The team has managed to reach their location in less than three minutes.

And what they found there could make even season veterans freeze.

Although the encampment was intact. The defensive arrays were still functioning as they glowed faintly. And the supplies had been left untouched.

But what about the people?

They were all gone.

There were no bodies.

No blood.

There were only shadows that burned into the ground, they stretched unnaturally long, it was as if the light source had come from beneath the earth.

Selena swallowed. "I don't think this was from the monsters."

"No," Adam replied quietly. "This was definitely a purge."

Katherine knelt down, she touched one of the scorched marks. Light was spreading instinctively from her fingers.

"I sense a residual of outer mana. Though it is faint."

But before anyone of them could speak further, the ground beneath them lurched.

There was a deep, subterranean tremor that took place through the basin, it was sending fragments of obsidian trees crashing down.

A system alert suddenly flared across every participants interface.

WARMING: ENVIRONMENTAL HOSTILITY DETECTED AND INCREASING

SEAL INTEGRITY: 92%

From that very moment on, the gate domain has stopped acting like a terrain.

The ruins were shifting when no one was paying attention to them.

And the paths looped back on themselves.

The distances became stretched or they collapsed without warning.

Mana regeneration was being slowed, and then purged unpredictably.

And the worst of all—

The monsters have stopped acting independently, they moved like units, some in packs or groups.

And they all began to move in patterns no one expected.

"Something must be coordinating them," Azazel growling after he was done crashing a creature that retreated instead of pressing in the attack.

Adam also nodded. "It's not just commanding, it's guiding."

It was like a shepherd.

While walking they found the first cultists just about an hour later.

They weren't hiding.

They were just waiting.

Five figures were standing in a broken amphitheater, their robes were marked with warped sigils that could hurt the eyes if it was focused on.

That's when a system message appeared infront of Adam.

[Targets Identified]

[Kyrexis Cultists — Initiate Rank]

[Awakened Rank: High B rank]

[Mission Issued: Eliminate The Cultists]

[Rewards: 50 Stat points, 1'000 SP]

Selena crushed under her breath. "So they sent these inside a students competition?"

"No, they didn't send them for us," Adam replied. "We're just the collateral."

The cultists then attacked them without saying any words.

Reality was bending around their movements, their spells weren't elements, but they were concepts that twisted into weapons.

There were soundless impacts. Gravity that was pulling them sideways. And blades that phased through barriers only for them to appear inside their defenses.

This fight was vicious, but it was easy for them since all of them were A-rank.

Adam crushed one of the cultists outright with his spatial collapse, it folded their body into a singularity that wasn't larger than a fist.

Another cultist detonated when Azazel burned through their core, it exploded into black ash that still tried to crawl back together before Adam froze it solid.

But before the last cultist died, they started laughing.

It was a wet, broken sound.

"You are all too late," he rasped. "The seal is listening already."

Adam didn't wait for him to finish his words, he raised his sword and pierced their skull.

The body of the cultist hit the ground and then dissolved.

[Mission Completed: Defeat The Cultists]

[Rewards Granted: 50 Stats, 1'000 SP]

***

Deep within the academy, a place far removed from the gate domain, the ancient chamber was shaking.

The runes were flickering.

The chains embedded into the stone were groaning under the growing strain.

A colossal shape started to shift in the darkness.

It was one eye, it was larger than a cathedral, it cracked open for the very first time in centuries.

Seal Integrity: 94%

***

In a place far above the domain, it was unseen by the students, a projection shimmered.

Professor Veyra was standing rigid, her hands clenched behind her back.

"This is escalating way too fast," she muttered.

And besides her, the Vice-Headmaster's expression was turning grim. "To think things got to this point after since I left, the cult came prepared this time." Emily Bifrost has returned.

"And what about the students?"

"Their the nutrients needed to finish the job."

***

Night fell once again inside the gate, Adam was standing on top of a ruined spore, he was watching the terrain below.

The monsters weren't attacking in random anymore.

They were driving the survivors inward, towards the center of the gate.

And it was towards something that was buried deep within the domain.

"So that's their plan." He murmured.

This wasn't a competition anymore, all of the students and delegations were now part of a ritual.

And each and every awaked inside this, they were fueling it unknowingly.

"Then we'll end it right here," Adam said coldly while tightening his grip on his sword.

The convergence had begun at dawn, it wasn't because the sun rose.

The wasn't a real sun inside the gate anyways, but it was because everything has begun to move.

He had felt it first.

The ground beneath was subtly angled inward, it was like a shallow bowl being formed on a continental scale.

