The change was instant.
The Ebonclimber held a crude, wooden spear-like weapon—far too small for its massive frame.
But just as it prepared to hurl the weapon toward Azriel, it froze.
Its yellow eyes locked onto him… watching as Azriel walked forward with a calm yet dark expression.
A misty breath escaped his lips, patches of frost forming on the trees and ground around them.
Red lightning crackled ominously across his body, while a chilling white mist emanated from Void Eater in his hand.
And then… Azriel stopped.
His crimson eyes met the Ebonclimber’s gaze.
In the blink of an eye, Azriel vanished—reappearing mid-air, right in front of the demon’s face.
Without hesitation, he swung Void Eater in a horizontal slash, its blade infused with biting frost.
The Ebonclimber’s eyes widened at the sudden speed, but it reacted quickly, thrusting the wooden spear forward in a desperate attempt to impale him.
Before the spear could reach him, a chain of ice erupted from one of the frozen patches on the ground, coiling around the creature’s arm and slamming the weapon into the dirt.
Thrown off balance by the unexpected restraint, the Ebonclimber had no time to evade. Void Eater flashed past its left eye.
Black blood gushed out like a fountain, the icy energy sealing the wound shut in an instant as frost crept over its ruined face.
The Ebonclimber thrashed violently, shattering the ice chain. But before it could recover, Azriel twisted his body mid-air, stepping on the creature’s face. Red lightning crackled against its skin, scorching it further.
Using the momentum, Azriel launched himself toward a nearby tree, landing on one of its branches.
The Ebonclimber clutched its face with a massive hand as the frost continued to spread. With a furious roar, it gripped the ice-covered flesh tightly, shattering it in a spray of black blood.
Its remaining eye burned with rage as it glared up at Azriel.
The roar shook the forest, rattling the trees. Azriel steadied himself, gripping the branch as the creature hurled the wooden spear with explosive force.
The weapon blurred, cutting through the air like a missile.
Azriel narrowed his eyes and leaped down just in time, the spear grazing past his hair and embedding itself into a tree behind him.
The Ebonclimber didn’t wait. With another roar, it lunged at him on all fours, its massive body tearing through the undergrowth.
A crooked grin spread across Azriel’s face.
“Now who’s pissed?”
Azriel stomped on the ground, launching himself skyward. The Ebonclimber’s single eye followed him, blazing with fury.
Scooping up a fistful of dirt, the demon clenched it tightly before flinging a cloud of dust at Azriel mid-air.
But this time, Azriel was prepared.
Deactivating [Soul’s Crucible], which had been aiding his teammates, he conjured a chain of ice around his left arm. Swinging it toward a tree branch, the chain latched on, and he yanked himself sideways, avoiding the dust cloud entirely.
The chain shattered as Azriel shot toward another tree. Twisting his body mid-flight, he landed feet-first against its trunk, crouching low before launching himself like a missile toward the Ebonclimber.
The creature crouched to pounce at him, but it failed to notice another patch of frost hidden beneath the scattered dirt and leaves.
A second chain of ice shot out, wrapping around its right arm.
The Ebonclimber growled, ripping the chain apart in an instant.
But its distraction proved costly.
A sharp spike of ice erupted from the ground near its left flank, piercing its hip.
The Ebonclimber’s roar turned into a pained scream as it slammed both arms down on the spike, shattering it in a shower of ice shards.
Azriel was already upon it.
Void Eater, now crackling with crimson lightning, slashed downward before the creature could recover.
Its remaining eye burst in a spray of black blood.
Azriel didn’t stop.
Gripping the demon’s face, he halted his momentum mid-air, pivoting before driving Void Eater into its shoulder and slicing downward.
Another torrent of black blood erupted as the Ebonclimber thrashed wildly, its immense strength forcing Azriel to leap away to avoid being crushed.
Azriel couldn’t help but smile wider as he watched the Ebonclimber thrash around.
Then, it stilled, blood still leaking from its wounds, its guttural growls filling the air. It turned slowly, facing Azriel, but with no eyes.
Somehow, despite its blindness, it still sensed him.
“Still not giving up, huh…”
Azriel began walking toward the creature, a low chuckle escaping his lips.
“Good.”
The two of them had already taken the fight far enough, unable to see or hear where Azriel’s team and the Ebonclimber’s void creatures were.
Twisting Void Eater in his hand, Azriel was about to jump at it, but then froze.
Ignoring its wound, the Ebonclimber stood on both legs.
Suddenly, it gripped the mana collar around its neck tightly, worsening the wound on its shoulder.
To Azriel’s horror, the metal collar began to groan under the pressure, and he saw the shape starting to bend.
‘No way… I mean, this is a mana artifact. It must have passed a lot of tests to be usable… right?’
There was no way it could actually break.
Yet, Azriel’s hopes were shattered the next second, as the mana collar shattered into thousands of pieces, freeing the Grade 3 demon from its chains.
