The battlefield was a chaotic symphony of rotting flesh and clashing steel.

​GRAAAAAAAAA!!!

​A deafening roar shook the cemetery, followed immediately by the tearing sound of displaced air.

​BAM!!!

​A pitch-black sword, wreathed in dark, concentrated energy, flew from the distance, cutting through the sky like a guillotine heading straight towards Aurelia.

​"Watch out!!!" Austin yelled in shock. He tried to lunge forward to intercept, but a sudden surge of heavily armored monsters blocked his road, trapping him behind a wall of undead flesh.

​".....?!"

​Aurelia looked over her shoulder, her assassin’s reflexes betraying her. She could track the trajectory, seeing the sword flying towards her, heading straight towards her eyes, but the oppressive aura of the weapon pinned her in place.

​’Am I going to die here?!!’

​BAM!!!

​A shockwave of pure energy erupted, cratering the earth beneath them. The Black blade smashed into another black sword, the immense force of the collision pushing the holder back and leaving deep trenches in the dirt.

​"What the?!" Aurelia was shocked, staring at Hitachi, who stood protectively before her, his sword surface acting as an impenetrable shield, stopping the blade tip inches from her face.

​’He... He saved me?’ She thought with widened eyes, seeing the once-arrogant noble risking his own life to act as her vanguard.

​Hitachi gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging as his energy flared dangerously. With all his strength, he forced the black sword back. The sentient weapon spun wildly as the sword flew into the air, hovering before them for a heartbeat, before retreating back into the sea of monsters.

​"That sword isn’t ordinary." Hitachi said, shaking his numbed hand as tremors ran up his forearm. "It’s a Legendary class artifact, and the controller must be powerful." He said, instantly assessing the new, lethal threat.

​Recognizing the sudden shift in the battle’s dynamic, the rest of the group leaped backward, executing perfect evasion skills and landing beside the two, staring at the monsters which had surrounded them in an iron-clad perimeter.

​"Hehehehehe!! Didn’t know I will see people from Galaxy Fall in this small planet."

​"...?!"

​The Eight raised their heads to the sky, their breath hitching. They were watching as countless airborne monsters—gargoyles, corrupted drakes, and winged demons—flew from the distance, surrounding them entirely and blotting out the ash-choked sun.

​Leading the airborne armada was a mesmerizing yet terrifying figure. It was a beautiful beast woman, her body adorned with shimmering black scales, and flowing green hair and eyes that radiated a toxic, draconic majesty. The deflected sword flew towards her, and hovered behind the nine swords hovering behind the lady, making ten legendary class swords floating in a deadly, telekinetic halo.

​"This?!" David was stunned, his grip tightening on his weapon as he stared at the ten legendary class swords moving clockwise behind the new enemy, humming with lethal intent.

​"You guys are so weak, not even five-star, you aren’t qualified to kill the fifth gate guard... So tell me, who killed him?" She asked, her voice echoing with a psychic weight as she moved her gaze on the nine students, dismissing their power levels entirely.

​Suddenly, her slit-like green eyes shifted toward the ruins beyond the cemetery.

​"Oh, we have some audience." She snapped her fingers, and five swords shot towards the huge church at the far end like guided missiles. They crossed the distance instantly and shattered the stained-glass windows, entering inside the building with devastating force.

​"...?!!"

​BOOOOM!!

​The holy structure practically exploded from the inside out. Twenty dark figures leaped out of the collapsing building, using their movement skills to evade the falling masonry, landing heavily on the ground.

​WHOOSH!!

​The beast woman wasn’t done; she wanted to exterminate the rats. The five swords shot towards them without hesitation. Instantly, Jessica’s forehead split opened, revealing the mythic eye, glowing with a transcendent, blinding light.

​BOOOOM!!

​A massive wave of pressure erupted. An invisible force smashed into the five swords, completely overriding their telekinetic master and sending them flying back towards the lady in the sky.

