Yoshika nearly collapsed from the overwhelmingly ecstatic feeling of relief. She had done it! She had reached the summit that she had been striving for after what felt like forever—though it had really only been about a year. Before she could let herself get carried away, Yoshika caught herself and maintained a veneer of good sportsmanship. She bowed respectfully to Hayakawa.

“Good match! Would you like some help with first aid?”

“If it’s not too much trouble.”

Yoshika nodded and set about checking the fallen for injuries. Most of the damage was minor or superficial. The worst injuries had been sustained by Miyata, who’d had a worrying chunk taken out of his side by Eui’s destruction, followed by Hayakawa and Rika. Miyata’s body-hardening technique apparently allowed him to cut off his own blood flow, which had kept him from suffering shock or bleeding out, and it was fairly easy to patch him up enough that he could make his way to the medical pavilion for further treatment. Rika’s injuries were entirely spiritual and there wasn’t much that Yoshika could do for her other than offer a soothing infusion of wood essence—she’d need either time or good medicine to heal her meridians. Finally, Hayakawa was by far the most injured of them all. The fact that she was still alive—much less conscious and standing—was mind-boggling, and Yoshika was impressed by Hayakawa’s incredible sturdiness. Though when she thought about it, her bodies were probably just as hardy.

Once everyone had gotten patched up and back on their feet, Yoshika noticed Hayakawa frowning fiercely, and approached her curiously.

“Are you alright? Did I miss something?”

Hayakawa shook her head, glancing off into the distance as if distracted by something.

“No, your first aid was more than satisfactory. You’ve been very graceful in your victory, thank you.”

Yoshika paused awkwardly, trying to think of how best to hedge her response.

“Are you...okay? With the loss, I mean.”

Hayakawa chuckled and shook her head ruefully.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed, but that’s not what disturbs me.”

“Then...?”

Hayakawa shrugged.

“Perhaps it’s nothing, but it feels like it’s too quiet. Why hasn’t there been an announcement of the end of the match?”

Yoshika froze. There hadn’t been an announcement. For that matter, not a single one of the eliminations had been announced the way they had been in previous rounds. She hadn’t noticed it in the heat of battle, but it was concerning now that she thought about it. On top of that, the ominous sense of oppression she’d been feeling lately—another issue that she had been ignoring since the start of the battle—had continued to get worse, and now she felt almost the same as she had under Jianmo’s trial.

“You’re right, something feels wrong. We should get back to the academy.”

They began to hurry back, though their pace was slowed by the injured. They’d expected to find a crowd waiting for them at the edge of the forest, but it was entirely deserted. Yoshika’s uneasiness mounted as she looked around in confusion.

“Where—?”

She was interrupted by a cacophonous ripping sound, accompanied by a deafening sound that was like a waterfall of broken glass. Covering her ears and looking up at the source of the sound, Yoshika’s eyes widened at the sight of a hole in reality, floating impossibly in midair. Beyond the portal, Yoshika saw a scintillating, chaotic mass of impossible colors. Mana of every element came pouring through the hole with a density that was physically palpable. A figure stepped through, followed by two more before the hole collapsed in on itself with a loud pop.

The three figures stood in midair as if it were solid ground, surveying their surroundings. By their appearance, they were immediately recognizable as demons. The first was an enormous man whose glossy black horns resembled that of an ox, with muscles to match. His rough, flaxen hair contrasted against the dark tan of his skin, and a huge red orb stood out on his shirtless chest. His eyes glowed red, and he had an expression of unbridled bloodlust.

The second was a woman, lithe and beautiful if not for the sickly pallor of her skin, which was so white that it made her look more like a porcelain figure than a human—that, or a corpse. Her hair was an unnatural emerald green that fell straight down between a pair of small black horns to the middle of her back, and her eyes were violet. Her demonic core was the same green color as her hair, and sat right in the center of her collarbone—a fair bit smaller than the others. She was the first to notice Yoshika’s group, and the sharp-toothed smile she gave them was the very opposite of comforting.

Finally, the first through the portal, standing in front of the other two was a man who would have been unremarkable if not for his company. Short brown hair, dark eyes, and plain silken robes that spoke of a subdued wealth, without opulence. Unlike the excitable looking pair behind him, he wore a calm demeanor, and he would have been entirely out of place if not for the brightly glowing orbs in the center of each palm. One was a crimson red, and the other a pale violet, but the most disturbing thing about them was that unlike a normal demonic core, each of these orbs was shaped like an eye, with a long, reptilian pupil in the center of each. The eyes darted to and fro, as if constantly searching for something.

Yoshika tried to probe experimentally with her domain, and had to fight down the bile rising in her throat at what she felt. Not only were all three of them xiantian cultivators, but the one at the front had a domain so dense and powerful that she could feel him suppressing her with his mere presence—and he didn’t seem to have noticed. His domain was pure malice, oppression, and a naked hatred of all things. Worse—it was familiar. The feeling of oppression, the dread that she’d been experiencing over the course of the last week or more—it was him.

