King Noah walked towards the podium and scanned the thousands of students that were gathered in the Grand Coliseum. There should have been more, but they had fallen due to the Dungeon Outbreaks that had suddenly erupted in many places in the Kingdom.
That event greatly saddened him, and the Dean of the Royal academy, for the students were the seeds that they were supposed to nurture in order to keep their kingdom strong.
After taking a deep breath, King Noah stood in front of everyone and started his opening speech.
"For many years, our kingdom has stood tall within the Southern Continent," King Noah said in a voice that was magnified using a magic artifact. "Four years ago, we withstood the Beast Tide that dared to threaten the people of our lands. We were victorious in that battle at the price of many of our brave countrymen.
"A few months ago, another major event happened without warning. This time around, we were forced to seek the help of every able bodied young man and woman to protect the land that we call our home."
King Noah paused and a profound silence fell upon the students that were standing in the Coliseum Grounds. The First Years, up to the Fourth Years of the Martial, Magic, and Spirit Divisions were all gathered and looking at King Noah with sad expressions.
Some of their good friends had fallen during the Dungeon Outbreak, leaving only their memories behind.
King Noah raised his voice as he commended the bravery of the students that had stood their ground, so that many of their countrymen could keep living a peaceful life.
"Hellanians are strong," King Noah said firmly. "We will never cower. We will never surrender. We will face all that threatens our lives and freedom!"
The students raised their hands and roared in unison. King Noah's speech made their blood boil with determination to protect their kingdom.
"This tournament is a way for you to know your strengths and your weaknesses. A way for you to experience fighting against many different kinds of people," King Noah explained.
"Naturally, all of you will be rewarded. Not just the winners, also those who fought bravely. I look forward to the exciting matches that I will see today. Without further delay, I now declare the start of the Inter-Division Battle of the Hellan Royal Academy!"
Suddenly, an ear piercing screech resounded inside the Grand Coliseum as a red portal appeared on the East Side of the spectators gallery.
Thousands of Stone Gargoyles flew out of the portal and started to attack those who were seated near it. The audience screamed and scattered in fear as the demons started a massacre.
"Knights!" King Noah roared. "Protect the citizens!"
""Yes!""
The Knights of the Kingdom immediately charged towards the Eastern Side of the Coliseum, while the Grand Archmage hurried towards Noah in order to protect him.
"Magicians! Protect the Citizens!" Matthew ordered the Fourth Years. "Fight in groups of four and protect each other's backs!"
The Fourth Years immediately moved out towards the East to help the Knights subdue the threat that suddenly appeared in their Inter-Division Ceremony.
The Head Prefects of the Martial, and Spirit Divisions also ordered the students under their wing to reinforce the defenders.
"Damn you demons!" A Third Year student from the Spirit Division summoned spirits in order to fend off the gargoyles that were flying around them.
"Be careful," a lady cleric summoned a barrier to prevent the barrage of stone bullets from hitting his companion.
At that moment, a Second Year from the Magic Division appeared beside them.
"I came here to help," the Second Year Magician said as he stood beside the two Third Years.
"Good! Make sure to support our healer, I'll handle the rest!"
"Understood."
The young spirit user was about to summon more spirit beasts when he was blasted away by a fireball that came from the Second Year Student.
"Mark!" the healer shouted. She was about to deploy a barrier to protect himself, but the Second Year Student was faster than her and knocked her unconscious, using the back of his sword.
A gargoyle then descended from the sky and scooped the unconscious healer from the ground and flew back towards the portal in haste. Their role was to bring back the talented ladies of the Royal Academy to become the broodmares of their Demon Race.
"What are you doing?!"
"Stop!"
"Traitors!"
Shouts of anger, and disbelief reverberated on the Coliseum as the First, Second, and Third Year students of the Magic Division "backstabbed" their fellow students.
"The Magicians are in league with the demons! Kill them!" An enraged Swordsman from the Fourth Year Martial Class roared as he charged towards a Fourth Year Magician that was standing not far from him.
"Wait! We are on your side!" the magician raised his hand to prove that he had no intention to fight.
Unfortunately, the widespread "backstabbing" of the magicians had already made it impossible for anyone to believe his words.
"Die!" The swordsman pierced the Magician's chest, killing him instantly.
The magician died and fell on the ground with shock written on his face. He couldn't believe that his friend had attacked him without showing any shred of mercy.
Soon, he, along with the rest of the people that had died in the Coliseum turned into particles of light.
