Chapter 226: World Dyed in Darkness 2

A crushing pressure bore down on my entire body.

It felt as if an invisible mountain had been dropped onto my shoulders, making even the simple act of breathing difficult.

Gritting my teeth, I slowly lifted my head and looked toward the sky.

My heart sank.

Just moments ago, the sun had been shining normally.

Now, it hung high above us like a twisted mockery of itself.

Its golden light was gone.

In its place was a dark, eerie glow that spread across the heavens, staining everything beneath it in shades of black and gray.

The bright afternoon sky had vanished.

All that remained was darkness.

A suffocating, unnatural darkness that made the world feel dead.

For a moment, it felt less like reality and more like a scene ripped straight out of a nightmare.

Or hell itself.

I forced myself to look away and searched for Lisa.

My chest tightened at the sight of her.

She had collapsed onto the ground, clutching her face.

Blood-stained tears streamed from her eyes, tracing crimson lines down her cheeks. Her body trembled with pain, and every breath came out ragged and uneven.

"Lisa!"

I took a step toward her before stopping.

Fortunately, she was still alive.

Her life didn’t appear to be in immediate danger.

But something was clearly wrong.

Very wrong.

Could she have... lost her Demon Eye?

The possibility made my stomach twist.

Everything pointed in that direction.

The source of Lisa’s demonic power had always been her Demon Eye. It wasn’t just a unique ability—it was the core of her existence as a demon-blooded individual.

And if that old man had truly extracted it...

Then he hadn’t simply stolen an artifact.

He had ripped away a part of her very being.

I clenched my fists.

The situation was spiraling out of control.

My gaze shifted toward the old man.

He was still standing beside Leonardo, his hand pressed firmly against the boy’s body.

Dark energy swirled around him like a living storm.

Whatever he was doing, it couldn’t be good.

His face was twisted into an expression of pure ecstasy.

"Kuhahahaha!!"

His laughter echoed across the darkened landscape.

"Finally!"

His shoulders shook violently as he laughed.

"I’ve finally obtained it!"

The dark energy gathering around his right hand thickened, becoming denser with each passing second.

"The true power of a demon!"

My eyes narrowed.

There.

That black mass writhing in his hand.

That had to be what he was talking about.

The power he stole from Lisa.

But something about it felt wrong.

The energy wasn’t stable.

It pulsed violently, expanding and contracting as if it were trying to break free from his control.

Cracks of black lightning flickered through it.

The air around him warped.

Even the ground beneath his feet began to fracture.

Yet the old man didn’t seem to notice.

Or perhaps he simply didn’t care.

He looked like a man who had finally achieved the dream he’d pursued his entire life.

A fanatic standing before his god.

"What are you trying to do?! Remove your hand from him this instant!"

Signut’s voice thundered across the battlefield.

The moment he finished speaking, a brilliant aura erupted from his body. The pressure alone was enough to make the surrounding air tremble. His sword blazed with power as he charged toward the old man without a hint of hesitation.

To everyone watching, it looked like the wrath of a Sword Master itself had descended.

But the old man’s reaction was almost insulting.

He didn’t dodge.

He didn’t prepare a defense.

He didn’t even blink.

Instead, he simply raised one hand as though brushing away a bothersome insect.

"Flies," he muttered.

"They never stop buzzing."

With a casual flick of his wrist—

BOOM!

A shockwave exploded outward.

"Gah—!"

Signut’s eyes widened in disbelief.

The Sword Master was sent flying through the air like a rag doll, crashing through several stone pillars before slamming into the ground.

The impact shook the entire area.

Silence followed.

Nobody moved.

Nobody spoke.

A Sword Master.

One of the strongest individuals in the Empire.

Defeated with a single gesture.

The sight shattered whatever confidence remained in the crowd.

Even from a distance, I could see Signut struggling to rise. The brilliant aura that had covered his body moments ago had faded considerably.

The old man hadn’t merely pushed him back.

He had crushed him.

A chill ran down my spine.

Just what kind of monster is this?

Around us, knights, professors, and students stood frozen.

Nobody dared rush forward.

Nobody knew what to do.

The gap in power was simply too overwhelming.

Meanwhile, the dark energy flowing into Leonardo continued to change.

The torrent that had been pouring into his body gradually slowed.

Then stopped.

For a brief moment, everything became eerily quiet.

The old man slowly withdrew his hand.

A twisted smile spread across his face.

"It is complete."

The moment those words left his mouth—

"AAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHH!!!"

Leonardo screamed.

The sound barely resembled a human voice anymore.

Every head turned toward him.

His body was changing.

Violently.

His muscles bulged beneath his skin.