​The beast woman caught her weapons effortlessly, her eyes narrowing in greedy fascination. "Oh. Oh. Oh... You actually have the mythic eye, and with its strength, it’s only in the second stage." She said, her draconic tongue licking her lips as she evaluated the eye.

​"I so want to kill you and get that eye... Seeing it in your hand is annoying." She added, her killing intent locking entirely onto Jessica.

​"Sword Academy’s Team?" Daniel was stunned, finally recognizing the cloaked figures who had just been flushed out of hiding.

​"They have been following us from the University, the Captain didn’t say anything so I kept silent." Hitachi said coolly. He wasn’t bothered by the stalkers; he was focused on the war at hand. Spinning his sword, a red aura glowed on his body, thick and suffocating like boiling blood. Through his inventory, his newly acquired legendary class armor appeared on him in a flash of crimson light, the heavy, spiked plates locking into place. Finally, the helmet closed over his head, leaving only two glowing red dots for his eyes.

​"Hahaha! It seems we’re going all out!! If Young master Hitachi is this serious, then we should be!" Austin yelled, his booming laugh cutting through the tension. A blinding light washed over him as his white legendary armor appeared on him, the holy metal singing with power, followed by his massive legendary class sword, which was gotten from the treacherous depths of the angel prison.

​The rest nodded their heads in absolute sync. The charade was over. They instantly kept all their low class weapons in their spatial storages, bringing out all their legendary class artifacts. The cemetery was suddenly bathed in the multi-colored hues of high-tier, world-shaking equipment.

​Seeing so many Legendary class artifacts—two at least in all eight students’ hands—stunned not only the Sword Academy’s Team, who realized how vastly out-geared they were, but also the beast lady in the sky. Her arrogant smirk vanished.

​"Who are you kids? Why do you possess so many Legendary class artifacts?" She asked in shock. Such wealth was unheard of for beings below the five-star threshold, let alone a group of mere students.

​"Hahaha! All thanks to the Captain!!" Kent yelled with a proud smirk, holding his legendary class sword and heavy tower shield, looking like an immovable fortress.

​The beast woman’s eyes darkened as she analyzed the battlefield. ’This Captain. I think this person is the one who killed the fifth guard... But he’s not here.’ She thought, realizing these heavily armed youths were just the vanguard of a much greater monster.

​"Hey, Sword Academy’s Team." Hitachi called out, his voice echoing from within his helm as he was looking over his shoulder at them. "You can’t run away from this, so at least join the fight." He said, offering a temporary truce against the enemies.

​"Oh well, seems there is nothing we can do." Andrew said with a smirk, stepping forward. A surge of elemental energy erupted as two legendary class fighting gloves appeared on his fists, intense, roaring flames rising from them and scorching the earth beneath his feet.

​"Don’t take this the wrong way, Dragon Academy’s Team, we aren’t forming a permanent partnership here. We’re just fighting together because of the circumstances." Nirvana said, her tone sharp and prideful. With a flick of her wrists, her Bangles flew out from her wrists, and multiplied, dividing into ten solid rings hovering behind her like a halo of bladed chakrams.

​"Still using your legendary class skill, not ready to show your weapon." Honky teased his teammate, shaking his head before he snapped his fingers.

​BOOOOM!

Blinding golden light exploded from his body, illuminating the dark sky as a heavy legendary class armor, a massive bulwark shield and a broadsword appeared on him, transforming him into an impenetrable paladin.

​"Hahahah! Let’s have some fun!!!" He yelled, bashing his sword against his shield.

​Amidst the flash of Legendary gear, Jessica sighed softly. She reached into her spatial ring, drawing out her God class sword, the weapon given to her by her mentor, Nadia.

​The Moment the translucent, blood-red sword came into view, the very air in the cemetery seemed to freeze. The sheer, overwhelming pressure of a God-tier artifact descended upon the battlefield, suppressing the energy of everyone present and stunning everyone into absolute, terrified silence.