OLD-WORLD EXTRA

***

Meanwhile, in another place, at the same time...

A man in a white cloak stared a cohort of students down, a cold smile playing on his lips.

He stood still, a wave of heat radiating from him.

With Elijah in the lead, Quinn, Aria, and Junior instinctively took their stances, preparing for the worst.

The four understood that this was no test. Readying themselves for the hurt they knew was inevitable.

"Oh~."

Letting out a low chuckle, the man raised his hand and opened his palm.

"Since you already picked up on what I'm here for, let's not waste any time, shall we?"

A dark red flame materialized above it.

"Remember you died in my Hell. Wit."

The flame began to dance, and he blew his hand, extinguishing it.

"Don't freeze up..."

Elijah muttered, his eyes never leaving Wit's, while his mind raced through possible strategies.

"We'll live a few minutes longer if we do this right."

The priest didn't give him a chance to speak further.

With an unseen motion, he raised his left hand, matching his right, and clapped, conjuring a wall of fire that erupted from the ground behind them, cutting off their retreat.

The heat was intense, the flames roaring like a beast ready to devour.

Aria looked at it with slight panic, her heart pounding in her chest, but she steeled herself, gripping her staff tighter.

"No turning back now!"

Elijah was the first to move, Quinn right after him, nearing a shop to Wit's right.

He quickly activated Grim Veil, shrouding his soul in a dark mist that made his form difficult to track, and dashed forward, closing the distance between himself and Wit.

Just as he reached him, he swung his daggers in cross-motion, inwardly chanting Spectral Scythe.

His daggers went forth, and an ethereal scythe materialized above Wit, spinning downwards to cleave his head off.

Wit grinned, conjuring a Flaming Tornado around him just before any of Elijah's attacks could reach.

The vortex of fire exploded upwards, pushing away everything around it.

Elijah was forced to leap back to avoid being engulfed by the flames, barely managing to escape uns

That single exchange showed the difference in power between them, but no one in the cohort was discouraged.

They already knew that it was an unwinnable fight; seeing evidence of it changed nothing.

Instead, they chose to go out in a blaze of glory.

Aria attacked next, planning to use Wit's ability against him.

She aimed her staff and chanted in a low voice:

"Thorn Volley."

Sharp green thorns, each one the size of her hand, shot out her staff, all aimed at Wit's chest.

While midair, they suddenly experienced a speed boost.

The reason was clear: Junior had activated his Aegis Radiance, buffing all his allies.

This sudden acceleration might have caught a different opponent off guard, but Wit remained unfazed.

He flicked his right hand, and the tornado collapsed, unleashing mini Dragon's Breaths that erupted in all directions.

Torrents of searing flames incinerated the thorns before they could even near him, destroying the surrounding walls at the same time.

Junior charged forward to meet what remained of the attack with his wall shield, blocking a tiny lick of flame that came in his cohort's direction.

As he got pushed back slightly, he raised his newly acquired Glaive, another of Emir's rewards, activating Aetheric Blade.

The glaive's blade, now coated with Aether, tore through the air, aimed at Wit, intent on tearing through him, but the man barely flinched.

Instead, he lashed out with a Lava Whip.

The molten weapon cracked through the air, reaching Junior before his glaive could land. Junior's eyes widened, barely managing to hide behind his shield in time.

But that didn't matter.

The force of the impact sent him flying back, heat radiating through him as his body rolled across the ground.

At that exact moment, Quinn finally revealed herself, attacking him from the left.

As she took Wit's attention away, both Elijah and Aria attacked from the right.

"Aether Blast!"

Quinn didn't hesitate to use half her reserves, sending a beam of concentrated Aether directly towards his chest.

Two other abilities came at him as well.

Elijah's Spectral Scythe was spinning through the air while Aria's Thorn Volley shot out.

Wit simply grinned, barely moving as he watched their attacks near him.

Then suddenly, a small blue orb appeared directly in front of him, floating in the air.

Elijah knew what that was.

A Grain of Hell.

That flame absorbed everything they threw at him with ease, devouring the Aether for breakfast, dispersing harmlessly around him once it was done.

The priest retaliated immediately, summoning Hell's Rain-a storm of molten rocks and balls of pure fire that fell from the ceiling.

"AETHERIC BULWARK!"

Junior summoned a shield directly above them, momentarily protecting Elijah and Aria.

Quinn was left unprotected.

She was still to the right of Wit, not allowed the chance to regroup with her cohort.

Thankfully, the girl could take care of herself, activating her Aetheric Shield.

She managed to avoid the larger projectiles, leaving her shield to deflect some of the smaller

fragments.

