It was over. Dignitas' switch had been flipped, and he had now undergone a change into a state he had no control over.
"Impossible. He induced a crazed state in himself by damaging himself. What manner of sorcery is this?"
Right now, Dignitas was like a wild beast, uncaring for his safety and only focusing on securing the kill on his prey.
*whoosh*
Three slashes in one second. And a perfect deflect against a persistent imp. Dignitas was somehow able to counter all of the hits that went toward him with his own.
"I see. This is his elegance. An elegance that completely shatters the meaning of the word."
"Identity Warp."
In an instant, Dignitas' appearance shifted from his original one to that of a demon. His skin was purplish-black, there were horns on his head, and a tail sprouted from behind his back.
"Huh?! A demon?"
But as quickly as it appeared, the form disappeared.
However, in that short span of time, the imps had feigned their attacks.
This allowed Dignitas to further go crazy and wreak havoc on the imps.
The imps' momentary halt was within reason.
The demons had a certain hierarchy about them. Power was everything when you were a demon, so the higher your rank was, the higher you were on the social ladder.
Those who were unfortunate enough to be on the bottom of the chain were left to be harassed by demons a higher rank than them.
And as such, fear for the ones stronger than them had been embedded in their consciousness.
It was especially present in the imps, who were D ranks. They were the lowest of the low, only surviving thanks to their numbers.
"Wraaak!" The white imp who had rallied his comrades were beginning to feel terrified.
It was sure that they had won the battle. No matter how many imps had died under the man's hands, it would never be able to surpass their constant increase.
But now, the man had turned into a bloodthirsty killer.
Deaths were happening all around the imp colony, and no one was able to stop it.
The white imp finally felt a sense of danger from the once puny human and ultimately decided to retreat in fear.
"Oy. No running."
Alas, it was too late.
A red blade pierced through its chest. Blood spurted out.
All its comrades had been defeated by one single man. And a D rank at that.
A feat usually impossible, yet completely achievable by everyone.
All it takes is a switch to be flipped for most individuals to go crazy.
***
"Breaking news. The Hero Academy is now currently under invasion by a large number of demons."
"They seem to have been led here by an S-rank demon. The first of its kind. The Strongest Hero, or otherwise known as the "Card Dealer" Cendria Macador has personally taken the demon out of the planet and has since then engaged it in a brutal duel."
"Many satellites have been temporarily shut down as a result of the bright light that suddenly swallowed the entire space."
"The light, visible from all over the world, is believed to have been caused by the S rank demon. The Association is at the moment still waiting for signs of the demon and Cendria Macador, as both of their locations are currently unknown."
Rokas closed his phone.
"That's what it said. So that light must've been caused by Cendria Macador." He announced it to the group.
"Damn. A battle between two S ranks caused this much damage?" Wang Jin was shocked.
Countless battles were fought by the members of Dignitas' party. On their way to the infirmary, they were met with opposition from hundreds of demons, some even nearing the border of C rank.
Fortunately for them, the time they spent on the first exam allowed them to get to know one another's battle styles, thus making their battles run more smoothly.
It wasn't so far as to say that they knew everything about each other, but they at least knew how they fought.
With Rokas as the tank, Wang Jin and Alter as the damage dealers, and Percivale as the support, their battles went particularly well.
But for now, they sought refuge inside a warehouse. They couldn't fight forever. It would only get worse if they persisted even when they were getting tired.
"We should be nearing the infirmary. Just another five minutes of walking, and we should be able to find Leader."
"That bastard. Making us walk this far…" Alter cursed.
"Calm down, sister. Mister Dignitas must've had a reason for what he did. For now, let's focus on getting to him."
"Percivale's right. This final stretch is gonna be the hardest one." Wang Jin agreed.
Suddenly, the four of them heard a noise in the direction of the entrance.
They all drew their weapons in response.
The door to the warehouse opened with a slight creak, and the figure of a boy carrying someone unconscious on his back appeared.
"Friendly! I'm friendly!" A familiar voice resounded from the entrance.
"Wait a minute… I know this guy."
"I know him too. Lower your weapons, everyone. This person… John Ailey, right?"
The man's face lit up.
"Ah! Yes! Rokas Hassan, was it? It's so good to see you." John greeted him.
"We last met back in the porridge shop. Don't worry guys. I'm pretty sure you all know the top ranker, anyway."
"That was all thanks to my teammates. Without them, we wouldn't have made it in first. Please excuse me. Does anyone have anything to treat a wound?"
Rokas saw the figure of the girl he was carrying. A few names went through his head before he recognized her.
"Curie Mortem. One of your party members."
"Right. She was injured in battle because of me. I was going to take her to the infirmary to get healed, but I'm not sure if it's still even standing."
Rokas' eyes widened at this. John was heading towards the infirmary as well. The thought of teaming up with him passed through his head.
Someone with his skill was certainly welcome, even as a temporary member.
"Then, would you like to join us? We were also planning on heading to the infirmary."
"Was it because of Dignitas…? I saw his battle and what happened. I'm sorry."
"No, don't be. It's his fault that he did it in the first place, anyway. Dead or not, we still want to see his body."
"I see. If that's the case… please take care of me." John bowed.
"Hah! No problem. Let me introduce you to our party." Rokas brought him over to the deeper end of the warehouse.
"Guys, this is John Ailey. And this is his teammate, Curie Mortem. Could you guys make a bed for her? We need to place her down."
"I'll do it!"
Percivale obliged and immediately got started with crafting a makeshift bed using his Spatial Magic.
"John, this is Wang Jin. He's one of our fighters and a funny guy. The other is Alter Eri. She is the older sibling of Percivale Eri, the one who responded."
"Don't drag us down." Alter scoffed.
"Haha… what a lively team you guys have. Dignitas must really care for you all."
"Alright. As the vice leader of Dignitas' Party, I will momentarily take his place as the party leader. I hereby announce that John Ailey will be joining us as a party member until we reach the infirmary. Is this clear?"
Everyone seemed to agree on that… but one thought went through their heads.
Who decided this guy was the leader?