The girls froze in horror, their minds grappling with the brutal reality before them. Layla's lifeless body slumped to the ground, her face pale and eyes glassy. For a long, horrified moment, silence filled the air, each of them caught in the shock of the brutal act they'd just witnessed.

Aisha was the first to break, a strangled scream escaping her lips as she stumbled back, her hand covering her mouth, her bow clattering to the ground. "No… no, no, no! Layla!"

Celia took a shaky step forward, her voice thick with panic and confusion. "Professor Aldric, why? How could you…?"

Maren's eyes blazed with fury, tears streaming down her face. She gripped her dagger so tightly her knuckles turned white, her voice a trembling accusation. "You monster! Why would you do this?"

Aldric tilted his head, watching their reactions with cold amusement. Then he laughed—a sound so low and mocking it seemed to reverberate through the stone pillars around them. His laughter grew, filling the air with a sinister, chilling echo, and he raised his bloodstained hand as if it were a trophy.

"Why wouldn't I?" he sneered, his eyes gleaming with a twisted joy. "You spoiled little brats have no idea what real hardship is. You wander around here, playing at heroics, acting as if you're important, valuable. But you're nothing—mere wastes of resources that could be used for something far more meaningful."

He paused, sweeping his gaze over them with disdain, savoring their shock. "You have no understanding of the world, of true power, or knowledge. You were handed your comforts, your training, your 'glorious futures' without ever earning a single bit of it. Do you really think any of you deserve what you've been given?"

Aisha backed away further, her eyes wide with disbelief. "But… Professor, we trusted you! You were supposed to protect us!"

He chuckled again, shaking his head. "Protect you? Why waste my efforts on children who contribute nothing? No, I have found a much greater purpose. The demons hold knowledge far beyond anything you can imagine—knowledge and power that would be wasted on minds as limited as yours."

Before they could fully process his words, he extended his arm toward them, dark energy crackling between his fingers. With a flick of his wrist, a blade of shadow shot out, catching Celia in the chest. Her scream was cut short as she stumbled backward, eyes wide with horror before her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground.

"Celia!" Maren screamed, but before she could act, Aldric's focus shifted to her. With a flick of his hand, another dark bolt shot forth, striking her just below the collarbone. She gasped, clutching the wound as blood poured from between her fingers, and collapsed to her knees.

The remaining girls, now Selene and Aisha, stared in horror, frozen as Aldric moved toward them with slow, deliberate steps. His face was a twisted mask of cruelty, his lips curled in a smirk as he savored each terrified expression, each whispered plea.

"You still don't understand, do you?" he taunted, savoring their fear. "Your lives are meaningless to me. You're nothing more than resources—small, expendable pieces in a grander scheme." He raised his hand again, dark energy coiling around his fingers, ready to strike once more.

But before he could bring his hand down, the ground beneath him shuddered. An oppressive force filled the air, and suddenly, Aldric staggered, his legs buckling under a crushing weight.

"What is this?" he spat, gritting his teeth as his knees hit the ground. The shadows around him writhed and twisted, but they were being pushed down by a force even darker, more powerful, and all-consuming.

Lady Cerys stepped out from the shadows, her gaze fixed on Aldric with an expression of cold fury. Her presence seemed to absorb all light around her, casting an intimidating aura that made even the bravest falter. The gravity around them thickened with her every step, pressing Aldric down, his shoulders straining as he struggled to lift his head.

"Cerys," Aldric managed through gritted teeth, a sneer trying to form on his lips. "You think your parlor tricks can hold me?"

Her lips curled into a tight, humorless smile. "Parlor tricks? Hardly." She extended her hand, her voice cold as steel. "You've betrayed your students, Aldric. Betrayed the academy, and betrayed every principle you once claimed to uphold. I would've thought even a man like you would know better."

He let out a strained laugh, his voice tainted with defiance despite the pressure that was crushing him. "They're nothing but children—arrogant, ungrateful children. All of you are. I merely found something… more rewarding."

Lady Cerys took a step closer, and with it, the force intensified, forcing him down even further. "Rewarding, you say? Then you won't mind losing everything for it."

