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Aeon was already aboard the ship, restraining himself, waiting for it to reach the city as fast as possible.
But the territory of the Astraea Empire spanned hundreds of millions of kilometers. If not for instantaneous transportation that moved the ship to the nearest possible point to the city, the ship would have needed at least half a day—or more—to reach its destination.
Because of that, he was extremely anxious. He knew the Evil Path well—he had fought them several times before—and he understood exactly what they would do to this city.
So the moment he saw the city on the horizon, his body tensed slightly, already prepared for the worst.
When some of the other students noticed his tension, they assumed he was afraid, and that his earlier words were nothing but nonsense meant to make himself look better in Janet's eyes. Some even glanced at him with disdain.
---
When the ship got close enough, Aeon suddenly reinforced the aura within his body intensely.
Janet and the other students were startled by this sudden change.
"Aeon, what are you doing?!"
He did not respond.
Instead, he compressed his aura into his legs to the extreme, stepped toward the front of the ship, used the balcony as a platform—and then launched himself like a cannon.
He shot out of the ship, reaching a speed he had never experienced before. Had he not reinforced his body with aura, his flesh might have torn away from his bones under that velocity.
---
Below him, battles were still ongoing between the city's soldiers and the Evil Path along the walls.
Despite the soldiers having the numerical advantage, the Evil Path still held the upper hand. In fact, it often took three soldiers, fighting on the brink of death, just to barely hold back a single disciple of the Evil Path.
But the soldiers could not truly be blamed…
First, the disciples of the Evil Path emitted an extremely dense blood aura that affected a person's will, instilling intense fear. Under the influence of that fear—especially the fear of death—the strength one could exert dropped drastically, perhaps not even reaching sixty percent of its usual level.
And worse than that…
This time, the attackers were disciples of the Corpse Demon Sect.
Aeon recognized them—he had fought some of them before.
They used corpses of beasts fused with humans, enhancing them with blood to strengthen their bodies until swords could not wound them, and they became resistant to fire and water. Then they controlled those corpses with their own spirits to fight.
They possessed high speed, endless endurance, and felt no pain. As long as the controller's spiritual power did not run out, the corpse could, in theory, fight forever.
---
As he flew forward, scenes of the city passed beneath him.
The sight of corpses scattered across the streets chilled his heart instantly.
He shifted his gaze toward the center and saw disciples of the Evil Path moving rapidly toward it—toward where the civilians had gathered.
He ignored them.
His focus locked onto the center.
The civilians had to be secured first… then the Evil Path could be exterminated.
---
Then—
He saw them.
Dozens of figures standing before the civilians.
One of them raised a barbed chain, preparing to swing.
---
Aeon drew his black sword in an instant.
Aura surged into it, completely enveloping the blade.
Then he roared—a roar filled with pure killing intent—and unleashed a crescent-shaped slash toward the group.
They did not even have time to think about the source of the roar—
Before they were completely erased from existence.
Along with them, the slash carved a long scar across the ground before fading away.
---
Moments later, Aeon descended to the ground.
Due to his immense speed, he could not stop immediately, but he did not lose his balance. Instead, he was dragged across the ground for dozens of meters before finally coming to a halt.
Without hesitation, he rushed toward the center.
---
There were already slightly over a million civilians gathered there.
The total population of this small border city had been nearly two million…
But due to the Evil Path's methods, nearly two hundred thousand had already been killed.
And the number was rapidly increasing.
On his way, he saw disciples of the Evil Path advancing toward the center, killing anyone in their path. Some people were running toward the center, while others hid in scattered locations.
Because of their "luck"—and the impatience of the attackers—the disciples ignored them. To them, those scattered individuals were insignificant.
The true feast… was at the center.
---
Aeon could not save those fleeing.
If he was delayed by even a few seconds, the massive crowd at the center would be annihilated.
And he could not leave either…
Not until Alice arrived—at the very least—to secure the civilians before he moved on to eliminate the others and join the soldiers' battle.
---
The civilians were stunned by Aeon's sudden descent from the sky and the way he killed those demons in a single attack.
The children stopped crying, staring at him with wide eyes.
Even the men and women—though their fear had not vanished—could not hide the flicker of hope in their eyes.
---
A man pushed through the crowd.
He appeared middle-aged, but his elegant clothes suggested he held a high status in the city.
He ran toward Aeon—but stumbled and fell.
He quickly got back up, remaining on his knees as he shouted desperately:
"Young hero! Have the knights of the Empire arrived?!"
