CHAPTER TEN: YOUR PAIN IS YOUR POWER

Jayden's body trembled as the monstrous demon rose before him—twice the size of any he'd faced. Its body was molten black, pulsing like lava beneath cracked skin. Its head was horned and crowned with runes that glowed with cursed light. A Demonic Elite, far beyond his current level.

[SYSTEM ALERT: "DANGER LEVEL: OMEGA. Retreat advised."]

Jayden didn't move.

"I...can't stop now..." he muttered through gritted teeth, blood dripping from his lips.

The demon's roar was like thunder. It charged. Jayden barely managed to leap aside. Even midair, the shockwave sent him spinning violently into a nearby pillar.

CRACK!

Ribs shattered. His vision blurred.

[SYSTEM WARNING: Vital signs dropping. Internal damage critical. Blood reserves at 18%.]

Jayden coughed violently, blood splashing his mask from the inside. His claws shook in his hands. He activated Shadow Step again, just narrowly avoiding a crushing stomp. But the delay cost him.

The demon spun and backhanded him straight across the courtyard.

[SYSTEM CRITICAL: "You are dying."]

Jayden rolled, tumbled—and didn't rise.

His legs wouldn't move.

His breathing slowed. His body was broken. His mind barely holding on. But through the haze of death, he saw them—Clara and Allan, surrounded by other students, cowering behind a weak barrier. The demon shifted toward them, ignoring Jayden now, seeing him as no threat.

"No... I won't... let it..."

He tried to crawl, tried to lift his hand—

[SYSTEM ALERT: "Manual Override Detected… Activating Final Burst Mode… at cost of consciousness."]

Jayden roared, surging forward in a blind leap, all strength pulled from his final reserves.

Claws blazing red. Heart in overdrive. Bones snapping with every motion.

But—

The demon's tail whipped around and impaled him mid-air.

SPLURT.

Blood exploded from Jayden's back. Time seemed to slow. Clara screamed—though she couldn't recognize the masked figure. Jayden's body hung suspended, twitching.

[SYSTEM ERROR: SYSTEM COMPROMISED. SHUTTING DOWN.]

Then—

BOOOOOOM!!!

A golden shockwave tore through the battlefield.

The air split open.

A figure dropped from the sky, wrapped in a long obsidian cloak etched with gold. A radiant halo-like ring hovered behind him—spinning like a blade.

The demon turned, only to be annihilated by a golden spear that flew through its skull and imploded it from the inside out.

The figure landed without a sound. His golden eyes scanned the wreckage. The symbol on his shoulder gleamed—

[GOLDEN CIRCLE: RANK - TITAN]

The upper rank member raised his hand. Holy light surged and collapsed the battlefield into calm. A golden dome sealed off the area, and in seconds, all remaining demons were wiped clean with divine precision.

Silence fell. Students stared in awe.

Clara sobbed into Allan's chest.

But by the time the dust cleared...

Jayden's body was gone.

No blood trail. No broken mask. Just the faint shimmer of shadows, and a cracked claw mark etched into stone.

[SYSTEM MESSAGE: "You live… but not without cost. Your pain is your power."]

Smoke curled above the shattered university grounds. Blood painted the tiles like art from war. Cracks ran through the very earth, and the air buzzed with the static of fading magic.

The battle was won.

But the cost?

Still unknown.

Clara sat on a broken stairwell, her legs trembling. Her hair was singed, and her uniform was torn and smeared with ash and dried blood. Her hands shook as she stared blankly ahead, lips parted in a whisper.

Allan dropped beside her, clutching a wound on his shoulder. His jacket was nearly shredded, and his eyes carried that same haunted glaze.

He reached out, resting a hand on her back. She flinched… then leaned into his chest without a word. He wrapped his arms around her tightly.

Clara whispered, voice barely there, "Who… was that?"

Allan closed his eyes, face grim. "I don't know. But he saved us. Whoever he was... he almost died doing it."

She pulled away just enough to meet his eyes. "Why does that feel familiar?" Her voice cracked. "The way he moved… like he was protecting me. Like he—"

She stopped herself.

Allan looked away, jaw tightening. "He didn't even scream when that tail went through him."

A beat of silence passed. Clara clutched her chest.

"I want to find him," she whispered. "I want to thank him."

Allan didn't respond. But he squeezed her hand tighter.

Elsewhere…

Within the Golden Circle's High Council Chamber, a projection replayed the last few seconds of battle. The masked figure—bleeding, wild, broken—launching himself at the demon with suicidal courage.

"Pause," ordered a deep, commanding voice.

The screen froze.

A tall man in golden armor leaned forward, one glowing eye scanning the image. "He's not registered in our database," he muttered. "Not one of ours."

Another council member frowned. "Reckless. Powerful. Suicidal. Definitely not trained… but that speed—those claws... he's evolving."

"Too fast for someone unaffiliated," another chimed in. "That mask. That raw bloodlust. He's dangerous."

The man in armor narrowed his eyes.

"Find him."

Meanwhile…

Jayden lay motionless in an alley far from the battlegrounds. His cloak was torn, his mask cracked. He coughed, blood slipping from his lips, the world around him spinning.

He forced himself to sit against a wall, gasping, shivering. His body screamed in pain.

Then the voice came.

[SYSTEM ALERT: BLOOD RESERVES – 0%][ALL ABILITIES LOCKED UNTIL REPLENISHED.][NEED. MORE. BLOOD.]

Jayden's vision darkened. He clenched his fist.

He wasn't done yet.

But he was closer to death than he'd ever been.