Aldric snarled, dark energy swirling around him as he struggled against the oppressive gravity. But Cerys clenched her hand into a fist, and the energy dissipated, as if crushed under an invisible weight. He cried out in frustration, his face contorted in fury as he tried to rise, but it was no use.

Selene, standing with her sword clenched in a white-knuckled grip, dared to step closer, her voice shaking with a mixture of anger and betrayal. "You… you were supposed to be our teacher," she whispered, her words barely audible, but laced with raw emotion. "How could you do this?"

Aldric's eyes flashed with disdain as he managed a strangled laugh. "Teachers, students… such naive notions. Power, Princess Selene—power is the only truth. You'll understand one day. Or perhaps," he sneered, "you won't live long enough to."

Cerys moved her hand slightly, and the crushing weight grew, pinning him so thoroughly he could barely move. She leaned in, her eyes hard as flint. "There will be no redemption for you, Aldric. Only punishment."

And with that, she intensified the gravity once more, silencing him as he choked, the pressure forcing him fully to the ground.

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A strangled chuckle escaped Aldric's lips, bubbling up into full-blown laughter. The sound was harsh and grating, filled with unbridled malice. Slowly, despite the force pressing down on him, he straightened, his eyes gleaming with something dark and terrible. His own magic flared, a dark, crackling aura that surrounded him, distorting the air around him. He stood fully upright, his gaze locked onto Lady Cerys as he sneered, seeming to relish her look of surprise.

"You really thought you could hold me, Cerys?" His voice was laced with venom, yet calm, almost taunting. "The world has moved beyond you, old friend. Power—real power—has no bounds. No principles. Only growth." His magic intensified, rippling like a storm as a dark, jagged crest appeared above him, symbolizing his lord rank.

Lady Cerys's expression hardened, her eyes narrowing as she recognized the depths of his strength, and the horrifying reality of how far he had fallen. She quickly turned her gaze to Selene, her voice tight but urgent. "Selene, take Aisha and go. Now."

Selene hesitated, her gaze darting between Cerys and Aldric, her heart pounding as dread twisted in her stomach. "But, Lady Cerys, we can't just—"

"Selene." Lady Cerys's voice was firm, a motherly warmth underlying the urgency in her tone. "You need to protect your friend. I'll hold him off, but you have to get out of here. Go and find the others, warn them. And remember—your lives are more important than anything else."

Aisha's hand clamped down on Selene's arm, her grip trembling. "Selene… we need to listen. If we stay, we're just going to be in her way."

Swallowing hard, Selene gave a single, reluctant nod. Her heart ached at the thought of leaving Lady Cerys behind, but she knew it was the only way to allow her the chance to fight Aldric with everything she had. "Alright," she whispered, her voice barely steady. She looked up, meeting Lady Cerys's gaze with fierce resolve. "We'll go. But… please, stay safe."

Cerys gave her a faint, reassuring smile, her voice softening for just a moment. "Go now. And remember, strength comes in many forms. Keep each other safe."

As Selene and Aisha disappeared into the shadows, Lady Cerys exhaled, her focus narrowing entirely on Aldric. The air around her crackled with restrained power, gravity thickening with her resolve. Aldric's mocking laughter grated against her ears, but she forced herself to remain calm, her expression cold and unyielding.

The moment the girls were out of sight, she let her control slip just slightly, intensifying the gravitational force around Aldric until even the stone beneath him cracked and buckled. He staggered slightly, his face contorting in anger as he fought to stay upright.

"Oh, finally letting go, are we?" he sneered, his voice thick with disdain. "Did you really think sending them away would change anything?"

"You have no idea what I'm capable of," Cerys replied, her voice steady and unwavering. "Your treachery ends here, Aldric."

A flicker of amusement crossed his face, twisted by a dark satisfaction. "Treachery? Hardly. I've simply outgrown the childish constraints of this academy." His magic flared again, tendrils of dark energy reaching outward like claws, pushing back against the crushing weight of her gravity magic. "This place was nothing but a prison—limiting, binding, wasting my potential on teaching ungrateful whelps."

With a swift gesture, Lady Cerys tightened her grip on the surrounding air, compressing it around him with such force that his movements slowed. His expression faltered for a moment, a flash of frustration flickering in his eyes.

