Everyone stopped. Ray ceased moving as the ancient voice spoke that single word. Finally, the cracks in the ground widened as a large shadowy figure stepped out of a particularly deep fissure. Everyone in the academy who saw this ancient beast froze—not by choice, but because their bodies forced them to. Even those who didn't see the ancient monster, those still deep within the academy or sitting in class, felt an overwhelming pressure.
"I have been set free. I've been released from my imprisonment, and I can finally return," the beast said. Its one eye—one large, unblinking eye—stared at all of them. "Now go to sleep."
When those words were spoken, Laid, who was still in his seat, slumped over and fell unconscious. Ray, the powerful and overwhelming force who was about to fight both White and Ray, collapsed as well. White's flames—his black and devouring flames—faltered, and soon White fell down unconscious. Every single student collapsed. The ones deep in the academy, the ones around the academy—all fell asleep.
Lila stood in the middle. She couldn't rely on time. Every time she tried, her power didn't work. Her green eyes narrowed as she stared at the beast. She began to grow sleepy, and she soon collapsed.
The only person who didn't fall was Ray.
"How is he not on the ground? Are you a demon general?" the ancient beast said.
Ray stared back. "I'm nothing of the sort. This armor protects me from any mental and physical attacks," he said as he unsheathed a large blade that grew in sharpness. It appeared as if he had pulled it from nowhere, from a pocket dimension that no one else could see. The blade was black in color with a red aura surrounding it. "This sword can cut through nearly anything if I wield it," Ray said calmly. "Even your psychic attacks. The reason I have all this power, you might be wondering, is because—"
Suddenly, before Ray could explain his powers and his past more deeply, a sharp headache rang through him. He collapsed to his knees, grabbed his head, and quickly the headache subsided.
"Enough of your talking," the ancient beast said, its one eye glowing red. "You demons are filthy creatures who decided to lock me up inside the underground settlements. I shall get my revenge on the demon race and all of you. You cannot stop me."
The beast stepped forward. Ray grabbed his blade again and looked up. "I have been given Divine protections by the gods. They saw me as the next successor to the Demon King Griffin, so they gave me Divine protections. Divine armor of the gods and an unyielding blade are the two things that I possess at this moment."
The beast chuckled. "You think all that matters?" Its voice boomed and rang through everyone's ears. Even though they were asleep, they could hear him through their dreams, through their nightmares. They could hear everything it said. "I shall crush you, demon," the beast said, lifting up a dark shadowy hand. Its body was basically all shadow. The only thing visible was the singular eye in the middle of its forehead, taking up most of its face. "Be gone."
Ray felt his body change, but as soon as he felt the sensation, it was gone. Without any hesitation, he swung his sword. As soon as it hit the monster's eye, it cut through, dripping dark blood from the wound. The ancient monster coiled back. The singular eye closed as it began to bleed profusely from the cut. Black blood now fell on the ground as Ray just stood there.
"I am a man who upholds justice and protects those I care about," Ray said. "I am a man who will fight to my last breath if it means the survival of many. I am a man who will not hesitate if it means saving human life, and I am a man you cannot defeat. My properties as a soon-to-be Demon King are absolute. You may not harm such a man unless you no longer heed the will of living."
Ray spoke as if something had taken control of him. Ray had never spoken that way before, but as if some ancient being had taken over his body, he began to speak strangely and continued on, addressing the beast as it bled from the cut it had received.
"You are a monster that can be killed. You are an obstacle that can be crossed. You are a goal that can be reached. You are not invincible. You're like every other beast. Strength and psychic energy do not matter in this world or any world for that matter, because as long as you have will, then anything can be done."
The beast stared as the bleeding began to heal. "Such nonsense," it said, sending out a wave of psychic energy which pushed Ray back. "You are nothing but a mere demon spouting out nonsense that you don't even know about. Go to sleep."
The beast spoke softly, but Ray stood up as if not affected by the spell whatsoever. Even though he had been hit by it twice now, Ray leaped forward and threw his blade. The blade flew through the air and sped towards the monster's head. It sent out a wave of psychic energy towards the blade, but the wave of energy did not stop it. The blade continued moving towards the beast.
