp crimson eyes, and a smile dancing on her lips. She truly had not changed from a month ago.
Astarte.
‘What is she doing here? Isn’t she way too advanced to be just an aspirant?’
Luckily, since Leon was wearing a mask, she didn’t know who he was.
Seeing her activate her Skill Tree, Leon dodged multiple jabs of fiery embers.
‘I can’t beat her.’
“Elvis! Give me some cover!”
Nodding, Elvis quickly sent a huge beam of light toward Astarte, but she quickly dodged the brutal attack.
[Cosmos’s First Step: Heat Death]
Activating the Skill, Leon prayed that it would work.
However, the Skill barely did anything to her, just causing her to stagger a bit.
But that was all that Leon needed.
Propelling towards her, he quickly swiped in front of her, causing her to back away.
As she quickly struck with her khopesh, Leon blocked it, the heavier weight of the falchion knocking away the sickle-like sword.
Leon quickly punched forward, catching her jaw. As she winced in pain, he quickly followed with several strikes to her abdomen, which she blocked. However, as she was a bit stunned, Leon took his chances.
Grabbing Elvis by the scruff of his neck, Leon ran away, traversing to the other side of the cave in a matter of seconds.
‘Hopefully, she won’t notice where I am because of the chaos.’
Leon quickly took the head off of a wounded demon and then pierced the heart of the demon that had been chasing the demon.
[You have killed a demon [4/5]
Seeing the notification, Leon helped Elvis kill his number of five demons, after which Leon killed his last one, a massive aspirant that had been lugging a Warhammer.
[You have killed a demon [5/5]
Seeing that he was finished, he helped Elvis into a small corner of the cave, waiting for the test to end.
“How’s your Mana?” Asked Leon, staring at Elvis with concern. The small boy was pale, his breath hitched.
“I’m fine. Nice fighting too. I would’ve died if not for you.”
Leon shook his head. “I couldn’t beat that girl.”
Elvis chuckled. “You don’t know but that girl is an Ensnare. She’s probably the most powerful demon in this cave, aside from the Archduke.
“Huh.” Leon tilted his head. “I already fought her before though?”
Smiling beneath his mask at Elvis’s shocked expression, Leon turned back to the massacre going inside the cave.
Surveying the battle, he could see several key people, one of them being Astarte. With her beautiful figure and flames billowing around her, she looked like a demigod.
Another demon was a regular-sized and regular-looking boy wielding a short sword. He danced among the dead, slaying one demon after the next. He had already killed much more than five.
Next was a petite girl with short blonde hair, who seemed to be adept at her Skill Tree, which was blasting screaming demons into statues of ice.
There also was the demon who Elvis had blasted away earlier, and who had almost killed Leon. Her features were also hidden by a blank mask, and one could only tell that she was a girl by the long brown hair flowing behind her. Her wires were spread throughout the cave, slicing through bodies of demons in seconds.
Finally was a tall demon with an impassive look on his face. He was incredibly handsome, but right now with his long spear and the pure Mana billowing like a cloud from him, he looked like an angel of death.
‘Is one of them an Ensnare?’
Since Astarte had already been found - how did so many people know she was an Ensnare? - that meant that six aspirants in this group contained the Cores within their bodies.
Seeing the Archduke begin descending from the top of the cave once again, Leon helped Elvis stand up.
“Very good, aspirants.”
The Archduke settled down into a stone platform, among the blood-splattered ground of the fallen.
“I apologize for not speaking more when I first arrived, but I felt like my words were not fit for the unworthy.”
He motioned to himself, skeletal hands moving smoothly.
“I am Archduke Leviathan. I am also known as the Serpent of Adversary. I have won against the elves during the War of Ignorance and am the current General of the King’s Army. And it is with pleasure to welcome you to Velereth.”
He smiled, the look sending chills down Leon’s spine.
“Velereth is, as previously mentioned, the best academy in the whole of the demonic lands and afar. You will learn many things during your stay here, and you will bring more glory to our empire.”
He waved his hand, a scroll appearing before him, dark energy crackling from it.
“Now, we must have some competition, must we not? The best of you will enter the Deluders. The weakest will enter the Accusers, and the moderate ones will enter Revengers.”
Clearing his throat, he began to speak names, his powerful voice echoing through the cavern.
“Astarte of the Ensnares.”
“Tariz of the Gluttony Clan.”
“Luna of the Wrath Clan.”
“Lily of the Seekers.”
“Luke of the Lust Clan.”
As he said the names of the people who Leon had spotted from the battle, they began standing up and then walking over to the Archduke.
However, as the girl whose face was hidden by the mask stood up, an intense whispering began around, demons talking frantically with each other.
“What’s going on?”
Elvis turned to Leon. “You shouldn’t get close to her. She’s going to die soon anyway. She’s a Seeker. You know, the people who go into the Unknown? “
Upon remembering the conversation he had, Leon nodded in realization.
The Archduke continued. “These are the most powerful among you. You will do well to follow their lead.”
“Now I shall say the people in the Revengers.”
Leon admittedly dozed off during the long period, and only woke up a bit as he heard Elvis’s name get called.
“Elvis of the Heart Orphanage.”
Grinning as Elvis stood up, Leon waved at him.
‘I wonder when I’ll be called.’
However, the Archduke finished the names of the Revengers and moved on to the Accusers.
‘Ugh. Why am I in the Accusers?’
However, as the people slowly dwindled as they walked over to the Archduke, Leon’s name was still not called.
‘What’s going on?’
Pretty soon, Leon was the only one standing, trying to maintain his composure as he looked at the demons staring at him, as they whispered in confusion.
‘What’s going on?’