The results of the battle were beyond what anyone expected.

At first, everyone knew that the final battle against the Demon King would be extremely difficult, yet they all held on to the strong belief that it was possible, even if that meant having to sacrifice some of their own.

Yet, the current state of the throne room proved that even if they sacrificed everyone, it still wouldn’t be enough.

BOOM!

"Urgh!"

"Quick! Retreat and recover!"

Kate shouted orders as she jumped into the fray, swinging her longsword fiercely as star-filled astral mana burst forth. The third-year behind her barely gave a nod before limping toward the backline.

Ahead of Kate lay a battlefield that had been torn apart. A massive opening had been torn in the sturdy castle walls, revealing the stunning landscape of the Great Demon Forest outside.

To the side, Gwen, Landur, and Bradford were currently engaged in a high-intensity duel with the Demon King.

Taking a glance behind her, Kate did a quick head count, only to realize that their numbers—once over a hundred—had been reduced to less than a dozen. She couldn’t help but bite her lip at the thought.

Ever since the Demon King had become enraged, each of his attacks had been a one-shot kill against anyone below Martial Warrior.

Even with Sylph’s extraordinary healing ability, it was useless if she couldn’t reach the target before they were eliminated.

Kate swallowed the urge to sigh.

She returned her gaze to the battle in front of her.

It had been almost ten minutes since the Demon King went berserk, and since then, she had clearly noticed a decline in his abilities.

’His berserk state doesn’t seem like it will hold much longer...’

She quietly analyzed every second of the fight while providing backup to the main fighting force.

’Still, at this rate, would we even be able to last till then?’

Doubt clouded her mind. They had given it their all from the very beginning, using every trick and strategy in and out of the book, but it still wasn’t enough.

Even the small injuries they had left on the Demon King’s body were only that—minor. They did little to slow the monster down or bring them closer to victory.

Kate gripped her sword and took a deep breath before rushing in right after the Demon King’s attack.

She poured an overwhelming amount of astral mana into her blade, causing it to light up like the starry sky.

The Demon King, still recoiling from his last attack, barely cast a glance at her before the astral blade collided with his body.

BOOM!

An explosion echoed throughout the castle as the Demon King was flung backward, crashing into a pillar.

BAM!

"Urgh!"

A small grunt escaped the Demon King’s mouth as his upper armor was blown open, revealing the blackened skin beneath.

Gwen and the others took the moment to catch their breath as they waited for the Demon King’s next move.

"Pf..." A small noise escaped his lips as he lay sunken into the pillar. Lazily reaching up, he grabbed the last rags of his armor and ripped it off, completely exposing his bare upper body.

"Huhu..." He chuckled softly, punctuated by ghastly coughs. "This is unexpected..."

Rubble from the pillar came loose as he dug himself out. The storm of mana that had gathered around him had died down. Even his eyes had lost the fierce glow they originally held, replaced by a bone-chilling calm.

Kate shivered slightly as she met those emotionless eyes—they reminded her of the past. Eyes hollowed with complete disregard for the world.

Gwen quietly raised her sword beside her, her gaze locking onto the Demon King. Just like Kate, she knew that what they had faced was but a fraction of his true power, yet that had never once discouraged her from swinging her blade.

Exhaling deeply, she spread the last remnants of mana in her core evenly throughout her body and along her blade. In doing so, she would no longer have the mana to move once the battle ended—signaling to herself and her allies that this was it. The final stand.

Perhaps sensing her resolve, the Demon King smiled as he entered a martial arts stance, his muscles visibly tensing with power.

The rest of the students also seemed to realize that this was it and didn’t bother to hold back anymore, pouring the last remnants of their mana into their weapons as they pointed them at the Demon King.

Silence. Then—

CLINK!

The sound of metal against metal echoed as the Demon King deflected Gwen’s mana-infused sword with his bare arm, leaving behind a shallow white mark on his skin.

Gwen threw a kick at the Demon King’s stomach, causing him to take half a step back—only for Landur to appear beside him, his blade leaving afterimages as its tip slid across his chest.

Swoosh!

Blood spilled as a long diagonal cut appeared on the Demon King’s side.

"Urgh! Pesky fly!"

The Demon King shouted as he swung his arm heavily, smashing directly into Landur’s face and sending him flying into an array of lights.

Seven remained.

Just then, a red blur flashed past him.

The Demon King twisted his body almost instantly but was still a moment too late.

Pierce!

A spear covered in a blood-red mist ripped past his side, leaving behind the first grievous wound on the Demon King’s body.

The Demon King groaned in pain as his foot shot up to kick away the spearman—just as two more figures appeared on his flanks.

One was the third-year student who had retreated to get healed not long ago; the other was a blue-haired fairy, her fist imbued with earth-shattering strength.

BANG!

The Demon King’s back arched from the impact of Iris’s fist, his feet skidding across the ground as the third-year student’s spear grazed his upper back.

"Grrr! Hah!"

The Demon King gritted his teeth, a low growl rumbling from his throat as he counterattacked.

BAM!

He reached out and gripped the spear of the third-year student, yanking him closer. Before the student realized what had happened, he had already been eliminated.

****

Outside the arena, the stadium had regained its lost excitement as the battle came down to the wire.

Sheldon’s loud voice narrated the final moments of what would decide the ultimate conclusion to the exam.

"Just when did he get so strong?"

In a corner of the stadium, seated near the lineup of guild representatives, was a beautiful woman with slightly hazy eyes.

