Inside a brightly lit throne room, several people were kneeled down and facing toward the main throne. On the throne stood an ancient, malevolent demon. His presence alone was enough to subdue anyone and tell that he commanded over hundreds of legions of demons.
His colossal, obsidian wings stretched wide, casting a shadow over the throne room, and his eyes burn with an ever searing hatred, otherworldly flame that reflects the torment of a thousand lost souls.
His hair was like liquid shadows down his broad, muscular shoulders, seemingly woven from the very essence of darkness and chaos itself, Jet-black tendrils with an otherworldly life of its own, as if it was infused with the malevolent power that courses through his veins.
"Where is he?! Why is he late?!" His deep and guttural resonance, echoing throughout the castle. It became a symphony of authority and cruelty over his subjects.
"Your Majesty! He's arrived!" One of his subjects bowed.
A single step was heard and an oppressive, intangible force wrapped those around him. Some of Demon's King's subjects started to go instance as their screams reverberated throughout the throne room. Everyone saw him every moment and noticed they were deliberate and measured, as if he was constantly aware of his surroundings.
The several people that were kneeled, made their move against this individual as they had equipped their weapons and pointed them toward him.
"Might I suggest you put your weapons down? Or will I have to use force?" The man's chilling voice echoed with an otherworldly resonance. The air surrounding him felt like malevolent energy to those around him.
"Have you forgotten these are my sins? Even with your power, you won't be able to survive." The Demon King spoke with anger.
Multiple shadows on the ground began to bubble as shadowy figures rose from the ground. Their power was comparable to an AA-Rank individual and sweat began to form on the seven's face.
"Think again, Demon King. Your power isn't what it used to be." The Apostle of Darkness spoke with a domineering voice.
An invisible force surrounded the Demon King as he tried to stand. Like the Apostle said, the Demon King's power and body was sealed to the castle.
"But I didn't come here to fight. I came to honor our deal."
"Alright."
The Demon King stood up and a large table appeared out of thin air. Everyone sat down at the table and put their weapons on it.
"Recently an academy opened four years ago, called the Celestial Academy. Normally, I wouldn't have thought much about it until our spies said the students are a mixture of the five races. It would be in our best interest if we have you on the main attacking force.
Our population has recently dwindled with the ongoing war between the clans so I thought this might settle it as we can kidnap half of the students for reproductive purposes."
"That isn't a bad idea but there's a problem with that. I'm not sure if you have heard but the Apostle of Destruction is there." The Apostle revealed.
"He shouldn't be a problem for you, right?"
"Unfortunately, he is. He was the former captain of the royal dragons before becoming the Apostle of Destruction. He hides in a human form to avoid confrontation with other dragons."
This came as a big surprise to the Demon King and his subjects. If the Apostle of Darkness was weary of another Apostle, then it could only mean that they would have to worry about them as well. His presence alone would change the tide of the battlefield.
"So this ex-royal dragon is the reason why the vampires failed at besieging the Celestial Academy."
The Demon King put on his thinking face. Although he was a war general and strategist, an Apostle's power was something that couldn't be underestimated. After all, one of his legions was wiped off the face of Mythralis by the Apostle of Darkness.
"I'll do it. But I must make some preparations before we attack the academy"
The Apostle of Darkness stood up and walked outside of the throne room. Unable to hold his anger anymore, the Demon King slammed his fist into the table and it cracked straight down the middle.
"If any of you get the chance to eliminate him, do it."
_______
"I know you can do better than that!" Slade shouted, swinging his leg down.
Raising his arm to block, Sebastian felt an immense strength descend upon his arm and heard a crack. Sacrificing his arm, Sebastian spun around and threw a hook kick toward Slade's head.
Slade himself put his arm up to defend his head and noticed Sebastian had a smile on his face. His hook kick turned into a front kick and a strong impacted was felt against his body
Bang!
Rushing forward, Sebastian jumped through the air and swung his leg down onto Slade's body.
"I won't go down that easily!"
Slade's mouth began to glow and a puff of smoke left his mouth before he released his breath of fire. Barely reacting in time, Sebastian pulled out his shield and was sent flying in the sky from the flames pushing him back.
"Do you know why tanks carry a large shield while those who aren't tanks carry a smaller shield? It's because even though tanks know their field of view will be blocked, they're confident in taking a hit. Meanwhile those who carry a smaller shield can still block an attack while still being able to see their opponents!"
Slade appeared behind Sebastian and swung his leg against his ribcage.
Bang!
After tossing Sebastian into the ground, Slade appeared by his side again and tried to slam his foot on his abdomen. Rolling to the side, Sebastian barely dodged his attack and swiped his leg across the ground, in hopes of knocking Slade to the ground.
His leg made an impact but it didn't seem to budge.
'This is gonna hurt.'
Bang!
A fist descended upon a chest and bounced him off the ground. A hand then grabbed his head and swung his body into a wall. At impact, Sebastian felt his skull slightly crack and blood fill his mouth.
