Chapter CXXXII - Agonizing Betrayal (part 2)

BZZZTTTT!!!!!!!!!!

The first to strike is the Knight tier lightning magic casted by one of the adult demons, a brilliant blue lightning worth thousands of volts. I could barely dodge that one by jumping away, but it managed to graze a little bit of my left foot. As a result, my foot felt extremely numb from just a little graze.

"Tch! Lemillia, stop this!!!!"

She is listening to me, but she is not looking. She cared, but she had something else on her mind.

Something… more important than me.

Then it finally came to my head. The realization.

She was never being controlled.

She purposely… betrayed me.

"Piece of shit!!!"

I began my move, but the demon mages around me immediately noticed.

BARR!!!

A giant fireball came this time, and I was able to dodge it since it was rather slow. But, more magic one after another came at me, and those aren't exactly some second rate magic attacks.

Those are the kind that can put class A's magic to laugh. More powerful than class E's magic. Hell, that magic can put the professional mages of Xyphon to dust.

These people... Without a doubt, they are demons.

I can't… without magic, I can't fight them…

Help… I need help…

Surely, everyone must have heard the explosions, right? 

Help me, please!! 

Anyone…!!!

"Surely anyone must have heard the explosions… Is what you were thinking, right?"

The man suddenly spoke while I was busy dodging. I was quite shocked when he read my mind like that, but then he lifted his hands up and took down the illusion dome. And thanks to the illusion dome down, I can see everything outside…

My eyes… has never been wider.

The once bright orange-light blue skies where white clouds were covering the top, had turned black and red from all the smoke and flames coming from the academy. 

The sun is nowhere to be seen anymore thanks to all the smoke coming out from the burning buildings. Now that the illusion dome is gone, I can hear the explosions and screams coming from the back court, where all the events are going on.

BOOOM!!!!!

Everyone… is also fighting…

BAAAARRRRRR!!!!!!

Possibly… not winning…

"N-No!!!"

Anger and hatred immediately burned within me as I made my way towards the demons in front of me. 

The old man stepped forward and tried to attack me with his sword, but I am far stronger in terms of close combat. I ducked and kicked away his sword, then I dodged his punch and managed to grab the sword by the hilt using my hands.

I turned around and tried slicing the man using his own sword, but something struck my back.

BLAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Ghahakk!!!!--"

Now, I can't move.

It didn't take long until the demons on my left reacted, and they fired their most powerful magic attacks at me while I was stunned.

BAAAAAAAARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!

My body didn't get thrown from the explosion. It ended up laying down, with whatever is left at the bottom of the crater.

Fortunately for me, my body is just as strong as a dragon. Not even their strongest magic strikes can destroy me, but it was definitely enough to kill me.

But still… that was painful...

By the time I reopened my eyes, I can feel my ears slowly recover its ability to hear. Thunderous claps can be heard from the skies above me, right after it dropped down a lightning strike at me.

No… it didn't come from the demons on my left…

Lemillia. She shot me using a lightning strike she conjured from the sky… right when I was about to slice that old demon. 

She used her knowledge that I taught her against me…

"… Even--Ghahakk!!!... Even though we trained together…...!!!

For this long...!! Even though I helped you become stronger...!!!"

I coughed blood mid-sentence, which was incredibly painful. I slowly lifted my body back up without minding much of the pain. 

Surely, the pain is unbearable. I wish I'd just die right now.

But, I can hear explosions and screams coming from the distance… from the direction of the academy. 

Pain can be felt all over my entire body from the lightning strike, making me wish I just died… 

However, my anger is nowhere near close to accepting the pain.

I glared at the opponents with all my hatred directed at them. Seeing the glint on my eyes, the demons became extremely shocked.

Lemillia specifically, I can see the guilt in her eyes.

"Even though we spent our moments together, Lemillia!! Was all that time we… we all went through… were fake…!?"

I shouted with all the blood still in my throat, rendering my voice to go slightly throttled. My voice even turned battered on the third sentence, but I didn't care.

Unfortunately, Lemillia does not want to argue.

"We were never friends."

She said coldly as she lifted her hands again and pointed them towards me. But the way she said it… I can almost feel it.

The feeling of regret.

Traces of lightning can be seen cladding her entire hand as a lightning strike came out of it and struck me.

BARRR!!!!

"GAAAHHKKKK---!!!!!"

I screamed in pain as the horizontal thunder strike burned and stunned my whole body. My body fell to the ground, powerless and smoking. 

Everyone out there is being massacred, but here I am being toyed around by my own friend.

Why am I so weak…?

Everyone is being killed out there… get up… this pain is nothing…

I slowly lifted my body back up again. I am not giving up…

"Why can't you just stay down!? I don't wish to kill you!!"

Lemillia said loudly at me as she charged another powerful attack. I turned my eyes using what energy was left within my body at her and grinned.

I knew it… she is regretting this, after all...

