The sound tore through the vast auditorium, echoing against the high ceiling like thunder.
Kyle crouched low, one hand steady on the white-furred monster’s spine, the other gripping the hilt of his black tachi.
The monster beneath him thrashed violently, great white bat-like wings beating against the air as it tried to shake him loose.
Its eyes burned red, glowing with unnatural malice, but Kyle’s own gaze stayed steady, his balance unwavering.
The panther-like monster bucked again, twisting its massive body midair. Its wings snapped as it attempted to flip upside down, trying to fling him toward the jagged ground below.
He raised his blade, the black steel humming faintly. His body moved without hesitation, without wasted effort.
He slashed diagonally.
For a breath, nothing happened.
Then, with a tearing sound, the beast’s left wing split open.
Black blood gushed like oil, spraying across the air.
The monster let out another furious roar, its body jerking as its balance faltered.
Its movements grew desperate, frantic. With only one wing, its flight crumbled.
It tumbled downward, helpless, twisting in panic.
Kyle pressed his boot against its back and shifted his weight. He had no intention of sharing the crash.
Four meters from the floor, Kyle bent his knees and launched himself free.
The monster’s body smashed into the auditorium below, the impact sending a thunderous shockwave through the ruined seats.
Wooden planks cracked, dust and splinters rained down, and debris scattered in every direction.
Kyle landed lightly on his feet, his blade already raised. His blue eyes followed the wreckage as the monster writhed amid the shattered rows.
In the same instant, he vanished.
He reappeared before the beast’s snapping jaws.
With fluid precision, he thrust Zalrielle’s blade straight toward its throat.
The strike landed deep, but the monster’s hide was thick. The black steel bit in but stopped before piercing clean through.
Kyle didn’t hesitate.
The black blade pulsed.
Ice burst outward, jagged spikes sprouting violently from the wound, tearing through flesh from the inside out.
The panther-like monster jerked in place as its throat bloomed into a frozen crown of spikes, like a grotesque ice porcupine.
Its red eyes dimmed. The glow faded to nothing.
Kyle let out a slow exhale, wiping the back of his hand across his cheek where black slick blood had splattered.
"...That was the last one."
His voice was calm, almost tired.
Around him, the auditorium floor was painted with death.
Dozens of monsters lay scattered in broken heaps. Some bodies were twisted into impossible shapes, others frozen mid-motion by his blade.
Between them were students, those who hadn’t made it, torn apart in cruel displays. A place once filled with laughter, lessons, and the energy of youth now felt like a grave.
Kyle’s gaze swept across the destruction, his expression unreadable.
He had come here after sensing multiple mana signatures.
He’d thought or maybe hoped, that there might still be survivors. But by the time he arrived, the students were already gone.
All that remained was death.
He sheathed Zalrielle with a soft click.
His mind was already moving, not dwelling on what he couldn’t change.
If this was the artificial Fractal Veil, then perhaps it was a cruel test. If this was truly reality... then each death was one more weight he had carry.
Either way, there were still students alive out there. And he couldn’t let them scatter, isolated, waiting to be picked off.
He needed a shelter. Somewhere safe enough to hold them, at least for a while.
’...Or maybe the instructors also want them to do that’
’To find shelter to survive.’
The auditorium was large, but far too open.
Its doors were broken, its wards shattered, its high ceiling offering no defense against flying beasts.
If monsters like the white panther could appear here, then this place was nothing but a trap.
His eyes narrowed in thought.
’...The training rooms.’
The public training facility was heavily reinforced, designed with defense mechanisms. If any structure still retained its defenses, it would be that one.
It could work. Not for him, he could survive on his own anywhere, but for the others.
Kyle nodded to himself, resolve firming.
"Training ground it is," he murmured to himself.
And with that, Kyle vanished into the corrupted halls once more.
The corridors rattled with distant shrieks.
Kyle sprinted, his boots thudding against the floor, cutting down the odd monster that strayed into his path.
Some tried to block him, but most recoiled from the sharp crackle of lightning racing along his arms and legs.
He didn’t waste time on them. He slashed once, dodged twice, and kept moving. His goal was ahead.
’The training halls.’
He knew if any students had managed to regroup, they’d head there first.
The defense systems could still be activated manually, provided the halls weren’t already overrun.
