—Lily's POV—

The moment she heard Leo's voice calling her name, Lily couldn't hide her happiness. Her heart leapt as she turned sharply, her gaze locking onto Leo running straight toward her. But at the same time, a swirling reddish-black portal bloomed into existence just behind him. The energy spilling out of it made her skin crawl—it was indescribably ugly, twisted, and overwhelmingly evil.

Leo was still running toward her. Then, in the very next instant, a pressurised beam of blood-red liquid shot out from the portal. It went straight for him.

It happened far too fast. She didn't even get the chance to warn him before the attack pierced straight through his heart. Blood erupted from his chest, spraying outward as if his own blood had been forced through a ruptured pressure pipe.

Her heart sank. An indescribable sense of crisis crashed into her mind, suffocating her thoughts.

"LEOOOO!!!!" she screamed, her voice tearing out of her throat.

And then she heard it—a voice far too infuriating for its own good. Lazy and mocking.

"Oy, oy, isn't he a bit too strong for a candidate?"

A figure materialised from the same portal. Curling goat horns framed his head, his skin was a deep, ominous red, at least 7ft tall, and his very presence radiated strength. His arm was raised, extended forward as if forming a gun, two fingers pointed straight ahead while the rest curled casually inward.

But Lily's eyes had already shifted back to Leo. Even ignoring the beam that was now heading for her through him.

He was staring down at the hole in his chest with wide, disbelieving eyes, blood gushing out uncontrollably, soaking his clothes and splattering onto the ground below.

"No…" she whispered shakily, her voice barely audible. Her eyes were wide with terror.

Before she could even take a single step toward him, the world blurred.

She vanished.

The next moment, Lily found herself back in the city square, standing among the other candidates. The noise of the crowd and the distant chaos felt unreal, distant, as if separated from her by a thick wall.

"LEO! Where am I?!" she cried, spinning around frantically. Then she sensed it—Leo's presence was still there, once again at least a few kilometres outside the city.

She didn't even stop to brief Miho, who stood nearby with eyes just as wide as Lily's had been moments ago. Miho had already seen Leo once before, but seeing him again—after hearing all of Lily's praise—was different.

But he had been pierced through the heart.

There was no way he could survive such a lethal attack.

Miho turned to speak, but Lily was already gone, her figure vanishing in a blur as she bolted straight toward the city gates.

—Leo's POV—

He didn't even have time to process what had happened. One moment, he was running, the next he had been pierced—and right after that, Lily disappeared.

He could tell that with every heartbeat, more blood was being forced out through the hole in his chest. Each pulse sent a wave of weakness through his body.

My heart got pierced! He screamed internally. The realisation hit him hard, and his body shuddered.

Regeneration had already kicked in, desperately trying to close the wound, but it wasn't enough. It was far too slow. The bond percentage with Niri still hadn't reached sixty per cent yet, which meant he couldn't fully share her regeneration trait. It simply wasn't sufficient. His legs went weak as he collapsed over his knees on the ground.

Before he could attempt anything else, the same lazy voice rang out again, grating on his ears.

"Ah, that human girl got rescued... hm? Still not fallen? Oh, you have a regenerative skill," the demon said casually. "Let me finish the job then."

Xyren lifted his hand once more, pointing his index finger forward. A dense ball of blood began forming at the tip, swirling ominously as it condensed.

A crushing sense of helplessness washed over Leo. He knew it instantly—if that shot landed, he would die for real.

But the very next moment, a thunderous voice boomed from above, shaking the air itself.

"BLOOD MONGER! IT'S YOUUU!"

In the following second, Leo felt a searing, overwhelming heat descend from the sky. It crashed down like a blazing waterfall, engulfing the demon below in roaring energy.

The suffocating sense of impending death vanished instantly.

But Leo didn't relax. Not even for a second.

The regeneration was still nowhere near enough. Blood continued pouring out of his chest, soaking him faster than the wound could heal. At this rate, he would be drained dry long before his body recovered from such a severe injury.

Gritting his teeth, he reached into his spiritual space and pulled out the last petal of the first Elasian Bloom. Bringing it close to his body, he willed it to be consumed. The petal dissolved instantly, breaking apart into colourful motes of light that seeped into his body, spreading warmth through his veins.

Don't backfire at this moment! Leo pleaded internally, forcing his body to endure it. Please, just hold together.

The required time interval to consume another petal hadn't been completed yet. The system had clearly warned him—consuming too much was dangerous. Deadly, even.

---A few moments before the attack---

The instructor had already reached the spatial mage and delivered clear instructions. The moment demons appeared, every candidate was to be summoned back into the city immediately.

At least four watchers had been positioned, each monitoring a different direction to ensure no anomaly went unnoticed. They had already lost far too many candidates. Those remaining could now be considered elites—the future pillars of humanity for the coming decades.

And just as expected, swirling red portals materialised almost simultaneously in multiple locations. None appeared inside the city itself; a holy priest dispatched from a core city had already erected a powerful barrier that repelled demonic energy entirely.

But the demons were clever.

Every portal opened just behind the most promising candidates outside the city.

The spatial mage reacted without hesitation, activating his magic and summoning all candidates back at once. Still, the damage had already been done. Some candidates were killed instantly, struck directly on the head. Others were severely injured—but at least they weren't dead.

That alone was a relief.

Healers were dispatched immediately, rushing toward the injured to stabilise them as quickly as possible.

Among them was Dale.

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