In their panic, they had not clearly noticed Aeon's attire, which bore the insignia of Arcane Academy.
---
Aeon stepped forward and helped the man up.
Then he shook his head.
"The knights of the Empire won't arrive anytime soon."
---
The man's face instantly turned pale.
The hope that had just ignited in his heart was extinguished just as quickly.
But Aeon continued:
"I'm here under orders from Arcane Academy. My companions will arrive soon, so there's no need to worry."
---
The man glanced at the badge on Aeon's chest.
But instead of reassurance, his expression twisted, and he shouted hysterically:
"Your companions? You're just students! What the hell can you possibly do against the Evil Path?! You'll just die with us!!"
His voice was filled with anger… and despair.
His outburst caused the children to start crying again, while the others fell silent.
---
Aeon looked at him.
He did not blame him at all.
He understood.
---
Then, suddenly, Aeon smiled.
He placed a hand on the man's shoulder.
"Don't worry, old man. I'll make sure you live to see tomorrow's sun."
His smile radiated warmth and unwavering confidence.
Even the middle-aged man did not know how to respond.
Unconsciously, he found himself replying:
"But… I'm not an old man…"
---
But Aeon had already vanished.
---
He reappeared atop the highest building nearby.
His gaze swept across the city.
He took a deep breath… then raised his open palm toward the sky.
Dozens of small spheres appeared above his hand.
---
It was a miniaturized version of his Aura Missile technique—much weaker, but sufficient for now. Enough to save as many people as possible until Alice and the others arrived.
He compressed his aura intensely into the spheres.
A faint flash—
Then dozens upon dozens of thin beams shot out toward the disciples of the Evil Path.
---
Finding them was as easy as breathing for Aeon.
His sensitivity to others' aura—especially the foul, blood-soaked aura of the Evil Path—made them stand out like fireflies in the dark.
He hunted them effortlessly.
---
Dozens were killed without even realizing what had happened.
He prepared for a second round—
More beams shot out toward different targets.
But this time, only nine died.
The rest either suffered critical injuries, evaded the attacks, or even summoned their puppets to shield themselves.
Some beams could not even penetrate their hardened bodies.
This was due to the absence of the element of surprise the first time. Although they had sensed the danger and tried to avoid it, it was already too late.
But the second time, they had already sharpened their senses—especially since their perception of danger is higher than that of ordinary people. After all, on the evil path, facing death every single day is truly a normal occurrence.
---
---
Still…
It was enough to slow them down.
Enough to save some lives.
---
Aeon exhaled and launched a third round.
At the same time, he glanced toward the ship, which had finally reached the outskirts of the city.
He faintly saw four figures, followed by eight others, rising into the sky above the clouds.
Even from a distance, he could tell—
They were the instructors… and their assistants.
It seemed they had their own battle in the heavens.
---
Then—
He saw a figure engulfed in flames rushing toward him at incredible speed, dragging another behind her.
As they drew closer, he recognized them.
Alice… pulling Janet along.
---
With Alice here, he could finally relax.
He could entrust the civilians to her.
Only she was someone he could fully trust to protect them—especially since the battle here would be the most intense.
With Janet supporting her from behind, nothing should threaten them.
---
Alice arrived moments later.
Her expression was extremely serious, and killing intent seeped from her violet eyes.
She spoke to Aeon:
"Leave this place to me, big brother. I will protect the center."
---
Alice was well aware of the Evil Path's methods.
The cruelest among them was attacking from the outskirts, forcing people to gather in the center—making it easier to trap and slaughter them all, before moving on to hunt those who hid.
Sometimes, they would even attack multiple cities at once, scattering the Empire's knights and dividing their forces.
---
Aeon nodded.
Then he shot off toward the city walls.
Anyone from the Evil Path he encountered along the way—he killed instantly, without slowing down.
---
He was moving at extreme speed toward the walls because he had sensed a dangerously powerful blood aura.
It gave him a deep sense of threat.
Strangely, that person's rank was only White Rank…
Yet the pressure they emitted felt even more dangerous than someone at Violet Rank.
And they had not even moved yet.
---
Aeon felt uneasy.
If that person moved…
He feared not a single soldier would remain alive.
And once that happened, disciples of Violet Rank—and even Core Formation Rank—would enter.
At that point…
Without the intervention of the instructors—
Even Aeon would not be able to protect the civilians.
He would have to worry about his own survival.