Alarms blared across the department.
Screams echoed through the halls. Students scrambled in panic, some dragging their injured classmates, others too wounded to even stand. Blood smeared the walls, and the air was thick with terror.
"Everyone, evacuate now!" Ms. Viera shouted, her voice cracking under pressure. "Get them out! Get out—now!"
Professor Elrick stood by the entrance, guiding the fleeing students. But in the midst of the chaos, one figure remained unmoved.
"Lumiel, what are you doing?!" Ms. Viera called out. "Get out of here before it's too late!"
"I'll hold off Seraphine," Lumiel said firmly. "Just make sure no one else falls."
Ms. Viera hesitated for a moment, then nodded, trusting him. She turned to aid the others and left the fight to him.
Lumiel gripped his sword tightly. "Seraphine! Why did you come to this school!?"
"I'm joining this fight too!" Lady Nishia said, stepping forward beside him. "Skye! Don't even think about running!"
"B-But that's a demon—" Skye stammered.
"NO BUTS!" Nishia snapped.
Seraphine giggled as she watched them. "You three really are just a bunch of comedians."
Then her expression darkened, her eyes narrowing. "To answer your question, mister—no, wait... Hero."
Lumiel's heart dropped. His eyes widened. How did she know...?
"Hero?" Skye blinked, confused.
"What do you mean, Hero?" Nishia echoed.
"So, you haven't told them who you really are, huh?" Seraphine said sweetly. "Well, if you're confused about how I know... let's just say someone told me."
Without warning, she launched her Flesh Ribbons toward Nishia and Skye.
"Watch out!" Lumiel shouted.
He dashed forward and cleaved the ribbons apart with a radiant glow—his Heaven Affinity slicing cleanly through the twisted tendrils.
"I underestimated you, Hero," Seraphine said. "I thought that S-Rank difficulty Simulation Gate would've been enough to kill at least one of you. Looks like I have to finish the job myself."
"You were the reason it became an S-Rank!?" Skye yelled.
"Oh, don't talk big, coward," Seraphine said with a sneer. "It wasn't just me. Our dear Hero contributed a lot to make that possible."
Lumiel's expression darkened.
"What do you mean?" Nishia asked, turning to him. "Is it true?"
"I swear—I don't know anything!" Lumiel said.
"Oh? Forgotten already?" Seraphine smirked. "The Simulation Gate adapts based on team strength. And because your team had a Hero, it escalated into that nightmare."
"You're really the Hero, Lumiel!?" Nishia demanded.
"No time to talk!"
Lumiel charged toward Seraphine. But the demoness was ready. Layers of Flesh Ribbons wrapped around her like armor, catching Lumiel's blade mid-swing and trapping it.
He struggled to free it, but the flesh held tight.
Another ribbon launched toward his right side. Lumiel couldn't dodge in time—until Lady Nishia appeared beside him, deflecting the blow. But his left flank was now exposed.
Seraphine grinned.
More ribbons flew straight toward Lumiel.
He closed his eyes, helpless, waiting for impact—
CLANG!
A radiant barrier stopped the ribbons cold.
Lumiel's eyes opened.
Floating above him were multiple drones, their shields activated.
"Drones?" he breathed. "Mister Claud!?"
"Hey Lumiel," Claud's voice came from behind the machines. "Looks like you're in a very sticky situation."
"I'm glad you came," Lumiel said.
With the distraction, he activated his skill. "Holy Dawn!"
A burst of holy energy surged from his sword, vaporizing the flesh trapping it. He stepped back as Seraphine did the same, her smile never fading.
"Impressive, Hero. Let's see if you can handle this."
She sent vein-like tendrils toward the unconscious students on the ground.
"What are you doing!?" Lumiel shouted.
"I'm just borrowing some of your classmates," Seraphine said, laughing. "If they're useful, I'll keep them. If not... I'll just pump them full of blood until they pop like balloons."
Veins snaked into the limp bodies of the students. One by one, they twitched... and rose.
Lifeless puppets.
"Try protecting them now, Hero," Seraphine mocked.
The puppets charged at Nishia, Skye, and Claud.
Lumiel stood frozen.
"If I protect the students, Seraphine will strike. If I attack her, my friends might get hurt. What should I do…?"
He shook his head. "I can't use Holy Dawn or Heavens Judgements—I'll be wide open. I can't use Earth Manipulation either… Seraphine might exploit it…"
> [System Notice: User unable to plan — Would you like the system to precisely calculate the battlefield? Y / N]
Lumiel immediately selected Y.
> [System Notice: Calculating battlefield...]
[System Notice: Calculation complete. Currently planning optimal actions...]
[System Notice:
Count up to 13 seconds before using Holy Dawn.
When enemy launches attack, use Guardian Angel's Protection to shield yourself.
Enemy will soon begin pumping blood into puppets.
After enemy is immobilized, you have a 4-second window to cut all veins with Heavens Judgements before blood overload.
Begin counting… Now.]
"Only four seconds!?" Lumiel muttered.
Seraphine tilted her head. "So, Hero. How about this? Surrender now—die by my hands—and I'll let everyone else go. Simple."
Thirteen seconds passed.
"Holy Dawn!"
Light exploded around Seraphine, crushing her under a radiant force.
"You bastard..." she growled, pinned to the floor. "You really don't know what you're doing!"
She retaliated, firing more Flesh Ribbons.
"Guardian Angel's Protection!" Lumiel called out.
A golden shield materialized and blocked her attacks completely.
Desperate, Seraphine screamed.
"If I'm going down, then your classmates are coming with me!"
She began forcing blood into the puppets—fast.
"No one's dying today except you," Lumiel said coldly.
He focused, heart pounding.
"Heavens Judgements!"
A radiant cross-slice illuminated the room.
Within the narrow four-second window, Lumiel moved faster than ever before—slashing each vein, severing the link between puppet and master.
With one second left, it was done.
He dropped to his knees, panting.
"I… I did it… I DID IT!" he shouted, tears in his eyes.
"Nishia, Skye, Claud! Get the students to the infirmary—go!"
The three nodded, gathering the fallen.
Lumiel turned to Seraphine, who lay broken beneath his blade's holy weight.
"You'll pay for this, Hero!" she snarled. "I'm not the only one coming for you. You're just a prey!"
Lumiel said nothing.
> [System Notice: Enemy: Seraphine — low resistance to Holy attribute.
Recommended: use Heaven Affinity.
Current firepower insufficient.
Would you like the system to create a new skill to defeat the demon? Y / N]
Without hesitation, Lumiel pressed Y.
> [System Notice: Modifying Heaven and Earth attributes…]
[System Notice: New skill acquired — Heaven and Earth Splitting Slash:
A mythical slash said to split Heaven and Earth, combining the purity of Heaven Affinity with the force of Earth Affinity.
One-week cooldown.]
Lumiel shifted into a never-before-seen stance. His blade turned jet black, etched with glowing golden runes. A divine aura flared around him.
Seraphine's eyes widened. Her flesh melted away, revealing her human-like face.
"H-Hey! What are you doing!? You can't do this! I'm just a girl—!"
"You can't fool me twice, demon," Lumiel said.
"Heaven and Earth Splitting Slash!"
A blinding flash consumed the battlefield.
When the light faded, there was only silence.
Seraphine was gone.
Only a massive slash mark on the ground... and drifting ashes in the wind.