The Rainforest Biome had quickly become a desperate warzone, a rolling storm of twisted mana and vicious abyssal beasts.

The very earth beneath the students' feet throbbed with unnatural pulses, the ground bruised by Abyssal corruption. In the center of the ruined clearing, amidst fallen trees and scattered corpses, the surviving students formed a circle.

"Form up! Defensive perimeter! Ranged in the middle!" Veronica's voice cut through the chaos like a whip of command, unwavering and precise.

Her silver hair clung to her face, dirt and ash smudging her cheeks, but her eyes were clear and utterly focused as she barked orders that everyone similarly followed, recognizing her skills as a tactician.

Elara was standing beside her in the middle of the circle, her breathing fast but steady as her hands glowed with a green light, pouring wave after wave of healing and buffing spells into the group.

She also used her Gift, 'Battle Map' to keep aware of the surroundings, relaying any important information about the battlefield to Veronica to make her calls.

"Reinforce the west!" Veronica shouted, watching as another surge of Abyssal Beasts crashed through the undergrowth. "Lira, Leo, Ember, move!"

"Got it!" Lira Voss replied, atop her Thunder Lion, which roared like a living lightning bolt, its claws leaving electrified gouges in the earth as it tore through an incoming hound-like creature.

Ember also ran alongside Lira and her pet, unleashing her vicious corrosive flames. In a battlefield like this, those kind of flames were perfect, they continuously attached themselves to multiple of the beasts and corroded them from the inside out, eventually forming a line of fire.

Meanwhile, Albedo, Lucian, Miranda, Zeus, Morgana, and William stood on the outer ring, the frontline, encircling the more vulnerable.

The strongest of the Myth-Class now found themselves shoulder to shoulder, striking together against an endless tide.

"This is what we're doing now? Last stand style?" Zeus grinned savagely, axe blazing as he cleaved through three monsters in one swing, "Hell yeah!"

"Less talking, more killing!" Lucian barked, blade drenched in abyssal ichor, every move of his was sharp and effective. His body blurred with [ Pulse Break ], each movement stronger than the last.

Morgana hovered nearby, a crown of blood orbiting her like a halo, her voice dripping with venom as she chanted in the tongue of dark rites.

"Crimson Feast,"

Red tendrils lashed out and wrapped around a bat-like aberration, draining it dry before it even screeched.

She also used her blood manipulation to control a limited amount of the beasts, making them attack their teammates and cause more chaos, while using the gathered blood to heal any injuries she sustained battling Lucian and the others earlier.

"Don't let the bastards close in," she hissed, flicking another corpse aside with disdain.

On the northern edge, Miranda shimmered like a dream, her space-time magic dancing in arcing loops.

[ Stellar Lock ]

Spheres of folded space trapped two large beasts mid-pounce, twisting their momentum backward before imploding them into motes of stardust.

Still, the pressure mounted.

And then came the second wave.

From beyond the shattered tree-lines, dozens more Abyssal Beasts poured in. malformed horrors with gaping jaws, coiling limbs, and runes etched into their flesh. Some crawled.

Others floated. A few even mimicked humanoid shapes, screaming with stolen voices.

"We can't hold like this forever," Dorian muttered from within the circle, flipping his golden coin through his fingers even as he launched a high-velocity curse bolt through a beast's eye. "We need a breakthrough, or we're all just meat."

Albedo didn't answer. He was too focused, switching between Infernal and Graviton Modes on Ruin with clinical precision.

As for Havoc, that was permanently on Abyssal Mode, allowing him to constantly deal lethal damage to the attackers.

His Mirage Body flickered constantly, vanishing between attacks and dodging incoming projectiles.

He would also occasionally send some Mirages outwards, which would draw enemy attention and buy him the previous few seconds he needed.

He was the spear, skewering beasts before they reached the circle, every shot taking down one or more enemies. His Infernal mode also came up huge, as the Crimson Apocalypse flames would attach to other monsters, and it quickly caused a firestorm.

~BOOM!~

The storm raged and the flames burned brightly, rampaging throughout the environment and swallowing hundreds of beasts whole, turning them to nothing but ash.

And the firestorm kept raging, like a protective barrier around the students. Only the beasts strong enough to resist made it through, and their injuries made it easier for the other students to take them down.

