"Now," he whispered, "we begin."
The battlefield tensed like a held breath. Zoro, even in his full form, felt utterly overwhelmed. Surpassed. His aura cracked under the pressure.
Dravok's smile never wavered. The blade once lodged in his chest had melted like iron in a lava furnace. His blood oozed to the ground, burning through stone like molten bread pulled from flame.
"You thought you had surpassed me. You thought a thousand years trapped in a ring would stiffen me?" Dravok mocked.
Zoro's third arm trembled. His lips quivered beneath the suffocating weight of Dravok's mana—it felt as if gravity had tripled. Even with a mana-draining seal in effect, Dravok's energy remained infinite, unrelenting.
Dravok took a single step forward.
"Don't come any further!" Zoro barked, but the terror in his voice betrayed him. His breath caught. His fear was suffocating.
"I think it would be nice for your students to see you tremble," Dravok teased. Then he lifted a hand, letting a single droplet of his blood splash onto the shadow seal. From that point, the Veil covering them began to split apart—ripping wide open—until the battlefield was revealed in full.
Gasps erupted. Students and onlookers stood with mouths agape. Lady Elizabeth's eyes widened, it was unbelievable, her heart skipping a beat. Without hesitation, she dashed out in search of backup.
Even the hybrids, who had quietly hoped the battle would favor them, stood frozen. It was as if a madman's prophecy had come true before their eyes. Mia felt a conflicting wave of relief and confusion, her mind spinning with unanswered questions.
"Curse you, Dravok!" Zoro roared, summoning his grimoire with sheer will—a massive black tome inscribed with thousands of spells. It opened as if sensing his desperation, flipping violently to the final page: a page for only forbidden spells which had consequences. Dangerous. Irreversible. But the only option he had left.
With a trembling but unshaken will, he chanted:
"Half my life I surrender, Medusa. Lend me thy eyes."
The spell wasn't cast on Dravok—but on himself. The sky rumbled like the gods themselves accepted his plea.
A blinding pulse forced everyone to avert their gaze, leaving Zoro behind bright light. When they looked again, Zoro's body had withered, aged five centuries in seconds. His third arm raised the ancient eyes he had invoked—not of light, not of darkness—but pure shadow. Non dared to look into the eyes.
Yet Dravok… was still staring into it. Calm. Unflinching.
Zoro stumbled backward, falling hard onto his spine and crawling away with is dreaded limbs. His voice cracked in disbelief.
"Y-You're looking into them... and you're not turning to stone?!"
Dravok's smile deepened.
"Who do you think created that spell in the first place?"
Zoro couldn't answer. Fear had stolen his voice. His throat felt frozen.
"My turn," Dravok purred.
He raised a finger—and uttered a single word:
"Die."
Zoro's body convulsed from the inside out, his heart erupted like a firebomb. His form shattered into countless peice —lifeless.
Silence washed over the field as the aspirants slowly blinked their eyes, disbelief painted on their faces. Some wiped their eyes. Others stood paralyzed. No one spoke. It was like watching a lie become truth.
But Dravok wasn't finished.
"Abyssal Resurrection."
He cast the spell with a flick, targeting a single drop of his own blood on the earth.
Zoro's remains disintegrated—and then emerged from a glowing seal beneath the battlefield. Reborn. Not as himself… but as something else.
A puppet. A zombie. A servant.
"Now, acknowledge me as your true master," Dravok commanded.
Zoro's mouth moved—not from will, but obedience.
"You are my master. My king. You are the Demon King of Daelgrin, Drav—"
Before he could finish, a black blur dashed across the field. In an instant, Zoro was snatched away, carried into the air at blinding speed. The figure stood at the roof of the stadium, cloaked from head to toe in black, but Dravok recognized the presence.
Gerad Azrema—the First Elder Demon.
"Well, well. Long time no see," Dravok purred.
"How dare you defile an elder demon," Gerad growled. "Mercy will not be shown."
"Next time, bring an army," Dravok replied calmly. "I'll do far worse."
Gerad gave him a chilling glare, then vanished across the stadium roof, taking Zoro with him.
"Wait… tell the other five i said 'hi..'?" Dravok called out mockingly, but they were already gone.
Lady Elizabeth strode in through the smoke-filled entrance, breathing heavily. She moved to the center of the battlefield, standing opposite Dravok like fire facing frost.
"Today's examination is over," she declared. "The hybrids have earned their place in the Demon King Academy. Dismissed."
A murmur rippled through the crowd. Some cheered, others gaped, a few remained silent—still trying to process what they'd just seen. The royals sat quietly, rage barely contained beneath their skin.
Mia ran onto the field, leaping into Dravok's arms like a long-lost friend.
"Sorry I ran off the other day."
"No big deal," Dravok said, smirking. "Not every day you get to see someone kills and resurrect in the same minute."
"You said you're the Demon King, right?"
He nodded.
"I don't understand it," she admitted, "but I believe you."
A group of hybrids approached, their eyes wide with hope and reverence.
"Thank you, Demon King Dravok," they chorused.
"My, my. I've already got fans?" Dravok chuckled.
But not all were pleased.
A sharp voice cut through the air. A group of demons stepped forward, led by a striking female who looked like a darker, demonic mirror of Mia.
"What cheat code did you use on Elder Zoro?" she spat. "You're nothing but a worm beneath royal feet."
"Kia, don't start," Mia snapped. "He won. Fair and square."
"Of course my disgrace of a twin would say that," Kia sneered. "Defending your little hope—your cunning fraud of a 'Demon King.'"
"He is the Demon King!" Mia shouted back.
"Say that again and the real Demon King won't be the one to kill you. I might do it myself," Kia hissed, before turning to Dravok with a venomous stare.
"You may have stolen a win today, but the game has just begun. Let's see who truly dominates this academy."
"I don't compete with lowlifes," Dravok said with a calm, unreadable grin. "You don't even measure up to a fragment of my strength."
"Watch your back," Kia snarled.
Her group smirked in unison before turning away, their steps fueled by fury and fire.
"Is that your sister?"
"Yes" Mia grinned, " We are karma-twins, originally one soul but split into two distinct persons by a spell called Deno Zetroa."
"She sure has guts."
"Yahh she's not the easy type!!". Mia drawled.