“Emperor, are you alright?” Her voice shook like a lantern in wind.
“Big brother, why did the sky suddenly go dark, like ink spilled across silk?”
“Elder brother, I sense an extremely strong evil aura filling this square, like frost crawling over stone.”
Qianji Sister, my little sister, and Elyar ran to my side, like sparrows diving for shelter before a storm.
“Mm. That’s probably the reason.” I pointed at the six women hanging in the sky, like crows on a dead branch.
Before the skull-wand girl, a massive gate had appeared without a sound, a single glance chilling the bones like ice-water at midnight.
It towered dozens of meters high, reeking of something ancient and wicked, its face carved with ugly script and monsters from old legends, like scars on a tomb.
“That’s…the Gate of Hell! This is bad. We have to stop her now, or disaster will spill out like floodwater!”
At the sight of that gate, wind rioted around Elyar, like a herd breaking loose. A bow of wind formed in her pale, delicate hand, as clean as moonlight.
“Hurricane!” Her shout cracked the air like thunder.
Elyar drew to full and loosed a whirling arrow, a tornado spun into a spear, tearing the sky like a riptide.
“Nareinya. It’s yours.”
The girl turned to a sultry woman beside her, voice dry as ash.
“Fufu, Lord Blackflame, leave it to me.” Nareinya’s smile curled like a flame.
An austere yet regal longbow appeared in her hand, old as a temple bell.
“Divine Bow, Palus. First Arrow—Sun-Chase!”
Unlike Elyar’s, Nareinya’s arrow burned crimson, heat like ten thousand furnaces, a shard of the sun ripping free.
When the two arrows met—BOOM!!! The air burst like a thunderhead, and the shockwave dusted students gray like chimney soot.
“Damn it, a divine artifact? No time!” Elyar’s voice was tight, like a bowstring on the edge of snapping.
“Elyar, what’s wrong with you since just now?” My sister stared, confused, and so did I and Qianji Sister, worry crawling like ants.
Elyar gave us a bitter smile, thin as paper. “That Gate of Hell must not be opened. I have to stop her. But it’s already too late.”
“Why?”
“Because the Gate of Hell is open.” Her sigh fell like cold rain.
We looked up. The Gate of Hell stood wide, its maw a nightmare, seething with hideous undead, monsters, and demons, like a hive from the abyss.
Those things kept pouring out, step after step, like maggots spilling from rot.
“Uu…what are those? So gross!” Tears fell like beads.
“Yeah…uuuu, so scary!” Their voices shook like reeds.
“Teacher Stellar Rosa, what do we do?” Panic spread like fire in dry grass.
“Quiet! We wait for Dean Melusha’s decision.” Stellar Rosa soothed the students, then stared at the sky like a woman staring into winter. “As I thought—Dark Demon. I should’ve guessed. Their targets have always been the Central Continent and the Mizumi Clan. We’ve got three from the Mizumi Clan this term. It’d be strange if they didn’t come.”
“Uh…sorry. This dragged you in.” The guilt tasted like iron on my tongue.
“Student Yumigawa, don’t worry. This isn’t on you. It’s those arrogant Dark Demon fools.” Teacher Stellar Rosa’s smile felt warm as a hearth.
“Yeah, Yumigawa, don’t stress. We’ll take those Dark Demon lackeys down,” someone said, like a drumbeat beside me.
“Mm, that’s right!”
“Lord Yumigawa Sumeragi, we still have Sir Xino,” Eastern Moon Aixue, Faya, and Yuyi Mengliu added, voices steady as drawn blades.
“I got it. Thanks.” I smiled back, gratitude washing through me like dawn light, then fell silent as Dean Melusha began to speak.
“Everyone, don’t panic. Breathe and steady yourselves!” Her voice, amplified by magic, rang across the academy like a bronze bell.
“The ranking trials are canceled because of this disaster! But this is also a chance—a sharp stone to hone your blades!”
Her words were firm as bedrock. “Your final grades will be decided by the number of undead, monsters, and demons you slay! So shake off fear, muster your spirit, and crush this crisis before you!”
“Yeah!!!” The students roared, like waves hitting cliffs.
Dean Melusha’s command stirred hearts; though not at the Sacred Realm, her spirit magic struck like sunlight through fog.
“Hehe, you’re quite excited. In that case, have it your way. Attack, my summoned beasts.” The raspy girl’s voice drifted down like smoke.
Millions of undead, monsters, and demons dropped from the sky, a locust storm rushing the students.
“Hmph! The trial begins! Give it everything! Cleanse those filthy, disgusting things!” The order cracked like a whip.
“Yes!!!” Voices rose together, and the whole academy became a battlefield, a sea of steel and spellfire.
“Emperor, let’s go.” Qianji Sister drew the Sacred Life Sword, its edge gleaming like morning dew.
“Yeah. We fight together.” Yuyi Mengliu pulled a flaming blade from its sheath, fire licking like a hungry fox.
“We’re ready too!” Eastern Moon Aixue and Faya lifted their wands, sparks blooming like meteors.
“Sigh, fine. I’ll do my best to purge those nasty things,” Elyar said, resolve settling like frost.
“And me, of course! Summon—Aerucia Bird!” The blue-green magic circle bloomed like a lotus, and a giant bird of azure light unfurled from nowhere.
“Alright.” I nodded, calm as still water, and readied the bracelet to become the Shattered Light Sword.
But then—
“Boss, watch out!” The warning hit like a slap.
“Soul-Seizing Arrow!” The shout cut like a knife.
Hill shoved me aside, and a black-smoke-wreathed arrow punched through her chest like a viper’s fang.
…
I froze, words strangled like thorns in my throat.
Hill had an arrow in her chest, her pure white uniform red as poppies, and she collapsed into my arms like a falling petal.
The arrow carried Holy Peak-level power, fierce as a blizzard, but weaker than Hill. It shouldn’t kill her, yet still—
…
Her face went paper-pale with pain, and rage flared in me like wildfire.
Even so, I couldn’t speak, not a single soothing word, only stare at Hill trembling in my arms like a wounded fawn.
“Yumigawa…”
“Emperor…”
“Lord Yumigawa Sumeragi…”
“Brother…”
Their voices reached me like echoes underwater. I heard nothing but the truth burning in my skull—Hill was hurt because of me.
…
The fire in my heart swelled, a storm fed by oil. Shattered Light, a sword once more, trembled in my grip like a caged thunderbolt.
Inside me, something nameless pressed against its chains, ready to explode like a star.
