The defeat of Titus the Juggernaut sent a shockwave through the invading Syndicate forces. Their invincible general, the man who could tank fortress-grade spells, had been laid low by a student. But the pause was momentary. From the rift in the sky, the true horror began to descend.

It wasn't a person this time. It was the environment itself leaking through. The sky turned a bruised purple. Gravity began to fluctuate, making stones float and buildings crumble.

"The Convergence," George's voice crackled over the comms, frantic. "The barrier is at 5%. Alvian, if that rift widens any more, the entire Academy will be pulled into the Demon Dimension!"

Alvian stood amidst the melting ice of the reservoir. He looked at the rift. It was pulsing like a heartbeat.

"The rift is being held open by a signal," Alvian deduced. "Voice One. He's the anchor."

"We can't find him!" Seraphina shouted. "He's not on the scanners! He's nowhere!"

"He's everywhere," Alvian realized. "He's using the ley lines. He's merged with the Academy's mana grid."

Alvian looked down at the ground. The [Tablet of the Earth Core] fused within him thrummed. He could feel the flow of mana in the island. It was all flowing toward one point.

The Central Plaza. The Statue of the Founder.

"He's in the Founder's Statue," Alvian said. "Hiding in plain sight."

"The Statue?" Valeria asked. "That thing is made of solid star-metal. It's indestructible!"

"Nothing is indestructible," Alvian said.

He sprinted toward the Plaza. The Syndicate troops tried to stop him—waves of demons and soldiers—but he ignored them. He activated [Runic Aegis +2] and [Shadow Weave +2]. He became a wrecking ball of invisible force, smashing through the lines.

He reached the Plaza. The massive, hundred-foot statue of the First Headmaster stood tall. But now, Alvian could see it. The veins of violet corruption pulsing beneath the metal skin.

"Come out," Alvian shouted.

The statue's eyes glowed. The stone cracked. The statue moved.

"You found me," Voice One's voice boomed from the statue. "Clever rat."

[Boss Detected: The Living Monument (Voice One's Avatar)]

[Level: ???]

[Status: Indestructible / Integrated with Academy Core]

The statue raised a massive stone sword. It swung.

"WHOOSH!"

The wind pressure alone flattened the surrounding buildings. Alvian dodged, but the shockwave sent him tumbling.

"I am the Academy!" Voice One roared. "I am the island! To kill me, you must destroy your home!"

It was the ultimate hostage situation. If Alvian destroyed the statue, he might shatter the island's core.

"Alvian, don't!" George screamed. "The structural integrity can't take it!"

Alvian looked at the massive stone golem. He looked at his lance.

"I don't need to destroy the island," Alvian whispered. "I just need to sever the connection."

He needed to cut the mana strings.

"System. Activate [Genesis Mode]."

[Warning! Soul Strain Critical. Second activation in 24 hours.]

[Do you proceed?]

"Proceed."

"BOOM!"

Alvian's body erupted with white light. His stats doubled. His cooldowns vanished.

He flew up, dodging the stone sword. He weaved through the barrage of magic missiles the statue fired from its eyes.

He reached the statue's chest. He could see the connection point—a thick cable of mana feeding into the heart.

"You can't cut it!" Voice One laughed. "It is pure energy!"

"I have a knife for that," Alvian said.

He sheathed his lance. He drew [Voidpiercer].

"Passive: [Dimensional Bleed]."

He slashed. Not at the statue. At the air behind the mana cable.

"TEAR."

He cut the space the cable occupied.

The reality tore open. The mana cable, having no space to exist in, was severed.

"WHAT?!" Voice One screamed.

The statue froze. The violet light died.

"No power. No movement," Alvian said.

He switched back to his [Lance].

"Now, you're just a rock."

He flew higher, high above the statue. He channeled every drop of his infinite mana into the lance. The weapon grew, forming a giant, ethereal spear of ice and void that rivaled the statue in size.

"[Glacial Void Pierce]: World Ender."

He threw it.

The spear descended like god's judgment. It struck the top of the statue's head.

"CRACK!"

The statue split down the middle. The stone crumbled. The "Indestructible" metal shattered.

Inside the chest cavity, a figure fell out. A man in a grey suit, screaming as his power source was obliterated. Voice One.

He crashed on to the plaza floor, broken.

Alvian landed beside him. The [Genesis Mode] faded, leaving him gasping for air, blood leaking from his nose.

Voice One looked up, his face a mask of terror. "You... you destroyed the Founder's legacy..."

"I saved it," Alvian said. "By taking out the trash."

He raised his lance.

"The Syndicate is disbanded."

He drove the spear down.

[You have slain Syndicate Leader - Voice One!]

[Quest Complete: The Shadow War.]

[Achievement Unlocked: Savior of the Academy.]

The rift in the sky began to close. The red light faded. The sun broke through the clouds.

Alvian collapsed, sitting on the rubble of the statue. Valeria and Seraphina ran toward him.

He looked at his level.

[Level 45.]

He looked at the sky. The one-year timer had been accelerated, but he had pushed it back. He had bought them time.

"Not bad," Alvian whispered, closing his eyes. "Not bad for a freshman."

----

The rift in the sky above Overlords Academy began to stitch itself shut, the angry red welt fading into the bruised purple of twilight. The sun, which had broken through the clouds momentarily, cast long, golden rays across the devastated Grand Plaza. To the thousands of students watching from the periphery and the safety of the evacuation skiffs, it looked like victory. The Syndicate Leader was dead. The statue was rubble. The invasion was halted.

Alvian stood atop the mound of debris that had once been the Founder's Statue, looking down at the corpse of Voice One. The man looked small, almost pathetic in death, a stark contrast to the calamitous power he had wielded just moments ago.

[System Notification: Combat Disengaged.]

[Looting available.]

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