No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

"All units! Immediate deployment! All combat cadets report to the outer wall! Code Level Seven! Repeat—Code Level Seven!"

His voice cracked on the last syllable.

Code Level Seven.

It wasn't the highest. That was Code Nine—reserved for full-scale beast hordes capable of leveling cities.

But Code Seven was still terrifying.

It signified a confirmed rogue A-Rank Awakened Beast within city limits.

An apex predator moving freely through the concrete maze of Beijing where millions lived.

Damien stood up instantly, slipping into his boots and coat in one practiced motion. His dormmates did the same, their bodies moving on instinct, minds trying to catch up.

Jiang Xiao Yu was already at the door, her robe gone, her light armor clicking softly into place. Ji Chen's face was grim. Jennifer pulled her gloves on tighter than usual.

Outside, floodlights were igniting across the campus.

And from far beyond the academy walls… came the distant rumble of something that did not belong.

Something massive.

Something alive.

And something coming.

A terrible sound cracked across the sky.

Not thunder. Not magic. Not engines.

Wings.

Massive, leathery wings tearing through cloud and air.

And a fearsome, hungry roar of pure ferocity.

SKRIAAAAAAAAAAA!

The beast descended like a shadow dropped from the heavens.

Its scales were dark and iridescent, almost like oil shimmering under light—black with veins of pulsing red. Each wing was the size of a shuttlecraft.

Its tail lashed like a whip made of steel cables, and jagged horns crowned its grotesque head like a crown forged from bone.

Its eyes glowed green. Not a mystical green. Not the green of life.

It was the green of old poison, of rot that had remembered how to hunger.

It crashed into a twelve-story residential building within view of the academy gates, landing with such force that the entire block jolted as if slapped by a god.

Concrete exploded.

Steel beams twisted. The building buckled and collapsed like wet paper.

Hundreds of lives was instantly gone at that moment, snuffed out like the off switch of an lamp.

Screams rippled through the campus as the cadets froze.

Instructors shouted. Students paled. Several fell to their knees.

But that wasn't the worst part.

The worst part was that the beast wasn't finished.

It turned and sniffed malevolently, looking for the next building. The next cluster of prey.

It lifted one claw the size of a tank and stepped forward, crushing cars and igniting a wave of mana sparks as city wards tried and failed to push it back.

Then, just before it reached the next residential tower which was already filled with screaming and hysterical people, a white streak tore through the sky.

A high-spec mecha screamed onto the scene, trailing boosters and starlight. It came in fast, fast enough to leave a sonic boom in its wake, and just barely intercepted the monster before its next strike could land.

A-Ranked Colonel Jin Cheng.

His white 5th-generation mecha landed with its arms spread wide, shield systems at full burn, crashing into the massive beast and preventing it from striking the residential building. Behind him, civilians ran. Families screamed. Children clutched schoolbags under the protection of hastily raised shields.

Colonel Jin's voice rang over the open comms.

"This is Colonel Jin. I am engaging the hostile. All civilians fall back! I repeat, fall back!"

He fired a blast from his shoulder cannon, scoring the beast's flank. It shrieked and reeled.

The colonel surged forward, trying to draw it upward, launching into the air with a flurry of missiles that traced loops through the clouds.

But the beast didn't take the bait.

It turned.

Looked at another building.

And prepared to strike.

Colonel Jin intercepted again. Slammed his shield into the creature's chest. Kicked it back with a powered leg brace.

They entered a terrible, brutal standstill.

But it was obvious.

Colonel Jin Cheng was losing.

His movements grew slower. One arm hung limply, its actuator crushed by a tail swipe. One leg sparked, visibly damaged. His shield was almost completely melted. Even then, he stood between the beast and the civilians, refusing to move.

In a sterile battlefield, he would have had the upper hand.

But this was Beijing.

And here, his hands were tied.

Every attack had to be measured. Every blast restrained. Every maneuver calculated not for damage but for safety.

And the beast had no such limitations.

Colonel Jin's mecha took a direct hit to the chest, cracked open like an egg.

He was going to die.

Damien tensed. He was about to move when the wind changed.

A figure rose into the sky.

No jetpack. No boosters. No equipment.

Just will.

General Maru.

Gone was his lazy slouch. Gone was the mischievous grin. Gone was the ridiculous voice that always asked if anyone brought snacks.

In its place stood a man ablaze with righteous fury.

Unimaginable, terrifying, awe-inspiring fury.

He rose calmly, coat flapping in the rising wind, the heavens themselves parting before his power. His presence did not blaze outward in chaos like lesser mages.

It was condensed. Controlled. Compressed.

A singularity of wrath made flesh.

He lifted one, wrinkled hand as his killing intent exploded outwards.

"You foul beast. You dare kill my countrymen…"

A sphere of energy coalesced above his palm.

It was dense and blinding. The pressure warped the air around it. Buildings vibrated. Trees bent away. Even the beast paused, confused.

The sphere pulsed once before surging forward to surround the beast in a perfect, silent prison of annihilation.

There was no roar, just a blinding flash of light…

Then it vanished.

So did the beast.

Gone.

Not shattered. Not sliced.

Erased.

No remains. No blood.

Just silence.

The cadets screamed in shock. Some clapped. Some fell to their knees in stunned relief.

Damien… gulped.

He looked at General Maru, still hovering there like a vengeful god dressed in a wrinkled uniform.

That was the man he called "old geezer" at least twice a week?

The man he threatened to kick during duck bun lunches?

He slowly turned to Fatty.

"…Maybe I should… apologize later."

Fatty, shaking, nodded frantically. "Yeah. And maybe bow. Or bake cookies. Or offer up your life savings."