Ti seed to stop.
A massive creature, one of the largest in the chamber, held Lysa in one hand.
Her small fra looked broken, blood pouring from her mouth, her body crushed and mangled.
The creature’s jaws opened wide, preparing to eat her, preparing to consu one of his people.
In Damian’s fragnting mind, mories surfaced:
["I only wanted to find love and experience what it’s like. To understand what those old novels described, what made people willing to risk everything for another person. That’s all I ever wanted."]
["Boss... will we be able to make it out alive?"]
["Don’t worry... I’m still here."]
Sothing snapped.
The Devourer Art had already made him unstable.
Had stripped away ntal barriers.
Had reduced consciousness to base instincts.
But now those instincts focused, sharpened and beca singular purpose.
’I’m still here.’
’I’m still here.’
’I’M STILL HERE!’
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!"
Damian’s scream was inhuman, rage and fury and absolute denial all compressed into sound that made the chamber shake.
His eyes went completely wide, pupils dilated, Slaughter Intent exploding outward in waves that made reality itself seem to flinch.
He abandoned all defense.
A creature bit his thigh, tearing away a chunk of muscle.
RIP!
Another’s claws opened his stomach on the side, intestines visible through the wound.
SLASH!
He didn’t care, didn’t feel and didn’t acknowledge.
In his unstable mind, he tried to use telekinesis to save Lysa, ntal force reaching out–
But his degraded control couldn’t focus properly, the skill slipping through fragnted concentration!
So he used what remained.
Body Control!
C rank mastery over physical form, perfect muscle coordination and absolute efficiency.
His boot stomped the ground.
CRACK!
The fleshy floor shattered, the impact creating a crater, force channeling through his body perfectly.
He launched forward like a bullet.
One millisecond!
The distance between him and the creature disappeared in less than a heartbeat, his body moving faster than thought, pure desperation overriding physical limitations.
His remaining functional hand shot out, fingers wrapping around the creature’s wrist that held Lysa.
He tore.
RIP!
The creature’s hand separated from its arm, tendons snapping like overtightened strings, bone shattering and flesh parting.
He threw Lysa behind him.
His other hand – broken and barely functional – rose anyway.
He used everything, all his remaining Aura and all his Body Control.
Every ounce of strength his enhanced physique possessed.
And smashed downward!
BOOOOOOOM!
The explosion vaporized the creature completely, the shockwave expanding outward in a perfect sphere, catching dozens of other creatures and sending them flying backward.
Students in the blast radius were thrown aside, their ears ringing from the concussive force.
Damian’s body was launched backward by his own explosion, crashing into the chamber wall with enough force to create a crater in the organic material.
THUD
He slid down to the floor, leaving a trail of blood behind him, his body so damaged it barely qualified as human anymore.
His legs were broken in multiple places.
His hands were shattered beyond use.
His torso showed ribs and organs through missing flesh.
His breathing ca in wet gasps suggesting punctured lungs.
But he was still conscious... barely.
His mind teetering on the absolute edge of complete dissolution, hanging onto awareness through sheer stubborn refusal to let go.
’Kill... kill kill kill kill–’
The thoughts were dissolving, his consciousness fragnting, the last vestiges of humanity slipping away like water through broken fingers.
Exhaustion beyond description, running on nothing but rage and instinct.
"!!!"
Everyone stared in disbelief at Lysa’s broken form lying behind Damian, saved from being eaten by impossible intervention.
Then.. the creatures poured over him.
The small controller had focused everything on this threat, directing its entire remaining force toward Damian’s position.
They ca from all sides, a tide of flesh and claws and teeth, intent on overwhelming through sheer numbers.
"NO!" Edrin’s voice cracked, his tactical composure completely shattered. "BOSS!"
Ronan was already moving despite his injuries, his massive fra charging toward Damian’s position.
Zavier scrambled to his feet, blood running down his face, his spear forgotten, everything forgotten except getting to Damian.
