The Talentless Boy Who Challenged the Devil

CHAPTER ELEVEN: ARRIVAL OF THE ENTITY

*A Day Before(The attack)*

For several moments, nothing moved.

Then the air became heavy, and the enslaved had to cover their eyes because of the sand that came with it. Some of them had fainted during the fight when they could not bear the cruelty that came with the way Kael had handled them. Then, a sudden faint golden light started spreading across the courtyard.

It began beneath Kael's body, travelling through the cracks in the stone and reaching the wounded students scattered around him.

The light touched the first fallen student, causing his own fingers to twitch.

And wound across his chest began closing, and the torn flesh started knitting together until only bloodstained clothing remained.

Nearby, an instructor who had been motionless for several minutes suddenly drew a breath, and his eyes opened.

He coughed, then slowly pushed himself upright.

One after another, the wounded began to stir.

Broken bones repaired themselves. Deep cuts closed. The blood covering the ground faded as their bodies returned to their former condition.

The students who had died during the battle began to move, and as they moved, confusion etched visibly on their faces.

They remembered the fighting, when the alarm rang and the attack.

But everything that happened after that became a blank space in their minds.

Some started wondering loudly. It's like something had erased their memory of what had happened.

That golden light continued spreading until every wounded person had been healed and every fallen student had awakened.

The attackers who had died during the battle also disappeared like they were never there.

But weapons lay scattered across the ground, the protective barriers were broken, and the students were covered in dust and blood, making them more confused.

Yet nobody could remember what happened.

A student suddenly spotted him lying on the ground.

"Over there!" he shouted, pointing towards Kael.

The others turned in the direction of his finger. A few students immediately rushed over, gathering around Kael when they noticed his bloodstained clothes.

"He's still breathing!"

"Quick! Take him to the infirmary!"

An instructor hurried over, and together, they carefully lifted Kael and carried him away.

*Back to Present*

His voice sounded weak, and the boy immediately hurried out to call one of the healers.

A few moments later, the infirmary door opened, and a middle-aged healer stepped inside, carrying a small medical case. She approached Kael's bed, briefly examined the bandage across his chest, and checked his pulse before turning her attention to his face.

"You're awake."

Kael's eyebrows drew together as his gaze settled on her. His lips pressed into a thin line, and a slight crease formed between his brows.

"How did I get here?"

"You were found unconscious after the attack. You should consider yourself lucky, though. You were the only one among the several injured students who sustained an internal wound. Thankfully, everyone survived."

Kael frowned.

"Everyone?"

"Yes. The attackers suddenly disappeared with no trace, though nobody seems to know exactly how the final moments unfolded. But the academy is working on it"

He lowered his gaze to his hands as he tried to replay every single moment in his head.

He remembered the alarm.

He remembered rushing toward the eastern courtyard.

He remembered the enemy.

Then nothing.

His mind remained blank, and a strange uneasiness settled in his chest.

He squeezed his eyes shut, desperately trying to force something, anything, out of the darkness in his memory. But the harder he tried, the more frustrated he became.

 How could he remember the beginning of the battle but not how it ended? He had been certain he was going to die. He felt the blade piercing his chest again, yet here he was, alive, with no explanation for how he had survived.

Were no attackers found?

His fingers curled into fists.

Had someone saved him? Had the instructors defeated the attackers? Why did everyone seem to have lost track of what happened?

He hated not knowing. More than anything, he hated the feeling that something had happened to him, something important, and his own mind had locked it away.

He opened his eyes and stared at his bandaged chest.

Something wasn't right.

****

Somewhere far beyond the academy walls, an entity stood with a large snake tattoo on his forehead.

Darkness clung to his towering figure like a living shadow. His presence distorted the air around him, while thick tendrils of black aura curled from his body and spread across the ground. 

The earth beneath his feet had withered and dried, and the surrounding trees stood lifeless; the birds on them started dropping dead, and their branches twisted as though they had been drained of everything that once sustained them.

His face remained hidden beneath the darkness, but two crimson eyes burned through it.

Then a dark smile spread slowly across his face.

"Finally, it has begun"