The God Of Destruction's Academy Life

Outside the forest, every professor present had begun readying their attacks. Several had gathered together, working in tandem to build a single combined assault, while other department heads and senior professors prepared their own individual spells. Eric was no exception. His focus remained locked on the barrier before him, and just then, something on the screen caught his eye. What he saw filled him with a mixture of rage and guilt.

On the screen, he watched Xath’rael cut five students clean in half in a single motion. The moment he saw it, he could no longer hold himself back. In an instant, he shot up into the sky, hovering above, staring down at the barrier below him.

This barrier was the only thing keeping him from doing anything, and he was being forced to watch his students die right in front of him. And this was only the beginning. He had no idea how much longer they could hold out against that thing. Once he’d heard exactly what it was and what it was capable of, he understood immediately, if it wasn’t dealt with quickly, no one would be able to stop it, even if they managed to break through the barrier.

Hovering there in the sky, he took in his surroundings. The entire sky had taken on that unnatural red hue, and across the whole area, there wasn’t a single breath of wind, as though the wind itself had fled somewhere far away, refusing to come near this place. Below him, the pitch-black barrier looked like a grave beneath that crimson sky, filled with countless bodies. And inside it lurked something that could claw its way out of that grave at any moment, something whose name now sat lodged in his mind. Xath’rael, the Beast of the Crimson Void.

This wasn’t some ordinary monster. It was a Rank Nine abomination, one that every person in the empire knew of by name, referenced throughout countless legends. A beast capable of shifting its own form, with power that seemed to know no limit. It could wield every element except lightning, was as skilled with a blade as it was with magic, and possessed no known weakness whatsoever. It was the kind of nightmare that even gods once feared. And the most terrifying thing about it wasn’t its magic, nor its swordsmanship, it was the way its strength grew without any apparent ceiling.

The more significant a being it killed, the stronger it became. That single trait was the reason nothing could stand against it for long, because the more important the beings it slaughtered, regardless of species, the more its power surged, until eventually nothing could oppose it any longer, not even a Rank Ten being. That was why, in ages past, the gods themselves had been forced to descend and confront it directly, and even then, only after a massive, brutal war were they finally able to bring it down.

The more Eric turned it over in his mind, the deeper his dread grew, and the clearer the Death Order’s true plan became to him. Their real objective in attacking the academy wasn’t the students in general, it was the influential heirs enrolled there. This year’s class included the children of nearly every major family in the empire, giving them far greater significance than ordinary people. If this thing managed to kill them now, its power would surge to levels beyond anything they could hope to contain.

And the single most important student among them all was Elizabeth, both the princess of this empire and the next attendant to the Great One. Her significance outweighed even that of the professors standing here. If Xath’rael managed to kill her, its power would grow so immense that even the Demon King, the Dragon King, and Lady Catherine combined would stand no chance against it. The only way to survive this was to kill it before it could kill the rest of the students. If that failed, there would be no one left in the world capable of stopping it, no one except Lord Necrotize.

But no matter how much faith Eric wanted to place in him, he couldn’t bring himself to trust completely. He had no way of knowing whether an ancient origin would truly step in to help with something like this. Thirty thousand years ago, Necrotize hadn’t lifted a finger to help anyone, nearly ninety percent of the world’s population had died in that catastrophe, and he had done nothing but watch it all unfold.

And if he chose to do the same thing now, none of them would survive this. They had to rely on themselves. They couldn’t afford to place their faith entirely in anyone else. Turning these thoughts over in his mind, Eric raised one hand into the air. The instant he did, a deep red light began to glow around it, and a strange radiance spread out from his entire body, scattering aura of shifting colors in every direction.

The moment that red light flared to life, a massive magic circle formed over the entire forest below, so vast that it covered the whole hundred-kilometer barrier sealing off the woods. And it didn’t stop there, one after another, more magic circles began forming atop it, until nearly a hundred had layered together, each etched with strange patterns and unique incantations.

Once every circle had fully formed, they began glowing one after another, until finally all of them merged into a single, unified structure. As they merged, a brilliant black light poured outward from the combined circle. Eric lowered his raised hand, pointing it directly at the barrier below.

"Hellfire Tempest."

The instant he spoke the words, a massive storm of black fire erupted from within the magic circle and slammed into the barrier. The moment the attack made contact, the entire forest and the academy grounds shook violently, and the whole barrier vanished into a raging sea of black fire.

The colossal black flames completely engulfed the barrier.

The moment the Hellfire Tempest fully formed, it stretched from the scorched earth all the way up into the sky, forming a raging infernal tornado. The heat radiating from it was apocalyptic, capable of melting steel like ice in seconds. Even standing near the barrier was suicidal.

The professors who had been outside the barrier immediately retreated, their faces pale. Their clothes were already disintegrating from the sheer thermal pressure, fabric melting and peeling away. Worse, they could feel the unholy heat piercing straight through their bodies, reaching into their very souls.

A few of them couldn’t help but stare in awe despite the dire situation.

Hellfire Tempest.

A Rank Nine spell. One of Eric Zeldigor’s strongest techniques. They had only read about it in ancient texts and heard terrifying legends. A single casting of this spell could erase an entire city from the map in moments.

The black flames roared for a full ten seconds before gradually losing intensity. Slowly, the massive inferno shrank and finally extinguished.

When the smoke and residual heat cleared, the professors froze in stunned silence.

The barrier... was completely untouched.

Not a single crack. Not even a scratch. It stood there as pristine and impenetrable as before, mocking their desperate hopes.

A wave of despair washed over the group. Several professors lowered their heads, the fight draining from their eyes. If even Lord Eric’s strongest attack couldn’t leave a mark... what chance did they have? A Rank 10 barrier was on an entirely different level.

Ronald’s jaw tightened, teeth grinding audibly. He refused to accept it. He wasn’t the type to give up just because the odds looked impossible. With a sharp motion, he drew the sword from his waist.

A blazing red aura exploded from his body. The sword in his right hand began absorbing that same crimson power. Seven glowing red stars materialized and spun rapidly around him. The blade, once gleaming silver, transformed into a burning crimson as meteoric flames swirled along its edge.

Ronald stepped forward until he stood directly before the barrier. He planted his feet, shifted his stance, and gripped the sword with both hands.

"Imperial Style, First Sword, Fire Variant:

Blazing Descending Meteorite!"

He raised the blade high and brought it down in a devastating overhead strike. The impact shook the entire area. A powerful ripple spread across the surface of the barrier like a stone thrown into a pond.

But that was all.

The other professors watched with fading hope. Ronald didn’t hesitate. He spun around and roared at them:

"Don’t just stand there! Everyone attack! It doesn’t matter whether you think it’ll work or not! We keep striking until it breaks! We don’t have the luxury of doubt right now. We can’t afford to stand around like idiots...attack!"

His words reignited the fire in their eyes. One by one, the professors steeled themselves and resumed their assault on the barrier, pouring everything they had into spell after spell and strike after strike.

***

Deep within the forest, Xath’rael stared down at Lyra with a savage, predatory gaze. Suddenly, its head snapped upward. It watched the massive black flames hammering the barrier from above.

A low, rumbling chuckle escaped its maw, clearly amused.

Then its glowing eyes returned to Lyra. Slowly, it raised the sword in its right hand.

Thud.