Chương 51: The Man Who Died

The first pillar shattered. The sound did not resemble stone breaking. It was closer to the scream of something alive. A wave of violet light erupted through the underground chamber, racing along the carved channels in the floor before climbing the walls and disappearing into the darkness above. The six figures surrounding the black crystal staggered as the entire chamber trembled beneath their feet. Leo remained still. His sword was lowered. His eyes followed the glowing lines spreading beneath him.

The network was no longer being activated. It was already active. Above them, somewhere beneath the streets of the Royal Capital, seven enormous magical pillars were drawing power from the Arcane Convergence. Every spell being cast, every crystal being charged, every fragment of mana circulating through the festival was being pulled toward the same hidden center. The black crystal. Leo tightened his grip around his sword.

"So that is what you wanted." One of the masked figures raised his hand.

"You understand too late." The crystal pulsed. The pressure inside the chamber doubled. Leo's coat shifted violently in the magical wind. He took one step forward. Then another. His breathing remained steady. The nearest attacker rushed him. Leo moved. Heavenly Demon Step. His body vanished from the man's sight. A flash of steel appeared beside the attacker's neck. The man twisted away at the final instant, but Leo's blade still opened a thin line across his shoulder. Blood struck the floor. The attacker retreated.

Leo did not pursue. Instead, he looked toward the ceiling. Something was wrong. The disturbance above them had changed. It was no longer merely magical. There was screaming. Hundreds of voices. Then came the distant sound of an explosion. The entire chamber shook. One of the six figures looked upward.

"The surface has begun." Leo's eyes narrowed.

"How many?" The man laughed beneath his mask.

"Enough." Another explosion thundered through the capital. Dust fell from the ceiling. Leo suddenly understood. The underground network had never been the true attack. It was only the mechanism that had allowed the attack to begin. The Arcane Convergence had gathered an enormous amount of magical energy into the capital. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. And now someone was using it. Leo turned toward the passage. The six attackers moved simultaneously.

They had no intention of letting him leave. Leo raised his sword. For the first time that night, his expression became completely cold.

"Then I have no time for you." He stepped forward. Above the capital, the night exploded into chaos. Crystal towers that had stood peacefully for days suddenly released columns of distorted light into the sky. The elegant formations surrounding the Royal Capital collapsed one after another, sending uncontrolled magical waves through the streets. People ran. Royal guards shouted orders. Mages attempted to stabilize the formations. Some succeeded. Others were thrown backward by their own spells.

The Arcane Convergence had become a battlefield. At the academy, Professor Gareth stood in the eastern courtyard with his sword drawn.

"Everyone stays inside!" A barrier expanded above the academy buildings. A moment later, something struck it. The entire barrier bent inward. Gareth's expression changed.

"That wasn't a normal spell." Another impact followed. The barrier cracked. Students screamed. Professor Elara Veyne stood beside Gareth, one hand raised toward the sky.

"There are multiple magical signatures approaching from the eastern district."

"How many?" She hesitated.

"Too many." Gareth looked toward the city. Then his eyes moved across the courtyard. Alice was there. Amon stood several meters away, helping injured students reach the medical wing. Masha was reinforcing the damaged defensive formation with earth magic. Daniel was carrying supplies between the buildings. They were no longer a group standing together. They had become individuals responding to a disaster. Alice looked toward the city. Something was bothering her. She could not explain what.

Then she realized what was missing. Leo. Her expression remained composed, but her eyes searched the courtyard once more. Nothing.

"Where is Leo?" No one answered. Far beneath them, Leo drove his sword through the stone floor. Heavenly Demon Severance. The blade released a concentrated wave of Internal Energy. The nearest attacker crossed both arms to block it. The impact sent him crashing into the wall. Before the others could react, Leo was already moving. A second attacker attempted to trap him with chains of mana. Leo twisted between them. A chain passed within centimeters of his face. He caught another with his left hand.

The magical chain tightened around his arm. Leo pulled. The attacker stumbled forward. A single strike ended the exchange. The remaining four stopped. For several seconds, neither side moved. Then the black crystal pulsed again. Leo felt something. Not recognition. Not a familiar presence. Something much simpler. Danger. The crystal was approaching its limit. If it released all the energy it had gathered, the consequences would extend far beyond the underground chamber. Leo looked toward the passage.

He needed to reach the surface. Immediately. The leader of the attackers stepped forward.

"You cannot stop it." Leo glanced at him.

"I don't need to stop everything." His sword rose.

"I only need to stop you." The man's eyes narrowed. Then he smiled.

"Try." The battle above the capital became louder. A section of the academy's eastern wall collapsed. Gareth immediately moved to protect the students behind him.

"ELARA!"

"I see it!" A massive spell formed above the academy. Alice looked upward. For a brief moment, she saw a dark figure moving across the rooftops in the distance. She blinked. It was gone. Amon noticed her reaction.

"What did you see?"

"Nothing." Alice looked back toward the city. But she did not believe her own answer. Below the capital, Leo finally reached the central chamber. The black crystal was glowing so brightly that looking directly at it hurt his eyes. The seven channels around it were burning. Six remained intact. One had already shattered. Leo understood what would happen next. If another pillar broke, the system would become unstable. If all seven broke… He did not know. And he had no intention of finding out.

He approached the crystal. The leader appeared behind him.

"You are too late." Leo stopped. The man raised his hand. The crystal responded. A violent pulse erupted. Leo was thrown backward. His body struck the stone wall. Pain exploded through his ribs. He dropped to one knee. Blood ran from the corner of his mouth. The leader laughed.

"You should have stayed a student." Leo slowly wiped the blood away. For several seconds, he said nothing. Then he stood. His breathing was heavier now. His ribs were damaged. His Internal Energy was beginning to strain against the accumulated mana surrounding the chamber. But his eyes remained calm.

"A student?" He lifted his sword.

"I was never meant to remain one." The leader's expression changed. Leo disappeared. The next moment, the chamber was filled with steel. One strike. Two. Three. The leader blocked the first. Dodged the second. The third cut through his cloak. He retreated. Leo followed. Their weapons collided again. The shockwave shattered several crystals embedded in the walls. Then the second pillar cracked. Both men stopped. A deep sound echoed through the chamber. CRACK. Leo looked toward the pillar. The leader smiled.

"Too late." Leo's eyes hardened. Above them, the Royal Capital screamed. And somewhere on the surface, Alice suddenly felt a strange pressure in her chest. She did not know why. She only knew that something had gone terribly wrong. Then the academy received a message. A single sentence. The messenger was pale when he spoke.

"There's been a collapse beneath the eastern district." Gareth immediately turned toward the city.

"Who is down there?" The messenger swallowed.

"We don't know." A pause. Then he added quietly:"Leo hasn't been seen since the attack began." Alice went completely still. For the first time that night, the noise around her seemed to disappear. Beneath the city, Leo looked at the collapsing chamber. He understood what he had to do. He could not return to the academy. Not like this. Not while the attackers were still watching. Not while the city was falling apart. And if he survived the coming battle, his existence as Leo would become a weakness.

He looked down at his sword. Then toward the dark passage leading upward. A decision formed in his mind. It was simple. Cold. Necessary. Leo would die tonight. And before dawn… the Heavenly Demon would return. End of Chapter 51.