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The atmosphere was eerily still; no one dared to speak.

The cold floor was stained with blood, and severed hair scattered like petals,

as Lucid’s upper and lower body rolled on the ground.

“…Lucid-sama…”

Anubis, witnessing the scene, roared like a beast.

“Grr… GRAAAAH…!!!!!”

The vast sparring hall trembled violently.

Yet, the hand gripping Anubis’s neck didn’t budge an inch.

“Grrr… Huh!”

Bang!

Suddenly, Anubis, realizing he couldn’t escape,

smashed his fist against the ground,

creating a deafening sound as the floor was deeply dented.

Crack!

As the ground collapsed,

he seized the opportunity to wriggle free from the Mask’s grip,

quickly rolling away and glancing back at Lucid’s fallen form.

“…Lucid-sama…”

“AAAH!!”

“What… what kind of crazy monster is that?!”

One by one, the onlookers began to panic,

some stunned into silence, others on the verge of tears.

Well, it’s no surprise.

Who’d expect to witness a person being split in two while alive?

“…Nova, stay behind me.”

Stella’s eyes sharpened, sensing the threat.

Even her voice shook slightly.

Seeing that Fly Mask didn’t change expression was unsettling.

Was that thing stronger than the one from before?

And wait, are we about to encounter the Demon from the Mask again?

No, something feels off. That guy is different.

When I encountered the Fly Mask last time,

I was gripped by an indescribable fear—death itself.

Yet with this one,

“I don’t feel anything at all.”

With Stella’s words, I found myself in agreement.

Is he that strong?

I didn’t get that feeling at all.

No, anyone could tell the absurdity of his power.

Yet it felt bizarre—is he even a Demon?

I sensed none of the characteristic stifling magical power typical of Demons.

And above all,

‘This is a mask I’ve never seen before.’

A Demon wearing a dragon-shaped mask?

I’ve played this game dozens of times and never saw anything like it.

And didn’t that Mask show up last time?

What’s with the new arrivals?

The man in the mask glanced around, surveying the students.

Then his gaze landed precisely on us—well, on Stella to be exact—her face obscured.

But it was clear; he was grinning.

“I’ve found you.”

As he started to approach us,

“Hey.”

Boom!

A massive killing intent exploded in the air.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

Turning my gaze, I saw Anubis, his fur standing on end,

arms hanging low, leaning forward threateningly.

“I asked where you’re going after leaving my benefactor like this.”

“…I have no business with you.”

“…This feeling is new; I understand now.”

Grrr

“Is this what anger feels like? I want to tear you apart…”

His claws extended like a beast’s as he lunged at the Mask with lightning speed.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

His rapid strikes were easily blocked by the Mask’s hand,

but the shockwaves shattered everything around them.

At that moment, Stella shouted loudly,

“Serena!!!”

“..!!”

Startled by her call, Serena looked at Stella.

“Hand that over quickly!”

“Uh… okay!”

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a necklace pendant.

In that moment,

Woosh!

An unfamiliar sound pierced the air.

Looking at the sparring hall, I saw the Mask’s fist buried deep in Anubis’s abdomen.

“C…ugh!”

With that single blow, Anubis could barely stand.

“Don’t interfere, mutt! You’re not dying yet.”

Trying to turn away, Anubis tightly gripped the Mask’s hand.

“Why are you targeting Stella? Is it not enough to have killed my benefactor but now you want to kill my friend too?”

“…You’re persistent.”

Boom!

Then the sound of something bursting echoed from Anubis’s abdomen.

“Cough… Gah…”

Reacting to the attack, Anubis’s body began to swell with tension.

Anubis (Lv.40)

Power (S- -> SS)

Speed (B+ -> S)

Endurance (S -> SSS)

“GRAAAAH!!!”

Boom!

“Gah!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Cough… ugh…”

There was no sign of any counterattack.

He was simply pressing his fist to Anubis’s abdomen,

and from that spot, I heard sounds like bombs exploding.

Anubis, whom I thought had the strongest endurance,

was kneeling and coughing up blood from the relentless strikes.

The man in the mask pointed his index finger at the kneeling Anubis.

In that moment,

“Stop it, you bastard!”

A shimmering silver magical bullet shot towards his finger.

Bang!

