Chapter 101: Not as planned

A meteor of flesh streaked across the sky. Beatrice laughed, a sound like nails scraping slate. She pierced the canopy of the forest with barely a rustle, her claws gouging smoking gashes into the trees. Her eyes scanned the wreckage for her quarry.

"Took you long enough, dear Professor," she sneered, her voice seeming to send shivers down the very trunks of the forest. Below, Professor Fergus materialized in a burst of crackling energy. His thick frame was now robed in a shimmering field of magical reinforcement.

"Oh, quiet, ya harpy," he rumbled, his voice deep and even. He didn't bother with pleasantries. He never did. He launched himself at her, a human battering ram propelled by crude but powerful fortification magic. Beatrice, bored before the fight even began, flicked a wrist, and a shimmering barrier of translucent mana materialized in front of her. Fergus' fist, the size of a melon, met the barrier with a sickening crunch. The forest floor trembled as the barrier cracked under the force, spiderwebbing outwards before dissipating.

Beatrice giggled, a cruel tinkling sound. "Oh, how quaint," she mocked. "Is that all you've got, Professor? Is that how you defend the poor souls that you call students?"

Fergus ignored her. He might have been a scholar, but his fists were his first defense when dealing with the denizens of the abyss, or hell as you could call it. He roared and charged again. This time, Beatrice wasn't playing. Her hands snapped upwards, and two bolts of inky darkness erupted from the clouds above. They snaked towards Fergus at impossible speeds, leaving trails of burnt ozone in their wake. He reacted with surprising agility for his size, throwing himself sideways as the lightning struck.

It ripped into the forest floor, leaving a crater that smoldered with an unnatural purple glow. Beatrice cackled, her voice echoing through the ruined woods. With a snap of her fingers, she vanished. Fergus, however, was already moving. He pivoted, his eyes scanning the battlefield. There! She was materializing a few yards away, a cruel smile plastered on her face. Before he could react, her hands moved once more, and a monstrous hurricane of dark fire roared into life. Tendrils of black flame lashed through the air, devouring trees whole and turning the once pristine forest into a blazing hell. The heat was so intense that the air shimmered, and even Fergus, with his magical reinforcements, felt his skin charring.

"Amateurish," Beatrice taunted, her voice barely audible over the inferno's roar. "You remind me of poor Arne. All brute force and no finesse. At least he knows how to put on a show…" she trailed off, her smile faltering slightly. Fergus ignored her, focusing entirely on the inferno that threatened to consume him. His face remained a mask of stoicism, but beneath the surface, his mind raced. He needed to get close enough to land a blow. Brute force wouldn't be enough against someone who could conjure elemental storms at will. He gritted his teeth and channeled raw magical energy into his defenses, strengthening his ward tenfold.

With a grunt, he pushed forward, walking into the heart of the inferno. The flames licked at him, scorching his clothes and leaving his skin smoking, but he pressed on. Beatrice watched, amusement flickering in her eyes.

"Just like Arne," she murmured, a hint of disappointment tingeing her voice. "But it will be useless…" The fire parted abruptly as a massive fist emerged from the flames, the mana ward shimmering faintly around it. The sight seemed to momentarily stun Beatrice. Fergus, his face one of grim determination, launched a haymaker towards her face. She reacted just in time, throwing herself backwards as his fist smashed into the ground with a force that sent shockwaves rippling through the forest floor. The inferno dissipated with a hiss, leaving behind a crater just as impressive as the one left by the lightning.

Beatrice materialized a dozen feet away, levitating gracefully in the air. Five blades of pure mana materialized around her, each one the size of a broadsword and flickering with a malevolent blue light. With a flick of her wrist, she sent them hurtling towards Fergus. They moved with blinding speed, tearing through the air with a loud wail. Fergus rolled under the first blade, just as it sliced through the air where his head was moments before. With a powerful swipe of his arm, he deflected the second, the impact sending sparks flying. He ducked under the third, the fourth barely missing his shoulder. His reflexes, honed from years of fending off threats and being in multiple wars, were on full display.

The final blade came hurtling towards him, a killing blow aimed at his heart. Fergus spun, bringing his reinforced forearm up in a desperate block. The blade met his arm with a sickening crack, the force throwing him several feet back. He landed hard, the impact jarring his bones, but he rose to his feet almost immediately, a scowl etched on his face.

Beatrice hovered in the air, a cruel smile plastered on her face. "Impressive, Professor," she taunted, her voice dripping with sadistic amusement. "But can you keep this up? Arne would be able to do so much mor-" She cut herself off, a flicker of annoyance crossing her face. A faint sound, almost imperceptible over the crackling fire, reached her ears. It was the sound of pained yells, coming from deeper within the forest. Beatrice's smile widened.

"What's that?" Fergus growled, his voice strained but steady. He knew what it was, of course. His students. Beatrice's demons were no doubt toying with them, inflicting pain for their own twisted enjoyment.

Beatrice's eyes narrowed. "Dear Arne seems to be… warming up your little protégés, Professor. Don't worry, they'll… endure." Her voice held a malicious edge, but a sliver of excitement peeked through. A subtle change flickered across Fergus's face. It wasn't fear, but a cold, steely resolve.

