The fortress could no longer withstand it.
The moment Sam's dark blade clashed with the demon's corrupted sword, the entire structure convulsed. Walls ruptured into dust, the ceiling tore apart like parchment, and black energy surged outward in violent waves. The ground beneath them disintegrated, sending chunks of broken stone and ancient bones spiraling through the air.
Sam staggered back, his breath ragged, his arms trembling from the recoil. Across the crater of shattered stone, the demon's figure loomed massive, horned, and cloaked in writhing darkness that bled into the air like ink in water.
Its voice crawled through the air like thunder, "You… carry it within you… the scent of the abyss."
Sam didn't answer. His grip tightened on his dark-forged blade a weapon born from his own aura, rippling with black and violet energy. Each swing made the air vibrate, unstable, untamed. His light magic the one he had always relied on was nowhere to be felt. Only this power remained, heavy and alive, whispering to him like a hungry beast.
"Use it… you've already started…"
The voice again that same one he heard before. A woman's voice, soft yet commanding, echoing from somewhere deep inside his mind.
"Who are you?" he muttered through clenched teeth. No reply. Only the howling wind.
Across from him, the demon raised its sword a colossal slab of blackened steel etched with runes that pulsed like veins. The air distorted around it. "You think you can kill me with half your power, boy?"
Sam steadied his breathing, his eyes narrowing. "Half is enough."
Then he moved.
His body blurred, dark aura coiling around his legs. With a burst of speed, he crossed the gap between them, swinging his blade with everything he had. The demon blocked the clash sending shockwaves that tore through the ruins. The ground splintered beneath their feet. Each strike carried the weight of destruction. Sparks of corrupted light scattered like meteor showers.
Sam ducked under a heavy swing, sliding across debris, then slashed upward his blade humming with dark energy. The demon staggered but laughed, its fangs gleaming. "You wield it… but you still fear it!"
"I don't fear it," Sam growled. "I fear what it turns me into."
The demon roared and unleashed a torrent of black fire. Sam raised a barrier but it shattered instantly, throwing him backward through what was left of a pillar. He crashed to the ground, coughing blood.
For a moment, everything went silent except for the faint voice of Alana.
She was lying on the far side of the ruins, barely conscious, calling his name weakly.
"Sam… don't…"
Her voice brought him back. He dragged himself up, vision blurred, chest heaving.
I can't lose here… not again.
The dark aura flared around him, thicker now, almost suffocating. His shadow stretched unnaturally long behind him, splitting and twisting like tendrils. He felt the power crawling under his skin, whispering, tempting him.
"Embrace it, Sam… this is who you truly are."
"Fine," he hissed, eyes turning crimson. "Then I'll use it just this once."
The world exploded into darkness.
His aura burst outward in a massive surge, swallowing the demon's flames whole. The ground melted, the sky cracked like glass. Every monster lurking in the fortress disintegrated under the pressure of his unleashed power. Even the demon for the first time took a step back, its confidence faltering.
"So… you awaken," the demon rumbled. "The child of shadow and light."
Sam's voice came low, steady. "You talk too much."
He vanished from sight, appearing behind the demon in a blur and slashing down. The demon barely blocked sparks of black and red scattered through the air. Sam didn't stop. His movements were sharper now, unnatural each swing tearing through the very fabric of the dimension.
The two forces collided again and again, until even sound seemed to vanish only flashes of dark light illuminating the ruins.
Finally, Sam feinted a strike, then plunged his blade straight into the demon's chest into the same place where its cursed sword had been impaled earlier.
The demon froze. Its body trembled. Cracks spread across its form like glass breaking under pressure.
"You…" it rasped, black ichor dripping from its mouth. "You've only just begun to awaken… and already you drown in that power."
Sam yanked his blade free, panting. "Then I'll learn to control it."
The demon smiled a twisted, knowing grin. "Control? You think the darkness serves you? You'll see… you're still far from them."
"Them?" Sam demanded, stepping closer. "Who are you talking about?"
But before he could finish, the demon's body erupted into shadowy flame. Its voice echoed through the collapsing fortress, chilling and final:
"If you wish to live in peace… become stronger than them… or they will come for you."
Then it was gone reduced to ash that scattered into the wind.
Sam stood there, trembling. His dark aura flickered violently before finally settling. The world around him began to distort again — a web of glowing cracks forming in the air. The dimensional rift was opening.
He rushed to Alana, still weak but alive. "Can you stand?"
"I think so," she whispered, clutching his arm. "What… what happened to that thing?"
"It's over," Sam said, though his voice carried no relief.
The rift expanded, swirling like a storm. Without hesitation, Sam pulled Alana close. "Hold on."
They leapt through.
The moment the rift burst open in the middle of the trial grounds, everyone felt it. A shockwave of pressure swept across the arena. The professors and students stumbled back as the air rippled with an unfamiliar force.
Irius and May, who had been maintaining the barrier, felt their spell nearly shatter.
"What in the gods' name is that power!?" May gasped.
Headmaster Roderic's face darkened. "Keep the barrier stable. No matter what happens, no one enters."
"But, Headmaster!"
"That's an order!"
The old man's voice was sharp, commanding. The professors obeyed, though confusion and fear filled their eyes. None of them understood why the headmaster seemed more afraid of what might come out than what was happening inside.
High above the stands, Lucy clutched the rail, her heart pounding. She could feel it that dense, suffocating aura, the kind that only one person could possess.
"Sam…" she whispered, trembling. "You finally… used it."
No one heard her.
Moments later, the rift tore open completely and from it, Sam and Alana stumbled out, both bruised and covered in soot. Behind them, the air collapsed inward, sealing the dimension shut.
The crowd erupted into chaos. Professors rushed forward, while students stared in disbelief.
And there lying in the center of the final chamber was the corpse of the Devil of Fear, lifeless, as if something far greater had slain it.
Alana blinked, shocked. "Did… did you do that?"
Sam replied " I don't know they were like this since when we both came out from the rift"
Sam and Alana were looking weak but their eyes met at the same point it was the relic that they fight for.
But Sam asked Alana to keep the relic because she is more fit as a president then him plus "I don't like being surrounded by stack of files."
Then they both move out their everyone was shocked but first professors removed the barrier.
The headmaster approached, his eyes sharp as knives. "What happened in there?"
Sam met his gaze for a moment then simply pointed toward Alana. "She won."
He turned and walked away before anyone could ask more.
Alana stood frozen. Around her, her teammates and followers rushed forward, cheering her name. "You did it, Alana!" "You're amazing!"
But their voices barely reached her. Her eyes stayed fixed on Sam's back as he disappeared down the corridor with the headmaster.
He had given her the relic without hesitation, without pride.
"I only joined because my friend asked me," he'd said softly, before turning away.
"I think you're more suited for this."
She looked down at the relic glowing faintly in her hands then back at the man walking away, the man she had once despised.
And for the first time… Alana felt something else stirring in her chest.
Not rivalry.
Not debt.
But warmth.
Outside, the sky dimmed. The barrier dissolved. The crowd's cheers slowly faded into whispers.
Lucy watched from afar, her hand tightening over her chest.
"Sam… what are you really hiding?" she whispered.
And somewhere behind the headmaster's calm eyes there was a flicker of dread.
Because he knew exactly what had awakened in that dimension…
and why nothing from there must ever be allowed to come out.
To be continued...