With the two now ready, the battle finally began as mana fluctuated wildly through the air.

The moment both of them cast their spells, the difference between them became instantly clear.

From Azar, a sharp ice spear rapidly formed.

Meanwhile, from the red-robed man, a dark creature was summoned.

Bang!

The ice spear slammed directly into the massive creature, instantly shattering into countless frozen fragments.

The monster stood over three meters tall with dangling rotten flesh hanging from its body. Flames burned within its hollow eyes, while its jaw was lined with jagged fangs, though half of them were broken and missing.

Overall, it was a hideous creature.

Yet its strength was undeniable, especially its defense, which had effortlessly withstood Azar's ice spell.

Seeing this, Azar was stunned for a moment before quickly casting another spell.

Fog spread rapidly across the battlefield, temporarily covering the surroundings and blocking the vision of both the monster and the red-robed individual.

After that, Azar muttered another incantation.

A strange sensation spread through his legs as they suddenly felt light, as though he were stepping on soft cushions, while his entire body became incredibly agile.

Finally, Azar cast his last spell and grabbed a long sword formed from both light and lightning

The natural bane of dark creatures.

Then he charged forward.

"Attack," the red-robed individual ordered calmly while casually casting a basic shield spell around himself.

Suddenly, he saw a blur.

Azar attacked instantly.

Bang!!

A loud explosion echoed through the area as Azar's body was halted mid-charge.

ROAAARRR!!

The dark creature roared violently before smashing the ground, causing the earth to tremble.

Azar attacked once more.

Then again.

And again.

Yet no matter which angle or direction he attacked from, it was as though the dark creature could always see him, intercepting every strike perfectly.

Finally, Azar stopped moving.

At this moment, his mana reserves were nearly depleted.

He had no choice but to switch targets.

As long as he was fast enough, perhaps he could bypass the summon and attack the red-robed individual directly.

Meanwhile, hidden beneath the fog, the students were finally given an opportunity.

One after another, they rushed into the opening behind the red-robed man.

Only Veya remained behind to support Azar.

---

Inside the tunnel, the students walked for several minutes before finally arriving before a gigantic tree that stretched endlessly upward.

Its twisted face made their skin crawl while merely looking at it disturbed their minds.

But at the same time, they had finally found it.

The true cause of their classmates' deaths.

The creature responsible for leaving scars upon their minds.

Hatred.

Pain.

Fear.

All of those emotions mixed together as the remaining thirty students began chanting spells simultaneously.

They did not know whether the creature was stronger than them.

They did not know whether it could kill them with a single attack.

But one thing was certain.

Either they died…

…or the tree did.

So they emptied their mana reserves and cast the strongest, most destructive spells they knew.

Even if they failed, at the very least, they wanted to fight before dying.

Of course, not everyone could withstand the pressure.

Some students were already mentally broken from exhaustion and fear.

A few hid at the very back, crouching like frightened children as they prayed for everything to end or hoped this was nothing more than a nightmare.

Unfortunately…

…it was not that simple.

Tier 1 and Tier 2 creatures suddenly poured out from the surroundings like rats flooding from a sewer.

Seeing this, some students simply gave up.

At this point, death felt inevitable.

Whether it came now or after endless futile struggle no longer mattered to them.

If so…

Then so be it.

Death was acceptable.

---

Back at the battlefield…

Azar breathed heavily as bruises covered various parts of his body.

So far, every maneuver and every trump card he possessed had failed.

The summon showed no visible weakness.

Even the light and lightning elements, which were supposed to counter dark creatures, had produced little effect.

And with the vast mana reserves of the red-robed individual, the summon could likely continue fighting for a very long time.

What made things worse was that the red-robed man still possessed enough mana to cast many more spells.

Yet strangely enough, he did not rush to kill Azar.

Instead, he simply observed Azar's desperate struggle calmly.

By now, all of Azar's spells had vanished.

The fog had disappeared completely as well.

"So… you were merely a decoy for them," the red-robed individual said with a faint smile.

Azar found it difficult to even stand upright.

His body was exhausted.

His mind felt as though it were collapsing.

"Nevertheless, it doesn't matter."

"This battle has already ended," the red-robed man declared as he slowly walked toward Azar.

Azar could not deny it.

He had already used every trump card available to him.

Several times, Veya had attempted to buff or heal him from the side, but Azar had always refused.

