The training room floor was a landscape of exhausted bodies. The final set had broken them, leaving the four scattered like discarded puppets.

They were draped across the cold stone, their chests still heaving violently after the three hundred sit-ups.

"Grey, this bastard," Aeron complained, his voice raw and punctuated by gasps. He weakly lifted his head, only to let it fall back with a thump. "Where did he go after tormenting us like this?"

"Don't you dare curse him like that, you useless piece of shit!" Lenore glared at Aeron with fierce intensity, her loyalty to Grey overriding her fatigue.

"He is doing this for us. We wanted to grow strong. He's putting his time away to help us. You should be saying thank you, not things like that." Blaze said, leaning against a pillar, slowly massaging his shoulders.

There wasn't a trace of complaint in his words for Grey, only deep-seated respect.

"We signed up for this. This is the price of strength. If you can't handle the training, how will you handle the eclipse bessts?"

Zenon, a man of few words, simply had his back pressed firmly against the stone wall, his head bowed. He nodded once, a silent affirmation of Blaze's statement.

Aeron whimpered, a sound halfway between a cough and a sob. "Still, man. I can't do this anymore. I'll die before even able to show off my growth. I hate you, Grey!" he screamed out, his voice cracking with utter defeat.

He was helpless and too tired to move, his eyes stinging as tears almost flowed out of him.

Blaze and Zenon couldn't help but chuckle softly at his broken state.

Lenore, about to chide Aeron again for his weakness, stopped mid-breath.

It was then they heard it.

A sound that swallowed the ragged breathing and the weary chuckles.

A sudden, deafening BOOM that rattled the ancient stone of the room.

It was followed immediately by the gruesome, splintering noise of stone walls breaking and collapsing into rubble.

The floor beneath them shuddered violently.

Shock instantly replaced exhaustion. They looked at each other, confusion and a dawning dread etched across their sweat-streaked faces.

"What in the hells was that?" Aeron whispered, his fear instantly eclipsing his fatigue.

Blaze was already pushing himself off the pillar. He moved toward the main door. "It's coming from the direction of the labs," he said, his eyes narrowed. "North wing, close to the Professor's workshops."

Aeron's eyes went wide with sudden realization and terror. "E-Elena was called by the professor. Is she..."

Before Aeron could finish the terrible thought, Blaze cut him off, his voice now sharp and decisive.

"Take the recovery potions. Now. Let's move."

*****

Elena slammed onto the hard earth of the academy's ceremonial grounds with a wind-jarring thud.

The fall, though slightly broken by the trajectory of their exit, had drained the last of her adrenaline and Aura reserves.

She lay there, coughing uncontrollably, the bluish moonlight glow around her sword sputtering out.

A mocking, grating laugh cut through the night.

Flint, his crimson form radiating demonic power, approached slowly, his heavy steps deliberate, savoring her exhaustion.

He shook his head, the small horn glinting under the moonlight.

"A disappointing finish, little first-year," he sneered, his voice laced with triumph.

"Your little Aura Blade was certainly impressive, but raw power will always yield to… refinement." He gestured to the grotesque patterns etched on his skin. "I am many steps beyond mere power, Elena. I am the vessel."

Elena struggled, her limbs protesting. Gingerly, she managed to push herself up, using her sword, now merely a cold length of steel, as a painful brace.

She held the blade up in a trembling, defensive stance.

"You won't… you won't get away with this," she gasped, tasting dust and fear. "The Headmaster… the Council will—"

"The Council is blind, child! They cling to the decaying dogma of Equilibrium while the world outside rots!" Flint laughed, a loud, maniacal sound.

"I have left those old ways. I'm growing .And you… you are merely the next component."

He coiled, ready to spring, the claws on his crimson hands extending, sharp as obsidian.

He leaped, aiming for the final, brutal strike.

Just as Flint's shadow fell over the terrified Elena, a sudden, blinding flash of red, smoky aura erupted between them.

A figure materialized instantly.

With a sound like stone grinding stone, a stone-hard forearm clad in thick, crackling red energy shot up, blocking the demon's claws with shocking finality.

Screeeech!

Flint's claws scraped uselessly against the reinforced limb.

Before the demon could react, his other fist, enveloped in a furious reddish-black smoky aura, rocketed forward, delivering a devastating punch right into Flint's stomach.

The impact was immense, forcing a sickening whoosh of air and dark energy out of the demon's body.

Flint sailed backward like a rag doll, skidding and rolling across the academy lawn for several meters before finally collapsing into a crumpled heap.

The figure turned, his silhouette broad and comforting against the night. He was powerfully built, dressed in black, and his face was etched with serious focus.

"Are you alright?" Grey asked, his voice low and concerned.

Elena stared up at him, her eyes wide with shock.

"G-Grey?" she stammered, completely bewildered.

A small, grim smile touched his lips. "I told you to be careful. I had a feeling something was wrong."

Before Elena could fully process his unexpected arrival, Flint was moving again. He rose, wiping a thin stream of black-tinged blood from the corner of his lips.

The smirk was back, now laced with genuine hatred.

He clapped his hands slowly, deliberately. The sound was an eerie punctuation mark in the night.

"The hero arrives! The self-righteous hero to the rescue," Flint scoffed, tilting his head at Grey. "Always showing up precisely when you're least wanted."

Flint's aura swelled. The crimson on his skin deepened, and his voice took on a new, menacing resonance.

"It's time to get serious."

He waved his arms, not to conjure, but to pull something from the void.

With a hideous metallic shriek, a thick, coiling black chain appeared in his hands.

A wicked, hook-like dagger, shimmering with concentrated dark energy, was attached to one end.

Dark, ominous smoke seemed to rise from the blade, twisting and suffocating the moonlight as he spun the weapon expertly.

Then, with a casual flick of his wrist, a small black talisman paper, etched with complex but rudimentary summoning script, appeared between his fingers.

He tore it in half, releasing a short, buzzing wave of energy that shot up toward the sky, a clear signal.

Grey didn't take his eyes off the weapon. He pulled out a potion from his inventory and quickly tossed the small vial toward Elena.

"Drink this. It's a basic Healing and Aura Fortification Potion," Grey instructed, his focus intense.

"Get ready, Elena. That signal means he's called for reinforcements. This is going to be a tough fight."

Elena snatched the vial, quickly downed the bitter contents, feeling a hot, revitalizing surge of Aura begin to fill her exhausted core.

She looked at Grey, then at the demon facing them, her fear hardening into resolve. She raised her sword, its bluish moonlight aura returning with renewed strength.

Grey stood shoulder-to-shoulder with her, his massive frame shielding her slightly, his fists raised, the smoky red aura enveloping his arms like armored gauntlets.

Flint paused his menacing weapon spin, his demonic grin wide.

"Let's dance."

With a final, terrible roar, he leaped toward the two defenders.

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