But the creatures were between them and their leader, dozens of beings who were between B rank and A rank in strength, blocking the path, and they were too wounded to break through quickly.
****
[First Second]
Ben Royce saw Damian about to be overwheld, saw the creatures converging and saw certain death approaching the one person keeping everyone alive.
’If he dies, so do we all!’
The thought erged with absolute clarity.
"INFERNO DOMINION!"
His Imperial Blessing activated fully, reserves be damned, his entire body erupting in flas that turned the imdiate area into an oven.
WHOOOOOOSH!
A wave of fire rolled toward Damian’s position, incinerating everything in its path, creatures vaporizing, their flesh unable to withstand concentrated fire-principle Aura.
He rushed forward with his greatsword, Inferno Blade blazing, cutting down anything that survived the flas.
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
Creating space and buying seconds.
[Second Second]
David Evergreen’s voice cracked with desperation.
"RAYMOND, TAKE TO HIM!"
Raymond Kingsley’s mind reacted with annoyance before he could stop it.
’Are we seriously putting our lives at risk to save a commoner?!’
The thought erged automatically, centuries of Noble conditioning impossible to completely override.
But his body was already moving.
Because logic overrode prejudice.
Because Damian’s death ant everyone’s death.
Because survival required setting aside pride.
His wind-principle Aura erupted, wrapping around his body, enhancing speed beyond normal limits.
WHOOOOSH!
He picked up David mid-sprint, both of them accelerating, wind reducing friction but creating heat from sheer velocity.
His skin started burning, the air resistance at this speed causing damage despite Aura protection.
He didn’t slow down.
Rushed past students and creatures alike, his blonde hair streaming behind him, pain ignored for the sake of reaching the target.
They reached Damian.
And David’s hand shot out, his green healing Aura already active, fingers extended toward the broken form.
Only one finger touched Damian’s shoulder.
But that was enough.
"DIVINE RESTORATION!"
His most powerful healing skill, the one reserved for fatal injuries, poured through that single point of contact.
Green Aura exploded across Damian’s body, flesh knitting together, bones setting, organs repairing, all damage reversing in an instant.
The missing chunks regrew, the broken hands reford and the internal bleeding stopped.
Within a heartbeat, Damian stood whole again, his body restored to perfect condition.
[Third Second]
The small creature scread.
It was not sound but ntal assault, psychic attack targeting Damian’s already weakened mind.
CRASH!
The attack hit like a physical impact, Damian’s unstable consciousness unable to resist, his Will stat too degraded to mount proper defense.
"AHHHHHHH!"
He fell to the ground screaming, hands clutching his head, Slaughter Intent flickering as ntal agony overwheld everything.
Sophia Verratoux’s eyes blazed with fury.
’You dare use mind attacks in front of a Verratoux?!’
Her Imperial bloodline specialized in mind-principle abilities.
ntal combat was her domain.
And nobody invaded minds while she was present.
She activated her most powerful ntal defense skill, one that required willing cooperation from everyone nearby.
"CONSCIOUS CHORUS!"
Her voice carried command that bypassed normal communication.
The skill allowed her to borrow Will from everyone around her, combining their ntal strength into a single united consciousness that could reinforce an ally’s mind.
But it required they not resist and required they willingly share their Will.
"DON’T RESIST!"
She pointed her finger at Damian.
Every student felt the pull, felt Sophia’s skill reaching into their minds, requesting permission rather than forcing compliance.
And every single person – Noble and commoner and Imperial – chose to grant it.
Their combined Will flooded into Damian’s consciousness.
All their minds supporting one.
ntal strength multiplying, creating a barrier against the controller’s psychic assault.
And... Damian suddenly gained support, his fragnting mind finding stability, the attack pushed back by sheer numbers.
He was still unstable and still damaged ntally.
But functional and aware enough to act.
The third second ended as Damian rose.
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