The air around them instantly felt heavier, as if gravity had multiplied tenfold.
The wounds didn’t close, but the blood stopped flowing from its eyes, hip and shoulder.
Azriel felt every hair on his body stand on end, a warning from the Ebonclimber in front of him.
His heart raced.
‘Just how much was the mana collar holding it back…?’
What was the mana collar holding back, exactly?
What did it mean to suppress a mana core of a void creature?
Simply put, it was different from every other void creature.
No two void creatures were the same.
Not all void creatures had an affinity.
Not all had an ability like the Ebonclimber.
Some had both.
But what did all void creatures have?
Mana.
Just like humans, they had mana. But what did they do with that mana, other than using it for their abilities or affinities?
It was similar to how a master could eventually manipulate their aura. Void creatures could do the same, using mana to strengthen their bodies.
Now that the mana collar was broken, the Ebonclimber had full control over its mana again.
It could strengthen its body, fully use its mind control ability, and perhaps more.
Azriel braced himself, tensing his muscles as his face hardened.
Stepping forward with his left foot, Void Eater in front of him, Azriel took a deep breath.
Even though the Ebonclimber’s eyes were still gone, Azriel didn’t dare to underestimate it.
Preparing to go all out, a sudden shift made Azriel stop just as he was about to use his sword art.
He felt a ripple in the mana in the air, and the next second, his eyes widened.
The Ebonclimber, still on all fours, had its head facing Azriel, showing its long fangs menacingly.
But then…
That very head fell to the ground with a sickening thud.
The body of the Ebonclimber collapsed.
Blood gushed from its neck, spilling like rain, drenching Azriel entirely.
Azriel blinked, ignoring the blood coating him, and turned his gaze behind the fallen creature.
Solomon walked calmly toward him, hands in his pockets.
“Looks like I’ll have to file a complaint about this…”
He stopped in front of the body, pinching its chin and tilting its head slightly.
“Or should I just kill the one who made this useless mana collar?”
Before Azriel could respond, another voice reached their ears.
“The one who invented this mana collar was a team of cadets and instructors. Unless you want a bloodbath of kids and young adults who still have their use, I suggest a lighter punishment.”
Azriel turned his head, and so did Solomon, seeing Instructor Ranni walk toward them. Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire
‘Why is she here…?’
There was no reason for Instructor Ranni to be here; Solomon was the instructor for Void Hunting classes.
Solomon shrugged his shoulders before bending down. In one swift motion, his hand pierced the back of the Ebonclimber’s body.
He ripped it out, revealing a shiny mana core. After inspecting it briefly, he nodded and tossed it to Azriel, who instinctively caught it.
“…?”
Azriel glanced at the mana core, then at Solomon, who wore a wry smile.
“I didn’t want to interrupt your fight. We were watching you the whole time, especially yours, but… we had to intervene. You might’ve won against this monkey, but the fight would have escalated and reached other cadets, putting them in danger. That could’ve been unpredictable.”
Azriel stared at him for a few seconds before a sigh escaped his lips. He nodded.
“It’s fine. I understand.”
Azriel then turned his gaze to Ranni, his confusion evident.
Understanding the question in his eyes, Ranni gave a gentle smile, though her eyes seemed tired.
“Solomon can’t be everywhere at once. In case of emergency, there are other instructors in this forest. Since I was free, and you and the others from my class were here, I decided to join them.”
Azriel nodded, a look of understanding crossing his face.
Looking at the broken shards of the mana collar, Azriel hesitated before asking.
“Maybe it stopped working because of my lightning affinity?”
It was possible.
When Azriel kicked the Ebonclimber in the face and burned it with his lightning affinity, he made sure the lightning shocked its body.
Perhaps that caused the device to malfunction.
But Ranni shook her head and answered, her deep blue ocean eyes locked on Azriel.
“Even if that was the case, the point of this mana collar was that it could be used in this test. They should have been prepared for affinities that might damage a device. No matter what, they’ll be punished.”
Azriel pursed his lips, having no response.
Sure, he could use his position as a prince to make the punishment worse, but he didn’t desire that.
It wasn’t like he had been hurt, and he wanted to test himself against a Grade 3 demon.
Sighing inwardly, Azriel looked at the mana core, about to consume it.
Solomon scratched the back of his head.
“Ah, right, congrats on passing the test! Go meet up with your team. I think they should be done fighting, and an instructor is secretly watching over them. Once you’re with your teammates, the location where you should head to leave this forest will appear on your watch. Just head there.”
Azriel eyed Solomon, narrowing his eyes, hesitating to ask for some compensation for putting him and his teammates at risk.
But seeing how coldly Ranni was looking at Solomon, and how he avoided her gaze, Azriel’s shoulders relaxed. He decided to let it go.
“Alright, I’ll consume this and head towards them.”