NOVEL NEXT Chapter 254: 254 - Less Than A Minute
B O O O O O O O O O O M—!!!
The entire hall vibrated violently as an explosion occurred!
Then—
C R A C K—!
A giant hole suddenly ripped open in the middle of the auditorium's ceiling!
"HUH?"
"WHAT HAPPENED?!!"
"GAHHHH—?! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT? THAT HURT MY EAR!"
"KYAAAAA!!!"
"STUDENTS, CALM DOWN!"
"GAH?!! AND NOW EVERYONE IS SHOUTING! THIS IS HELL!!!"
All the students and professors exclaimed and looked up, wide-eyes and confuse.
Then above, they saw it...
Descending from the hole—
-KAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!!
Was a hideous-looking man.
He had grayish-purple skin, grotesque and disfigured, with horns twisting from the sides of his head!
His back carried a cloak made of what seemed like writhing human skins, and his nails were long and jagged like talons. His eyes glowed crimson— filled with corruption, madness, and power!
But what was more horrifying—
SWOOOOOOSH~
Was the ominous pressure he was emitting!
"Grgh...?!"
"...!"
It was thick. Suffocating. Heavy enough to make the air feel like lead!
A Demon Contractor.
And not just that.
Based on the presence it was releasing— It's a contractor of a Noble Demon!
But that wasn't all—
Right behind him—
-Kekekekeke... What a sight.
-Look at them human scums, they all look stupid.
-Haha, you can't blame them. They're standing in the presence of us noble demons.
-I already want to kill them all.
-Hmm, let them struggle first haha.
Five humanoid figures followed him out of the hole!
Each of them exuded malevolent aura. They looked nothing like beasts or monsters—each of them had distinct humanoid forms, dressed in battle attire forged from black metal. Their expressions were twisted, arrogant, intelligent. Not mindless.
They are noble rank demons!
To be more specific— Baron-rank Demons!
And surrounding them—
-GRRREEAAH—!
-KIIEEEEE!!
-KAAAAAK—!
Hordes of demon beasts and monstrous familiars came flooding down the sides of the hole, pouring into the auditorium like a torrent!
Giant demonic bats, gargoyles, bone vultures, corrupted spirits, and many more!
It was a complete invasion! Just like last year!
The once celebratory atmosphere in the are instantly turned into chaos.
"DEMONS!!!"
"THEY'RE INVADING AGAIN!!!"
"AHHHHH—! RUN!"
"SHUT UP, IDIOTS!!! GAH?!!"
The crowd of students screamed.
"...!"
"They're back!"
"..."
Professors raised their guards.
Even the second prince, Aurelian—
"Wha—?!"
He froze in place, his eyes wide in shock.
He couldn't move.
The pressure... it was unlike anything he had felt his whole life!
T A P-
"Get behind us, your highness."
"We'll protect you."
His two elite guards immediately stepped in front of him and put up their shields and weapons.
But on the other side—
"..."
Sariel, Ramiel, and Charles.
"..."
The headmasters.
"..."
The top students.
None of them we're panicking. Their eyes as calm as ever.
They already knew how to respond.
Because they still couldn't forget the last invasion!
They remembered the disaster that took place during the tournament between the academies.
They learned from it.
And they've been preparing since!
Anyway, the Demon Contractor floated in the air, grinning. Then spreading his arms like an idiot—
He opened his mouth and started talking—
-Listen well, you insects. This ceremony will be your grave. All of you will perish here today, and your blood shall be a sacrifice to—
But then, before he could even finish his words—
Raye.
Leon.
Christian.
Ace.
Ignis.
The five of them calmly stepped forward—
Tap-
And in a split second—
S W O O S H—!
They all vanished from where they stood!
The demons didn't even get to react.
Because in that moment—
Each of the five students appeared in front of one Baron-rank demon.
And then—
S L A S H—!
Raye cut the demon in front of him into two with [Nyx]!
FWOOSH—
Leon sliced clean through the neck of his target with one stroke!