"I'll finish this, you damned demon," he said, his voice gravelly. "Now." The playful demeanor finally vanished from Beatrice's face. The games were over. She raised her hands, darkness swirling around them, and a monstrous entity began to form – a writhing mass of shadow and claws, its hunger palpable even from a distance. A creature of pure malice, a harbinger of annihilation. Fergus met her gaze, his own eyes glowing with his mana. Seems the Professor was not needed here anymore. In this moment, he was a warrior with a guttural roar, he charged, channeling every ounce of his magic into his fist.

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"Well, this is not how I expected this to go," Adrian mused, leaping backward as the demon's large fist collided with the ground before him, kicking up chunks of ground that shot out as a shockwave followed. He glanced at the form of Ruby, her arm mangled with blood coating it. William was haphazardly applying healing magic with an exhausted Juliana slumped down next to him.

The earth itself seemed to quake under its immense weight. Adrian barely dodged the monstrous fist that whistled past his head, creating a sickening crack as it slammed into the ground. The impact sent a shockwave through the forest once more, uprooting oaks and turning the lush green carpet beneath their feet into a crater of churned earth.

Adrian thrust his hand forward, the air crackling with malevolent energy as he channeled his magic. A jagged tear ripped through the fabric of reality, spewing forth a chorus of sound and swirling mists. Emerging from the tear were five hulking demon hounds, their forms coalescing from the very essence of chaos. Each hound was the size of a bear, their obsidian fur rippling with an unnatural glow, their eyes burning embers in the light.

("Hmm, I didn't want it to escalate this far, but it can't be helped, I guess. I'll use a stronger demon to finish this Chaosmaw.") With a simple mental command, he ordered his hounds to attack.

With a guttural snarl, the demon hounds launched themselves at the colossal demon. Two of them unleashed a torrent of black fire, the flames roaring towards the monstrosity. The flames licked at the obsidian flesh, scorching and hissing, but leaving little lasting damage. The demon, impervious to the attack, simply roared in annoyance and swatted the hounds away with an open palm. They were sent sprawling, tumbling through the debris of the forest, whimpering in pain.

Another hound, its maw dripping with a viscous black ichor, lunged for the demon's heel, its teeth snapping shut with a bone-chilling crack. The monstrous foot slammed down, crushing the demon hound into a grotesque mash of fur and bone. The remaining two hounds, emboldened by a desperate ferocity, charged the demon head-on, their fangs bared in a challenge. With a horrifying snarl, the demon grabbed them both in its massive hands, and with a sickening crunch, they were reduced to a crimson spray misting the air.

Adrian watched with little emotion; he was not expecting the assault to do anything in the first place. The colossal demon turned its gaze back on him, a dark smile pulling at its lipless maw.

With another simple gesture, Adrian raised his hand, the air around him shimmering as he channeled his summon. The forest floor itself seemed to groan under the immense strain. Then, with a deafening crack, a tear ripped through reality, spewing forth a monstrous being. This demon wasn't a hulking brute he'd summoned before. It was a wraith-like creature, its form wispy and insubstantial, cloaked in a shroud of swirling purple mist. Its eyes, two burning orbs of red, locked onto the larger demon for a fleeting instant before it vanished into thin air.

He watched as ethereal chains materialized around the colossal demon, binding its enormous limbs and torso. The beast roared in fury, the sound a tremor that shook the very ground beneath their feet. It thrashed against the chains, but they held firm.

"Perfect, too strong for subjugation it seems. But oh well," Adrian mused, envisioning a towering, nightmarish creature, its claws dripping with ichor, its maw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth. He poured his will into the summoning, channeling pure despair and desperation into the raw magic.

But before the final demon could manifest, a sickening thud echoed through the forest. Adrian whipped his head around. Professor Fergus, hurled through the air like a ragdoll, slammed into a massive oak, sending leaves and debris flying. Beside him, a figure materialized – a woman, her beauty marred by a sneer and eyes that burned with an infernal glow.

"Professor?" Adrian questioned.

Beatrice snapped her fingers, a dismissive gesture, mana pulsing. The ethereal chains binding the larger demon vanished with a snap.

Beatrice's gaze fell on Adrian, her amusement clear. "A peculiar child," she said, her voice a rasping whisper. "Playing with demons. How quaint." Her eyes then flicked to Professor Fergus, who rose to his feet with a groan, brushing dirt from his form. "Ah, Professor. Just in time for the finale."

Professor Fergus met Beatrice's gaze with a stoic expression. "Hah! This ain't over yet, ya harlot!," he rumbled.

Adrian sighed in annoyance; he could manage one Chaosmaw, but two would be too much even if he had assistance.

("Though I suppose I could always summon it, but that would just kill me as well. Though I can hold them off long enough for Juliana, Ruby, and William to get to safety…")

Beatrice let out a sharp laugh, the sound echoing through the ravaged forest. "Then prepare yourselves for a most unpleasant surprise."

The battle lines were drawn. Adrian stood beside the weathered Professor Fergus. On the other side, the monstrous demon twitched in anticipation, and Beatrice, a cruel smile twisting her lips, reveled in the coming destruction.

"Can ya still fight, brat?" The professor asked, more enhancement magic coating his form.

"Of course, Professor." Several tears broke through reality as if it were mere glass, numerous demons peeking out.