Bones cracked and shifted.

His entire frame began expanding at a horrifying rate.

"What the hell...?"

Someone nearby whispered the words everyone was thinking.

Leonardo’s body swelled larger and larger.

At first it looked like severe mana corruption.

Then it became something far worse.

His flesh softened.

Melted.

Distorted.

Like a giant mass of living slime.

His limbs lost their shape.

His face stretched unnaturally.

His skin rippled as though thousands of creatures were moving beneath it.

"Leonardo!"

No response came.

Only more screams.

The enormous mass continued growing.

Then it started absorbing everything nearby.

The scattered Mains.

The remnants of the dark energy.

Fragments of flesh and mana alike.

One by one, they were dragged into the expanding body.

The sight was nauseating.

Its surface twisted and churned constantly, like countless living things struggling beneath a layer of purple flesh. Limbs formed and vanished. Faces appeared for a split second before melting back into the mass.

It was revolting.

And somehow, it was still growing.

One after another, the Mains were swallowed whole, their bodies disappearing into the creature’s writhing form.

Only when the last one was consumed did the expansion finally stop.

Silence fell over the battlefield.

In front of us stood something that shouldn’t exist.

A grotesque mass of dark purple flesh, pulsing like a giant heart.

Watching it, a memory suddenly surfaced.

The Sage’s Bookmark.

The answer it had given me when I first arrived at the Academy.

Several weak possibilities exist.

At the time, I hadn’t understood what it meant.

But now—

Why was that answer suddenly coming back to me?

"W-what is that thing?!"

"It’s a monster!"

"Run!"

Panic spread instantly.

Students, professors, knights—everyone who could still move began backing away.

Some turned and fled outright.

I couldn’t blame them.

Every instinct screamed at me to do the same.

"Louis!"

Elena’s voice cut through the chaos.

I turned to find her running toward me.

"Louis, what are you doing? We need to get out of here!"

She stopped beside me and extended her hand.

For a brief moment, I stared at it.

Then I slowly shook my head.

"It’s useless."

"What?"

"We can’t run."

Confusion spread across her face.

I understood why.

From her perspective, staying here was madness.

But I knew.

No.

Every nerve in my body knew.

The tingling sensation crawling across my skin.

The knot twisting in my stomach.

That strange intuition that had saved me more times than I could count.

It was screaming at me.

Danger.

At the moment, the creature was just a giant mass of flesh.

But it wouldn’t stay that way.

Something was forming inside it.

Something terrible.

And when it emerged—

This entire world might pay the price.

"What do you mean we can’t run?" Elena asked.

I opened my mouth.

Then closed it again.

How could I explain?

I didn’t have evidence.

I didn’t have logic.

Only instinct.

And somehow, I trusted that instinct more than anything else.

Without answering, I turned and sprinted across the battlefield.

"Louis!"

I ignored Elena’s call and headed toward the place where Signut had fallen.

The old knight lay among the rubble, blood running down the side of his face.

For a terrifying second, I thought I was too late.

Then I saw his chest rise.

Relief washed over me.

Still alive.

I knelt beside him.

"Signut!"

His eyelids fluttered open.

"...What is it, youngster?" he muttered weakly.

His voice sounded strained.

Exhausted.

The aura surrounding him was faint, like a candle moments away from going out.

"Why aren’t you running away?"

I glanced toward the creature.

The massive purple body continued to pulse ominously.

"Running away won’t solve anything."

A bitter smile appeared on Signut’s face.

"...So you noticed."

My heart sank.

That was confirmation.

"I was right?"

"Yes."

His gaze shifted toward the monster.

"If we leave it alone..."

His voice grew grim.

"...something very dangerous will be born."

The words landed like a hammer.

So my instincts had been right.

The demonic power hidden within Lisa.

The old man’s actions.

Everything had been leading to this.

This wasn’t random.

It was a ritual.

A plan.

And whatever was about to emerge from that thing was dangerous enough to threaten the entire world.

I took a deep breath.

Then looked directly at Signut.

"Can you help me?"

The old knight laughed weakly.

"Look at me."

Blood stained his armor.

One arm hung limply at his side.

"My body can barely move."

"I don’t need much."

He raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

I pointed at the creature.

"Just once."

The words came out firm.

"Just make one hole in its chest."

Signut stared at me.

The battlefield rumbled in the distance as the creature continued to writhe.

After a few moments, he spoke.

"And then?"

I tightened my grip around my sword.

My heart pounded.

Honestly?

I had no real plan.

Just feeling

The same feeling that had brought me here.

The same feeling that was telling me there was still a chance.

"I’ll figure out the rest."