"Keep talking, Aldric," she said, her tone like ice. "It only gives me more reason to crush you."

Aldric's sneer deepened, his body trembling as he mustered every ounce of his power to resist her gravitational force. His aura flared, growing larger and more oppressive, dark tendrils of his magic crackling and writhing as he forced himself to straighten. He raised his hand, black energy coalescing into a spear-like shape aimed directly at Cerys.

"Let's see you withstand this," he spat, thrusting the spear of darkness toward her.

Lady Cerys braced herself, raising a hand as a wave of force met the spear mid-air. The impact resonated through the arena, sending shockwaves that shattered nearby stones and sent loose debris flying. The sheer intensity of his dark energy left trails of shadow hanging in the air, but Cerys's defenses held firm, absorbing and dissipating the attack.

"Pathetic," she muttered, her gaze piercing as she advanced toward him, each step carrying an overwhelming weight. "For all your newfound power, you're still nothing more than a coward hiding behind forces you don't understand."

Aldric's face twisted with rage, and he lashed out again, summoning dark tendrils that shot forward, twisting and writhing like serpents. They slithered toward her, seeking any vulnerability. But with a flick of her fingers, Cerys redirected the gravitational field, and the tendrils collapsed, dissolving under the crushing pressure.

"Is this it?" she challenged, her tone mocking as she took another deliberate step forward, unrelenting. "You traded your integrity, your honor, your humanity—and for what? Power that bends as easily as straw?"

"Silence!" he roared, a shockwave of dark energy erupting from him, forcing her to brace herself as the force pressed against her, forcing her back a few steps. Aldric took advantage of her momentary stagger, his magic pulsing around him as he lunged forward, darkness swirling in his hand, coalescing into a jagged blade of shadow.

Cerys sidestepped his strike, her movements precise and controlled. She allowed herself a faint smile as she brought her hand up, summoning a gravitational field that caught his blade, bending the shadows and warping the space around it. The blade buckled and shattered, dissipating into wisps of darkness.

Aldric's eyes widened with frustration and disbelief. "Why won't you fall?" he hissed, voice thick with venom.

"Because unlike you, Aldric, I stand on something far stronger than greed," she said, her voice laced with disdain. "Duty. Honor. The very things you scorned."

He scowled, his features twisted with malice. "Duty, honor… empty words to the weak. There's only one truth in this world—power. And soon, I'll show you what true power looks like."

Aldric gathered his energy, his dark aura swelling until it encased him entirely, distorting the air around him. The sheer magnitude of his magic began to warp reality itself, his power climbing to monstrous levels. He laughed, a manic gleam in his eyes as he raised his hands, directing a torrent of darkness toward Cerys.

Cerys's face remained impassive, but her eyes sharpened with a fierce resolve. She concentrated, summoning her magic in full force, and the gravity around them became nearly unbearable, condensing until the very air quivered with tension. With a sweeping motion, she redirected the gravity field to create a massive shield, absorbing the wave of darkness as it crashed against her.

"Enough of your theatrics, Aldric," she said, her voice ringing with authority. "You've fallen so far that you can't even see what you've become—a slave to your own ambition."

Fury contorted his features as he lashed out, his attacks wild and desperate, each one meeting her barriers and dissipating in a clash of light and shadow. Aldric's movements became erratic, his frustration mounting as Cerys met him strike for strike, blocking and countering every attempt with relentless precision.

And then, with a final, resounding clash, Lady Cerys broke through his defenses. She raised her hand, summoning a vortex of gravity that caught him in its pull, immobilizing him mid-air as he struggled, helpless and furious.

"This is the end, Aldric," she said, her voice low and unyielding, each word weighted with finality.

But Aldric's eyes gleamed, his frustration shifting into a cunning smile just before the vortex collapsed. Just as she believed victory was within her grasp, Aldric let himself fall with the pull of the vortex, aiming his body in a rapid descent. The momentum let him feint defeat before he directed a shadow blade directly at Cerys's side in a final, vicious thrust. She gasped, twisting just in time to deflect it away from her heart but feeling the searing bite of darkness as it cut into her flesh.

Cerys staggered, one hand pressed against the wound, her gaze locked onto Aldric, realization dawning in her eyes at his ploy.