----
"Fourth Years! Rally to me!" Matthew shouted in order to recall the Fourth Years of the Magic Division. "Defend yourselves, but do not attack anyone! I repeat. Defend yourselves, but don't attack anyone!"
Leah who was standing beside him created a water barrier to protect the two of them from the attacks that were coming from the Spirit and Martial Division. Just like the rest of the students, both of them were caught by surprise by the unexpected turn of events that decimated almost a third of the students within the coliseum grounds.
The Fourth Year Magicians hurriedly went towards Matthew and resisted the combined attacks of their fellow students, while also defending against the gargoyles that were firing stone bullets from the sky.
Tens of thousands Gargoyles suddenly appeared in the battlefield, and it was almost impossible to wipe them all out using an Area of Effect Spell. What made things even harder was that the "Magicians" had turned coat and attacked the defenders from all sides, increasing the chaos in the battlefield.
"Angorian Knights! Attack the younger magicians, but do not target the Fourth Years!" Priscilla commanded after killing one of the magicians with an arrow. "Remember, target only those that are actively attacking the other students!"
""Yes!""
Brutus' and Bruno's eyes were bloodshot as they attacked their classmates who were wantonly killing the students from the other divisions. They didn't know what was happening, but all the people that they knew were acting like berserked spellcasters who couldn't distinguish between friend or foe!
"What is happening to your classmates?!" Spencer shouted as he fought his way towards the twin brothers who were in the middle of the crossfire. "Where's Wendy?!"
Brutus summoned an Earthwall to defend against a fireball that came from a Third Year Student. The fireball exploded, but the stone wall remained firm and stable.
"Wendy left half an hour ago with the Head Prefect," Bruno answered as he fired multiple fire bolts at the Third Year that attacked them. Unfortunately, the Third Year was well versed in Fire Magic and easily neutralized Bruno's attack.
"Where did they go?" Spencer asked as he channeled his aura on his spear. He then threw it towards the Third Year Magician without waiting for Bruno's answer.
Spencer's Weapon Aura allowed him to increase the speed of his attacks exponentially. Whether it was thrusts, slash, or throwing attacks. All of them were multiplied tenfold once he imbued his aura into his weapon.
The spear flew like a bullet and pierced through the Magician's Chest ending his life in the process.
"The last thing I heard from the Head Prefect is that they left something in the Magic Division," Bruno answered as he fired several fire bolts at his classmates who were running amok. "Maybe they're still there."
"I got it! Both of you stay alive!" Spencer ran towards the fallen magician to retrieve his spear.
As soon as he retrieved his spear, the magician turned into particles of light, which made Spencer sigh in relief. He then hurried towards the exit of the arena in order to find his twin sister and protect her from the demons that had suddenly invaded their academy.
-----
Just as Carter ordered, the First, Second, and Third Year Magicians had positioned themselves among the members of the Spirit Division. These students were rich in spirit powers and would be the perfect incubators for the next generation of demons.
This was why Carter ordered them to only knock the girls unconscious, while killing the boys using a surprise attack.
A black Gargoyle that was three times bigger than the rest stood near the portal and observed the mayhem that was happening.
His name was Atos, the right-hand man of Commander Zagal. The Demon Commander ordered him to carry out the plan and ensure that Carter would be able to safely leave the academy under his watch.
So far, the plan was proceeding smoothly as the students of the Royal Academy died left and right. This was all in accordance with their Commander's order to start a massacre.
Atos was extremely happy that In a short span of time, hundreds of girls had already been captured by the gargoyles, and were taken to the red portal to be brought back to the Demon Continent.
'Just where are you, Carter?' Atos thought as he scanned the crowd, looking for his comrade at arms. 'At most, we can only stay here for ten more minutes. If you're not here by then, we are going to leave you behind.'
Although Atos was ordered by Commander Zagal to bring Carter back safe and sound, he had long hated the sly worm for sucking up to their Commander. Although he was the right-hand man of the Demon General, Carter was always given special treatment by his superior which made Atos hate Carter to the bone.
He just pretended to be civil on the surface, but if there was an opportunity to backstab his rival, he would not miss the opportunity to do so.
'I can always say that we were forced to retreat because the human reinforcements arrived quickly,' Atos thought. 'Yes. Let's go with that plan.'
The Black Gargoyle smirked because it thought that it had found a good excuse to leave his comrade behind in the academy. What he didn't know was that his "comrade" had no intention of returning to the Demon Continent.
Instead, the Professor was busy stuffing potions inside William's mouth, in order to weaken the Half-Elf's resistance. He intended to personally enter William's Sea of Consciousness to devour his soul and completely take over his body.