"Dammit... Where are the professors?!"

Quinn cursed under her breath, constantly being reminded of just how outmatched they were

with each life-ending hit her shield tanked.

If this kept up, they would die; that was guaranteed.

They faced an impossible choice: kill a Seraphim as second sub-rank Ascendants-something even Emir couldn't manage—or die a dog's death in this ruin for nothing but a fanatical

creed.

It felt hopeless, yet they couldn't back down.

If they were going to die, they might as well die trying.

"RAH!"

Junior swung his glaive, only for the Wit to catch the blade mid-swing with a single hand.

Wit's grip tightened, bending the metal slightly before he pushed it away, shoving Junior

back.

Quinn dodged another fireball and closed in, lunging at him, her sword glowing.

But Wit sidestepped her strike with ease, sweeping her legs out from under her and sending

her sprawling to the ground.

Elijah darted in, attempting to catch him off guard with a quick slash to the side, but wit twisted his body just enough to avoid the attack, retaliating with a powerful backhand that

sent him crashing into the ground.

Aria tried to ensnare him with Entangling Roots, but he burned through them with one fireball, the flames searing the ground where the roots once were.

Wit was toying with them, his expression showing a mix of boredom and irritation.

"Elijah! We need to coordinate!"

Quinn called out, desperate enough to plead to her enemy's little brother.

"Give us a plan! Anything!"

Elijah didn't need to be told; his mind had already come up with something.

"Aria, cover us with your roots! Junior, you and I will create an opening!"

Their Forest Weaver wasted no time.

Her staff waved through the air as she chanted the spell.

Another set of thick, thorny roots erupted from the ground, surging towards Wit like snakes,

intent to bind him in place.

Wit sneered, flicking his hand to counter with a Dragon's Breath.

But Junior interfered, deflecting the attack slightly with his wall shield.

He did it long enough for the roots to ensnare the Wits legs.

Elijah saw his chance.

He snuck in from behind and swung his scythe just as he got in range.

Wit didn't bother to dodge, smacking the side of the scythe with his fiery hand, breaking it.

That was a mistake.

Even though he dismantled the attack, he shouldn't have touched a Reaper carelessly, even if

it was a student.

The figure of a hooded humanoid engraved itself into where he touched the scythe.

A Death Mark had been cast on him.

He looked up in surprise, not expecting Elijah to be a fourth-ability Reaper at such a young

age.

It wasn't one of the most rarely sighted of the ten specializations for no reason. Besides the stigma being a factor, it was a hard path to walk, so Wit's surprise was more than

understandable.

However, he quickly regained his composure, shaking off the rising weakness creeping

through his body.

Wit anticipated Elijah's next attack-two daggers aimed directly at his neck.

He could've dodged, but he couldn't move.

Aria's roots were still wrapped around his feet.

It would take him a second to break free, but that time would be plenty enough for Elijah's

daggers to reach him.

"Good."

In a blur of motion, Wit shot both hands forward, fingers spreading like claws as they snapped

around the blades, halting the attack.

Tiny cracks formed at the points of contact, and Elijah quickly stepped back, recognizing

failure for what it was.

This allowed Quinn the freedom to follow up.

Her sword glowed further dark as she stepped near and slashed at the Wit's midsection.

The blade cut through his cloak, catching him off guard since he was still recovering from

repelling Elijah.

|| ||

No blood was drawn.

The sword was stuck, barely digging an inch into his skin.

Wit looked at her, marking the moment when one second had passed.

His legs were freed; he had kicked the roots apart, breaking their hold.

Quinn didn't move, not because she couldn't, but because she wanted to.

Her sword dug itself further into him, a poor attempt meant to hold him back.

"NOW!"

The cohort launched their attacks from all directions-a scythe, a glaive, and roots.

"Good, good~."

With a chuckle, Wit activated his Flaming Tornado once more.

Before the vortex of flames could fully materialize, Quinn kicked his back, yanking her sword

free as quickly as she could.

His body didn't even flinch, nor did his ability waver. Flames erupted around him, surging upward and searing Quinn's hands.

It bounced off their attacks, forcing them all to retreat while incinerating Aria's roots.

"АНННН-!"

Quinn barely stifled her scream, quickly joining her cohort and positioning herself behind

Junior.

Wit stared at them through the flames and stepped forward, interest burning in his eyes.

"Really, great effort. Except for him and another cohort in your batch, no one your age can

match you..."

He admitted, his voice laced with obvious amusement.

But that faded with his next words:

"It's truly unfortunate that you'll die today."