"I can't do that... After all, we all have a dream to catch... right...?"

I recalled the little conversation we had on that ugly carriage that day. Saying that caught her off guard, because she ended up remembering too.

I took this chance and began running forward like a madman bathed in blood and wounds. Obviously, my speed was nowhere near fast enough to dodge even the slowest fireball. 

And that is exactly what happened.

BAAAAAARRRRRR!!!!!!!

An explosion occurred on my feet, and my body got caught dead center in the explosion. One of her friends fired a single green fireball at my foot, and the explosion propelled me towards the dormitory building. 

BRUKK!!!!

I crashed into the building without any friction. My body punched through the wall so easily, and bricks fell down from the wall I just made from crashing into it.

Seeing me getting buried behind the bricks was quite satisfying, but the demons are not stopping there.

"I had enough of this. Kill her."

"No, wait!!"

The other hooded demons then moved closer and pointed their wands at the hole I just made. They all casted some insanely powerful magic at the hole on the girls dormitory wall and fired.

"Stopp!!!!"

Lemillia tried to tell them to stop, but they simply did not hear her. They knew that I am dangerous, and I must not be kept alive. She cried, because this level of explosion would simply overkill me.

But… they fired anyway.

BAAARRRR!!!!

BLAAARRR!!!!!!

VWOOOMMMMM!!!!!!!!!

The explosions were combined into an insanely powerful blast that collapsed the whole building. It was rather close to them, but one of them casted a protection barrier to protect themselves from the explosion and from the dust.

After the explosion, dust envelopes the entire rubbles that was a simple dormitory building, while my body is somewhere underneath those bricks.

"Heh. Too bad there's no one in the building…"

Lemillia's uncle jokes, and he turns towards the other demons.

"There we go! Now, for one more threat..."

The man turned towards the back field, and a hooded person landed right in front of them. The person is also a demon, and it seems like he is from another demon group.

"Reporting, sir. The son of the arch-mage has been lured out of the academy."

"Excellent! We are done here too. Then, we can proceed with the release."

"Yes, sir. I will notify the Commander that you have finished the mission."

The newly arrived demon then leaped away again like the wind and disappeared. The man turned to Lemillia and patted her shoulder.

"It would seem that you also have grown attached to the human, Althoria... As a demon, you know we can't do that."

"She… had a dream too... and I'm sure it's a very important one."

"Then her dream can be your dream, could it not?"

"... I don't know what her dream is."

"Ah... Then just forget about it. Think of her dream as... something like making you the strongest. She did train you, didn't she?"

"... If you say so, Uncle."

Lemillia then turned around and followed her uncle and the other demons away. As she walked, she recalled all the memories she had with the people in this academy… specifically with the person she just killed.

However…

VWOOOOOMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Before they were able to walk far from the spot, before anyone was able to leave… a heavy bloodlust quickly envelopes the air. 

The air became extremely heavy, suffocating even the strongest demon in the area.

The entire academy is shaking, and the source of it all came from a single spot.

One… where they thought the person had died.

"… T-That's… not possible... We cuffed her with the anti-magic handcuff..."

Lemillia/Althoria mumbles as sweat slowly rolls down her forehead. The male demon who seemed to be her uncle was quick to realize how dangerous this pressure is, and he then quickly shouted to all the other demons.

"Everyone!! Take positions!! All of you, come here!!!"

He then shouted at the demons who were on standby at the back court, guarding the academy's hostages, to come and aid him to fight whatever is emitting this pressure.

All the demons came and prepared a stance as they silently watched the rubbles of the female dormitory building. Some of them prepared magic attacks so that they could immediately cast it when the target showed up.

Right in the middle of the rubbles, a brick slowly moved. 

No, it floats.

Not just a brick… but every single brick and giant rubbles that was once the female dormitory building is slowly floating up. More and more… until it's every single building piece.

VWOOOOOM!!!!!!

The pressure was so strong, that even the bricks and rubbles from the building floated in the air.

Aside from the bricks, a single darkened silhouette also appeared right at the center of all this. The long red hair is waving around maniacally due to the insane tension in the air, and her black and red eyes are slowly being opened. Sparks of black lightning can be seen surrounding her entire body and area, which everyone guessed to be a form of evil magic energy.

The moment the black and red eyes were opened completely, every single demon that was standing lost their strengths.

BOOOMM!!!!

The bloodlust… The rage… The presence…

Previously, the demons had prepared a magic attack to fire when something happened. But the moment they saw the black red eyes, they lost all will to live. They released the magic attacks unconsciously, and it disappeared into thin air. Some even fall to their knees knowing how powerless they are.

The silhouette lifted her hands up, showing the magic handcuff that was cuffing her hands. 

Without much effort, she broke the handcuff with just her wrists, and the entire world once again knows fear.

As the pieces fell to the floor, there was no other sound.

Everyone heard it… Loud and clear.

PRANGGGG!!!!!

My strength… has returned.