Advent of the Three Calamities

Julien's growing momentum started to give rise to a natural fear in Johan's mind as he hurriedly circulated his mana, extracting every little bit of power in his body.

Pop!

Johan's muscles popped and cracked, his shirt ripping apart and his eyes turning bloodshot. The void that surrounded him shrunk exponentially, wrapping around his arm tightly.

Then, he threw a punch, one that sucked the void around them, exposing the outside world again.

Johan was very confident that anyone beneath Tier 5 couldn't defend and take on his punch.

If his opponent took on the punch directly, all his power would be reflected back to him directly, shattering every inch of his bones, or even worse.

'Yes, come!'

His excitement only grew when he noticed Julien prepping up to meet his own fist.

Boom!

Cra Crack!

Accompanying the explosive sound was a cracking noise as Julien's other arm shattered.

Blood seeped out from his mouth as his hand recoiled back. In a physical matchup, Julien came out beneath.

But that was fine.

Because...

He was never there to begin with.

"Uh?"

Johan's eyes widened in shock as he watched Julien's body morph into what appeared to be a large chunk of the pavement which exploded into thousands of fragments, torn apart by the sheer impact of his fist.

Panic surged in Johan's eyes.

Swoosh!

Lips parting, he turned around to see Julien's figure appear right behind him.

Johan clenched his teeth and opened up his palm, thrusting it in Julien's direction. Swoosh!

Fire erupted, shooting directly at Julien.

To Johan's shock and pleasant surprise, Julien didn't dodge. The fire engulfed Julien's body directly, only showing faint traces of his burning silhouette.

'I got-!'

Johan's heart jolted all of a sudden.

Feeling a faint presence coming from behind, he didn't hesitate to turn around once more and once again thrust his hand in the opposite direction.

'It was another illusion!'

He clenched his teeth.

Just as he turned and unleashed the flames in the opposite direction, his heart sank in horror. A pair of eyes were locked on him-cold, deep, and indifferent, as though he were nothing more than an insignificant speck.

But most importantly.

They seemed to belong to a cat.

Before Johan could understand what was happening, a pair of burned hands emerged from behind him, grasping at his mouth and neck.

"Haa..."

A hot breath ran down Johan's neck as Julien's lips parted.

"Sadness."

"....!"

Johan suddenly felt an overwhelming tension building in his chest, intensifying with every second that passed, growing heavier and more suffocating.

's-stop...! Stop! Sto-p!'

The more the sensation swelled, the more Johan felt his head throb.

Bam, bam!

It was as if someone was hammering his mind with a sledgehammer, increasing the power with each swing.

Bam, bam-!

It took his breath away, stopping any words from coming out of his mouth. He could only shout for Julien to stop in his mind.

's-stop! Stop!'

But Julien couldn't hear his thoughts.

How could he?

.....Right at this very moment, tears were streaming down his slightly burned face while his hand trembled as he felt slight tremors of pain run down his body.

The pain was intense, and it was this pain that stopped him from regulating his powers.

He just continued to pour his emotions into Johan who started to tremble.

'Stop! M-make it stop!'

His eyes started to turn white.

The pain in his mind reached levels where he stopped thinking.

His entire body started to spasm, trashing and squirming in Julien's arms. There was something clearly wrong with him, but Julien didn't notice it.

He thought that he was still struggling.

So he injected more.

And more.

And...

Bang-!

Julien felt a warm splash of liquid hit his face. He didn't register what had happened until the body he had been cradling slipped from his grasp and thudded to the ground.

Thud!

"....'

Julien lowered his head to look at his arms which were covered in blood.

Beneath him a headless corpse appeared, still leaking blood.

"Ah."

That was when it all registered in his mind and he took a step back, his muscles faltering due

To exhaustion. He tried his best to resist, but even then, his body failed him.

Thud.

Julien fell down on his butt.

11

||

He was exhausted, and yet he was breathing normally.

His mind was so numb that he could only just faintly process what had happened. All he knew

Was that the entire fight had lasted no longer than half a minute at best.

It was incredibly quick.

But...

He had killed a Tier 5.

Someone who had developed a domain.

||||

Blankly staring at the headless corpse in front, Julien's lips trembled.

'I did that...?'

Emotive Magic did that?

How?

How could...?

"Uekrh!"

Julien felt a sudden throb in his head. It smashed directly at his mind, almost as though a

Heavy hammer had directly pounded against it.

It felt excruciating.

Julien flinched and hurriedly shifted his attention towards his hand where his ring rested.

"P-pills..."

He mumbled, channeling the little bit of mana that he had left.

"P-pills..."

He mumbled again, his consciousness fading.

'Ah, no.'

He couldn't let his consciousness fade. Not yet. If he did then he would be in big trouble.

He couldn't.

He...

Thud!

Julien slumped down on the ground, his consciousness fading away, slowly being replaced by

Another.

He clawed the ground, putting up a desperate struggle, but it was futile.

He...