The three floated gently to the ground, and the oppressive force of their domains became too much for Yoshika to bear. The mere presence of the leader—and he had to be the leader of the trio—forced her domain back into her bodies and severed the link between them. Jia blinked in surprise, the transition hadn’t been jarring, thankfully feeling as natural as if she had done it by choice—it had just been unexpected. She shared a worried glance with Eui and by unspoken agreement, they joined hands. Jia felt her domain merge with Eui’s once more, but didn’t immediately revert back to Yoshika—she’d been planning to spend some time split up anyway.

The leader turned to the woman—who was still staring at Jia’s group—and spoke a single word, his tone commanding and inquisitive.

“Where?”

Without hesitation, the green-haired woman pointed straight at Jia’s group—no, at Eui specifically. The leader glanced at them, and once again Jia had to fight the urge to throw up just from his gaze as the strange eyes on his palms also focused on them. He shook his head curtly.

“No. Too weak.”

The woman hesitated for a moment, before pouting. Her voice was raspy as she protested.

“I can feel his essence! It’s faint, but unmistakable! Those are the ones that drew heaven’s wrath.”

Jia felt the man’s domain press in on her even further. It felt as if she couldn’t even breathe as he regarded her group carefully. Once again, he shook his head.

“No. You’ve been tricked. It’s just a mark left behind. Those children are too weak to have survived a tribulation—you’ve been outwitted.”

The woman scowled, her voice becoming whiny as she continued to insist.

“You know he’s a trickster and a shapeshifter! Maybe it’s you who’s being misled! My technique doesn’t lie!”

The leader turned slowly towards her, and Jia immediately felt the pressure on her lessen as all eyes fell on the green-haired woman. He spoke in carefully measured tones, but she shrunk away from him with each word.

“It’s not your technique that I question, Yu Meiren—it is your motives. You know as well as I do that Jianmo is not here.”

The green-haired demon—Yu Meiren, apparently—stomped a foot and whined petulantly.

“Ugh, fine! You never let us have any fun in mortal worlds. Besides, he marked one of them—that means at the very least she’s been in contact. Maybe they know something!”

Jia wanted to scream in frustration. Jianmo! That stupid demon seemed to be the source of all her problems, and every time she heard his name it brought more bad news. The leader of the trio of demons stared at Yu Meiren impassively for a moment, then responded in the same cold tone.

“Fine. Take the marked one alive, but don’t delay. Our enemies knew we were coming—I can sense their emissaries nearby. Come find me when you’re finished.”

Without waiting for a response, the man rose up into the air and flew off to the north fast enough to leave a sonic boom in his wake. Without his oppressive presence, Jia finally felt like she could breathe again, but the other two were still way beyond what she could face. She spoke to Eui through their telepathic link.

“Eui, we need to run. I think they’re after you because of whatever that idiot sword demon did to you.”

Jia felt Eui’s anxiety amplifying her own as her girlfriend squeezed her hand tightly.

“How? There’s no way we can escape.”

“We run towards the academy. I don’t know where everybody went, but they must know something is going on. The deans might be able to stop them. Ancestors, at this point I’d take Yan Ren or Eunae’s sister.”

They began to back away slowly, and Jia whispered to her friends and allies.

“They’re both xiantian. We need to get away, now!”

Most of the others nodded, but Miyata Toshiharu stepped towards the demons, his head held high. Hayakawa Kaede looked ready to strike him down herself, but he spoke up before she got the chance.

“Excuse me! Miss Yu, was it? I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. You seek the one marked by a demon, correct?”

Yu giggled, approaching the group slowly. Jia was paralyzed by fear, it reminded her of being in the presence of the greater shadow spirit up on the mountain—the one that had spawned Heian. It felt as if any sudden movement would result in horrible, bloody violence. Yu Meiren spoke, not to the group, but calling back to the large ox-horned man behind her.

“You hear that, Dasheng? This one wants to negotiate!”

The large man chuckled darkly, but said nothing. She turned back to Miyata, grinning with teeth that were far too long and sharp to be human.

“Go on, then, clever boy. You heard correctly, what do you propose?”

Yan Yue hissed through clenched teeth at Miyata.

“Don’t treat with demons, you idiot! You’re going to get all of us killed!”

Miyata scoffed.

“Far from it, I intend to save us. Miss—no, Lady Yu Meiren—” he bowed deeply, “we have no quarrel with you. The one you seek is the red-eyed girl with the dark hair and the tail of a rat, An Eui. She is a demon herself, and unlikely to go without a fight unless you also take her lover, Lee Jia—the one next to her with white hair and catlike features. None of us will interfere if you simply take them and go.”

Hayakawa grabbed Miyata by the shoulder with a white-knuckled grip, but he turned and met her angry glare with a determined gaze of his own.

“Our safety must come first, my lady.”

Hayakawa grimaced and turned away, crossing her arms but notably...not protesting. Yu Meiren simply watched with amusement as Hayakawa’s team fell in line with some trepidation, while Lee Jia’s group continued to hesitate. Jia was about to tell them not to die for her, when the demoness stepped forward, grinning widely at Miyata.

“Ahaha! Oh, I like you! I think he deserves a reward, don’t you Dasheng?”