His chest tightened when he sensed it. Multiple mana signatures, clustered together near the nearest public training ground. They weren’t all monsters.
’...Some are humans.’
His legs sparked with blue-white light, the current surging through his muscles.
He became a blur, dashing through the last stretch of corridor until the doors of the training ground loomed before him.
The moment he burst through, the stench hit him. Copper and rot. Blood smeared the walls.
The air quivered with low snarls.
Dozens of creatures were inside, thin-bodied horrors with arms too long for their torsos, claws hooked like sickles.
Their sunken faces twitched, jaws opening unnaturally wide as they circled their prey.
Five students stood at the center.
Their uniforms were torn, their mana flickering erratically as they tried to hold a defensive line.
One boy was down on his knees, barely keeping a dagger in hand. Another girl clutched her staff, the head glowing weakly, but her spell fizzled before it could form.
And then Kyle saw it.
One of the monsters had already slipped past their guard. Its claws gleamed under the harsh mana-lights of the hall, raised to carve through the boy standing frozen in its shadow.
Kyle’s stomach lurched. He wasn’t close enough. He wouldn’t reach them in time.
A single word escaped his mouth.
The title’s "Sovereign of Dread" weight snapped into the air like a chain breaking free.
The change was instant.
His blue eyes dulled to a stormy grey, shadows rippling faintly around his pupils.
A pressure crashed into the chamber, invisible yet crushing.
The monsters froze mid-step.
Their limbs shook violently, claws scraping against the floor. Read full story at ⓝovelFire.net
One whimpered, another staggered back, its jaw clicking uncontrollably as if it couldn’t understand the terror gnawing into its mind.
But it wasn’t just the creatures.
The students gasped, their knees buckling.
One retched, trying to hold down the bile in his throat. Another clutched at her chest like her heart was about to burst. Their mana flickered out completely, collapsing under the weight pressing on their very souls.
The room became silent.
Only Kyle’s footsteps echoed as he moved forward.
The sound alone made the monsters recoil. Yet there was no escape.
Their legs betrayed them, refusing to obey as he approached.
He reached the first creature.
His tachi left its sheath with a sharp hiss, black glinting under the lights.
The monster fell, its head separating before it even realized it had been struck.
He stepped past the corpse.
The monsters couldn’t fight back. Their claws twitched, but their bodies refused to move, seized by the dread he commanded.
By the time the last one fell, the floor was littered with twitching limbs and dark blood soaking into the steel.
The smell thickened, burning the back of the throat.
His grip on the hilt loosened.
The aura began to fade. His eyes shifted back from stormy grey to clear blue, and the suffocating fear lifted from the chamber.
He stood there a moment, staring at the blood dripping from his blade.
His voice was low, almost regretful.
"Looks like I overdid it again."
Behind him, the students still hadn’t moved.
When he finally turned, their wide eyes met his.
One flinched. Another swallowed hard, though her lips trembled like she wanted to say something.
The fear hadn’t left them yet.
It clung, not as suffocating as before, but enough to keep them pinned.
Kyle gave them a small, almost tired smile.
He sheathed his blade with a faint click.
"You don’t have to say anything"
"I know what you’re thinking."
No response. Just their uneven breathing.
He stepped closer, slowly, careful not to move too fast.
Still, they stiffened.
"You’re safe here, for now. Stay inside this training room. Activate the defense system, the control panel should still respond."
His eyes moved from one pale face to another.
"Don’t try to run. Don’t play the hero. This place will hold if you do it right."
One girl tried to open his mouth, but nothing came out. Her lips trembled, eyes darting to the corpses scattered around.
Kyle sighed quietly, shaking his head.
"You don’t need to talk. Just listen."
He glanced toward the door, sparks flickering faintly at his ankles again.
"There are more survivors out there. I’ll bring them here."
His tone sharpened, not harsh, but enough to cut through their fog of fear.
He pointed at the boy with the spear.
"...you’re the most stable. Help the others reach the panel. Keep them focused. If the monsters come again, stall them until the defenses kick in. Understand?"
He nodded frantically, though her hands shook.
Kyle gave her a firm look, then the others.
"...Good. Stay alive. That’s all you need to do."
He turned, stepping through the door once more.
Lightning sparked at his calves as his speed built again.
The echo of his presence lingered in the training hall long after he left, leaving the students trembling in silence among the dead.