Lumiel rose from the crater, its pristine armor now cracked and dulled. The angel's four wings spread wide, each feather glowing with intensifying light.
"You dare mock the divine?" Lumiel's voice resonated through the arena, no longer wind chimes but thunder.
"Divine?" Malachar spun his sword lazily. "I've fought gods, angel. You're just a servant."
Elena's eyes narrowed. Her hand moved in a complex pattern, and Lumiel responded instantly. The angel began chanting in a language of pure light, and its spear multiplied into a dozen radiant copies, all hovering in the air around it.
"Celestial Judgment," someone in the crowd whispered. "That's a Platinum tier technique."
Professor Graves stepped closer to the arena's edge, his hand near his own summoning mark. Ready to intervene if necessary.
The spears launched simultaneously, each one trailing holy fire. They came from every angle, a storm of divine wrath designed to overwhelm any defense.
Malachar didn't dodge.
Instead, he slammed his sword into the ground. Crimson energy erupted from the point of impact, forming a hemisphere of dark flames around him. The spears struck the barrier and shattered into motes of light.
"Abyssal Shield," Malachar said. "A technique I learned fighting angels far stronger than you."
The barrier dissolved, and he charged. His speed was shocking for something so large, closing the distance to Lumiel in three strides. His sword came down in a horizontal slash that would have bisected the angel.
Lumiel barely managed to interpose its spear. The impact sent it skidding backward across the sand, wings flapping desperately to maintain balance.
"Second hit," Professor Graves called.
The class was silent now, all note taking forgotten. They were watching something unprecedented: a demon lord fighting evenly with one of the academy's strongest summons.
Elena's calm facade cracked slightly. She made another gesture, and Lumiel's form began to glow brighter, its outline becoming harder to see as it merged with pure light.
"Radiant Ascension," Kira's voice came from somewhere in the crowd. "She's using her trump card already?"
Lumiel became a being of living light, too bright to look at directly. It moved like lightning, appearing behind Malachar and thrusting its spear toward his back.
Malachar twisted, impossibly fast, and caught the spear shaft with his bare hand. His palm sizzled where holy energy met demonic flesh, but he didn't let go.
"Clever," he said. "But predictable."
He yanked the spear, pulling Lumiel off balance, and delivered a devastating kick to the angel's midsection. Lumiel flew backward, crashing into the arena wall hard enough to crack the reinforced stone.
"Third hit," Professor Graves announced. "Match concluded. Winner: Eldraven's summon."
The silence stretched for three heartbeats.
Then chaos erupted.
"A demon lord just beat Elena Brightstar's summon!"
"That's impossible, Lumiel is ranked number three among all student summons!"
"How is a scholarship student bonded to something that powerful?"
Rin stood frozen, unsure what to do or say. Malachar dissolved back into shadow, but his presence felt smug, satisfied.
Elena walked to the center of the arena where Lumiel was reforming, its radiant form dimming back to normal. The angel looked diminished, its armor more cracked than before.
She placed a hand on Lumiel's shoulder, whispered something, then dismissed it. When she turned to face Rin, her expression was unreadable.
"Your summon is strong," she said quietly, so only he could hear. "Stronger than I expected. But strength without control is just destruction waiting to happen." She met his eyes. "Prove you're more than just a weapon, Eldraven. Or prove everyone right about you."
She walked past him, back to her seat, leaving Rin standing alone in the arena.
Professor Graves cleared his throat. "That demonstration teaches us several lessons. First, tier rankings are guidelines, not absolutes. Combat experience and tactical knowledge can overcome raw power. Second, knowing your opponent matters. The demon lord clearly had experience fighting angels before."
He looked directly at Rin. "Third, and most important: your summon's strength is your responsibility. Eldraven, your demon held back during that match. I saw it. He could have seriously injured Lady Brightstar's summon but chose restraint. That shows intelligence and control. Make sure you maintain that standard."
Rin nodded, not trusting his voice.
"Everyone else, take notes on the techniques displayed. We'll analyze the combat patterns in our next session." Professor Graves dismissed the class.
Students filed out, shooting glances at Rin that ranged from fearful to curious to hostile. Adrian's group left quickly, whispering among themselves.
Rin was gathering his things when Kira appeared beside him.
"That was incredible!" Her eyes sparkled with excitement. "Did you see the energy output? The way Malachar's Abyssal Shield neutralized holy magic? And that final exchange, the speed differential was..." She caught herself. "Sorry. I get excited about combat theory."
"It's fine," Rin said, managing a small smile. "Thanks for, you know, not treating me like I'm going to murder everyone."
"Please. If Malachar wanted to murder everyone, we'd already be dead." She said it so matter of factly that Rin actually laughed. "Come on, I'll walk with you to your next class. What do you have?"
"Dimensional Theory with Professor Ashford."
"Ooh, perfect! That's where you'll learn about summoning mechanics and dimensional rifts. Maybe you can ask about the Nexus." She started walking, and Rin fell into step beside her. "Has your demon told you much about where he came from?"
"A little. It's a place where defeated legends end up. He said it's like purgatory."
Kira pulled out her notebook, scribbling while walking. "Fascinating. So it's not a natural dimension but more like a constructed space. That explains why your summoning ritual could access it. You didn't follow the standard pathways." She looked up. "You know what this means, right?"
"That I'm terrible at following instructions?"
"That you're potentially the first person to discover an entirely new category of summons." Her grin was infectious. "Forget hero summons and elemental contracts. You've opened a door to beings from other worlds entirely. Do you know how groundbreaking that is?"
"The girl is more perceptive than she looks," Malachar commented in Rin's head. "Be careful what you tell her."
"I don't think groundbreaking is what people are calling it," Rin said. "More like dangerous and heretical."
"Same thing, really. Most groundbreaking discoveries get called heretical first." Kira shrugged. "Give it time. Once people see you're not going to destroy the academy, they'll get curious instead of scared."
They reached the Dimensional Theory classroom, a circular room with constellation maps covering the ceiling and strange instruments mounted on the walls.
"This is me," Rin said. "Thanks, Kira. For everything."
"No problem! Oh, and Rin?" She smiled. "You did good today. You won fair and beat the top ranked student. That takes guts."
She left, and Rin entered the classroom. Students were already seated in a circle around Professor Ashford, a thin woman with silver streaked hair and sharp intelligent eyes.
"Ah, Mr. Eldraven," she said as he entered. "I heard about your summoning ceremony. Most irregular. Please, sit. We have much to discuss."
Rin took a seat, aware of the stares.
Professor Ashford began drawing symbols on a floating chalkboard. "Today we discuss dimensional barriers and the mechanics of cross dimensional summoning. As you all know, summons come from various planes: the Elemental Realms, the Spirit World, the Celestial Heights." She paused, looking directly at Rin. "And apparently, places we've never documented before."
The class turned to stare at him.
"Mr. Eldraven's summon claims to originate from something called the Nexus. A dimension of defeated legends." She tapped her chalk against the board. "This should be impossible. Our summoning rituals are designed to access known dimensional pathways. Yet somehow, Mr. Eldraven accessed an unknown dimension."
She smiled slightly. "Which means either our understanding of dimensional theory is incomplete, or Mr. Eldraven is special in ways we don't yet understand. Either option is academically thrilling."
For the first time since his summoning, Rin felt something other than fear or embarrassment.
He felt hope.
Maybe this didn't have to be a disaster. Maybe, just maybe, it could be something else entirely.