Chapter 182: The Enraged Darkness

The earth cracked open, sheer rock walls towering, and a winding river flowed down along the stone cliff from above.

A long, narrow, and magnificent chasm stretched forth, as if split open by a giant axe, majestic and awe-inspiring.

Liakade and the others descended the walkway, tightly following at the rear of the main group.

Ahead of the main group, some low-level monsters had already appeared. They resembled lizards but had humanoid forms, and were thus called Lizardmen.

The moment those Lizardmen crawled out, they were instantly overwhelmed and eliminated by the students at the front.

Liakade and her group at the back didn’t even have a chance to attack, let alone snatch any points.

“At this rate, we won’t get any Score at all.”

Field looked at the surging crowd ahead and couldn’t help but complain.

“Hmm… Maybe we shouldn’t follow the main group. We’re strong enough anyway.”

Liakade thought for a moment and pointed to another walkway nearby.

“Let’s go this way.”

“Won’t it be dangerous if we don’t stick with the main group?”

Chloe seemed a bit uneasy. Even though she’d already witnessed Liakade and the others’ strength, she’d heard this place was pretty dangerous. What if they got separated from the main group and ran into trouble?

“Eh? Um… Yes, right, what if we run into danger?”

Alice choked on Chloe’s words because…what Chloe just said was actually the line Liakade had arranged for her.

If they left the main group without a single objection, it would seem too fake. So, Liakade had assigned Alice to be the cautious one.

However, the newcomer Chloe had inadvertently stolen Alice’s role.

“Pfft…No, it’s fine. Just trust our strength.”

Seeing this, Liakade nearly lost her composure, hurriedly managing her expression before finally speaking confidently.

“All right, if you all think it’s okay, then let’s go.”

Chloe agreed since Liakade insisted.

[Hehehehe… How arrogant, to separate from the main group so easily. Do you think you can do as you please just because of your inferior Succubus Bloodline?]

[Soon, you’ll pay the price for your conceit, you Traitor of the Demon Race!]

[By the way… Since you’re a Succubus Bloodline, you must like those things too, right? Let me break you thoroughly…]

“Looks like Liakade and the others decided to move alone.”

On the cliff, the Grade Director watched the students below and spoke to the Mage Teacher beside him.

“Hmm… It seems so. Should I follow them?”

The Mage Teacher volunteered upon seeing this.

“Forget it, stay with the main group. I’ll go after Liakade and the others myself.”

“All right.”

With that, the Mage Teacher and Grade Director split up as well.

“Eh… Why does it feel like there are fewer monsters the further we go this way?”

Chloe looked around in confusion.

After walking for a while, Liakade and the others had completely separated from the main group. They couldn’t even hear the others anymore.

At first, when they were moving alone, they still encountered some green Lizardmen, flying insects, and Magic Serpents.

Most were around LV.20, and Liakade and her group easily defeated them, turning them into Score.

But now, even Lizardmen were nowhere to be seen.

“Hmm… Maybe there’s some dangerous monster nearby?”

Liakade guessed tentatively.

“Usually, if there’s a powerful monster in an area, the number of other monsters decreases, either because they’re driven away or they flee out of fear.”

“So…we need to stay alert, Alice-chan.”

On the surface, Liakade was speculating about the reason for the monster decrease, but in reality, she was warning Alice to stay focused.

She could already faintly sense gazes from unknown places.

[Shadow Bind]

Suddenly, a massive black shadow spread out from below the walkway, countless dark tendrils lunging toward Liakade and the others like hungry wolves.

“Wh-What is this!?”

“Alice!”

“Understood!”

Chloe had never seen such a bizarre sight before. The shadows seemed to possess their own will as they surged toward them.

Beside her, Alice was already prepared. The moment the shadows moved, she pressed her hands together, light radiating outward and dispersing the shadows.

[What? Such quick reflexes!?]

Darkness had intended to use Shadow Bind to restrain them and slow Alice’s movements, thus restricting her.

But to her surprise, before her attack even landed, Alice’s Magic was already unleashed.

“Over there!”

[Not good!]