"Elara, any chance you can give us something bigger?" Albedo called over his shoulder, sweat dripping down his temple.

"I can try something… but I'll need mana from others. A lot," she answered, her voice shaking but determined.

Veronica didn't hesitate, "Everyone within the inner ring, start channeling. You're not doing damage on the frontlines, so contribute your reserves."

The lesser-ranked students obeyed without complaint, forming a half-meditative circle around Elara. Light began to build around her, flowing into her palms like liquid jade.

"Almost there…" Elara muttered, her body glowing brighter by the second.

Then the Amethyst-Rank Worshipper watching from above finally moved. He clapped once and slow, deliberate sound that echoed unnaturally through the battlefield.

"Enough testing," he said, descending casually onto a branch above the circle, hands clasped behind his back, "Send in the Cullers and improve the quality of the swarms,"

From the abyssal mist, four monstrous silhouettes strode forth.

Humanoid in form, but at least twelve feet tall, with blades for arms and armor fused into their flesh. Their mana signatures were chilling, Gold Rank.

At the same time, the swarm of monsters kept coming, but the new monsters were stronger & faster, needing more hits to be taken down.

"Zeus, Morgana, we need to handle those things," Albedo said, recognizing them from the Novel, "Miranda, keep up the time dome, reinforce Elara."

"On it," Miranda said.

"What about me?" Lucian asked.

"You're the 2nd strongest, protect the pack." Albedo ordered.

Lira and Dorian stayed on the flanks, watching for gaps, while Veronica tightened the circle.

"Once Elara finishes that spell, we break out and form a wedge," Veronica ordered. "We're pushing east to the corrupted lake biome. It's harder for abyssal mana to track movement through waterlogged ley lines. Might buy us time."

"Spell incoming!" Elara shouted.

The air cracked.

[ Blossom of Aether ]

A shockwave of verdant energy exploded from her palms, the ground beneath the students sprouting glowing mana-lilies. Their petals opened, and tendrils of healing light stretched to every defender.

Wounds closed and fatigue vanished. Various different buffs surged into limbs and minds alike. Strength Buffs, Resistance Buffs, Mana Efficiency Buffs, anything imaginable.

Even the beasts staggered, stunned by the pulse of pure mana.

"Go!" Veronica roared. "Charge!"

Like a hammer blow, the students surged forward all the while Albedo, Morgana and Zeus head forward to battle the Cullers.

The battlefield was shaking with every step the Cullers took.

Twisted humanoids, taller than any normal man, with jagged, blade-like arms and bodies wrapped in living armor that pulsed with abyssal sigils.

Their eyes glowed with malicious intelligence, and their cores radiated a hunger that could not be reasoned with.

Zeus didn't wait. Lightning surged across his body as he launched himself forward with all the subtlety of a thunderclap. His Gift [ War God's Power ] ignited with a furious crack as veins of golden-blue light danced along his skin.

He roared, his battle-axe flaring in size and weight, and struck the first Culler with enough force to crack a mountain.

~BOOOOOOOM!~

The blow should have split the creature in two. But instead, the Culler's arm caught the blade.

Held it, ,and then grinned.

"Oh shit!" Zeus barely had time to move before the second arm came down like a guillotine. He ducked, slid backward, and rolled, narrowly avoiding being split from shoulder to hip.

Still, the hit had grazed him, enough to leave a noticeable gash on his hip.

"These things… aren't playing around!"

Just to the side of him, Morgana hovered in mid-air, eyes aglow with bloody light, her silver hair whipped by dark winds.She extended her hands and chanted rapidly, her voice like the howl of a distant, cursed wind.

[ Blood Moon Rise ]

A second moon formed above her, crimson and luminous. It poured bloodlike mana into the clearing, and every drop of spilled blood from the dozens of fallen beasts and students nearby was yanked toward her like iron to a magnet.

The battlefield twisted into a hellish display. Rivers of blood surged and swirled around her like a storm of razors. She flung her hand forward, and all of it turned into hundreds of spears, lances, and whips, every drop a weapon.

[ Blood Devourers ] formed with shrieking faces, pouncing onto the Cullers from every angle.

But even then, the Cullers howled, and black armor flared across their chests.

They weathered the onslaught, stumbling—but not falling.

