Chapter 118: Demon Academy!

The welcoming words of Arannis Larethian was like a gate that the various students of differing races stood before. The murmurs of Humans and Elves alike stilled under his gaze. He was not loud, he was not aggressive, and yet, his authority was a mountain no one could casually climb.

With a graceful sweep of his arm, he gestured towards the yawning gates of blackened steel and stone, “Follow quickly, The Demon Capital is not kind to those who linger.”

The Demon guards, armored in plates of obsidian metal veined with glowing red runes, stepped aside in perfect synchronization. Their eyes followed every Human and Elf that crossed the threshold intensely.

The various Elven & Human students moved in their own individual groups, still stealing glances of each-other as they followed Arannis.

Nocturna was just as Albedo remembered it, a magnificent city filled with immense luxury. High-rise towers lined with arcane constructs that perpetually shifted on their own accord.

The various wide streets home to immense markets, each store, stall and/or boutique decorated beautifully and holding products of all shapes & sizes.

They could hear the roars of the gladiator pits as they walked, and they could see the various types of Demons staring at them.

Most were simply Humanoid Demons or Vampires, but others had monstrous physiques that could be more detailed as monsters than humanoid, and many of them took glances at both the Elves and Humans, analyzing them.

“We’re coming up on the Academy soon,” Arannis said, pointing ahead where the students could see the silhouette of the Demon Academy becoming clearer and clearer in the distance.

Twelve spires spiraling upward like talons toward the sky, each etched with runes so massive they could be seen from streets away. Its walls shimmered faintly, warded against both scrying and attack.

The entire environment seemed to be intentionally designed to be unclear, as it was surrounded by a weird spacial haze that blocked all the students from seeing the Academy clearly.

“What is that?” Was a common question Albedo could hear whispered by many of the students as they spotted the spacial haze.

He was sure Arannis and the others could also hear these questions, but they selectively ignored it, and Arannis’ stride never faltered as he guided the delegations through the final stretch of Nocturna’s streets.

The spires of the Academy loomed closer, yet the strange haze made their size and shape bend and ripple as though seen through warped glass. The closer they drew, the more oppressive and alien the sensation became, like walking toward the skin of a great beast that refused to reveal its true form.

At last, they arrived at the base of the twelve talons of stone and rune. The haze roiled around them like smoke caught in still air, shifting yet never dispersing. There was no gate in sight, no door, no archway. Only a rippling wall of distorted space, humming faintly with power.

It was quite a unique sight that had all of the students murmuring amongst themselves. Elves narrowed their eyes, trying to pierce the weave using Magic but being unable to, while other recoiled from the unnatural presence and waited for Arannis to explain what was going on.

Arannis himself just stopped, folding his hands neatly behind his back as he addressed them without turning.

“The Demon Academy is not exactly built in Nocturna, nor on the same plane as this city. It exists within a crafted dimension, an environment where space, mana, and resources can be expanded infinitely. Here, we nurture strength without restriction.”

His piercing blue eyes swept briefly across the Humans, then the Elves.

“You may think of this haze as its skin. Step through, and you step into a world unlike any you have known. Breathe deeply there, for the mana will not suffocate you… it will test you. If you cannot endure even that, then you do not belong. It’s the first test all Demons take when attending the Academy, I hope none of you fail,”

With that speech completed, he extended a hand and pressed lightly against the haze, channeling his mana into it.

Immediately, everyone could see a reaction as the air rippled outward like water disturbed by a stone, a faint circle shimmering with concentric runes. Without hesitation, Arannis stepped through. His figure dissolved in rippling light, gone in an instant.

The delegations hesitated only a moment. Then Raphaeline’s wings shifted faintly as she strode forward, vanishing without so much as a backward glance. Kayle followed soon after, posture regal and unwavering.

The Student Council followed soon after and then everyone’s nerves disappeared.

Zeus grinned wide, golden eyes alight. “Finally, something worth seeing.” He barreled through with a booming laugh.

One by one, the others followed. Albedo stepped through, the sensation like plunging through a veil of cool water.

***

It was an extremely fast transfer, and they were immediately awed by the world they spotted on the other side.

Gone was the haze, the oppressive shadow of Nocturna’s black stone towers and here was a new magnificent environment.

Here the sky stretched wide, an endless dome of shifting hues, deep sapphire bleeding into shimmering auroras that moved like living rivers.

The air was alive, rich with mana so pure it tingled against skin and teeth, thrumming in the marrow. Each breath was like inhaling light itself.

