DEMON KING'S Love Redemption

Chapter 4: The Chaotic Affinity Test

The Great Hall of Aethelgard looked like a divine sanctuary carved from crystal and white stone. Spring sunlight filtered through the towering stained-glass windows, casting intricate geometric patterns across the marble floors. At the center of the vast chamber stood an ancient stone pedestal supporting the Orb of Aethel—a crystal sphere the size of a man’s head that pulsed with a rhythmic, pale blue glow.

This was a day of reckoning for every second-year student. The Affinity Test. It was a ritual to determine the trajectory of one’s magical prowess—whether they would become destructive pyromancers, serene water-elemental healers, or the noble holy knights of light.

Vann stood in the middle row, struggling to steady his heavy breathing. In his first life, this day had marked the beginning of a profound sense of inferiority. Back then, he had only managed to produce a faint flicker of light, a sign of painfully mediocre talent. It was that desperate thirst for power that eventually drove him to the forbidden grimoires hidden in the subterranean library.

"Vann, you’re breaking into a cold sweat again," Elric whispered from beside him. His friend was busy adjusting his own slightly crooked robe. "Relax. Even if you don't have some rare element, at least you won't blow up the room like you did last night, right?"

Vann offered only a wry smile. If only you knew, Elric, he thought. The problem now wasn’t a lack of talent, but rather an overwhelming surplus of it. Inside his chest, the mana core he had brought back from the future churned like a tempest held back by a crumbling dam.

"Attention!"

Professor Mordred’s booming voice echoed off the high vaulted ceilings. He stood beside the crystal orb, a long parchment scroll in hand. Flanking him were the faculty council and representatives from the Holy Church, including several knights who watched the crowd of students with piercing eyes.

"The Affinity Test shall commence. State your name, place your hand upon the Orb, and channel your mana slowly. Do not attempt to force your power, for this Orb will read the purest essence of your soul," Mordred explained in a tone that brooked no failure.

One by one, the students were called forward.

"Lia of House Rosewood. Element: Water. Grade: Intermediate."

"Mark of the Northern District. Element: Earth. Grade: Low."

Vann watched the proceedings intently. Occasionally, his gaze flickered toward the Elite Class ranks at the front. There stood Freya, poised and radiating an extraordinary calm. She was the definition of perfection. Her golden hair shimmered under the hall's light, and her blue eyes stared ahead with absolute confidence.

Then came the turn for Kael, the prince of a renowned light-aligned noble family whose arrogance preceded him. He stepped forward with his chin held high. As his hand touched the Orb, a blinding, warm burst of white light filled the entire hall. The Orb vibrated violently, emitting a melodic, ringing hum.

"Kael van Hestia. Element: Pure Light. Grade: High! Magnificent!" Mordred exclaimed with a rare note of pride.

Rousing applause filled the room. Kael turned with a triumphant smirk, his eyes briefly flicking toward Vann with a look of pure disdain before he strutted back to his line, intentionally brushing past Freya with an air of conceit.

"Next... Vann."

The name was called. Instantly, the boisterous hall fell into a heavy silence. Whispers began to crawl through the crowd like rats in the dark.

"Isn't that the boy who caused the incident in the dorms last night?"

"I heard he was nearly recruited by a demonic cult because of his gloomy aura."

"Look at his face; he looks like he hasn't got a shred of talent."

Vann ignored the noise. His feet felt heavy, as if every step left an invisible mark on the marble. He could feel Freya’s gaze locked onto him—sharp, alert, and laced with suspicion. It was the look of a predator observing suspicious prey.

Vann reached the pedestal. The scent of ozone and raw energy radiated from the Orb, making the hair on his neck stand on end.

"Please, just this once. Be normal," Vann pleaded silently with his own soul.

He began to visualize the morning sun. He thought of the warmth in Freya’s smile he had seen in the past. He tried to filter every drop of his mana, scraping away the thick darkness that cloaked him, reaching only for the tiny remnants of light that might still linger in the corners of his soul.

Vann pressed his palm against the cold crystal surface.

In an instant, it felt as though the entire world was being sucked into the sphere. The Orb of Aethel was more than a measuring tool; it was a gateway to the core of one’s existence. And as he touched it, the ancient instrument let out a scream within his subconscious.

Cold. Dark. Immense beyond measure.

That was what the Orb felt upon touching Vann’s soul. A soul that had slaughtered millions, a soul that had claimed the throne of darkness, was now trying to masquerade as a flickering candle.

"Channel your mana, Vann. Do not waste our time," Mordred barked, sensing Vann’s hesitation.

Vann closed his eyes. He released a single drop of mana. Just one.

A white light began to manifest on the Orb’s surface. It was weak and trembling. A few students began to snicker.

"Is that it? A street lamp glows brighter than that," someone mocked from the back row.

However, the ridicule didn't last long.

The white light within the Orb began to shift. It didn’t turn yellow or blue; instead, it faded into a dull gray, which then rapidly darkened into a deep violet that was nearly black. The Orb, which had been humming melodiously, began to emit a terrifying cracking sound.

Crack.

Vann’s eyes snapped open. He tried to pull his hand away, but the Orb seemed to be suctioning him in. The pressure in the room shifted abruptly. The air became so thick it was hard to breathe. The sunlight streaming through the windows seemed to dim, as if being pulled toward the pedestal at the center of the hall.

