The moment Alumna vanished, the entire battlefield seemed to freeze.
Yuma's eyes widened.
One moment his teacher stood on the shattered pavement.
The next—
He was gone.
No afterimage.
No blur.
No visible movement.
Simply gone.
The shockwave from his acceleration arrived a heartbeat later.
BOOM.
The street beneath where he had been standing exploded outward, chunks of asphalt and concrete launched into the air by the sheer force of his departure. Cracks raced through the pavement like lightning strikes.
Yuma instinctively raised an arm to shield his face from the debris.
"What—"
His voice died in his throat.
Above.
Far above.
Alumna had already appeared in the night sky.
The crimson blade illuminated the darkness like a falling star.
The Calamity-Class reacted immediately.
For the first time since appearing, the monster seemed genuinely alarmed.
Its massive body twisted unnaturally as countless black tendrils erupted from its back.
The appendages expanded rapidly.
Ten.
Twenty.
Fifty.
Hundreds.
Each one thicker than a telephone pole.
Each one moving with enough force to demolish a building.
The sky itself seemed to darken beneath the mass of writhing limbs.
Then they struck.
The tentacles surged upward simultaneously.
The air exploded with sonic booms.
Entire sections of nearby rooftops were ripped apart simply from the pressure.
Yet Alumna remained calm.
His expression never changed.
The crimson blade hummed softly in his hand.
Then—
He moved.
The first tentacle was severed before it reached him.
A crimson flash cut through the darkness.
The appendage split apart instantly.
Black spiritual matter sprayed into the air.
Before the remains could fall—
Three more tentacles attacked.
Alumna twisted in midair.
His body moved with impossible precision.
The red blade carved through each appendage in a single motion.
Clean.
Efficient.
Effortless.
Chunks of severed flesh-like darkness rained from the sky.
The monster shrieked furiously.
Its remaining limbs lashed out in every direction.
The attack resembled a storm.
An avalanche.
A natural disaster.
The sky became a cage of moving death.
Yet somehow—
Alumna slipped through all of it.
Yuma could barely follow what he was seeing.
Every movement felt impossible.
Every strike seemed to violate common sense.
The crimson blade flashed repeatedly throughout the darkness.
One tentacle fell.
Then another.
Then ten more.
The creature's attacks were overwhelming.
But Alumna was faster.
Far faster.
The black aura surrounding his body left streaks through the night as he danced between the monster's attacks.
To Yuma, it looked less like a battle.
And more like execution.
Then Alumna landed.
Not on the ground.
On one of the creature's largest tentacles.
The appendage was wider than a city bus.
It twisted violently, attempting to throw him off.
Alumna simply lowered his stance.
Then ran.
The sight was surreal.
His body accelerated along the length of the massive appendage as though gravity itself had stopped applying to him.
The crimson blade trailed behind him.
Sparks of red spiritual energy scattered from every footstep.
The tentacle attempted to coil around him.
Another lunged from the side.
Then another.
And another.
Alumna cut through all of them.
Each slash was precise.
Each movement economical.
No wasted effort.
No wasted energy.
Only absolute mastery.
He continued advancing.
Closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Toward the center of the creature.
Toward the hollow void that served as its face.
Toward the pulsating mass of darkness buried within its chest.
The core.
The Calamity-Class seemed to realize his objective.
Its attacks became frantic.
Violent.
Desperate.
The remaining tentacles converged simultaneously.
Hundreds of black appendages descended upon Alumna.
The night disappeared beneath them.
Yuma's heart nearly stopped.
There was no space left to dodge.
No path forward.
No escape.
For a brief moment—
Alumna vanished again.
A crimson streak tore through the darkness.
The next instant—
He emerged directly before the creature's chest.
The Calamity-Class froze.
Its hollow face stared directly at him.
Alumna raised his blade.
The red energy intensified.
The black aura surrounding him erupted like flames.
Then—
He swung.
The slash was almost silent.
A single horizontal cut.
Simple.
Clean.
Beautiful.
For one heartbeat, nothing happened.
Then a glowing crimson line appeared across the monster's chest.
The world exploded.
A massive shockwave erupted from the impact point.
The creature's body convulsed violently.
A horrific scream tore from its hollow face.
The sound was unlike anything before.
Not merely loud.
Painful.
Agonized.
The scream shattered every remaining intact window within several blocks.
Buildings trembled.
Streetlights exploded.
Car alarms activated throughout the district.
Black flames suddenly ignited along the wound.
The fire burned unnaturally.
Dark.
Hungry.
The flames consumed spiritual energy itself.
The wound spread.
Growing larger with every passing second.
The creature staggered backward.
Its shriek intensified.
Even Alumna was forced away.
The force of the scream generated a visible shockwave.
The air distorted.
The pressure hit like a physical wall.
Alumna crossed his blade before him.
Even so, he was launched backward through the air.
He spun once before landing on the roof of a nearby building.
The rooftop collapsed beneath the impact.
Chunks of concrete slid down the sides of the structure.
Below, Yuma stared in disbelief.
"Sensei..."
Stud floated beside him.
For once, the tiny poltergeist wasn't making jokes.
His expression was grim.
Very grim.
"...That's not good."
The monster's body began changing.
The black flames continued burning.
Yet instead of weakening—
The creature grew.
Its torso expanded first.
Then its shoulders.
Its limbs thickened.
The ground beneath it cracked under increasing weight.
The Calamity-Class released another roar.
Its body continued swelling.
Larger.
And larger.
And larger.
Nearby houses suddenly looked tiny.
Streetlights reached only its knees.
The monster's head rose above the rooftops.
Concrete crumbled beneath its feet.
Trees snapped like twigs.
The creature continued growing.
Thirty feet.
Forty.
Fifty.
Still growing.
Yuma felt his stomach sink.
"No way..."
The transformation finally stopped.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
Everyone stared upward.
The creature towered over the neighborhood.
Four stories tall.
A living nightmare standing in the middle of the city.
Its hollow face slowly turned toward the group below.
The black flames still burned across its chest.
Yet the monster no longer appeared injured.
It appeared angry.
Very angry.
High above, standing amidst the ruins of the rooftop he had landed on, Alumna slowly rose to his feet.
The crimson blade remained firmly in his hand.
His expression remained calm.
But his eyes narrowed slightly.
For the first time since the battle began—
He looked serious.
Not concerned.
Not afraid.
But serious.
Below, Stud swallowed.
"...Well."
Yuma looked toward him.
Stud forced a nervous smile.
"...I officially miss fighting normal poltergeists."
Far above them, the giant Calamity-Class took a step forward.
The entire neighborhood shook.
And the real battle finally began.