It was meaningless.

At first, perhaps he believed he could still struggle.

But now he finally understood.

To a Tier 3 Magi…

Tier 2 and below were nothing more than children. Clowns for entertainment purposes.

Their lives…

Their resistance…

Their struggles…

…meant nothing.

But Azar did not want to give up.

Now more than ever, he could not give up.

If he failed…

…the others would die.

The academy would lose countless talented students it had poured resources into nurturing.

But most importantly…

He himself would die.

And if he died…

…the declining Braven Family would truly collapse.

Only a powerful Magi could restore the family's glory.

Too many hopes and expectations had been placed upon him.

Veya trusted him.

Even those traumatized students had followed his plan despite their fear.

Hell…

Even if they chose not to fight, Azar could have understood.

For the first time in his seventeen years of life, Azar truly understood what it meant to feel weak…

Hopeless…

Defenseless…

And he hated it.

He hated it so much.

"You know…" the red-robed individual spoke softly as he stood only inches away from Azar.

"I truly enjoyed watching all your struggles…"

"The way your hope slowly crumbled…"

"The way your belief flared up desperately before being destroyed again…"

The red-robed individual looked down at the heavily breathing teenager whose mana had long been depleted and whose trump cards had all been exhausted.

"I love crushing talented geniuses like you."

"You children blessed by luck… by destiny…"

The red-robed man suddenly grabbed Azar's chin tightly and stared into the blazing eyes that still refused to surrender.

"You think you're special?"

"You think you're important?"

"You think the world itself is your stage?"

"That because you were born talented…"

"Because you have a wealthy family…"

"…that life was meant for you to shine?"

As he spoke, the expression beneath the hood slowly twisted.

For the very first time, the calm demeanor of the red-robed individual disappeared.

And in its place…

…was pure hatred.

"So… we are meaningless? That we can never achieve anything because we are merely commoners?" the red-robed individual growled.

"You people look down on us even when we work harder than all of you combined. We don't sleep. We don't rest. Yet no matter what we do, we are destined to remain nothing in this world."

"No talent. No gifts. Nothing."

"And yet even all our hard work can never make up for it."

"Every success…"

"Every victory…"

"…eventually gets crushed by a devastating defeat."

"Our hard work amounts to nothing, while you people can surpass decades of effort with barely any struggle."

"Where is the fairness in that?"

"Is it our fault that we were born as commoners?"

"That we were born to become stepping stones for monsters like you?"

"And even then, we still struggle desperately to make something of ourselves…"

"…yet in the end, we are only met with disgust and disdain from lucky brats like you."

By this point, Azar groaned in pain as the Magi tightened his grip around his chin.

Finally, Azar clearly saw the face of the Tier 3 Magi beneath the hood.

His entire face had been horribly burned.

For a moment, all the hatred and anger within Azar faded away.

Even the pain he felt seemed to lessen.

"I'm sorry…" Azar muttered quietly, his eyes filled with caution.

"Sorry for whatever pain they caused you."

"But ultimately… that wasn't me. Nor was it us. None of us did this to you."

"But if I ever find the people responsible for this, then I—"

"Don't."

"Really… don't."

The red-robed individual interrupted him coldly.

"Because eventually, you'll become just like them."

"All of you talented brats will."

"So perhaps I should just end you now."

As he spoke, mana rapidly began gathering around him.

"Now, Veya!" Azar suddenly shouted.

Instantly, Veya cast a powerful buff on him, enhancing both his mana recovery and spell power as all the mana she had painstakingly recovered vanished at once.

"Oh… another trick?" the red-robed individual muttered as he immediately stepped backward, his expression turning vigilant while the dark creature reappeared beside him.

"Mesa gun… herita… besini…"

As Azar chanted, the red-robed individual frowned deeply.

Very soon, the mana in the surroundings began fluctuating violently.

No…

The red-robed individual's eyes widened in shock.

This kid…

He wasn't trying to cast that taboo Tier 3 spell… right?

"…Damn it."

The red-robed individual instantly dismissed his summon as the dark creature dissolved into particles.

At the same time, he began rapidly casting a powerful spell of his own, intending to kill Azar before the incantation could finish.

At the very least, he needed to stop Azar before he reached the later syllables.

Because once he did…

Even if Azar died afterward…

…the spell would still complete itself.

And when that happened

Everyone on this island would die.