She stared at the boy—no, the Demon King—on screen, a feeling of dissonance spreading through her mind.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know her little brother was different from the rest. Since they were children, she had been watching over him and had seen all the stages of his life from birth till now.

Yet, within less than half a year, the old, emotionless, yet somewhat cute brother was gone—replaced by the laughing maniac covered in blood on the screen.

"...Just where did I go wrong in raising him?"

As she pondered, the battle was quickly drawing to a close.

On the screen, there were only two students left to face the Demon King, and they were by far the most dazzling pair among the current roster of students. What was even more surprising was that both of them were first-years.

Both Kate and Gwen, the two highest-level combatants, had exhausted their mana in the exchange and were eliminated shortly after. The remaining third- and second-year students met similar fates.

Only Bradford had strangely managed to outlast them, drawing widespread attention from the audience.

Soon, most people came to the conclusion that he must possess monstrous control over his mana, allowing him to display high mana efficiency and last until now.

However, what was most surprising wasn’t Bradford’s skill or his ability to control lightning—but the overwhelming effect of the buff he was receiving from his support.

Under Sylph’s fully concentrated buff, his strength had skyrocketed from low-rank Martial Warrior straight to high-rank!

With that level of power, he was able to prove an even match for the Demon King, even seeming to hold the upper hand!

Currently, the Demon King was forced onto the defensive, actively focusing on dodging and parrying Bradford’s attacks. Unfortunately, the accumulated wounds on his body since the start of the battle had left him worse for wear, and it didn’t seem like he would last much longer.

Buzz!!

Lightning sparked across the room as Bradford’s figure zipped through the air, his sword cutting precise arcs and lines without a single wasted movement.

The blade left another deep cut across the Demon King’s shoulder.

Despite successfully wounding the Demon King, Bradford didn’t seem too pleased. He knew that all the wounds would only serve to slow the Demon King, not defeat him. Even as he layered wound after wound, he had a premonition that he would run out of mana long before the Demon King succumbed to his attacks.

Retreating temporarily, he noticed that the Demon King didn’t try to follow up with a counterattack and instead remained steady. This was naturally because of his aide standing behind him.

Unless the Demon King could land a critical hit and eliminate him in one shot, any wound inflicted on him would instantly be sealed by Sylph’s healing art.

Instead of wasting energy on attacking, the Demon King had decided to slowly drain Bradford’s mana by playing defensively.

Bradford had also noticed this strategy, but there was little he could do to overturn it. Although he held the technical advantage, it simply wasn’t enough to cross the massive gap in physical strength.

"Hah... what a monster."

Bradford muttered under his breath as he began to gather the last of his mana. Normally, he wouldn’t waste his resources like this, but unless he could land one powerful attack, there was simply no chance of victory.

Lightning began to gather at his sword, its bolts spiderwebbing in long arcs across the room. As more and more mana gathered, it began to form a large blade of light that seemed alive with movement.

Gritting his teeth, Bradford bellowed as he swung his sword—a sea of white lightning blasting outward and drowning the world in its light.

The Demon King had seen his attack coming long ago and raised his hands in defense, similarly concentrating all of his mana into fortifying his body.

BOOM!!!

An explosion echoed across the hall, leaving the entire castle shaking in its wake. As the white light faded and the world returned to normalcy, the result of the final clash was revealed.

Lying on the floor was the immobilized Bradford, unable to move due to the effects of mana deficiency. He barely had the strength to raise his head to determine the final outcome.

Across the hall, in the middle of a massive crater, knelt the figure of the Demon King. His skin was scorched black, with long, serpent-like lines coiling across his body. Steam rose from his burnt flesh.

Just then, the Demon King’s body twitched before he slowly rose, swaying to one side.

Seeing that the Demon King could still move, Bradford knew he had lost.

After regaining his footing, the Demon King made his way over to Bradford’s defenseless body and pressed his foot down on his head. In the next instant, Bradford was eliminated.

Finally, his eyes landed on the last remaining student.

Sylph watched helplessly as Bradford was eliminated. While her healing art was capable of bringing someone back from the brink of death, it had no method for restoring mana.

She collapsed to her knees, her head lowered toward the ground.

Soon, crystal-clear drops of tears began to streak down her face. She had worked so hard for this exam. Not even the fight against the Three-Headed Serpent had given her such a challenge—yet it still wasn’t enough. In the end, everyone had been eliminated under the Demon King’s overwhelming power.

Still, what hurt the most wasn’t this, but the sense of betrayal she felt.

Across the hall, a flicker of something passed through the Demon King’s eyes as he made his way over to the crying Sylph.

Seeing this scene, many viewers couldn’t help but be moved to tears. The tear-streaked, desolate face of the last remaining survivor made everyone temporarily forget that this was an exam.

When the Demon King finally stood before Sylph, she slowly raised her face, meeting his cold, emotionless gaze.

"Why..."

Her voice tugged on the heartstrings of the audience, and even the Demon King’s face seemed to freeze.

"...Did you lie to me?"

Her words caused a brief stir in the online communities, yet what happened next directly stole their breath away.

To everyone’s astonished gaze, the Demon King knelt down and gently cupped both sides of Sylph’s face. He wiped her tears as a surprisingly gentle smile appeared on his face.

Sylph’s hand shot up to grip the Demon King’s, her face scrunching up even as tears flowed from her eyes.

A flicker of surprise crossed the Demon King’s eyes as he saw something he never thought possible from the little fairy. In the next instance, a blinding burst of light exploded from the Demon King’s body, engulfing both of them as the live exam feed was cut off.