Night covered Astra Dominion Academy like a calm blanket after the chaos of the day.
Most students had already gone to sleep. The academy buildings were quiet, and the training grounds were empty. Only the soft glow of magical lamps illuminated the long stone paths between the towers.
Inside Dormitory D, Kai was still awake.
He lay on his bed staring at the ceiling.
"This doesn't make sense…" he murmured again.
Across the room, Ryu sighed.
"You've said that at least twenty times."
Kai sat up suddenly.
"Because it still doesn't make sense!"
He pointed toward Leo's bed.
"That guy fought an A-rank monster like it was nothing!"
Leo lay quietly on his bed with his eyes closed.
Kai leaned closer.
"You're not sleeping, are you?"
Leo opened one eye.
"No."
Kai crossed his arms.
"Good. Now explain everything."
Ryu laughed from the other side of the room.
"You're wasting your time."
Kai ignored him.
"You dodged every attack."
"You didn't even panic."
"And then you touched the monster and it collapsed."
He leaned forward suspiciously.
"Are you secretly a hunter?"
Leo sat up slowly.
"No."
"A martial arts master?"
"No."
Kai narrowed his eyes even more.
"Then what are you?"
Leo simply smiled.
"Just a student."
Kai fell back onto his bed dramatically.
"This is torture."
Milan, who had been reading quietly at his desk, spoke calmly.
"Some people are naturally talented."
Kai groaned.
"That level of talent should be illegal."
Leo looked toward the window again.
Outside, the moon was shining brightly.
But something in his chest felt uneasy.
The divine blood inside him was not completely calm tonight.
It pulsed slowly, like a distant heartbeat.
As if something far away had noticed him.
---
Far beyond the academy.
Beyond the cities.
Beyond the protected human territories.
Deep within a forest where the ground was covered with ancient bones and twisted trees…
A massive underground chamber existed.
The walls were carved with strange demonic symbols glowing with dark energy. The air itself felt heavy and suffocating.
At the center of the chamber stood a throne made of black stone.
And sitting on that throne was a being feared across the monster world.
A Demon Lord.
His body looked almost human, but dark horns curved from his head and shadowy energy surrounded him like smoke.
His eyes glowed with deep crimson light.
For hundreds of years, he had ruled the monsters of the southern regions.
Countless humans had died because of his commands.
But tonight, his expression was different.
Curious.
Because earlier that day…
He had felt something strange.
A ripple.
A tiny wave of power spreading across the world.
A power that felt ancient.
Ancient enough to make even a Demon Lord uneasy.
The demon leaned forward slightly.
"Report."
From the darkness of the chamber, another creature stepped forward.
It was a tall shadow monster with glowing yellow eyes.
"My lord," it said respectfully, bowing its head.
"We detected the energy again."
The Demon Lord's eyes narrowed.
"Location?"
"A human academy in the eastern territory."
The Demon Lord tapped his finger slowly against the arm of his throne.
"A human academy…"
He closed his eyes briefly.
Inside his mind, he replayed the sensation he had felt earlier.
That energy…
It did not feel like human mana.
It was something deeper.
Something older.
His eyes opened again.
"Send scouts."
The shadow creature nodded.
"At once, my lord."
The Demon Lord leaned back against the throne.
His crimson eyes glowed faintly in the darkness.
"If something powerful has appeared in the human world…"
A cruel smile formed on his face.
"Then I want to know exactly what it is."
---
Back at Astra Dominion Academy.
Leo was standing alone on the dormitory rooftop.
The wind moved gently through the night sky.
He looked toward the distant horizon where the world stretched far beyond the academy walls.
His mind was quiet.
But the ancient voice within him spoke again.
"You felt it too."
Leo nodded slightly.
"Yes."
Something powerful had noticed the ripple of divine energy earlier that day.
Even though Leo had suppressed most of his power, the battle with the monster had allowed a small amount of divine aura to escape.
And that small ripple had traveled far.
Far enough to reach dangerous beings.
Leo sighed softly.
"This world is more sensitive than I expected."
The ancient voice inside him responded calmly.
"The blood of a god cannot remain hidden forever."
Leo closed his eyes.
Memories from his previous life briefly flashed through his mind.
The endless battles.
The betrayals.
The war that had lasted one hundred years.
And the moment he destroyed the secret locket to protect the universe.
That life had ended.
But now he had been given another chance.
A new beginning.
He opened his eyes again.
The stars above him looked calm and distant.
"This time," he said quietly, "I'll live differently."
"I won't rule."
"I won't chase power."
"I'll just grow stronger quietly."
But deep inside, the ancient voice whispered something else.
"A storm has already begun."
And somewhere far away in the darkness of the world…
Powerful beings had already started searching for the source of that storm.
Even if Leo wanted peace…
The world itself might not allow it.