"Vann! Stop!" Mordred shouted, his stern face now masked in terror. He realized something was catastrophically wrong.

But Vann couldn't stop. His dark mana, which he had struggled so hard to suppress, felt provoked by the Orb’s attempt to dissect his soul. The darkness went on a rampage, retaliating with full force.

"I... can't!" Vann groaned, the veins in his neck bulging.

Suddenly, the violet within the Orb exploded into an ink-black void. The light was gone. The transparency vanished. The crystal sphere now resembled a miniature black hole vibrating on the brink of collapse.

"GET BACK! EVERYONE, GET BACK!" Professor Mordred cast a protective spell, erecting a wall of light in front of the students.

BOOOOOMM!

The explosion didn't produce fire. Instead, it released a shockwave of void energy that swept through the hall. The Orb of Aethel, an ancient artifact that had survived for five hundred years, shattered into a million pieces of fine crystalline dust.

Thick black smoke billowed upward, swallowing the pedestal and Vann along with it. Cries of terror broke out across the hall. The guards immediately drew their swords, while the professors stood in combat-ready stances.

As the dust and smoke began to clear, the sight at the center of the hall left everyone frozen in place.

Vann stood there, his hand still outstretched as if he were still touching something that no longer existed. His clothes were slightly torn at the shoulder, and his face was coated in the white ash of the destroyed crystal. Yet, the most terrifying thing was what lay beneath his feet.

The white marble floor had been permanently charred within a ten-foot radius, forming an intricate and ancient magical sigil—a symbol known only to the church elders as the Sign of the Fallen.

Vann gasped for air, his dark eyes staring blankly at his trembling hands. He could feel a chilling silence settle over the room, a stillness more lethal than the explosion that had preceded it.

"The... the Orb is destroyed?" Elric whispered from a distance, his voice shaking uncontrollably.

Professor Mordred stepped forward slowly, his staff still glowing. His gaze drifted from the pattern on the floor to Vann. "Vann... what have you done? What did you just summon?"

"I... I was only trying to channel the light element," Vann replied, his voice hoarse and weak. He tried to maintain a facade of confusion and fear, even though he knew his secret was hanging by a thread. "I don't know why it exploded. Maybe... maybe the Orb was already damaged?"

"Damaged?" Kael shouted from the elite ranks, his face flushed with shock and rage. "A holy artifact like that cannot be broken by a low-life student like you! You used forbidden magic, didn't you? You've brought a curse into this academy!"

"Silence, Kael!" Mordred snapped, though his own eyes remained fixed on Vann with deep suspicion.

Amidst the chaos, Freya stepped forward. She walked slowly, passing through the rows of terrified students until she stood just outside the scorched circle on the floor. She didn't draw her blade this time, but her right hand gripped the hilt tightly.

She stared at Vann with her piercing blue eyes, as if searching for a trace of a demon within the boy's pupils.

"You," Freya said, her voice low yet perfectly clear. "When the orb shattered, I saw something in the smoke. Something that resembled the shadow of a king wearing a crown of thorns."

Vann's heart skipped a beat. She saw it?

Vann attempted a smile, a forced and awkward expression. "Lady Freya, you must have been mistaken. That was just black smoke from... from my failed magic. I have no talent for the light element; perhaps that is why the energy recoiled."

"Failed?" Freya narrowed her eyes. She leaned down, touching the blackened marble with her fingertips. She immediately recoiled as a biting cold stung her to the bone. "This wasn't a failure, Vann. This was dominance. You didn't channel mana into the Orb. You destroyed the Orb because it dared to try and measure you."

Vann swallowed hard. "I don't understand what you mean, my Lady."

"Enough!" Professor Mordred interrupted. "Vann, you are coming with us to the watchtower. This test is officially canceled for today. And as for you, Freya, return to your dormitory with the other students."

Two guardian knights approached Vann, seizing his arms roughly as if he were a prisoner of war. Vann did not resist. He allowed himself to be led out of the hall, passing through a crowd of students who now looked at him with pure terror—the same terror he had seen in his first life just before his execution.

As he walked past Freya, she did not look away. She kept her eyes on him until he disappeared behind the great hall doors.

God... help me, Vann thought desperately. I want to be her protector, but why does every action I take only convince her further that I am an enemy of the world?

Vann did not know that in a dark corner of the hall, behind the shadows of a massive pillar, a mysterious man in a hooded cloak was recording something in a small notebook. The man grinned, revealing sharp fangs.

"The seed has begun to crack," the man whispered before vanishing into the shadows.

That night, the entire Aethelgard Academy could not sleep. Rumors of the "Orb-Destroying Student" spread throughout the kingdom. In his cold isolation cell, Vann stared at his reflection in the dark window. His eyes were no longer pitch black; for a fleeting moment, they glowed a blood-red hue before he managed to suppress his power once more.

He knew the true trial had only just begun. And his primary target, Freya, was no longer just the girl he loved, but the investigator most determined to uncover who he truly was.

Vann clenched his fists. "If I cannot be a hero in your eyes, Freya... then at least let me be the monster that protects you from the shadows."