Morgana gritted her teeth. "Fine," she spat, raising both hands as her Gift flared with terrible intensity.

[ Dark Wonderland ]

The light dimmed. The air turned cold. The very shadows thickened like liquid tar. Morgana's form blurred as she stepped through shadow after shadow, appearing behind one of the Cullers.

A blade of pure dark mana, Shadefang, emerged in her hand.

She plunged it deep into the beast's back. At the same time, from across the battlefield, Albedo was already moving.

He wasn't wasting words.

Both Havoc and Ruin pulsed in Abyssal Mode, the barrels glowing faintly with a violet-black sheen. Unlike their usual explosive flair, Abyssal Mode made their shots eerily silent… but infinitely deadlier.

The air behind Albedo shimmered with afterimages as he constantly swapped his position, unleashing attack after attack on the beasts.

He vanished from one spot and reappeared midair, aiming straight for the head of the Culler Morgana was fighting.

~BANG~BANG!~

The bullets screamed through the air, tearing a hole through the Culler's temple.

The monstrous humanoid jerked, spasmed, but didn't fall. It swung and hit Morgana, sending her crashing through a couple of trees before she regained her stability.

Albedo began to lay on the barrage, shooting shot after shot of Abyssal bullets directly into the exposed weak points Morgana had created.

Each impact caused dark smoke to erupt and after hundreds of shots, the creature finally slumped.

One down.

Three remained.

Zeus was locked with the second, bashing it with all the force his Gift could provide. But even for him, this fight was pushing the edge.

"I'm not a subtle guy," Zeus grunted, slamming his axe into the Culler's stomach, causing it to stagger back a step.

"But let me make myself clear!"

He clapped his hands together, And then released a point-blank blast of [ Thunder Core Implosion ]. A blue-white detonation ruptured the air. It slammed into the Culler with enough force to crater the earth.

The creature's limbs were torn clean off.

But then, even without arms, the damn thing lunged for him with its teeth, biting off his ear and going for more.

"OH COME ON!" Zeus shouted, wrestling it to the ground and punching repeatedly until its skull caved in under the force of his fists.

Bloodied and grinning, he rose with a groan, barely able to stand.

Morgana, meanwhile, staggered.

Her breath was labored.

She was using too much blood at once. Too many enchantments. Too many deaths. Every drop of fluid on the battlefield responded to her call, but it came at a price.

Her veins throbbed with backlash. Her mana circuits burned.

Still, she raised her arms.

"Shadowfangs, rip them apart!" she cried, summoning two spectral wolves made of pure shadow magic.

The wolves lunged at the third Culler, buying Albedo just enough time to fire another volley of Abyssal Rounds, each one calibrated to pierce magical armor.

With the wolves distracting and the bullets digging into the exposed gaps, Morgana swooped in, blood whips binding the creature's legs.

She pulled.

It fell to one knee, giving Albedo the time to shot another shot.

This time, it went clean through the Culler's chest and exploded out the back. The last of its strength left it.

Albedo didn't pause to admire it. He turned to Morgana. She was collapsing. Her knees buckled, and she fell forward.

Before she could hit the ground, Albedo was there.

He caught her mid-fall, slipping an arm beneath her legs and another behind her back.

Her blood-soaked body felt lighter than it should have.

"Idiot," she muttered weakly, "I'm fine…"

"No," he said flatly, "You're not."

She didn't protest further. Her consciousness was flickering, drained after pushing her Gift and magic to their absolute limits.

Zeus limped over, his right arm dangling uselessly, burns and cuts all over him.

"We… we done here?" he asked, panting. "'Cause I've got about one punch left, and I'd like to save it for my next birthday."

Albedo didn't answer.

He was already moving.

Carrying Morgana, sprinting through the burned trees and shattered terrain, after the group that had broken east.

Zeus followed.

Behind them, the clearing still burned.

Abyssal ichor hissed against the corrupted soil.

And from the ridge above, the Amethyst-Rank Worshipper looked down and smiled.

"Well," he said, tapping his chin. "That was... effective."

He turned toward one of the robed figures beside him.

"Summon it."

The cultist bowed.

"As you wish, Lord Vhal'Tharas."

From the depths of the Abyss,

The real monster was about to arrive.