SPOOSH!!!
Christian thrust his spear with full force that it destroyed the whole head of the demon in front of him!
SWISH— FWISH-
Ace decapitated his opponent with two precise slashes—clean and without resistance!
And Ignis—
He pressed his palm against the chest of the demon in front of him.
In the next instant—
S W A H H H~!!!
That demon was consumed by raging golden flames, turning into ash before it could even scream!
It happened all too fast.
-Huh...?
The demon contractor turned his head, stunned.
-What...?
His expression twisted.
He scanned his surroundings.
The five baron demons that came with him—
They were all already dead before they could even do something!
And surrounding him in the air, were the killer of them—
Raye, Leon, Christian, Ace, and Ignis.
The five of them calmly looked at the Demon Contractor, without a hint of urgency. As if what they did was no big deal.
-...!
The contractor's eye twitched. He felt like they were looking down at him.
(They were.)
-You... you bastards—
But before he could finish his sentence again—
He felt something.
His neck... It twisted slightly. As if it was being pulled.
No—
It was actually being pulled!
By a force he couldn't understand!
His realized this too late. And before he could even do something—
-GAHHH?!!
F W O O O S H—!!
His entire body—
SRAK!
Was yanked from the air—
Flung uncontrollably across the auditorium like a ragdoll—
Straight toward the stage—
BAM!
Then his neck slammed violently into a firm grip.
"..."
Bryan Blackwood.
Standing still on the stage, his black eyes calm and focused.
One of his hands outstretched.
The headmaster of Zion Academy was using Telekinesis... And he had caught the demon contractor by the neck!
FWIP—
-GRRRGH?!!
His grip tightened. But he didn't crush the Demon Contractor's.
Instead, Bryan glanced sideways.
"Micah."
"On it."
The silver-haired headmaster of [Night Academy] stepped forward, sword unsheathed in a flash.
FWIP!
In less than a breath— She slashed down.
And in the blink of an eye—
THUD-
The demon contractor's right arm fell to the floor.
-GYAAAAAAHH?!!
He screamed.
But no one around flinched.
Cassiel, the red-haired headmaster of [Crimson Academy], raised her hand.
A spell circle appeared behind her.
And in a moment, all the demon beasts that had landed near the entrance—
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Were wiped out by a barrage of fire lances.
Green wind blades followed, cast by Ariel—the headmaster of [Zephyros Institute].
SWISH~ S L A S H—!!!
He moved with calm precision, eliminating every remaining beast that tried to hide or flee.
The elite professors also moved without delay.
Sariel, Ramiel, and Charles were coordinated. They eliminated the monsters and demonic breasts targeting the students.
Jerusha, Lycus, Lena, Devin, Allen, Sofia, and Aria helped as well. They killed every demonic beings they see without much effort.
And just like that—
The chaos was contained.
The second invasion was crushed.
In less than a minute.
And the students—
"Huh...?"
"...?"
"What the hell...?"
"Finally... It's quiet..."
Their screams had died down.
Swoosh~
"..."
Silence filled the room.
Everyone was still trying to process what just happened.
Demons invaded them, but before they could even leave the auditorium to escape—
It was already over.
The headmasters returned to the stage.
Raye and the others quietly returned to where they stood earlier as well.
The contractor was on his knees now, still alive, but injured.
-GRRGH...!!!
He was trying to move and scream. But a chain made of flames were restraining him, and his mouth was being blocked by a condensed gust of air.
The Demon Contractor glared up at Bryan.
Bryan just crouched slightly, looking down at him.
"Don't look at me like that, you piece of shit."
Then—
PHACK—!
-...?!
THUD-
He knocked the man out cold with a quick chop to the neck.
Bryan stood back up.
"...Now where were we?"
He turned to Sariel, who was smiling calmly at him.
Sariel adjusted his robe. And opening his mouth—
"Right, as I was saying... That's all for today, you are all dismissed."
"The students from the other academies, please follow your professors. We prepared a comfortable place for all of you."
He said that with a smile on his face.