Liakade pointed to the upper cliff, and both Light Sphere and Fireball erupted toward the spot she indicated.

Empowered by Wind Element, their speed more than doubled.

Field’s Fireball was less threatening to Darkness, but…if she took a direct Light Sphere from Alice while in shadow form, the damage would be much greater.

Moreover…how could their defense and counterattack be so swift?

It was as if…as if they knew in advance where the attack would come from and had rehearsed for it!

Indeed, over the past two days, Liakade had already anticipated the various angles and timings Darkness might attack from.

She had predicted Darkness would first try to restrain Alice, so Liakade’s first instruction to Alice was to protect herself.

Once Darkness launched her attack, Alice would defend against it, while Liakade, using her keen perception, would pinpoint the casting direction and guide Alice and Field to attack simultaneously, accelerating their Magic to further reduce Darkness’s reaction time.

Since Alice’s Magic traveled a bit slower than Field’s, the Light Sphere followed after the Fireball. If Darkness wanted to fully avoid the Fireball, she’d have to stay in the shadows.

But if she stayed in the shadows, she’d be heavily struck by Alice’s Light Sphere.

In this situation, Darkness had no time to hesitate.

She leaped from the shadow, and although her speed was fast, her ankle was still caught by the Fireball’s explosion.

“Ah—You…you filthy brats…”

Darkness landed on the walkway behind them, staggering in pain.

Her ink-black hair flowed to her waist, a deep blue short skirt swayed in the wind, and her black stockings were torn in several places, exposing flushed skin.

Pure black nails extended into sharp claws, and her crimson eyes glared at Liakade.

“L-Liakade…Miss Liakade! What’s going on? Who is that!?”

Chloe was now completely panicked.

This ability to control shadows, those blood-red pupils, the oppressive aura, those vicious claws—every trait screamed that this was a powerful, intelligent Demon Race.

“Don’t panic. Stay calm. We’ll explain after the fight.”

Field patted Chloe’s shoulder, signaling her not to lose her nerve.

“So you’ve finally shown yourself, Darkness.”

Liakade looked at Darkness before her, smirking with mockery.

“To think you not only told us your true name, but even met us in your real form.”

“But I still preferred your braided hair and glasses look—you were cuter then.”

“So noisy…”

Darkness bit her lip, then grinned widely.

“Hahahaha, I see now… So, you knew I’d attack all along!”

“Yet, even knowing that, you still dared to take the exam… You—”

Unmatched killing intent erupted from Darkness, who crouched and spread her arms, her hands transforming into meter-long, slender claws.

“You’re truly arrogant!”

Darkness roared as the shadow beneath her feet expanded backward, countless black, insect-like creatures pouring forth.

“Alice, stop her!”

“Understood!”

Liakade commanded Alice to unleash Magic and interrupt Darkness, then charged forward herself.

Liakade’s body also began to change, sprouting black demon wings and a tail, her hands covered in black beast hide.

Liakade’s claws differed from Darkness’s—they were shorter and sturdier, while Darkness’s were thin, long, and terrifyingly sharp, as if one swipe could pierce a person through.

At that moment, Alice’s attack arrived as well, a barrier of light severing Darkness’s shadow.

This was the Shadow Domain of Darkness. Within it, she could store all kinds of things—even Magic itself—distinct from ordinary shadows.

Once struck by Wind Elemental Magic, the Shadow Domain would disconnect from Darkness, rendering it unusable temporarily.

However, in just that instant, Darkness had already released dozens of Shadowflower Eaters.

“What…are these?”

“Don’t just stand there—defend!”

Chloe was still stunned.

Even as the Shadowflower Eaters swarmed toward her, she didn’t react until Field cleaved one in two with her sword, snapping her out of her fear.

“S-Sorry, Princess Field!”

Coming to her senses, Chloe quickly cast Magic, several earthen walls rising up to block the Shadowflower Eaters.

But against flying enemies, simple earthen barriers were barely effective.

“Do you think you can defeat me head-on!?”

“So what if we can!”

The girls’ claws collided, the force and sound of the impact exploding outward.