Zharina stood a few feet away. Her eyes landed on Jax for a moment.

Then she looked away like she just saw something disgusting.

'Damn. Not even a hello? Cold as always. But lowkey, why is she here?'

Jax didn't have time to process her arrival. The battlefield demanded his attention.

And what he saw was pure chaos.

Screams everywhere. Total horror movie type shit.

Enemies were dropping one by one. The numbers that looked so terrifying a minute ago were now shrinking fast. People who were standing and breathing moments ago were now lying in pools of their own blood. Some weren't even whole anymore.

Jax looked up at the sky.

Above a section of the enemy army was a sphere. Red. Pulsing. Like a giant ball of blood floating in the air.

Then it started raining.

Not water. Needles. Thousands of tiny blood needles shooting down at everything below.

THWIP THWIP THWIP THWIP!

Enemies screamed as their bodies got punctured from above. Blood leaked from dozens of tiny holes. Some dropped instantly. Others stumbled around like drunk idiots before collapsing.

'Bro what the fuck. That's some horror movie shit right there.'

But the sky wasn't the only problem.

On the ground, Jax spotted a magic circle glowing beneath a group of soldiers. Bright. Complex. The kind of circle that screamed "you're fucked."

The soldiers tried to move. Couldn't. Their legs were locked in place like someone had glued their boots to the floor.

Some of them actually looked relieved.

'At least we survived the needle rain,' their faces seemed to say.

Poor bastards.

Jax looked up again. Something was coming down. Fast.

A meteorite.

Massive. Burning. Like divine punishment straight from heaven saying "nah, you're not surviving this either."

BOOOOOOM!

The impact wiped them from existence. No screams. No bodies. Just gone.

The remaining enemies froze. Confused. Terrified. Looking around trying to figure out what the hell was happening.

Bad move.

An axe flew through the air.

Not thrown. Flying. On its own. Ancient looking. Glowing with runes.

It stayed low to the ground. Waist height. And it carved through everything in its path.

Soldiers got cut in half before they even knew what hit them. The axe curved left. Then right. Wherever it sensed life, it went there.

Bodies dropped like dominoes.

Jax followed its trajectory. Trying to see where it was going.

But midway, something else caught his attention.

A figure jumped onto the flying axe. Used it like a trampoline. Launched herself high into the air.

A catwoman. Literal cat ears and tail. Sleek. Agile. Built for murder.

Her hands went behind her back and pulled out twin swords. Mid-length. Curved tips. Looked exotic and deadly as fuck.

She landed right in the middle of a group of soldiers.

They surrounded her. Confused but ready to attack.

She smiled.

Then started dancing.

That's what it looked like anyway. Her body spun. Her blades followed. One slash. Two. Five. Ten.

Soldiers dropped around her like flies.

When she got bored of picking them off one by one, she just spun her whole body. A whirlpool of steel.

Everyone in the circle died.

Just like that.

'Kessiri Talli'nah. Duel Master. Close Combat Specialist. Wait whats she doing here.'

Jax followed the axe again. It was returning to its owner.

And behind that owner was an army.

Leading them was a woman Jax knew very well.

Lysandra Ophyria. Headmistress of Astryx Academy.

'So that first attack. The one that tore that sand lizard apart from the middle. That was her. Probably her invisible hands or threads or whatever freaky magic she uses.'

Beside her stood a massive man holding the ancient axe. Rowen Fenrisborn. Combat Instructor. Weapons and Tactics specialist.

To his right was an older man with glasses. Gareth Crownhart. Professor of Magic Circles and Foundations.

'So he's the one who trapped those idiots in place. Nice.'

Jax's gaze moved to another figure. A woman with an unsettling smile. Lucindra Valis Arriel. Professor of Blood Arts and Combat Theory.

'The blood rain from the sky. Definitely her. She's got that "I enjoy watching people suffer" energy.'

And at the very end, looking like she'd rather be anywhere else, was Aerisya Velith Elunar. Senior Professor of Ancient Magics.

Bored expression. Half-lidded eyes. Like mass destruction was just another Tuesday for her.

'The meteor. Had to be her ancient magic. She literally called down a rock from space with the enthusiasm of someone ordering coffee.'

