Rain crashed against the ruins of Eryndor Academy.
Black lightning split the sky above the massive crater where the western district once stood, illuminating broken towers and shattered mana barriers across the campus.
Nobody moved.
Not the instructors.
Not the students watching from far away.
Not even the dragons beneath the abyss.
Because standing above the crater edge—
was Commander Cain Valdris.
The White Fang of Astravia.
One of the strongest enforcers in the entire kingdom.
His silver hair moved slightly in the storm while the black sword in his hand hummed with ancient runes.
And his eyes—
never left Zeal.
The Devourer laughed softly beneath the abyss.
"So the watchdogs finally arrive."
Cain stepped forward slowly.
The pressure around him spread instantly.
Sharp.
Controlled.
Different from Zeal's overwhelming monarch aura.
Cain's felt refined.
Like a blade sharpened over countless battles.
The dragons beneath the abyss growled uneasily.
Even the black dragon lowered its head slightly.
Kyle blinked from above the crater.
"…Why does this guy feel scarier than the underground apocalypse monster?"
Lucius narrowed his eyes immediately.
Because he recognized the pressure.
Royal-class authority.
And not a weak one.
Cain finally spoke.
Calm.
Cold.
"Release the boy."
The Devourer's black eyes narrowed.
"He was never yours to protect."
Cain raised his sword slightly.
The runes along the blade ignited silver.
"That wasn't a request."
BOOOOOOM.
Silver mana exploded outward from Cain's body.
The entire crater shook violently.
Several dragons beneath the abyss recoiled instantly from the pressure.
Kyle stared wide-eyed.
"…Okay. That guy is ridiculous."
Even Lucius looked surprised.
Because Cain's authority wasn't elemental.
It wasn't natural at all.
It felt like pure destruction compressed into human form.
Zeal stared upward silently.
And the moment he saw Cain clearly—
another memory surfaced.
Fast.
Sharp.
A battlefield covered in ash.
A younger Cain standing before him wearing black armor instead of white.
Blood running down his sword.
And himself—
placing a hand on Cain's shoulder.
Then one sentence echoed through the vision.
"If I fall… protect what remains."
The memory vanished instantly.
Zeal's chest tightened.
Cain noticed immediately.
For the first time—
emotion flickered across the commander's face.
Recognition.
The Devourer saw it too.
Its smile widened slowly.
"So even the loyal hound survived the end."
Cain's eyes darkened instantly.
"Don't speak like you know me."
The Devourer laughed again.
"You wield the same authority he gave you."
Silence.
Lucius' eyes narrowed.
"…What does that mean?"
But Cain ignored him completely.
His gaze remained fixed on Zeal.
Then quietly—
he asked:
"…How much do you remember?"
Zeal hesitated.
Fragments.
Visions.
Pain.
A throne.
Chains.
A war.
But no clear answers.
"…Not enough."
Cain closed his eyes briefly.
Like he expected that answer.
Then the Devourer moved.
BOOOOOOOOM.
The abyss exploded upward as massive black chains shattered apart.
The creature surged higher from the darkness, revealing more of its gigantic body.
The pressure instantly became unbearable.
Students across the academy collapsed unconscious.
Several instructors vomited blood from the sheer mana pressure flooding the air.
Kyle nearly lost balance.
"…WHY IS EVERYTHING HERE BUILT LIKE A FINAL BOSS?!"
Lucius planted his feet harder as lightning erupted around him.
Chloe's smoke spiraled violently beside Zeal while she stared at the Devourer carefully.
The black-scaled book in her hands kept glowing brighter.
The pages turned wildly on their own.
Then suddenly—
they stopped.
A single page revealed another image.
This time—
not a throne.
A battlefield.
One side covered in dragons and black fire.
The other—
human armies carrying silver banners.
And standing between both sides—
was Zeal.
Below the image, ancient words slowly appeared.
The Monarch who chose humanity.
The black dragon beneath the abyss lowered its head.
"History erased the truth."
The Devourer growled deeply.
"Because truth made humanity weak."
BOOOOOOM.
The pressure exploded again.
Zeal grabbed his chest hard as the black pulse reacted violently.
THUMP.
THUMP.
The scales spread farther across his body again.
Lucius immediately noticed.
"He's destabilizing."
Cain's expression sharpened instantly.
"Move him away from the abyss."
The Devourer smiled.
"Too late."
The whispers returned.
Thousands of voices inside Zeal's mind.
Calling him.
Begging him.
Remembering him.
The visions slammed into him harder than ever before.
This time—
they didn't stop.
The First Age.
He finally saw it.
Not pieces.
Not fragments.
The truth.
The world before the noble system.
Before kingdoms.
Before authority rankings.
Dragons ruled the skies openly.
Monsters walked beside humans.
And at the center of everything—
stood the Monarch.
Not a tyrant.
A protector.
Someone powerful enough to keep countless creatures under one throne.
Until the corruption came.
Black flames.
The Devourer.
Something ancient that twisted dragons into monsters and turned the world into chaos.
Zeal remembered fighting it.
Failing to kill it.
Then choosing the only option left.
The seals.
The prison.
The sacrifice.
And finally—
his own death.
The vision shattered violently.
Zeal nearly collapsed.
Chloe caught him immediately.
"Zeal!"
His breathing became unstable.
Fast.
Uneven.
The Devourer watched him carefully.
"Now you understand."
Zeal slowly lifted his head.
Golden and black light flickered in his eyes simultaneously.
"…You destroyed the First Age."
The abyss trembled.
The Devourer smiled wider.
"And you destroyed yourself trying to stop me."
Silence.
The black dragon spoke quietly.
"My king—"
"Stop calling me that."
The dragon lowered its head instantly.
But this time—
Zeal didn't sound angry.
Just tired.
Cain slowly stepped closer to the abyss edge.
Then finally revealed the truth nobody expected.
"…You weren't supposed to reincarnate."
Everyone froze.
Even Zeal looked toward him sharply.
Cain's eyes stayed locked on him.
"The seal required your soul to remain bound forever."
Kyle blinked.
"…That sounds REALLY unhealthy."
Cain ignored him.
"The moment you returned… the prison started weakening."
The realization hit Zeal instantly.
That was why the creatures beneath the academy awakened.
Why the seals broke.
Why the black pulse reacted constantly.
His existence itself destabilized the prison.
The Devourer laughed softly.
"Fate itself rejected your sacrifice."
Then suddenly—
the abyss cracked deeper.
BOOOOOOOM.
Something massive moved beneath the prison.
Bigger than the dragons.
Bigger than the Devourer itself.
The black dragon's eyes widened in fear.
"No…"
The Devourer slowly turned downward.
And for the first time—
even it looked uneasy.
Cain's expression darkened immediately.
"…Impossible."
Zeal felt it too.
A third presence.
Ancient.
Endless.
And sleeping beneath everything else.
Then—
a single gigantic chain rose from the abyss.
Not gold.
White.
Covered in glowing ancient symbols.
The moment it appeared—
every creature beneath the academy trembled.
The Devourer's smile vanished completely.
The chain moved slowly upward through the darkness.
And then—
an eye opened beneath the abyss.
Silver.
Not black.
Not gold.
Silver.
Zeal's breathing stopped.
Because unlike the others—
he remembered this one immediately.
And somewhere deep inside his memories—
a familiar voice whispered softly.
"You promised you would return."
END OF CHAPTER 18Next Time on Path of the Calamity Monarch…The silver-eyed being beneath the prison finally awakens.
Zeal remembers the person he failed to save in the First Age.
Cain reveals why the royal families fear the Monarch's return.
And deep beneath Eryndor Academy… the final seal begins breaking.