"It’s back."
Soone blurted out in the monitoring room as the flickering screen surged to life.
Those asleep were jolted awake; those ditating snapped out of their calm and hurried to their seats.
Gizel and Natalie had never left their seats, but both had been drifting off—until the murmurs rose.
At once, they straightened, eyes sharpening on the glowing surveillance feed.
On the screens, the students watched the five remaining examinees gather near Haven’s border, ready to depart.
Naturally, two screens now sat dead and black—Anna and Lextor had already been taken out.
"Let’s see who goes down this ti."
"Surprising that loser Kevin is still hanging around."
"Sa for Warren."
Snide remarks, whispered predictions—most of them pessimistic.
Still, despite the negativity, anticipation pulsed through the room in a single shared wave.
Dolla and several staff mbers stood at the entrance as well, quietly observing as the second round unfolded.
What trials waited on the path to Island Beta?
...
"Alright, let’s go."
Kevin finally stepped forward, crossing the invisible threshold that marked the end of their brief shelter in this chaotic hellscape.
The others followed. Gloria trailed just behind Kevin alongside Warren. Emma stepped forward next, guiding the child by the hand. William exited last, his stride steady.
All six knew exactly where the exit lay—thanks to the map given to them.
"How wonderful it would be if they showed so rcy and let us walk to Island Beta without any more surprises," Gloria muttered, sounding absurd even to herself.
Kevin chuckled. "Yeah, as if—"
*Creak.*
They froze. Sothing had cracked.
Behind them.
Warren stiffened, stopping instinctively—but William’s voice cut in, "Keep walking."
Warren ignored him. He turned.
"Huh... W-What?!"
His voice spiked, his eyes widening at the sight above their abandoned campsite.
Suspended from a branch was a massive white cocoon they had sohow missed completely—despite spending hours beneath it.
Two enormous blackened arms protruded from the cocoon, thick and veined, dangling like the limbs of so nightmare. The thing radiated malice even in stillness.
William clicked his tongue and turned as well. One by one, the others followed.
The cocoon shuddered—hard—quivering as if sothing furious was clawing for freedom inside.
*Creak.* *Crack.*
Chunks of its shell splintered off, crashing onto the dying campfire, collapsing the tents.
The creature inside thrashed violently, trying to tear through the remaining husk.
"We... we should—" Gloria began, her voice tight with fear, already turning to flee, but—
RUUAAAAAAGH!
A guttural roar exploded outward, shaking the earth and making the air itself quiver.
The cocoon split from crown to base, vomiting forth the monster within.
Thud.
A seven-foot behemoth slamd down, the impact trembling through their boots.
Thick, reversed hind legs absorbed the shock. No eyes. No ears. Only a cavernous maw lined with jagged teeth bared in blind, instinctive rage.
Its obsidian skin pulsed—bulging veins coursing with violent currents of Nyx.
"A true devil..." Emma whispered, dread coating every syllable.
Worse.
"A ranked devil... what are they even thinking?" William snarled, stepping protectively in front of the others.
A ranked devil could raze an entire village single-handedly.
A newborn horror that could already challenge soone like Mordred.
The air itself seed to contract as the creature dropped into a low crouch.
Steam hissed from gill-like vents along its neck.
Then it charged.
Kevin answered instantly. Sword drawn, skin igniting with golden runes, he t it head-on.
CLANG!
Blade t wrist in a shower of sparks. For one frozen heartbeat they strained—Kevin’s arms trembling, boots carving furrows in the stone.
The devil had the edge, and everyone saw it.
"KHRUAAGH!"
A brutal punch sank into Kevin’s gut. He folded like paper, spit and foam bursting from his lips as his vision flashed white.
The devil raised both fists overhead in a hamr, ready to end it—
Only for an invisible shield to snap into existence.
TUAAANNG!
William’s hand shook slightly; the barrier held by a thread.
The monster snarled and whipped its head toward the blond mage.
William’s jaw clenched. This thing was stronger than the golem he’d beaten at the academy.
"Tch!" He yanked Kevin out of the kill zone—
But the devil had other plans.
Ripping free of William’s grip on empty air, it launched skyward in a single terrifying leap.
William’s eyes widened. It was coming down right where Kevin would be—
A hexagonal barrier flared into existence at the last possible second.
BOOM!
Emma scread through clenched teeth as the impact spider-webbed her shield and drove her knees into the ground.
The devil landed like a teor.
Emma’s barrier exploded into glittering shards. The shockwave hurled her backward; she hit the ground hard, rolled, and ca up coughing crimson onto the stone.
Warren roared and launched several fireballs at the creature—but all of them just bounced off its hard shell, leaving not a single scratch.
Warren’s jaw fell...h-how are his spell proving to be so useless every single ti?!
The monster grinned.
William was already moving.
Invisible force slamd into the devil’s torso—his psychokinesis at full power, the sa pressure that had once disintegrated a golem.
The monster’s feet carved two long trenches in the stone... and stopped.
That was all.
Seven feet of living nightmare stood there, chest barely dented, head slowly tilting toward William as if noticing him for the first ti.
"...You’ve got to be kidding ," William muttered.
He clenched both fists. The air warped, condensed, scread. Every ounce of telekinetic strength he had crushed inward from every direction at once.
CRUNCH.
The devil’s ribs caved. Black blood sprayed. One arm bent at a nauseating angle.
For half a heartbeat William allowed himself hope.
Then the arm snapped back into place with a wet pop. Broken ribs bulged outward, knitting together before his eyes. The sprayed blood reversed mid-air, crawling back into the wounds like obedient insects.
The devil opened its maw and exhaled a plu of scalding steam that slled of rot and lightning.
William’s invisible grip shattered like glass against sothing far harder than bone.
The creature took one leisurely step forward. The ground cracked beneath its heel.
Kevin was back on his feet, sword blazing white-hot, golden streaks crawling up his arms like molten gold. He roared and lunged, blade singing as it carved a diagonal arc ant to bisect the monster from shoulder to hip.
However, the monster stopped his blade with his teeth and,
*CLANG*
It clenched its jaw and snapped the sword into fragnts.
Kevin’s eyes widened...not just in shock but also realization
This...is what a True Devil is capable of.
°°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Thanks for reading. Please leave a comnt to motivate .
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