Riyo did not wake up for three days.
The Shrine of the Eight Lords was silent in a way it had never been before. No bells. No portals. No beasts wandering into the territory. Even the mana density felt lower, as if the shrine itself was holding its breath.
Hiko stood outside Riyo's room, staring at the closed doors.
"…He almost died."
Daizen sat on the floor nearby, arms crossed.
"I have never seen a Master get pushed like that."
Goru leaned against the wall.
"That black flame guy wasn't even trying to conquer anything. He was just testing."
Nyx looked down.
"That is the scary part."
Inside the room, Riyo lay unconscious, his body covered in glowing recovery seals placed by shrine spirits. His realm had burned his own core to keep everyone alive. The backlash was massive.
Rougen was not there.
Yogan was not there.
For the first time since becoming the Chosen Ones…
They were alone.
And reality hit.
Hard.
The very next morning, Holo gathered everyone in the main courtyard.
No jokes.
No smiles.
No relaxed posture.
"Riyo almost died protecting us."
Silence.
Holo continued.
"That means we are still weak."
Zenith clenched his fists.
"…We fought a Semi Calamity together and still needed a Master to save us."
Kaiser flipped his coin slowly.
"And the next enemy might be worse."
Veliro looked at the ruined sections of the shrine.
"We cannot rely on teachers forever."
Hiko felt the devil stir.
"…Good. They are finally thinking like survivors."
Holo raised his hand.
"From today onward, we train like we are already in a war."
No one disagreed.
Training changed.
Completely.
There were no more controlled Rank 1 simulations.
No more rest cycles.
No more easy beasts.
They started fighting real Grade 1 Beasts.
Not Rank 1.
Grade 1.
The ones that existed between Rank 1 and Rank 0.
Creatures that wiped out villages.
That forced evacuation zones.
That required professional sorcerer squads.
And they struggled.
Badly.
Nyx was slammed into a cliff by a spider-like beast made of bone and shadow.
Her arm snapped.
She screamed.
Zenith had to carry her out.
Goru lost control of a dimensional cut and almost erased his own leg.
Daizen was crushed under a mammoth-sized beast that controlled density.
It took three of them just to pull him out.
Hiko fought a serpent with poison mist and almost suffocated.
He collapsed mid-fight.
Only his cursed flames burning his lungs saved him.
They were winning.
But barely.
Every victory came with injuries.
Every day came with fear.
Every night came with silence.
They started sparring each other too.
No holding back.
Kaiser versus Zenith ended with both of them unconscious.
Veliro versus Nyx destroyed half a forest.
Hiko versus Goru ended with a dimensional scar across Hiko's chest that took two days to heal.
Holo watched everything.
Analyzing.
Predicting.
Adjusting.
And even he started losing sometimes.
Then on the fourth day…
Riyo opened his eyes.
The first thing he did was check his phone.
The shrine spirit that monitored global beast data had updated the system.
Riyo scrolled.
Once.
Twice.
Then his eyes widened.
"…This is not possible."
He sat up despite the pain.
Holo noticed immediately.
"Riyo?"
Riyo looked at them.
"There is a new classification."
Everyone froze.
"…New rank?" Kaiser asked.
Riyo nodded slowly.
"Above Calamity."
Silence.
Daizen swallowed.
"…Above Calamity?"
Riyo turned the screen toward them.
Absolute Rank.
Beasts that surpass Calamity.
Threat level: Unknown.
World Response Protocol: Undefined.
Current known cases: Zero.
Hiko felt something cold in his stomach.
"…So something worse than everything we have seen exists."
Riyo nodded.
"And humanity does not even have a plan for it yet."
The devil whispered.
"…Heh. That means the world is about to get interesting."
Riyo looked at all of them.
"From this moment on, your training is no longer preparation."
"It is survival conditioning."
And as if the world wanted to mock those words…
The sky turned red.
A massive presence appeared on the horizon.
The earth shook.
The sea split.
A roar echoed across multiple cities.
Emergency broadcasts flooded the air.
"Warning. Semi Calamity Beast detected."
"Designation: Titan Snake."
"Evacuation Level: Maximum."
They arrived too late to prevent destruction.
An entire coastal city was already in ruins.
Skyscrapers collapsed.
Roads were split in half.
Ships were overturned.
And in the center of it all…
A serpent.
So massive its body wrapped around multiple districts.
Its scales were black and gold.
Its eyes glowed like suns.
Its mana pressure alone crushed buildings.
Titan Snake.
Semi Calamity.
Zenith whispered.
"…That thing is bigger than Gravizy."
Daizen clenched his fists.
"And we are the only ones here."
Riyo tried to stand.
His body shook.
"…I cannot fight."
Holo stepped forward.
Then stopped.
"…Then I will."
Everyone turned.
Holo's expression was calm.
Too calm.
"This one is mine."
Kaiser looked at him.
"…You will die."
Holo smiled faintly.
"Then simulate a future where I do not."
He walked forward alone.
The Titan Snake noticed him.
Its head lowered.
Its mouth opened.
A gravity beam fired.
The city collapsed inward.
Holo activated his hologram domain.
Thousands of copies appeared.
The beam passed through most.
One was real.
Holo was slammed into the ground.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
His ribs cracked.
He stood up anyway.
"…Not enough."
The Titan Snake charged.
The ground shattered.
Holo raised both hands.
A massive digital world formed.
He dragged the beast into a simulated dimension.
Inside, gravity inverted.
Time slowed.
Space distorted.
The Titan Snake roared and adapted.
It started breaking the simulation itself.
Holo screamed in pain.
Blood poured from his eyes.
His brain was overheating.
He pushed harder.
"…I am not losing here."
The beast crushed him with its body.
Bones snapped.
Holo's body twisted unnaturally.
Everyone watched in horror.
"Holo!" Nyx screamed.
Holo laughed weakly.
"…So this is what dying feels like."
He forced one final command.
All simulations collapsed into a single point.
The Titan Snake's core was exposed.
Holo concentrated everything.
Every calculation.
Every future.
Every possible outcome.
And erased the one where the beast lived.
The Titan Snake let out one final roar.
Then shattered into light.
The city fell silent.
Holo collapsed.
Unconscious.
Alive.
Barely.
Hiko ran to him and caught his body.
"…You idiot."
Holo smiled weakly.
"…Worth it."
Riyo looked at the ruined city.
At the exhausted students.
At the blood.
At the Absolute Rank classification on his phone.
And whispered to himself.
"…The Zodiac Era is not returning."
"It is being surpassed."
And deep inside Hiko's mind, the devil whispered.
"…Yeah. And this time, even the gods might not survive."
The Author EndOg:
Jeez, im getting to addicted to reading Manga.