The days at the Shrine of the Eight Lords stopped feeling like days.
They became cycles.
Wake up.
Fight.
Bleed.
Recover.
Fight again.
There was no longer a concept of "training time" and "rest time". The moment the Chosen Ones opened their eyes, beasts were already waiting.
Some came from portals.
Some were summoned by Riyo.
Some simply wandered into the shrine's territory, drawn by the absurd density of mana.
Every single one of them was at least Rank 1.
Most were Rank 0.
And sometimes, something worse.
The shrine grounds were no longer clean marble and glowing gardens.
They were cracked.
Burned.
Shattered.
Covered in claw marks, craters, and lingering mana scars.
Yet somehow, the shrine always repaired itself overnight.
As if the place itself wanted them to suffer more.
Hiko was currently slammed into a stone pillar by a six-armed beast with a skull for a face.
His cursed flames flared around his body as he skidded across the floor.
"Again?!" Daizen shouted from the other side of the courtyard, wrestling a massive horned reptile made of pure iron. "This is the fifth one today!"
Goru was mid-air, slicing through a flying serpent that split into two dimensions at once.
"I stopped counting after the third dismemberment."
Nyx was kneeling, blood dripping from her arm, black aura flickering violently around her.
"These are not even random anymore. They are targeting us."
Holo was standing still, surrounded by floating digital constructs.
"I am seeing the future paths. The spawn rate is increasing. Something is pushing them."
Kaiser flipped his coin, caught it, and frowned.
"…Yeah. Even my luck feels like it is being pressured."
Riyo stood at the center of the chaos, calmly watching as the students fought for their lives.
He did not interfere.
He only spoke.
"Again."
The beasts attacked harder.
The Chosen Ones moved.
Blood splashed.
Bones cracked.
Magic exploded.
Zenith was thrown through three walls by a gorilla-like monster made of compressed gravity.
Veliro was dragged into the air by a swarm of shadow insects.
Piero blinded a dragon with heavenly light, only to get slammed into the ground seconds later.
They were growing stronger.
But the enemies were growing faster.
By sunset, every single one of them was on the ground.
Exhausted.
Bleeding.
Barely conscious.
Daizen lay flat on his back, staring at the sky.
"…I think my soul has muscle fatigue."
Goru was sitting against a broken pillar, breathing heavily.
"My dimensional cuts are starting to hurt my arms."
Nyx laughed weakly.
"I got impaled three times today. That is a new record."
Hiko was silent.
He stared at his hands.
The cursed flames around his body were flickering weakly.
The devil spoke inside his mind.
"…You are burning faster than you are adapting."
Hiko thought back.
"…Then I just need to adapt faster."
That was when the air changed.
Not like a beast arrival.
Not like a portal.
Not like gravity.
It felt… wrong.
The shrine's mana field distorted.
The temperature dropped.
Black sparks began forming in the air.
Riyo's eyes narrowed.
"…So you finally came yourself."
A figure stepped out of the darkness.
Black baggy pants.
A loose shirt torn at the edges.
Faint gold accessories around his wrists and neck.
His eyes burned with dark flames.
Shinjaku Ryukasei.
The Black Flame sorcerer.
The same man who fought Yogan in Goram Swamp.
The same man who destroyed three kilometers of land.
The same man who swore revenge.
The Chosen Ones felt it instantly.
This was not a beast.
This was not a test.
This was a Calamity Level Evil Sorcerer.
Shinjaku looked around slowly.
His black flames floated around him like living bullets.
"…So this is the little nest of future heroes."
Kaiser felt his legs tremble.
"…That pressure is worse than Gravizy."
Holo's digital constructs glitched.
"…I cannot simulate him. His existence is unstable."
Riyo stepped forward.
"Shinjaku Ryukasei."
Shinjaku smiled.
"…You must be the shrine dog."
Riyo's aura expanded.
"You are trespassing on sacred ground."
Shinjaku shrugged.
"I am just looking for someone."
His eyes shifted.
They locked onto Hiko.
"…But I suppose I can burn this place first."
Black flames erupted.
Hundreds of black flame bullets filled the air.
They pierced the shrine walls like paper.
Explosions ripped through the courtyard.
