The battle between the two seemed fairly balanced, but that wasn't what mattered now — Ethan was trying to buy time to prepare his next attack.
"So that's what you want, huh? To evolve? Ha, if that's what you want, come on, I'll give you a good fight to see how far you can go."
"Really?... That interests me. Then I'll reveal something interesting."
He raised his left hand. For the first time, a black magic circle with runes resembling bones slowly spun beneath his feet. The air grew cold, the forest fell silent. Crows began to caw in the distance — Ethan felt a chill run down his spine.
'That's not normal magic...'
"Your surprise doesn't surprise me — it's obvious."
From the ground, skeletal hands began to emerge by the dozens, grabbing tree remains and stones, molding themselves into grotesque forms. The stench of death filled the air. Ethan took a step back, lightning crackling over his body, his prepared spell ready to fire.
"You... you're not human, are you? As far as I know, only demons or Nartheis have that magical affinity."
"Humanity? It's a limitation — one I've learned from, and it's something good from what I've seen. But I still need to study it more."
The black aura rose in a spiral, consuming the space between them. The ground cracked — that magic was necromancy, something so rare among humans that none had ever appeared until now, at least as far as anyone knew. The storm intensified, and Ethan clenched his fists, lightning converging around him like hungry serpents.
"If you're not human, then I'd better kill you right now."
"Interesting words. I want to see you try."
They stared at each other, the forest collapsing around them — light and darkness collided, sparks and mist swirling in the air. The next move would likely be the last for both.
"He's an interesting boy... lightning magic and a faint trace of another magic he fuses with it."
Before either could move, Jester and Ethan were interrupted by a portal appearing inside the dungeon, a Nartheis kneeling before Jester.
"What a pity, seems like it's time."
"Where do you think you're going? This fight isn't over!"
"Don't fool yourself, Ethan."
Feeling his body being drained by something weakening him, Ethan nearly collapsed backward, only staying upright thanks to the one tree left standing after their clash.
"You would've never beaten me."
With black eyes, Jester stared at Ethan in a way that forced a shiver down his spine, before ignoring him entirely and stepping into the portal.
'I wanted to observe Enrico a bit longer... but I must continue my plan.'
Disappearing into the portal, he managed to escape just before the dungeon guards arrived — their expressions serious as they rushed to where the portal had been.
"Even though we were watching him, we lost sight of him."
"Damn it, the Queen will be furious."
They had already been monitoring Jester due to warnings from Queen Virelle and Director Hao, who were informed by Enrico the day before. At first, they didn't understand why they needed to keep an eye on him, but now they did — and they were nervous for having let a Nartheis or demon escape.
"That bastard really does have necromancy as his magic?"
"Apparently, yes. I suspect he's a Nartheis rather than a demon, so let's search the city."
Mages could have bone magic or other dark types, but the main reason they hunted him was because it was nearly impossible for a necromancer mage to be born. Of course, there was still a small chance, so they wouldn't kill him immediately if he stayed. At most, they would analyze him to confirm whether he was human — if so, it would be incredible, and they might even help him grow.
'But since he ran away, it's basically a declaration that he's an enemy, so we need to sweep the city and his academy.'
Looking seriously one last time at the screen, Virelle saw that the four teams were still fighting there, unaware of what had just happened.
'It seems the guards are requesting information about that conversation from the team... I hope we find something about this Jester.'
Taking a few steps forward, Virelle felt the entire city tremble, making her look up — where a massive portal had appeared.
"What is that? Angela, for now, we'll put this aside and go to that portal."
"Yes, Lady Virelle."
Even as they flew toward it, others had already arrived — the Ninth Circles present in the city: Hao, Renzou, and Xuelan, all preparing after sensing something immense.
"What's going to come out of there? How curious."
"Please, Hao, don't be like your brother."
"A little curiosity never hurts, Lord Renzou."
They had just left the Solcren family's VIP room after a secret meeting, and now they were witnessing something unprecedented. If they had to guess, it might be a true dungeon, considering the overwhelming energy overflowing from that portal.
"Could it be a real dungeon?"
"No, that energy is entirely from multiple Nartheis. True dungeons literally have the energy of another world being transmitted here when they appear."
"You're right, Lady Xuelan. For now, let's focus on closing this portal before the students evacuate through the emergency signal."
Sofia had sent an emergency signal into the dungeon, requesting that all students be withdrawn from the area where a large surge of energy was emerging.
"Director Hao, it seems the emergency order worked. I can feel the dungeon disappearing."
"That's good. Then let's focus on the portal for now."
The dungeon's emergency protocol, in case something went wrong, was to eliminate all bosses at once, with each guard quickly defeating theirs, since this was a dungeon that could be reset as long as they had its core in hand.
"What the hell is happening?"
"Who interrupted our rematch?"
"Calm down, it must've been an emergency."
[Enrico, it seems this arc was forced to end, so now it's possible to make the two pacts.]
Enrico was a bit surprised, since he hadn't eliminated everyone in the dungeon's warehouse, so he hadn't received the two pacts that day.
'That's good, because I have a feeling I'll need them. But one of the pacts should already be complete, right?'
[Yes, the one you asked to be saved for the Infernal Academy, so nothing would happen to your friends.]
That meant he only had the pact they were offering him now — which was annoying, but it was all he could do for the moment. Looking up at the enormous portal in the sky, he had a bad feeling.
'System, start preparing your pact, because I'm going to need it.'