Using both his hands, Sebastian grabbed onto Slade's arm and twisted his arm with all his might in opposite directions.
A loud cracking was heard as Slade looked at his arm and felt an immense pain. He then felt a strong punch to his abdomen and another to his chin. Soon, he saw an elbow slam into his face.
The impact was felt but his head didn't move in the slightest.
'I've practiced this kick a thousand times so go down already!' Sebastian thought.
Throwing a side kick, Sebastian made sure to use all his might and a loud strike reverberated throughout the hall.
"That's enough for today. Best to save your energy for today's beast hunting." Slade said.
As Sebastian left the room, Slade looked at his arm and saw a purple bruise, and blood slightly leaking.
'His potential is quite impressive. I might have to recruit him and convert him but I must find out why he has six different presences.'
Walking through the hall, Sebastian arrived at a door and opened it. After it was opened, Sebastian saw several girls sitting around.
"What did you all learn?" Sebastian asked.
"Not much. They're very secretive about their military information." Lilith replied.
"That's not good. The only information I got was about Slade and one of the headmasters. Slade is a former captain of the royal dragons and might be the primary defender of the academy. The headmaster is a vampire and a former punisher of the vampires."
After a brief exchange of information, Sebastian left the room and continued until he arrived in a room filled with a few teleporters and teachers. Soon, a group of students started to arrive and another group arrived, then another.
"As many of you know, today is the day we go on the beast hunt. Before we go, we're gonna inspect all of your equipment to ensure they're fine." One by one, each teacher walked up to each student and inspected their equipment.
Some students' equipment weren't fine as they were heavily worn out and some even broken. It came with no surprise that the nobles' equipment were higher grade as they could easily use their family's connections.
"It seems we have a few problems but Slade already figured that out." Behind the speaker, a wall started to transform until multiple weapons appeared.
"These weapons are Peak F-Rank and should be able to get you through the hunt for now."
Although Sebastian found it strange. Why did they start a beast hunt for them? Other academies started their first beast hunt in the higher grades of 1st years. It was like the academy was trying to raise a strong generation of adventurers.
After everyone got a new weapon for the hunt, the speaker spoke and told everyone to enter the portal. Some had questions about the hunt, which included their safety, but the speaker said a few teachers would be joining and they shouldn't need to worry about it.
'Teachers? These aren't teachers! They're high-ranking adventurers!' Sebastian thought.
Stepping through the portal, Sebastian felt multiple gazes staring at him. He didn't like the feeling. He felt they were only staring at him and no one else.
'This is a surprise. Why does that boy have the power of three different scents?' A mysterious being thought, watching as every student stepped through the portal but not taking their eyes off Sebastian.
"Alright students! We'll be splitting into ten different groups!" A teacher shouted. "If the strongest students can step right up, we'll ensure they're the captain of each group. Don't worry though, we'll be watching from afar and only interfere in the hunt when it is needed."
Soon thirteen people walked forward and were arranged into groups of thirteen instead of ten. Although it surprised the teachers, they didn't think a few commoners would be labeled as the strongest but they felt joy. They too were commoners and had to work hard to get to the place they were at now.
Unbeknownst to them though, Sebastian already left the group of students. Even if the adventurers were high-ranking, they wouldn't think of students having such high speed.
'Alright, time to go find some strong beasts.' Sebastian himself wasn't too keen on staying in the area. He needed stronger beasts to get stronger and F-Rank beasts weren't gonna cut it.
After a couple of minutes of searching, Sebastian found a few E-Rank beasts. They weren't powerful but they would do.
Pulling his lance, he thrusted forward and pierced one of the beasts. Taken by surprise, the beasts stepped back and saw one of their own impaled by a large spike-like weapon.
Snapping out of their daze, they rushed forward while the horns on their heads began to charge with lightning. Before Sebastian could put down his lance, five lightning strikes hit him and launched him into a tree.
Inspecting his wounds, he noticed they were small in size but managed to pierce through his skin.
'I heard of this skill. It's called a lightning bullet.'
Lunging forward, Sebastian pulled out another of his weapons and slammed it down onto one of their heads. Fear was beginning to spread in the beast's minds as they didn't think someone as strong as Sebastian would come for them, even this deep into the forest.
In an instant, Sebastian flash-stepped forward and grabbed one of the beasts' throats before squeezing it. The last remaining one stood there as a red wave of energy was coming closer.
"These beasts don't provide me with any boost. They're useless for me to hunt down now." Sebastian said, eating their beast cores.
Looking forward, Sebastian noticed a strange disturbance in the air. Electricity appeared out of thin air and a portal opened up. Sebastian walked closer to the portal and reached his arm, and touched it.
Before he could do anything, the portal sucked him. High up in the sky, Sebastian noticed he was falling again.
"That bastard! What does he think he is doing by summoning a portal near the Celestial Academy!" Sebastian cursed the Dark Guild's Portal Master.