By the time evening fell, the first-year students had fought relentlessly. From the pale light of morning through the burning sun of afternoon, they had faced wave after wave of monstrous creatures—E-rank and D-rank beasts, all covered in black blood, their eyes void and hostile. The ground around their camp was scarred, pools of dark, viscous blood glistening in the fading light.
Exhausted, sweaty, and covered in grime, the students gathered near their campfires. Many were injured—scrapes, bruises, and deeper wounds where claws or fangs had cut too close. The smaller mana beasts tiredly nestled against their owners, sensing the tension in the air.
The main cast was still alert, their senses sharpened after the day's brutal encounters. Kaelith had been coordinating movements, Sylphie helping the weaker students, Marcus and Lucas clearing the remaining threats with deadly efficiency, and Aria and Ruby sparring with creatures that challenged them physically and mentally. Even Ryan and Eren, after their tracking and habitat work, had fought alongside others to protect the injured.
Irene stood slightly apart from the group, her posture calm, but her eyes betrayed a storm brewing inside. Her mana flowed outward like ripples in water, scanning the forest, probing for anomalies. And slowly… her brows furrowed.
Something… bigger is coming.
Her instincts, honed from years of experience and countless missions, screamed at her that the hordes of black-blooded beasts were not the true threat—they were only a warning, a prelude. The forest itself seemed to shiver with anticipation.
She turned to glance at the main cast. Their faces were tired, marked with dirt and blood, but bright with determination. They had survived this far, yes—but this next wave… whatever it was, would push them beyond their limits.
Her voice was quiet, but carried weight as she addressed them.
"Prepare yourselves. You've done well today, but this… this is only the beginning. Something much larger approaches. I can feel it."
The students exchanged uneasy glances. Even with all they had fought, the air of impending danger was different—heavier, darker.
Far deeper in the forest, beyond the campfires, Nex's mind remained focused. Unaware to the others, he could sense the disturbance as well. The storm of rage and intent within him throbbed like a pulse. He knew something terrible was rising, and that sooner or later, it would reach the camp.
Irene's fingers traced the edge of her earpiece, a frown deepening. "Stay alert. Nothing—nothing—can catch us off guard this time."
The wind whispered through the trees, carrying a faint, unnatural scent—the sharp tang of blood, thick and blackened, mixed with the underlying hum of corrupted mana.
It was only a matter of time.
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Evening had fully settled when Nex reached the containment room. The corridor outside was thick with the metallic smell of blood and corrupted mana, but now the faint hum of machinery grew louder—a low, ominous vibration that made the hair on his arms stand on end.
He approached the heavy doors, his violet eyes gleaming in the dim light. Without hesitation, he pushed them open.
Inside, the room was a chaotic laboratory of horror. Bright lights flickered, illuminating a mutated beast strapped across a platform, its body twisted, multiple limbs grafted unnaturally, eyes black with a flicker of red mana. Two researchers scrambled near control panels, panic etched across their faces as the machinery whirred and hissed.
Four E-rank beasts and a single D+-rank beast roamed the room, snarling, lashing, teeth bared. They were violent, powerful, and trained to kill without hesitation—but they were nothing compared to him.
Nex's lips curved into a cold smile.
"Let's see how obedient you really are," he murmured, and the vectors around him stretched like invisible chains.
In an instant, the four E-rank beasts were yanked off the ground, slammed into the walls, spinning through the air. The D+-rank beast charged him, claws extended, but Nex twisted the vectors in the space around it, bending its momentum mid-leap, sending it crashing through a metal table with a sickening crunch.
The room filled with snarls, screeches, and the smell of blood. Dark blood splattered across the walls as claws tore, teeth bit, and bones cracked. Every movement was precise—he manipulated space around him with lethal creativity, using the room itself as a weapon. A dangling pipe became a battering ram, shards of broken glass became spinning projectiles, a metal shelf became a swinging trap.
The researchers screamed, scrambling backward, hands waving helplessly.
"Wait! Please! You don't understand!" one of them yelled, tripping over a fallen beast. "It's part of a hidden plan—we only followed orders!"
Nex's violet eyes narrowed, sharper than any blade. He flicked a finger, vectors snapping around the first researcher, lifting him clean off the ground. His scream was cut short as Nex slammed him repeatedly into the wall, blood spraying across the floor and machinery.
"You think I don't know?" Nex's voice was low, deadly. "I've read everything. I know your plans. And now… you pay for every life you've destroyed."
The second researcher tried to flee toward an emergency door. Nex extended vectors like chains across the room, wrapping them around the man's limbs and torso. He yanked him back with brutal force, sending him smashing into the control panel. Sparks flew, wires exposed, blood splattering the floor.
Then, his gaze fell upon it: the massive mana crystal at the center of the room, glowing faintly in the dim light. Forty feet tall, pulsating with corrupted mana. Nex recognized it instantly from the notes he had read in the novel—the crystal powering the puppets, the entire army of monstrous creations.
He took a deep breath, rage boiling inside him, and walked forward. The researchers scrambled, pleading, shrieking, trying to explain.
"Don't!" one begged. "You don't know what will happen if you destroy it!"
Nex smiled darkly, violet eyes glowing brighter than ever.
"I know exactly what will happen. And I don't care. Every second you've tortured, every drop of black blood, ends now."
With a controlled flick of his hand, he shattered the vectors around the crystal. Then he surged forward, striking the base with his full vector-powered force. The crystal cracked, splintered, and then exploded in a blinding eruption of mana. The room shook violently. Screams filled the air as beams of raw energy lashed out, tearing the remaining beasts apart, splattering black blood across the walls.
The researchers shrieked, trying to activate some hidden failsafe. Nex caught them both mid-step, his vectors bending their bodies painfully against the wall. Bones cracked, blood sprayed, their screams echoing in the collapsing lab.
As their last breath left them, one pressed a final button on a panel in desperation. A deep rumble shook the floor. A primal, unnatural roar erupted from somewhere beneath the lab. Something immense had been triggered. The air thickened with dark mana, so potent it made Nex's violet eyes flare uncontrollably.
He stepped back, crimson from his battle with the beasts and researchers, his chest heaving. The black blood of the room, the shattered crystal, and the dying screams of his enemies created a visceral, almost sacred chaos around him.
Nex's mind cleared. The first mission—to destroy the crystal and stop the puppets—was complete. But now… a new, far more dangerous presence had been awakened.
He clenched his fists, violet eyes glowing, rage and intent burning hotter than ever.
Whatever this is… whatever waits… I will face it. I will not let it endanger the children.
And with that resolve, Nex readied himself, moving deeper into the lab, toward the source of the new, primal threat that had been unleashed.
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