CHAPTER 52: EX 52. BACKLASH

As the demon strode toward Leon and Elizabeth—its claws still stained with blood—

the world shattered with a loud sound.

BOOM!

The barrier above exploded, not like glass but like the heavens themselves had been ripped open.

And from the rupture, a bolt of lightning descended, but it was no ordinary strike—

this lightning was refined, concentrated, and carried the weight of absolute intent.

The demon’s eyes widened. It’s Instinct screamed.

After all It was not just lightning... but ’her’ lightning.

The demon blurred backward, vanishing from its path just as the lightning struck the ground where it stood.

There was no explosion or rumble.

The energy remained tightly contained, as if molded by a will too powerful to allow recklessness.

Leon and Elizabeth, lying broken and still on the ground, remained untouched by the mighty strike.

And from the glowing crater, Rebecca Sky emerged—

her cloak billowing, blue hair streaked with sparks, eyes like a brewing storm.

She turned only slightly, gaze falling on Leon’s bleeding chest and Elizabeth’s collapsed figure.

Her jaw tightened.

Then, with a voice that cracked the sky—

"Demon scum!"

Her S-rank aura erupted, cascading like a storm front.

The demon sneered and responded in kind—its own S-rank pressure colliding with hers.

And then—

They vanished.

To the cadets watching from afar, it was as if the air itself burst apart—

shockwaves rattled the heavens, echoing like drumbeats of war.

Down below, Elizabeth struggled.

Her hands trembled as she pressed against Leon’s wound. She was pale, drained and shaking.

She didn’t know how she’d managed to amplify her undead’s strength earlier. Maybe it had been desperation. Maybe something deeper.

But none of that mattered now.

Not the demon.

Not the others.

Only Leon, who was bleeding out—life fading fast.

Then she gasped.

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

"How...?"

Something was happening.

Above, the battle raged.

The demon’s dark aura twisted and flared, tendrils of shadow defending against the endless torrent of Rebecca’s lightning strikes.

She wielded her Extraordinary-ranked talent, [Storm Control], like a master conductor—

calling bolts from the heavens, shaping winds, weaving pressure and power into artful violence.

The demon tried to retaliate, but Rebecca was relentless, cutting off every counter with another storm-wrapped strike.

Suddenly—

A tornado spiraled into existence, swirling from the clouds as if the sky itself obeyed her will.

It twisted toward the demon, dragging it into its vortex.

The demon fought to resist the pull, it’s wings flapping against the wind, claws sparking against the current—but the pull was too strong. It snarled, eyes blazing.

Then its yellow pupils glowed with malice.

As it stopped resisting.

Rebecca’s expression shifted.

"No... it’s a true demon."

The demon’s aura surged, boiling outward with grotesque intensity.

Veins pulsed red. Skin cracked, leaking black steam. The atmosphere grew suffocating.

Rebecca’s lightning rained down in a frenzy—strike after strike trying to stop it—

but the transformation had already begun.

The tornado dispersed. The bolts were deflected.

And in the center stood something far more monstrous.

The demon had activated the trait special to all true demons—

a last resort, a forbidden transformation:

"Blood Burning."

Its aura no longer just dark, but twisted and feral as well.

Rebecca narrowed her eyes. She couldn’t rush in recklessly anymore.

This was what she’d tried to prevent.

This was what turned even SS-rank defenders into names etched on gravestones.

****

Blood Burning.

A trait feared even among demons.

It was the signature of a true demon—one whose bloodline was untainted and pure from origin.

While demons came in many forms—spawned, corrupted, bred, or created—true demons stood above them all. They were proud, rare, and unquestionably powerful.

And what made them feared most was this one, devastating trait.

[Blood Burning]

A forbidden transformation that temporarily multiplied a true demon’s power—enhancing their speed, strength, and aura beyond comprehension.

But it came at a cost.

The more blood they burned, the less pure they became.

If too much was lost... the true demon would become something lesser, a fallen, stripped of status and honor among their kind.

That was why blood burning was a last resort—a gamble of power versus pride.

And when used, the battlefield never remained the same.

****

High above, the demon soared—its body wreathed in shadowfire, aura radiating like a poisoned star.

"You forced me to show my true form," it snarled at Rebecca.

"Now I’ll make your death more than painful."

Rebecca, standing tall, responded coldly,

"Don’t think you’ve gained the upper hand."

With a flash of silver light, she summoned a weapon from her inventory—

a Tier VII, S-rank bow, glimmering with ancient engravings.

It only had three uses in its entire lifespan.

And now, it would fire its last shot.

Lightning sparked around her, cracking like the fury of gods as she drew the ethereal string back.

A spear of pure lightning formed at the center—growing, swirling and hissing with power.

The demon responded with a growl, its clawed hand stretching forward as a massive spell circle—inscribed in demonic runes—blazed to life.

Then another.

Then a third.

Three circles aligned in a deadly trinity, spinning in synchronization as the demon’s guttural chanting echoed across the sky.

Dark energy pooled into the circle—a beam of annihilation meant to erase anything it touched.

Tension gripped the heavens.

Storm clouds spiraled.

The world held its breath.

And then—

they released.

The lightning arrow flew with a crack of thunder.

The beam of darkness surged forth like a cursed tidal wave.

The two attacks collided mid-air, erupting into a blinding explosion of black and white.

The sky trembled. The earth screamed.

A shockwave thundered across the entire selection zone.

Rebecca gritted her teeth, anchoring herself against the wave. But her strength gave out.

As she was flung from the sky, crashing hard into the ground.

Above, the demon was still in the air but its body was scorched with smoke rising from its shoulders and it’s aura flickering... but it had recovered quickly nonetheless.

It descended slowly, but then it suddenly paused, as it hunched forward slightly.

"Hghk..."

Blood spurted from its mouth.

It touched its lips in disbelief.

"How... is this... possible?"

Its eyes darted toward Rebecca, but her aura was already flickering out. She couldn’t have...

Then it sensed it.

Something else.

Something terribly wrong.

Because in that moment...

it wasn’t Rebecca that had wounded it.

It was something else.

Someone else.

And as its eyes shifted...

it saw the impossible.

...

A/N: Mass release if the book gets up to 10 review before Thursday.