Slowly lost consciousness, giving space for another.

||

An eerie silence enveloped the surroundings as Julien lay motionless on the ground for several

Minutes.

Gradually, his eyelids began to twitch.

Twitch. Twitch.

The moment Julien's eyes opened, his expression changed.

"The hel-akh!"

Abruptly sitting up, he winced in pain.

"Arkh"

Julien's scream reverberated into the air while he hurriedly scratched his face and arms, only

For the pain to increase further.

"F-fuck, make it stop! M-make it stop!"

Julien tumbled across the ground, writhing in agony with every roll. Each movement only

Intensified the pain, sending sharp jolts through his body.

"Kh."

He bit down hard on his shirt, muffling the ams that threatened to tea

'Stop, make it stop! What did that bastard do!?'

Out of him.

...He had only lost control for a tiny bit before gaining control of it again. And yet, by the time

He regained control, all that met him was pain.

"Argh!"

The pain was unbearable, leaving him gasping for air, his chest tightening as though he were

Suffocating.

Each second stretched on, amplifying the agony until it felt unbearable.

"S-stop, mak-"

"Why aren't you using your pills?"

A voice suddenly cut through his screams. In his agony, Julien managed to turn his head to see

A silhouette staring in his direction.

'A cat?'

Its eyes were deep, and standing not far from him, it looked at him with a concerned look.

"If you take the pills you should be able to be fine."

'Pills? What pills?'

...Pills aside, what was this cat? Was it the same as the Owl? Another one of the parasite's

Pets?

No, that didn't matter right now.

"W-where?"

All he could think about was making the pain stop.

"P-pills? W-here...?"

"Eh? Aren't you supposed to know?"

|| ||

Julien clenched his teeth and glared at the cat who frowned subtly. Then, turning its head, it

Looked right at Julien's hand. Following its gaze, Julien caught sight of the black ring on his

Finger.

"That, again?'

He had noticed it before when the owl looked at it. He didn't pay much attention to it out of caution, but now he didn't have the time to think about being careful.

...Glaring at the Owl, Julien clenched his teeth to suppress his pain before shifting all his

Attention towards the ring where he quickly channeled his mana.

He wasn't entirely sure what it was for, but judging by its appearance, it seemed like

Something that could help him acquire the pills he needed.

'A relic, it must be a relic.'

Closing his eyes, he channeled his mana into the ring.

"!"

The instant he activated it, a powerful suction force erupted from the ring, pulling his

Consciousness out of his body.

He didn't even have the time to react before he felt his consciousness get snatched away.

A faint breeze swept over the Academy grounds, carrying with it the distant sound of

Approaching footsteps, growing louder with each passing second.

Licking its paw, Pebble turned around and entered the bushes, completely fading into one of

The many bushes.

Rustle~

'My job is done.'

Shortly after, a few voices echoed.

"Over here!"

"....There's someone over here!"

"Quick!"

***

The world was white.

In one moment Julien found himself suffering from excruciating pain and in the next

Moment, he found himself within this strange white world.

|| ||

Looking down, he could see his own reflection.

He looked completely unharmed.

"I'm not hurt?"

He didn't feel any of the pain he previously felt.

In fact, he felt incredible! However, the ecstasy didn't last for very long.

Frowning, Julien looked around. All he could see was white-an endless stretch of white.

"Where am I? Where are the pills? How do I get out?"

It was eerily quiet around him.

All Julien could hear was the faint echo of his own voice.

"Hey!"

He shouted at the top of his lungs, his anger starting to accumulate.

"What am I supposed to do? Anyone!!"

Julien's eyes darted around, his brows furrowing even more. Memories of the past year

Flooded back, making his chest tighten with unease.

He felt trapped again.

No, not again...

Just as he was about to speak, the ground beneath him rippled unnaturally, sending a cold

Shiver up his spine.

"....!"

Before he could react, Julien felt his feet sink into the ground, sending ripples radiating outward.

"What the..!!"

Julien squirmed and tried to free his legs, but it was useless.

"Ah!"

Everything he did only made him sink faster.

"Urkhg! Akh!"

Slamming his hand against the ground, Julien sent more ripples spreading outward. They

Stretched endlessly throughout the white world, only coming to a stop when another ripple

Appeared.

Tak-

The faint echo of a footstep reverberated, halting Julien for a moment as a shadow cast over

His body.

As he raised his head, his eyes grew wide at the sight that greeted him.

"You-"

"This really was quite difficult to set up."

A faint voice echoed before he could get his words out.

"There were quite a few hiccups here and there, but everything went as I planned. This might

Not fix everything but I'm sure I'll be able to solve most of my problems for now."

It was Emmet who lowered his head to get a closer look at Julien, whose body was sinking

Deeper into the ground.

His stunned expression was a sight to see.

"You might not be familiar with this place, but it's a very dear place to me."

Emmet extended his hands, glancing at the world of white around them.

"Welcome to the trials of forgotten minds."