The beast melted into the ground and began to flow around the blade's attack like liquid. A single eye opened from that liquid puddle and stared at Ray. "How pitiful," the beast said.
But suddenly, something strange happened. The beast began to cry out in pain as someone appeared beside the puddle and stabbed it in its eye with a large blade that looked neither like a sword nor like a knife.
"You're not going to get in the way of my goals," Laid said with an emotionless, cold expression, staring at the beast. He pulled the blade out of the beast's eye and threw it on the ground. The blade hit the grass with a resounding thud.
Most of the students began to wake now. Lila soon woke up. Ray woke up. Everyone woke up.
Now a true battle had begun—a battle which no one would forget.
But there was no fight, no large battle where Laid fought the beast. All there was was silence. The beast flew underground through one of the large cracks that were still in the ground and hadn't healed or sealed by now. Its liquid-ish form slowed down as everyone woke up. Everything was somehow back to normal. It looked as if nothing had ever happened. The only evidence that anything had happened at all was Laid's blade. Everything else was normal.
Somehow, by some means, nearly everyone forgot about the beast as soon as it disappeared. Their memory of it was wiped—except for Ray. Ray and one other being, solely the disembodied voice inside both Lila and Laid's head, didn't forget. But everyone else did, including Laid.
The beast wasn't about to leave without some type of effect on everyone, and this was it.
Somewhere in the distance, they could hear a cry—a howl of a wolf, and then many wolves. It sounded as if it was coming from the outskirts of the demon realm, but no one actually heard the sound. They were too busy doing other things, trying to fill in the gaps of what happened. But just because they didn't hear a sound did not mean that it did not make any noise.
The academy would go on as normal from that incident because everyone's memories were lost. Eventually, the hole in the wall was repaired. Everyone's injuries healed. The purple-eyed student got his wounds treated.
But now a conflict on the other side of the demon realm—a conflict within the outskirts—was about to begin. A battle of beast versus killer. Instinct and brute force versus cold-blooded strength.
And deep within the shadows, something ancient stirred. The beast's eye opened once more in the darkness, watching, waiting. A single word echoed through the underground: "Soon."
The wolves howled louder.Author'
**Author's Note**
I hope you're enjoying the direction this story has taken so far. If you are, I'd truly appreciate a positive review. If something isn't working for you, please feel free to leave constructive feedback—I genuinely want to know what could be better.
Don't hesitate to comment on my work. I welcome criticism, but I ask that you make it specific and actionable. For instance, instead of simply saying "it needs better world-building," share concrete suggestions or ideas that might enhance the setting. Character development is something I'm confident I can handle on my own, but when it comes to plot structure, pacing, world-building, and elements beyond basic grammar and language, your insights would be invaluable.
I should mention something important: I'm only in seventh grade, not even in high school yet. Writing this story means everything to me, and I'm pouring my heart into improving with each chapter. If you can't find it in yourself to offer some understanding and encouragement to a young writer trying to learn and grow, then I'm not sure what to say. Perhaps you'd be better suited to reading those formulaic web novels where the protagonist gets a system, collects every girl in sight, and becomes an all-powerful god by chapter ten.
To my loyal, wonderful, and slightly eccentric readers who actually made it through this note—thank you. Your support means more than you know.
To Readers who chose to skip this note: I must tell you plainly that you're not welcome here. If you habitually skim through my chapters, searching only for the highlights while ignoring the carefully crafted details, then I ask you to delete this app—consider it your punishment for such careless reading. For everyone else who has taken the time to truly engage with these words, I hope you enjoy the story that unfolds before you. I make this promise with genuine sincerity: I will finish this one. Every character's journey will reach its conclusion, every thread will be woven to completion. I'm deeply committed to seeing this through to the end, pouring my heart into each chapter, unless circumstances entirely beyond my control—illness, catastrophe, forces I cannot predict or prevent—make it impossible for me to continue.