The War God’s Debt

Chapter 3

Everything changed as soon as the arena barrier broke.

The shimmering containment barrier broke apart like bursting glass, causing a deafening boom to vibrate the room.  Space itself was distorted as energy rippled across the atmosphere.  With a guttural howl that shook dust from the ceiling, the towering, horned, molten-armored Abyssal War Demon surged forward.

Adrian didn’t move.

Not because he couldn’t.

But because he shouldn’t.

If he reacted with even a fraction of his true power, half the academy would sense it.

Control was everything.

And yet, something was wrong. The demon’s presence… wasn’t normal. Projection beasts were constructs, limited replicas of real monsters. But this one—this thing—radiated killing intent. Its aura pressed against Adrian like a mountain trying to crush him.

“Someone modified the assessment system.” Adrian’s eyes hardened. “And they used forbidden energy to do it.”

With claws that glowed with abyssal flame, the demon rushed.

Adrian turned in a blur, measured, simple, and effective, avoiding the blow by a hair's breadth.  Where he had stood, the claw gouged a deep trench on the arena floor.

Heat blasted across his skin.

That attack would have vaporized an ordinary student.

Outside the arena, chaos erupted.

Students scrambled from their seats. Instructors shouted. Alarms wailed across the academy.

“Shut down the assessment circle!”

“It’s not responding!”

“Where did that demon come from?! It’s not on any registry!”

The dean’s voice roared over the chaos: “Maintain the barrier! Do not let the entity escape!”

But the barrier was already cracked.

One more hit and it would collapse completely.

Inside, the war demon swung again—faster this time.

Adrian let out a short breath and sidestepped precisely.  His thoughts were racing, yet his motions were composed and deliberate.

Someone is testing me.

Someone wants to know what I really am.

His jaw tightened. “Then I’ll show them—just enough.”

THE GOD’S CALCULATED RESTRAINT

The demon stomped, shaking the arena. Cracks spread beneath its feet. It inhaled deeply, abyssal flames building in its throat.

A breath attack.

Adrian’s eyes narrowed. That was the problem with showcasing restraint—sometimes restraint got you killed.

He reached into his pocket with his right hand and wrapped his fingers around a little, unimportant metal penny. Plain. Harmless. Perfect.

The demon's mouth parted.

A torrent of black flame exploded outward.

Students watching the display screens screamed. Some turned away, unable to watch Adrian die.

But Adrian didn’t die.

He moved.

Not fast. Not supernaturally. But effectively, with an almost artistic level of perfection.  He flicked the coin in a single, fluid motion.

Across the arena, there was a single metallic ping.

The coin struck the demon’s flame gland—one of its few physical weak points—with surgical accuracy.

The beast choked.

The flame sputtered.

Then it exploded in its own neck.

BOOM.

The demon was propelled hurtling backward by the internal explosion and crashed horribly against the distant wall.

Cheers erupted outside.

“He hit it!”

“He found its weak spot!”

“Maybe he’s not a zero after all!”

But Adrian wasn’t celebrating.

He stood motionless, watching the demon rise again—angrier, more unstable. Purple cracks spiderwebbed across its body, leaking volatile energy.

It shouldn’t reform that fast.

This isn’t a normal projection.

It’s feeding on… something.

The orb overhead flickered violently.

TEXT GLITCHED ACROSS IT:

“ENTITY CORRUPTED.”

“DATA UNKNOWN.”

“HOSTILE SOURCE DETECTED.”

“THREAT LEVEL: CATASTROPHIC.”

Adrian’s expression sharpened.

A catastrophic threat… on the first day?

Someone inside Everspell wanted him dead.

THE SYSTEM BREAKDOWN

The demon charged again.

Adrian met the charge head-on—not with power, but with precision. He stepped into the attack at the exact angle where the demon’s momentum destabilized. His foot hooked behind the demon’s leading leg, and—

CRACK.

The titan stumbled.

Only for a moment.

But that was enough.

Adrian used just enough power to stop the flow of energy through its lower leg by tapping three pressure spots on its shin.

The demon collapsed to one knee, roaring in fury.

Students watching through the screens gaped.

“Did he just trip a demon?”

“With his bare hands!?”

“How strong IS this guy?”

But Adrian was already moving again.

He didn’t wait. Didn’t hesitate. He leapt upward, using the demon’s own knee as a platform. Rising along its torso like a shadow moving against fire.

The beast swung wildly.

Adrian twisted mid-air, letting the massive arm swipe past him. He landed on its shoulder.

Then—

He pressed a single finger to the demon’s neck.

A faint spark of divine energy pulsed from his fingertip—so small only he could feel it.

The demon convulsed violently.

Purple cracks spread faster.

Its body began to destabilize.

One more push, Adrian thought. Just enough to shut it down—

But before he could finish, the arena barrier gave way with a colossal shatter.

Glass-like energy shards burst outward.

The entire chamber shook.

Students screamed. Instructors threw up defense spells. The dean shouted for evacuation.

And Adrian… finally frowned.

The demon wasn’t destabilizing.

It was evolving.

The cracks on its body glowed brighter—

—then fused together.

Instead of collapsing, the demon grew.

Its armor thickened. Horns elongated. Flames burst from its joints.

This wasn’t a projection anymore.

This was a summoning.

A real one.

“Someone linked a live Abyssal Gate to the assessment system,” Adrian muttered. “They’re insane.”

The demon lifted its head and let out a roar so powerful the walls shook.

Then it turned—not toward Adrian—

—but toward the opening where the barrier once stood.

Toward the academy.

Toward the hundreds of defenseless students watching in shock.

Adrian’s jaw tightened.

He could let it escape and conceal his powers.

Or he could intervene—and risk revealing everything.

He didn’t hesitate.

He blurred forward.

His palm slapped against the demon’s chest.

Not a punch. Not a strike.

A seal.

Golden patterns flashed beneath his hand—divine symbols burning through his skin.

“Stay.”

The demon froze.

Time itself seemed to stop.

Outside the arena, every instructor felt the pressure of an ancient, divine aura.

Inside, Adrian’s eyes glowed faintly.

Just for a moment.

Then—

The demon’s chest burst outward in a violent implosion, collapsing into dust and void energy.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Adrian stood alone in the ruined arena, divine symbols fading from his hand.

But before he could move—

A cold, artificial voice echoed from the broken orb above:

“IDENTITY DETECTED.”

“GOD-CLASS SIGNATURE CONFIRMED.”

Adrian’s heart stopped.

No—

Not here.

Not now.

The entire academy heard the next line:

“SUBJECT: ADRIAN KANE…

REINCARNATED GOD OF WAR.”

Students gasped.

Staff staggered.

And somewhere in the shadows above the arena, a hooded figure whispered:

“Found you.”

A second portal began tearing open behind Adrian.

He turned sharply—

—as an unknown figure stepped through the swirling darkness, eyes burning with ancient hatred.