Lucifer: Godless Reawakening

'This ceremonial hall is your Haven. Once you step out, you will find yourself in the middle of the assessment.' Those were her words—and only now did the students understand what she meant.

"Where in the world are we?" Anna whispered, staring blankly into the void around them.

It wasn't just her. Every single one of them stood frozen, equally bewildered, squinting into a world swallowed by darkness.

A thick, choking smog devoured everything in sight. They could barely make out their own hands, let alone where they were stepping.

"Stick closer! Emma, keep a hold of the child," Kevin called out, tension cracking through his usually steady voice.

William's brows tightened as he concentrated, the mental noise pressing in from all sides—dozens of thoughts buzzing like insects in the haze.

"We're surrounded," he warned.

Lextor clicked his tongue. "How are we supposed to fight when we can't even see each other?"

Gloria groaned, frustrated. "I might hit one of you. My vision's already gone."

"Don't you dare lay your hands on me," Warren snapped back.

Anna whimpered, rubbing her eyes, "This smoke is making my eyes burn. Keviiiin!"

William let out a slow exhale. This was turning into a circus.

A soft sound tugged at his focus—a timid whimper near his leg. He glanced down.

The little girl clung to his pants with one tiny hand, her other firmly held by Emma. Her wide eyes trembled with fear.

He clicked his tongue.

'These people are panicking worse than a child.'

"Stop talking, you idiots," he hissed, voice low but razor-sharp. "We can't see them, and they can't see us. But make enough noise, and they'll hear everything."

Silence slammed down instantly.

"Emma," he continued, calm but commanding, "put a barrier around us—and a separate one around you and the kid."

She nodded quickly, lips moving in a steady chant, faint light gathering around her.

Then William asked, "Kevin… where's the sun?"

Kevin blinked. "Why do you need to know that?"

"Tch. Just answer."

Lextor opened his mouth, ready to argue that they couldn't possibly see the sun through this smog—

but then Kevin pointed behind them without hesitation.

"It's there."

William nodded. "That's west. The exit should be this way." He pointed left. Then, turning to Gloria, he said, "If I remember right, your skill lets you echolocate, right?"

Gloria nodded. "Yeah. But to get anything precise, I need to go into my concentrative posture."

William raised his hand—and Gloria's feet left the ground.

She yelped, flailing instinctively, but stopped when she realized he wasn't doing it to tease her.

Hovering in the air, she quickly folded her legs beneath her, settling into a cross-legged position.

Her glasses tilted slightly as she closed her eyes, breath steadying, focus narrowing.

Then she began to listen—deeply, intently—into the smog-ridden dark.

But just then—

"Dodge." William's voice sliced through the fog as his hand snapped toward Lextor. He had sensed the charge, the flicker of intent cutting through the smog like a spark in dry grass.

His telekinetic arm shot out—

but Lextor moved faster.

A sharp thrust of his palm tore a clean path through the smoke.

A silhouette erupted from the haze—only to be blasted back with far more force than it had lunged with, its body vanishing into the darkness like a ragdoll swallowed whole.

Lextor stared at the faint smoke rising from his hand. "Leave the close ones to me," he said, voice steady, unbothered.

William didn't comment. "Gloria," he asked instead, "what's your range?"

"Thirty meters," she replied, eyes still closed, voice quiet but focused.

William nodded once. "Then I'm leaving detection to you. Don't mess it up."

Gloria gave a tiny nod, lips pressed together.

Kevin leaned closer to William. "Should I take the back?"

William dragged a hand over his face. "A swordsman guarding the rear?"

Kevin blinked. Realization hit him a moment late. He gave a sheepish smile, scratched his cheek, and stepped forward.

Drawing his sword, he positioned himself at the front, shoulders squared.

Behind William, Lextor silently took his place—his fists clenched, his stance grounded, ready to throw anything that came near back into the void they crawled from.

Gloria floated beside Emma, suspended in her meditative posture, Emma glowing faintly under her barrier spell. William stood on Emma's other side, the formation tightening like a shield drawn close.

From behind them, Anna's hesitant voice piped up.

"Um… William… what should I do?"

The blond one shrugged without looking back. "Just don't die."

"…."

…..

[In the monitoring room]

"Woooh~ did you see that attack? I wonder if that soldier even survived," one of the students whispered, equal parts awe and horror in his voice.

"Wait… are they even allowed to kill the soldiers?" another asked, eyes darting around as if someone might have the rulebook hidden in their sleeve.

No one answered. None of them knew—the council had never disclosed how far contestants were permitted to go.

Gizely crossed her arms, eyes widening as she muttered, "Never thought I'd see William actually stepping up as a leader."

Natalie gave a slow nod, still watching the smog-cloaked battlefield with disbelief. "Right… It's probably because everyone was panicking. He won't say it, but he really does respect this contest. Maybe… he actually wants to win it too."

That made Natalie pause. Curiosity pricked at her.

"Gizel… you've met his father, right? What's he like? Is he strict with William? Is that why he's trying so hard to win?"

Gizel let out a slow sigh. "Yeah, I met him during one of those noble gatherings." Her expression softened slightly. "And I can tell you for certain—Count Delimore absolutely adores him."

She continued, almost amused at the memory. "Every time I heard him speak, he was looking for an excuse to bring William into the conversation. And whenever the topic shifted toward the noble children, he never missed the chance to boast about how brilliant his son is."

Natalie's brows went up. "Hmm… Well, I always thought he was the reason William wasn't expelled from the academy. Turns out it wasn't because he wants to uphold his reputation."

Her gaze drifted back to the screen, settling on the blond moving through the smog with calculated calm.

"But maybe… things are different," she murmured.

Gizel gave a small hum. "Well… William and I are kind of alike."

A faint, defeated smile crossed her lips. "He shamed his family name and is now mending things… and I'm going in the opposite direction."

Natalie understood without needing any more explanation. She placed a gentle hand on Gizel's shoulder and said firmly,

"Don't get disheartened. I'm sure you'll leave a strong impression in the third round."

Gizel was about to respond to that when suddenly her lips parted in shock as her eyes landed on the screen.

Natalie followed her line of sight and soon, her eyes widened in shock too.

"...this…aren't they going a little too far now?"

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A/N:- Thanks for reading.