The mana currents that were once flowing chaotically are now streaming in a single direction, it was threading through the ruins, the forests and the battlefields alike.

Heading towards the center.

"Everyone is feeling that, right?" Selena asked, lightning was flickering uneasily around her body.

"Yeah," Katherine replied. "The domain is already collapsing inward."

Azazel just slammed a fist into his palm. "So it's treating us like a herd."

Adam just nodded once. "Yeah exactly. If we stay scattered, them we'll just die alone. But if we move... we might just die together."

Bramdor just let out a breathy laugh. "If you call that motivating people, then it worked."

"I'm not trying to," Adam pointed out flatly. "I'm just telling you the truth."

They weren't the only people who realized.

Over the next hour, a lot of teams have began appearing from every direction.

They were all drawn unwillingly towards the same basin like depression that's at the heart of the gate.

The remnants of Class A emerged first.

It was Charles Akuma (A-rank, Wind/Lightning), he was appearing besides Casey Malros (A-rank, Fire) and also another demon from another squad, Ronan Field (B-rank, Earth).

A lot of the Class A students were missing.

So was Jake von Bazel although he is now in Class S.

Sarah Corven had just arrived shortly after, her staff was cracking down the middle, blood was staining her sleeve. Simon Corven was supporting her, but his mana was fluctuating dangerously.

"We got ambushed," Sarah said grimly. "The cultists were coordinated, they were ignoring the monsters completely."

Adam's just slightly tightened. "Are there any casualties?"

Simon hesitated to say. "Four confirmed casualties, Mary is included. Kain, Jake, Damian and Akira are missing. I'm assuming their together."

A heavy silence followed.

Even Katherine looked away.

Adam just inhaled slowly. "How about Duke, Drake, Finn and Grace? Have you seen them."

Selena had a worried looked on her face when she heard the name of her twin brother.

"No, but their in a strong faction so we might find them." Simon said.

Selena didn't look convinced but Adam held her shoulder a reassured her. "We'll find him Selena, I'll make sure of it."

"Mhhm." Selena nodded.

"We won't be splitting up anymore," Adam said. "We'll stick together, it's better that way."

Some of them hesitated, but then Charles stepped forward. "I don't really like this but, your right sticking with you is the best option."

The others murmured in agreement.

Adam just nodded.

Then listen very careful," he said. "From now on, it's either you obey my orders or you died."

Non of them argued, but Azazel was just grinning watching everything okay out.

They all reached the convergence zone shortly before the gate fought back.

The basin was opening into a massive circular ruin, pillars were broken and also half sunken into black stone, runes were etched so deep that they were bleeding crimson light.

And at the very center—

There was a vertical crack in reality.

It wasn't a gate.

It wasn't a portal either.

It was a wound.

Mana was pouring upward from it, it was like a steam from boiling water.

WARNING. WARNING

SEAL INTEGRITY: 96%

That's when the monsters no longer hesitated.

All of them came in waves.

Their forms were fusing together, there were four legged beasts with too many eyes.

There were humanoid monsters that were stitched from different monster species, those things that screamed without months.

"Everyone, defensive formation!" Adam shouted.

Katherine, Selena and Sarah layered barriers. Water, Light, Nature and Earth fused together, long enough to hold.

Azazel and Casey were busy incinerating the front line.

Bromdur and Ronan were hiding the flanks, Stone and runes were grinding against the corrupted flesh.

For exactly ten minutes, they held on.

That's when the A-rank monsters arrived.

They dropped from the sky like a meteor.

It was a hulking figure with six arms, each arm was wielding malformed weapons that were grown from its own bones.

Its chest split open,. revealing a pulsing crystal heart.

"Safe my ass!" Charles shouted.

Adam moved towards it without hesitation.

He vanished and then reappeared midair.

Space folded.

And his sword pierced right through the creatures core.

For moment, it seemed like that was enough.

But then, the monster laughed.

It grabbed onto Adam before he could teleport and it slammed him into the ground, shattering stone.

Selena screamed his name.

But Adam was fine. He rose slowly, and blood was dripping from his mouth, but he wasn't injured that much.

[Regeneration Activated.]

"Right," he muttered. "Seems like your anchored."

His mana then surged, it was controlled, compressed.

He then stepped forward.

Reality buckled.

The monster didn't even have time to scream as Adam erased the space that it was in.

It didn't even explode or collapse.

It just ceased to exist entirely.

The shockwave and flattened anything that was within fifty meters.

And when the dust settled, Adam was standing alone at the center.

Silence then followed.

But then—

ALERT. ALERT.

SEAL INTEGRITY: 97%

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