But within a tenth of a second, he dodged the bullet.

As the Mask turned its head, Stella was now standing in the sparring hall,

her blue pupils glowing with energy.

“Don’t you dare touch him, you dog!”

Around her, chunks of silver-glistening rock levitated ominously.

Stella (Lv.???)

Power: Cannot Measure

Speed: Cannot Measure

Endurance: Cannot Measure

Magic Power: Cannot Measure

Intelligence: S

[Warning!! Opponent’s Level is too high to copy]

Stella’s stats had all changed aside from intelligence. Had she been hiding her power all along,

or was the system unable to detect it, or was I simply not strong enough?

It was utterly impossible to measure.

“Yeah, you seem certain.”

The Mask’s gaze glimmered with a sinister red light.

“Indeed, you are the Star I’ve been searching for.”

Planeta (planéta)

[Oh, Star]

As she began casting a spell,

the rocky chunks transformed into sharp, pointed forms.

The target was the man’s heart.

Exigo (éxĭgo)

[Pierce through]

Kabam!

Hundreds of sharp rock chunks the size of baseballs

shot toward the Mask.

For the first time, the Mask prepared to defend against such a tremendous wave of attacks.

Kabam!

“I’ll turn you into a honeycomb!”

Stella’s barrage didn’t stop.

Each rock fragment struck the ground, creating fissures over ten meters deep;

the scale of that power was unimaginable.

“This is insane! With such power, surely that guy…”

“…”

Just then, the Mask unexpectedly vanished without a trace.

“What? Where did he go…”

Bang!

In that instant, as I glanced at Stella,

I saw her swinging a fist behind her back without looking.

That fist collided precisely against the side of the Mask’s head.

“Don’t mess around and just die quietly.”

In the next moment, Stella prepared to kick.

As the Mask raised its hand to guard,

Bang!

Suddenly, the Mask was airborne, floating in midair.

“What the…?”

Before the kick could land,

though she had only adopted a preparing stance,

it was as if he had already taken a hit and flew away.

‘Could it be that he moved so fast I couldn’t follow?’

Unfazed, Stella aimed her staff at the Mask.

Around her, numerous silver rocks began to glow brightly.

Planeta Incumbo (planéta incúmbo)

[Oh, Star, swirl fiercely!]

In the next moment, a silver storm engulfed the Mask.

Crack!

The sound of metal clashing echoed,

bringing the certainty that the Mask had been smashed to pieces.

But it seemed strange that the remnants of his body hadn’t fallen apart.

Stella’s expression turned serious.

“Ariel…”

“Yes…!”

“Get the children to safety right now!”

At her command, Ariel shouted loudly,

“Everyone, evacuate the area immediately!”

At that cry, the students, bewildered, began to scream and flee one by one.

“Anubis.”

“Cough… ugh.”

“Hey, furball!”

“I’m listening.”

With that, Anubis barely regained his focus and looked at Stella.

“Get Lucid and run away now.”

“What do you mean?”

“He’s a vampire; he won’t die easily.”

Anubis’s face went pale at her words.

“So… what about you?”

“Didn’t you hear me?! Stand up and move this instant!”

Bang!

In that moment, the silver storm erupted with a bang.

From within it, the Mask emerged, appearing unscathed.

“Damn…”

The Mask shrugged off the remnants and muttered quietly,

“I’m disappointed you’ve only grown this much.”

“You…”

Swoosh!

In the blink of an eye, the Mask appeared right in front of Stella,

caressing her shoulder and whispering something into her ear.

Stella’s normally cold expression turned startled at his words.

“How… how do you know that?”

“Get away!”

The Mask hurled Stella towards the charging Anubis.

“Ugh!” “Oof!”

The collision sent them both crashing across the hall.

“Well… shall I now fulfill my purpose for coming here?”

As he spoke, his gaze locked onto me.

“Ah, there you are—‘Divine.’”

“What?”

In the blink of an eye, the Mask was right in front of me.

“I’m sorry, but I need you to die, Divine pawn.”

“Ugh…”

Thud!

The next moment, a chilling pain shot through my abdomen.

Looking down, I saw the Mask’s wrist embedded in my stomach.

“No!!”

As Stella’s scream echoed in despair, my consciousness faded away.

 

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