A chilling silence spread across the forest as pairs of crimson eyes slowly emerged from the darkness. One by one, twisted silhouettes stepped out from behind the trees, their bodies warped into monstrous forms. Some walked on two legs, others crawled on all fours, while a few hung upside down from thick branches like predators waiting for their prey.
The injured man stared in horror, his face turning pale.
"...No..."
"There are... this many...?"
The Evil Spirit standing before Kairo let out another deafening roar, and immediately, every surrounding monster answered. Their voices echoed through the valley, shaking the leaves from the trees.
Tyouro clicked his tongue before grinning.
"Heh... now this is starting to look like a mission."
Yura narrowed her eyes as she counted the monsters in front of them.
"...Thirty-two."
Kimimaru quietly corrected her.
"...Thirty-eight."
"...Six are hiding underground."
Yura looked at him for a moment before nodding.
"I didn't notice those."
Shougo stood calmly with both hands inside his pockets.
His expression never changed.
"Kairo."
Kairo kept his eyes fixed on the leader of the nest.
"Yes, Sensei?"
"The one in front of you is still yours."
"...The rest?"
Shougo glanced toward the others.
"That's your mission."
A smile slowly spread across Tyouro's face.
"I've been waiting to hear that."
A violent burst of Blast Energy erupted around his fists.
BOOM!
Without another word, he launched himself into the swarm like a cannonball.
"COME ON THEN!"
The nearest Evil Spirit swung its claw.
Tyouro ducked beneath it and drove an explosive punch straight into its stomach.
BAAAM!!
The blast ripped through the creature, sending it crashing into three others behind it.
"Hahaha!"
"Next!"
On the opposite side of the battlefield, Yura disappeared.
No footsteps.
No warning.
One second she stood beside Shougo...
The next, she was already behind an Evil Spirit.
SLASH!
Its head slid cleanly from its shoulders before the body even realized it had been cut.
She didn't stop.
She flowed through the battlefield like the wind itself.
Every slash was clean.
Every movement precise.
Every strike fatal.
Meanwhile, Kimimaru slowly closed his eyes.
He rested the massive Zweihander against his shoulder.
"...Astral Trapping."
A pale blue circle spread beneath several charging Evil Spirits.
The monsters suddenly froze.
Their bodies still moved...
But their souls remained trapped in place.
Kimimaru opened his eyes.
"...Too slow."
His blade swept once.
A single slash.
Six Evil Spirits collapsed simultaneously.
Back at the center of the battlefield, Kairo hadn't moved.
His attention never left the leader.
The towering Evil Spirit lowered its body before suddenly disappearing.
Kairo's pupils narrowed.
"...Left."
CLANG!
He blocked the claw without even turning around.
"...Now the tail."
WHOOSH!
He leaned forward as the barbed tail passed inches above his head.
"...Now you'll bite."
The monster lunged.
Kairo sidestepped at the perfect moment before driving his elbow into its ribs.
CRACK!
The Evil Spirit staggered.
Its countless crimson eyes widened for the first time.
"...You're learning."
Kairo whispered calmly.
"...No..."
"I'm understanding."
He gripped Black Spartan tighter.
The sword emitted a faint black glow, almost as if it were responding to his thoughts.
Far behind him, the injured man watched in disbelief.
"...Who... are these students...?"
"They're monsters..."
Shougo quietly smiled.
"...No."
"They're just children..."
"...Trying to become heroes."
Suddenly—
The ground trembled violently.
BOOOOOM!!
Everyone paused.
Even the Evil Spirits stopped moving.
A deep growl echoed from beneath the earth.
The soil cracked open.
Roots snapped apart.
An enormous hand covered in black scales slowly emerged from underground.
Then another.
The earth exploded upward as a colossal Evil Spirit climbed from the depths.
It stood nearly twenty meters tall.
Its body resembled a giant armored beast, with obsidian horns curving toward the sky and glowing crimson veins pulsing across its chest.
The smaller Evil Spirits immediately knelt.
Even the leader standing before Kairo took a step backward.
Yura's expression hardened.
"...A King-class..."
Kimimaru slowly raised his Zweihander.
"...No."
"...Above that."
Tyouro's grin faded.
"...You're kidding..."
The giant lowered its head.
Its burning eyes locked onto only one person.
Kairo.
Then...
It smiled.