The creatures came again, crawling out of the fissures like vermin spilling from a wound. They survived that wall of violet light.
Six in total, each one larger than a man. Their bodies were malformed, patchwork hides of scale, bone, and muscle twisted together by an unseen hand. Jaws dangled with sharp teeth, saliva dripping in thick strands. Their eyes glowed pale, starved of reason, filled only with hunger.
The air itself warped around them.
Ren stood at the center of the ruined training ground. Sweat dampened his collar, but his eyes held no fear. His pulse hammered like a drum in his ears.
Behind him, the students gathered in a loose crowd. Their murmurs wavered between awe and dread, though none dared step forward.
The teacher had not moved. His stooped figure lingered at the edge, expression unreadable.
Ren flexed his fingers. Mana shifted inside his core, yet what stirred was not the clean flow he had practiced. It was heavy, thick, like ink spreading through water. The black sea inside him rolled, dark waves striking against his veins.
He clenched his jaw.
The first creature lunged.
Its claw came down, jagged and fast. The stone cracked beneath its weight.
Ren moved. His body bent low, sliding past the blow. The air screamed where the claw cut through. Dust sprayed into his hair.
He twisted his wrist. A spark of darkness burst between his fingers.
The spark swelled instantly into a lance of black light.
It pierced the beast's abdomen before it could turn. The creature let out a strangled shriek. Its flesh did not tear; it dissolved. Chunks of bone and sinew unraveled, reduced to dust.
The crowd gasped as the beast collapsed into nothing.
The silence that followed was broken only by the sound of its fall.
Mira's eyes widened. Her lips parted as if to speak, but no sound came. She had witnessed countless spells, but none that devoured matter so completely.
Watson rubbed his eyes, his voice low, sharp. "That is no ordinary element."
Mira swallowed. "It's… different."
"Different?" Watson's gaze never left Ren. The black motes still shimmered in the air, fading slowly. "Perhaps. Or perhaps it is simply rare. Power like that is not meant for beginners."
Another beast shrieked, lunging forward. Then another, then another.
They did not fear.
Ren steadied his stance. The black sea surged again, demanding release.
The first strike drained more than it should have. My limbs are heavy. But if I falter, they'll reach the others.
His eyes narrowed.
The second creature came, jaws snapping. Ren raised his palm.
"Black Spiral."
The words cut through his teeth.
A vortex of darkness coiled around his arm, then burst outward.
The spiral slammed into the beast, ripping its body apart in an instant. Limbs twisted, torso shredded, and then dissolved into motes of void. The attack did not stop there. The spiral cut into the third beast mid-leap, tearing half its skull before dispersing.
Ren staggered back. His knees trembled, lungs heaving.
The crowd stirred.
"Two down already…"
"What kind of magic is that?!"
"His aura—so heavy…"
Eyes turned toward Yato.
He stood at the side, arms crossed, gaze unblinking.
One of his team leaned closer, whispering urgently. "Leader, what's happening to that boy? That… he doesn't look like the Academy's student."
Another pressed. "He's awakened, isn't he? That must be it."
Yato's pupils narrowed. His lips moved slowly. "I think… we are watching something far more dangerous."
The words carried no excitement, only weight.
Back on the field, Ren's body screamed for rest. His veins burned as though molten iron had replaced his blood.
But the creatures kept coming.
The third beast, half its skull missing, still thrashed forward. Its claws ripped across the ground, stones flying.
Ren's breath hissed through his teeth.
Too close.
He raised his hand again. Darkness surged like chains snapping.
Tendrils of void lashed out, wrapping the creature mid-charge. They tightened instantly, slicing through its body like razors. The beast shrieked, then burst into fragments.
The backlash struck Ren harder this time. His vision blurred. Spots of black dotted the corners of his eyes. His core groaned under the strain, as though the energy inside was not his, but something devouring him from within.
Mira flinched at the sight. Her hands curled tight at her sides. "He's… he's tearing them apart like nothing."
Watson's gaze sharpened. "Look closer. Every strike drains him. That power—he cannot sustain it."
Her eyes darted back. Ren's face had paled, his shoulders heaving, but his stance did not falter.
Another roar shook the ground.
The last three creatures spread out, circling. Their eyes glowed brighter, bloodthirst sharper. They had learned.
Ren wiped sweat from his brow, lowering his stance. His muscles screamed, but his mind was cold.
"If they corner me, I won't last. I need to break their formation."
The black sea churned violently, restless inside his body. The more he suppressed it, the more it demanded to be unleashed.
His lips tightened.
"Fine."
He slammed his foot into the ground. Cracks spidered outward.
The darkness erupted.
Flames of void burst from his body, not fire but something deeper, shadows that burned without light. They spread across the battlefield, devouring air and sound alike.
The students at the edge recoiled, shielding their faces.
One cried out. "It's eating the ground!"
Indeed, where the black flames touched, stone dissolved into nothing, leaving only empty scars.
The creatures shrieked and charged through.
Ren's eyes blazed cold. He thrust his palm forward.
The black flames surged like a tide, sweeping across two beasts at once. Their bodies shriveled instantly, flesh vanishing, bones collapsing into ash.
The third leapt through the chaos, jaws snapping at his throat.
Ren twisted, but his body lagged. Too slow.
The creature's claw scraped across his shoulder. Blood sprayed.
Pain seared through him, white-hot. His knees buckled, but he did not fall.
The black sea inside him roared. His vision turned narrow, the world painted in shades of void.
He snapped his fingers.
The black flame erupted point-blank, swallowing the beast's head whole. Its body collapsed in twitching spasms before dissolving.
Silence.
Ren's chest heaved, each breath ragged. His shoulder bled freely, crimson staining his sleeve. His body screamed to collapse.
The crowd did not speak. Their eyes were wide, pale, locked on the battlefield where six creatures now lay erased.
Yato's fingers curled slightly at his side. His voice was low, almost inaudible, but his team heard.
"Dark elemental."
The word cut like a blade.
His team stiffened. "Dark…? That's impossible."
Yato's gaze deepened, unblinking. "It's rare. It's dangerous. And it's exactly what he has."