Jax looked at all of them. The top faculty of Astryx Academy. The big guns. The final bosses of the teaching staff.

And they had come to help.

But they weren't alone.

Behind them stood an army. Over five hundred strong.

Pure fighters ready to throw hands. Professors floating in the air thanks to their racial abilities. Some looked excited. Others looked like they were finally getting to release years of pent-up frustration.

'Bruh some of these professors look way too happy to be here. That one guy is literally smiling while charging up a fireball. Therapy might be needed after this.'

And of course, the academy's official army was there too. Soldiers in formation. Ready for war.

The match was now equal.

Still not a guaranteed win though. Those enemy champions could turn the tables any moment with their bullshit skills.

But at least it wasn't hopeless anymore.

Lysandra raised her hand.

"For Astryx. For the World"

They charged.

And hell came with them.

Devastating spells flew across the battlefield. Fireballs. Ice spears. Lightning bolts. Gravity wells. Acid clouds.

The professors who looked nerdy and harmless? Yeah, they were the scariest ones.

One guy was holding a grimoire and cackling while launching curse after curse. Another didn't even need a book. Just pointed and things died.

Some of them were treating this like an experiment. Testing new spells on live subjects. Taking notes between kills.

'These nerds are fucking unhinged. I love it.'

Balls of lava crashed into enemy formations. Chains of lightning jumped from soldier to soldier. The ground opened up and swallowed entire squads. Tornados formed out of nowhere and scattered bodies like leaves.

The enemy champions finally stepped up.

Shields appeared. Holy magic barriers that blocked incoming spells. Earth walls rose from the ground. Vines and grass wrapped around groups of soldiers, protecting them.

One champion's body turned red. Some kind of physical buff. A fireball hit him square in the chest.

He didn't move an inch.

The battle stabilized.

Neither side was winning now. Neither side was losing.

The whole battlefield turned into a light show. Sparks flying everywhere. Magic of every color clashing. Blades meeting blades.

Thousands of fighters. Thousands of spells.

Pure chaos.

But beautiful chaos.

Jax finally let himself relax a little.

In front of him stood Zharina. Still not looking at him.

Beside him was Zinnia. Still confused about everything.

Jax grinned.

"Long time no see, Professor." He made himself comfortable on the ground. "Did my disappearance hit you that hard? Couldn't stay on academy grounds anymore? Had to leave that island just to find your prince?"

Zharina didn't respond.

Just hissed through her teeth.

"Tssk."

Jax continued anyway. "Don't worry, Professor. The path of eternal love has many hurdles. This is just another phase. We'll get through it together."

Zinnia looked between them. Completely lost.

'Who is this woman? Why is she so strong? Why is everyone so strong on her side? How does Jax know her? And why is he talking to her like that?'

Her thoughts got interrupted when Jax grabbed her hand and pulled her down to the ground beside him.

"Zinnia. Heal me." His eyes had that dangerous glint. "Heal me to the brim. Things just got interesting. And now I can finally get my hands on the revenge I've been craving."

She wanted to slam her Warhammer on his skull.

But seeing the reinforcements... seeing Jax backing and allies...

She sighed and started channeling healing energy again.

Jax wasn't done though.

"Oh, Zharina." His voice turned playful. "Remember I told you about a girl who resembled you? Placed the same erotic bet. Her body. Even her mother's body. Ring any bells?"

Zharina's head slowly turned toward Zinnia.

Zinnia felt that gaze and stiffened.

'What the fuck is he doing?'

Jax looked at Zinnia with fake innocence. "Hey Zinnia, this is a really important figure in the academy. And guess what? She's just like you."

He gestured between them like introducing old friends.

"Placed her body on a bet. Lost. Then said..." He switched to a high-pitched mocking voice. "'I'll have my revenge! You'll pay for this!'"

Back to normal voice. "Déjà vu, isn't it? Since you're the senior in this situation, maybe you should tell her what happens next. You know, give her some advice."

Zinnia's face went red.

Zharina's face went cold.

Both women slowly turned to look at each other.

Then back at Jax.

The disgust in their eyes wasn't directed at each other.

It was all aimed at the bastard sitting between them with that shit-eating grin on his face.

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