Zenith was thrown backward.
Daizen raised a massive earth wall that was instantly melted through.
Goru tried slicing the flames.
They regenerated.
They adapted.
They kept coming.
Riyo moved.
In one step, he was in front of the students.
His body blurred.
Turbulence exploded around him.
He punched.
The shockwave erased all black flames in a hundred-meter radius.
Shinjaku skidded backward across the ground, boots carving trenches.
"…Fast."
Riyo did not respond.
He attacked again.
His movements were not just fast.
They were invisible.
Air detonated.
Space distorted.
Shinjaku raised his arm.
Black flames condensed into a shield.
Riyo's punch pierced it.
Shinjaku was sent flying into a shrine pillar.
The entire structure collapsed.
Shinjaku laughed while standing up, blood dripping from his mouth.
"…Good. This is finally interesting."
Black flames erupted from his entire body.
The sky darkened.
Thousands of black flame bullets rained down like meteors.
Riyo dodged most.
But some hit.
His shoulder was pierced.
His side burned.
His leg was sliced open.
The Chosen Ones watched in horror.
"…Riyo is getting hit," Nyx whispered.
Kaiser clenched his fists.
"…He is actually struggling."
Shinjaku appeared behind Riyo.
A massive black flame spear formed in his hand.
It stabbed through Riyo's chest.
Time froze.
Hiko felt his heart stop.
"RIYO!"
Riyo coughed blood.
But his eyes remained calm.
"…So this is how strong you have become."
Shinjaku whispered in his ear.
"…Strong enough to kill a Master."
The black flames expanded.
Riyo's body began to burn from the inside.
The Chosen Ones moved instinctively.
But Riyo raised his hand.
"Do not interfere."
He closed his eyes.
And the entire shrine responded.
The sky opened.
Golden light descended.
Massive ethereal gates appeared behind Riyo.
One.
Two.
Three.
Eight.
Twelve.
The Gates of the Heavenly Temple.
Riyo's Realm.
The entire world inside the shrine shifted.
The ground became golden.
The air felt divine.
A massive pressure washed over everyone.
Every Chosen One felt it.
Their mana surged.
Their bodies felt lighter.
Stronger.
Faster.
Nyx gasped.
"…My magic just tripled."
Daizen's wounds began closing.
"…I feel unstoppable."
Goru looked at his claws.
"They are cutting deeper than before."
Hiko felt his cursed flames explode outward.
"…My control just evolved."
Riyo's body was now covered in golden symbols.
The black flames inside him were being suppressed.
Purified.
Shinjaku stepped back for the first time.
"…A Realm."
Riyo opened his eyes.
"They call this a Defensive Zogratis Realm."
"In this domain, all allies are blessed."
"Three times strength."
"Upgraded magic."
"Absolute protection."
Shinjaku laughed, but there was tension in his voice.
"…So you are turning this into a divine raid."
He unleashed everything.
Black flame storms.
Spears.
Bullets.
Beams.
The shrine was erased.
Mountains collapsed.
The sky burned.
Riyo stood at the center of it all.
Blocking.
Deflecting.
Enduring.
His body was covered in wounds.
Blood flowed down his arms.
His breathing became heavier.
Shinjaku condensed all his power into one massive black flame core.
"This one ends it."
He launched it.
Riyo raised both hands.
The Gates behind him shined brighter.
The core hit.
The explosion erased everything in a kilometer radius.
When the light faded, Riyo was kneeling.
Half his body burned.
One arm shattered.
His realm flickered.
Shinjaku was breathing heavily too.
"…You almost had me."
Riyo smiled weakly.
"…Almost is not enough."
Shinjaku looked around.
At the glowing Chosen Ones.
At the shrine still standing.
At Riyo still alive.
"…Tch."
Black flames wrapped around him.
"This is not over."
His eyes locked onto Hiko.
"…I will come back for you."
Then he vanished into darkness.
The realm faded.
The shrine returned to normal.
Riyo collapsed.
Hiko ran forward and caught him.
"…Why did you protect us?"
Riyo smiled faintly.
"…Because you are the future."
"…And I am just the gatekeeper."
The devil whispered inside Hiko.
"…Yeah. That guy is definitely going to be a problem."