The immense purity and amount of the mana was also a test for the students to adapt, but since everyone here could be described as geniuses, everyone managed to adapt relatively easily aside from maybe some small initial discomfort.

Before them sprawled the true Demon Academy.

Dozens of colossal structures dotted the landscape, cathedrals of obsidian and crystal, palaces carved with glowing glyphs and they could spot halls so vast they could have housed entire cities.

Albedo couldn’t even understand what they needed all that space for. However, using Source Code, he realized that each of the buildings were enchanted by Spacial Spells that massively enhanced the amount of available space to the maximum.

It was a smart use of space. In truth, the Demon Academy was probably over 100x bigger than just the size of the buildings all of them could see, and that impressed Albedo quite a-lot.

He could also spot bridges of runelight connected spires across the sky, their surfaces gleaming with moving platforms that carried students effortlessly between towers.

Vast training fields stretched into the horizon, some lined with dueling circles that erupted with sparks as Demon students clashed. Others resembled natural landscapes, dense forests, mountain ridges, frozen tundra, all artificially conjured, each teeming with elemental mana.

They were most likely where the exams took place, which allowed things to move more smoothly compared to back in Zephyr Academy where they’d teleport to differing dimensions.

Albedo could even spot various monsters and an entire natural ecosystem in these biomes using Source Code.

And crisscrossing it all were Mana-Trains that glided soundlessly along rails that shimmered with arrays, darting between spires and courtyards like veins pumping lifeblood through the Academy.

Everywhere they looked, students moved around minding their own business. Some striding across the training grounds with their pet beasts at their sides, while others hovered mid air practicing flight arrays.

Sparks of fire, ice, and shadow lit the sky where spell duels raged high above. The sheer density of strength was overwhelming.

They could sense students from the Bronze Rank all the way up to Peak Amethyst, and various Demonic Professors who, although they didn’t flare their aura to show off their power, Albedo could be sure they were at least Diamond Rank in strength.

The Humans and Elves froze in awe. Even the most arrogant among them, such as William and Morgan, felt their throats tighten at the sight.

Arannis reappeared ahead of them, standing upon a hovering platform that overlooked a vast central plaza where thousands of Demon students had gathered. His voice carried effortlessly across the impossible expanse.

“Welcome,” he said, tone neither warm nor cold, “You have stepped into the true heart of the Demon Kingdom. Here, strength is not requested. It is demanded. You will live, train, and struggle here, among my students.”

He gestured to the side, and as though in answer, a sleek Mana-Train glided to a halt along the nearest runed track. Its carriages shimmered faintly with layered enchantments, their blacksteel surfaces etched in glowing crimson sigils. Doors slid open soundlessly.

“Board,” Arannis commanded, his voice carrying no room for hesitation.

The delegations obeyed, Humans and Elves both stepping inside with varying degrees of unease. The interior of the train was spacious, lined with obsidian benches and crystalline windows that pulsed faintly with mana.

When the last of them entered, the doors sealed shut with a hiss of power, and the train lurched forward, propelled not by wheels but by glowing glyphs along the rail.

The world outside blurred into streaks of aurora-colored light as they hurtled across the Academy’s vast expanse. Through the windows, the visitors glimpsed sprawling training fields, towering halls, and entire ecosystems teeming with life. It was like watching fragments of worlds stitched together, every piece of it thrumming with impossible energy.

At last, the train slowed, gliding into a hovering platform overlooking one of the open fields. The doors slid open again, and a wash of crisp mana-laden air spilled inside.

“Step out,” Arannis instructed.

They obeyed, and the sight before them drew every breath from their lungs.

The field was vast, wider than entire cities back home, with grass like polished emerald glass, glowing faintly in the aurora light above.

At its center stood a gathering of Demon students, a hundred strong, each one radiating power. They were the same age as the Humans and Elves and most of them were Peak Silver or Gold Rank.

Some stood with weapons at their sides, others idly conjured flames or shadows in their palms, as though daring their new peers to measure themselves.

A few leaned on beasts twice their size, monstrous companions whose eyes gleamed with intelligence. The Demons watched their arriving counterparts with open curiosity, disdain, or outright challenge.

Arannis descended the platform last, his robes whispering faintly against the mana-charged air. His voice carried once more, calm but resonant.

“These are your peers. The students of your Year. They are the ones you will live beside, train beside, fight beside… or against. They will not hold back because of your origin. And neither should you.”

He let the words hang, his piercing gaze sweeping across Humans, Elves, and Demons alike.

“From this moment,” Arannis declared, his tone final, “the Exchange begins.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep