Chapter 16 – The Infernal Commander** *
The academy courtyard was no longer a place of learning — it had become a reflection of hell itself. Blood streamed like rivers between the stone paths, smoke from burning buildings rose into the night sky, and the terrified screams of students mixed with the guttural roars of demons. This was no longer training — it was war.
The first wave had been pushed back with great effort, but that had only been the beginning. Now, from the gaping wound in the sky, a new force was emerging — more disciplined, more intelligent, and far more coordinated than the chaotic beasts before them.
Seryn wiped the blood from his cheek and surveyed the battlefield. Buildings had crumbled, the ground was split, and everything that once symbolized safety was now engulfed in chaos. And then, the earth trembled again.
The second wave was coming — not a frenzied mob, but a military force.
First came the Abyssal Legionnaires — towering over two and a half meters, clad in black armor fused into their flesh, their four crimson eyes scanning the battlefield like trained soldiers. Their movements were deliberate, tactical. Behind them floated the Hellbinders, robed spellcasters whose clawed hands weaved curses and protective magic at once.
"They're not attacking blindly anymore…" Ardan muttered. "Someone's giving them orders."
"Yeah…" Seryn said quietly. "And that someone is strong."
Lucien tightened his grip on his sword. "Then we find that someone — and cut the head off."
"Easier said than done," Elira warned. "Look over there…"
From the infernal rift above, a new figure descended. Nearly three meters tall, its body was wrapped in obsidian bone armor pulsing with crimson fire. Twin horns curled upward from its skull, and in its hand it carried a scythe that seemed to devour the very light around it.
But it wasn't the appearance that froze their blood — it was the gaze. Cold. Calculating. Intelligent.
"Abyssal Commander Varathul." One of the few B-class commanders ever recorded in demonology. A warlord who had crushed armies in the demon realm — and now, for the first time, stood on human soil.
"B-class… commander…" Leon's voice trembled from the library tower. "This is bad."
"Even if we're not ready, we fight," Lucien said firmly. "If he reaches the main hall, everyone inside dies."
Seryn's heart pounded. This was no longer a battle that could be won with strength alone. Strategy and coordination were their only hope.
"Shields up front!" shouted an instructor on the western flank.
Professor Kaelor, one of the academy's most renowned swordmasters, charged into the Abyssal legion line, each swing of his massive blade severing armor and flesh alike. Beside him, Archmage Seralis erected a barrier of blue flame, burning dozens of demons into ash before they could breach the wall.
"Hold the line!" Kaelor roared. "Make them drown in their own blood with every step they take!"
Despite heavy casualties, the human line held. The sight of their instructors fighting with unwavering resolve rekindled courage in the students' hearts.
Seryn's team was now preparing to face the commander head-on.
"Ardan, deal with the Hellbinders. If they support, we're finished." "Got it."
"Leon, prepare a storm spell. Aim for the commander." "I need time!" "Then start now."
"Elira, reinforce the barrier. One direct hit and we're dead." "Already working on it."
Ardan hurled bolts of lightning into the sky, blasting Hellbinders apart mid-incantation. Elira's barrier pulsed a bright green as she poured more mana into it. Lucien, ever the vanguard, clashed with armored legionnaires, cutting them down and pushing the line forward with every strike.
"Push them back!" Lucien shouted. "No retreat!"
Seryn followed close behind, his blade finding weak points between plates of armor, severing tendons and crushing spines. For every demon he felled, another replaced it — but he did not stop.
When Varathul moved, the ground itself quaked.
In a single stride, the commander closed the distance, swinging his colossal scythe in a wide arc that shattered stone and split the air. Lucien barely rolled aside as the ground beneath him exploded into rubble.
"That was just a warning," Seryn muttered.
"Then we don't let him swing again," Lucien replied.
Varathul roared, and the legion surged forward. Hellbinder spells rained down, filling the battlefield with fire and darkness. Elira's barrier cracked and groaned under the assault.
"Barrier's failing!" she shouted.
"Hold it!" Seryn barked. "Leon, how much longer?" "Ten seconds!" "We don't have ten seconds!"
Seryn charged forward. Sliding beneath a sweeping strike, he slit a legionnaire's throat and leapt off its collapsing body, soaring toward Varathul.
The commander swung his scythe. The impact of blade against blade unleashed a shockwave that split the ground and hurled bodies aside. Seryn crashed into the earth, pain flaring in his ribs — but he forced himself back to his feet.
"Not bad…" Varathul's voice was like grinding steel. "But still too weak."
"Maybe," Seryn said, eyes blazing. "But I'm not done yet."
Varathul laughed, a sound like cracking stone. "Then prove your worth in blood!"
On the western front, Professor Kaelor clashed with an A-class Bone Reaver, its spiked carapace and massive claws tearing through walls. Kaelor dodged a swipe and countered with a devastating blow to its chest. In the south, Archmage Seralis hovered above the walls, summoning storms of fire and frost to annihilate swarms of Shriekers — winged demons that dove with acid-dripping talons.
But for every enemy they killed, more kept coming.
Back in the courtyard, the battle was reaching its breaking point. Leon's spell was finally ready — a swirling vortex of lightning churning in the clouds above.
"NOW!" he shouted.
Seryn leapt back. A pillar of lightning descended from the sky, engulfing Varathul in blinding white light. The ground split, the air quaked, and for a brief moment, silence reigned.
When the light faded… Varathul was still standing. His armor was scorched, his body damaged — but he was very much alive.
"Not bad…" he growled. "But I still stand."
He swung his scythe, shattering the barrier completely. Elira screamed as she was thrown back. Ardan fell, blood pouring from a wound on his shoulder. Lucien's blade shattered under the force of a parry.
But Seryn remained standing. Bleeding. Trembling. Yet standing.
The commander stepped closer. "You cannot defeat me. You are nothing."
"Maybe," Seryn whispered, steadying his breath. "But as long as I breathe, I'll fight."
"Then die stubborn."
They charged — one born of hellfire, the other a human who refused to yield. Their clash shook the island.
And above them, the infernal rift continued to widen…
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