Dasheng offered little more than a grunt in response, but Yu Meiren ignored him and approached Miyata, still maintaining that predatory grin of hers. Jia felt an unmistakable bloodlust flowing off of the demon.

“Since you were so polite and generous, clever boy, here’s what I offer you...”

Jia didn’t even see the movement. One moment Yu Meiren was standing in front of Miyata, the next her arm was buried elbow deep in his chest, her hand gripping the smashed remnants of his heart in her hand as it protruded from his back, pulverized gore splattered across his stunned teammates. She leaned in close and whispered into his ear even as the light of life swiftly faded from his eyes.

“A swift death, followed by eternity as a piece of my power!”

Jia watched in horror, sensing it through her domain as Yu Meiren’s own domain—a portrait of selfishness, lust, and greed—closed in around Miyata’s corpse and pulled a tiny spark of something far more potent than mana from it. A distressingly familiar energy that she had only sensed once before—a soul. It followed her hand as she removed it from MIyata’s chest, and was quickly pulled into her shining green core. Yu Meiren shuddered with pleasure as she absorbed his soul, then turned to the rest of the petrified students.

“Did you really think we’d be leaving any of you alive? This one barely qualified as a snack, but the full dozen of you? Well, I suppose we were supposed to leave the little demon girl alive, but accidents happen don’t they, Dasheng?”

The large man chuckled cruelly and began to advance on the group. That was enough for Jia and everyone else. The entire group scattered and fled. All sense of cohesion was lost as the terrified group ran from the bloodthirsty demons. The demons laughed gleefully as they gave chase, and Jia knew that they were being toyed with—the demons could have killed them all in seconds if they were serious. She tried not to look back as Dasheng caught up to Ozaki and tore the poor boy in half at the same time as Yu Meiren caught Tokuda by the throat and began to squeeze the life out of him.

Jia tried to blink the tears from her eyes, but they kept flowing. Why was this happening? Where were the instructors? Was she going to die here, all of her efforts amounting to nothing? What was going to become of her friends? She slowed, then stopped. She didn’t have time to discuss her thoughts with Eui, so Yoshika accelerated her thoughts as much as she possibly could.

She had to do something. Yoshika knew that she was powerless against the demons, but she was also their target thanks to whatever essence Jianmo had left behind in Eui. She had Steps of the Stalker, and not even Elder Qin had been able to detect her when she used it at full power. He’d even told her she could use it to escape an implacable foe. If ever there was such an occasion, it was now. She would delay the demons, lead them away from her friends, then...then what? Escape? Unlikely. They only wanted Eui, and the odds that they’d let Jia live were slim. Even with Steps of the Stalker...how far would she be able to get?

A dark thought occurred to her. If they were all doomed to die, could she not use Steps to escape from the demons while they were distracted by the others? She discarded the idea immediately. It was against everything that she stood for—everything she was—to abandon her friends like that. There was nothing she could do for the three that had already died, but for the rest? If it was between her and them—Yoshika made up her mind.

Time resumed to its normal speed as Jia and Eui broke off from the group, fleeing perpendicular to the other students rushing towards the academy. Eui shouted over her shoulder as they ran.

“Get to the academy! We’ll draw them away!”

Both of them ignored the shouts of protest they heard from their friends, praying that the demons would take their primary targets seriously enough to give chase. Yu Meiren instantly poked a giant hole in her plan.

“Dasheng, go after them. Try not to kill the rat girl.”

Dasheng grumbled irritably, but quickly split off to chase after Jia and Eui.

“I feel like an idiot.”

Eui giggled manically, shaking her head.

“We’re both idiots, Jia. We’ve known that since the beginning. If I’m going to die, I’m glad I got to spend my last moments with an idiot like you!”

Jia chuckled sardonically. It was just like Eui to make inappropriate jokes moments before their demise. Dasheng gained on them quickly despite his lazy, loping stride. Moments before he caught up, the air changed. A domain swept across the field, and Jia felt war, a honed edge, and a guiding spirit. The air went completely still, except for a vortex of cutting wind that tore the earth from the ground in its wake, striking Dasheng head-on and knocking him several meters back, bleeding from a thousand deep gashes.

The demon stumbled to his feet, his wounds already visibly regenerating before a red blur smashed into him, knocking him back towards Yu Meiren, who caught the much larger man—now sporting a massive slice through his midsection that had nearly bisected him. Master Ienaga Yumi stood where Dasheng had been only a moment ago, her sword—the real one—drawn and dripping with blood, and her expression cold as ice. She advanced on the demons slowly as they eyed her warily, assessing the new threat.

“Lee, An, take Hayakawa and the others and flee to the south gate. Murayoshi is leading the evacuation there.”

Jia swallowed nervously, staring at Ienaga’s back.

“Evacuation!? What’s going on?”

Ienaga shook her head in response.

“No time. I can handle these two, but there are others. Go!”

Jia didn’t need to be told a third time, taking Eui’s hand and running to catch up with the others—who had wisely never stopped fleeing. Behind her, Jia saw a glimpse of the true meaning of power as Ienaga’s battle with the two demons shook the very earth.