After leaving the club for a while, Noctis decided to head to the library. Joining a club with a hefty membership fee of 500 points allowed him to skip classes freely without any concerns. To him, the library had always been a quiet sanctuary, perfect for contemplating his next moves.
Upon entering, he gave a slight nod to the librarian. She was an elderly woman, her graying hair neatly tied back, sharp eyes peering from behind thick glasses. Noticing Noctis, she furrowed her brows and reminded him:
"Don't go too deep into the library today. The Keeper of Knowledge is there. Remember? He still holds a grudge against you for ruining his favorite book last time."
Noctis spent several hours absorbing five books on history and artifacts from polluted creatures. It was a fascinating collection, so he committed it all to memory for further research at home. After some thought, he decided to grab lunch, but just as he was about to leave and bid farewell to the old librarian, the academy’s alarm blared through the halls, sending waves of panic across the campus.
A booming voice soon overpowered the alarm:
"Attention all students! A level-nine Void Rift has appeared near the academy’s gate. All students must evacuate immediately! Seek out faculty members, disciplinary committee members, or members of the Genius Club for assistance. I repeat…!"
Noctis glanced at the elderly librarian. She was visibly shaken, whereas he remained calm. This could be an opportunity to collect some Blessing Shards from the polluted creatures. However, revealing too much of his true strength wasn’t an option. He hesitated, deep in thought, until the librarian yelled at him, urging him to evacuate immediately.
It was then that Noctis remembered—he was a member of the Genius Club. He could use that as an excuse to avoid suspicion if questioned by the academy later. After all, the Genius Club operated under the school's direct support, and its members were expected to handle situations like this.
Turning to the librarian, he urged her to leave first. A short while later, the only ones left in the library were him and, presumably, the Keeper of Knowledge. But Noctis wasn’t concerned; the Keeper was known to be tight-lipped.
Summoning [Living Nightmare], he shaped it into a black cloak and a demonic mask with curved horns. Checking his reflection through a fragment of [Living Nightmare] to ensure his identity was concealed, he leaped into the shadows, blending in seamlessly with {Assimilation into Darkness}, and watched as the Void Rift continued to manifest—his heart caught between fear and excitement.
---
Meanwhile, chaos reigned across the academy. Teachers and students worked together to evacuate through the emergency exits at the rear. Within the Genius Club, Celia, Roselie, and Helena remained seated calmly. All three possessed the strength to protect themselves until reinforcements from the Church arrived. Celia finally spoke:
"What a coincidence. Not only did we meet Noctis today, but now a level-nine Void Rift has appeared as well."
Roselie and Helena nodded in agreement, though a shadow of concern soon crossed Helena's face.
"What about Sephera? Did she manage to evacuate in time?"
At the mention of Sephera, even Celia and Roselie—the two coldest members of the group—showed a flicker of worry for their friend.
---
In the vice principal’s office—a grand chamber exuding aristocratic elegance—an elderly man with graying hair but unwavering dignity sat in contemplation, his deep black eyes betraying a hint of concern. He muttered under his breath:
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
"The headmaster isn’t here. I’ll have to hold out until the Church arrives. Though I am at level 7 and can eliminate level-9 polluted creatures, things could turn dire if an enemy emerges with abilities that counter mine, or if their numbers become overwhelming… or worse, if a mutated level-8 or level-7 creature appears."
Despite his concerns, he rose from his chair and strode toward the schoolyard, ready to face a life-and-death battle.
---
Just a few dozen meters from the academy’s entrance, the air twisted violently. Streaks of black and purple light crackled in the void, forming a massive vortex that tore through space, opening a Void Rift that spewed forth dark, writhing energy. From within, creatures began to emerge—formless abominations, hulking beasts with searing red skin, hybrid beings with the bodies of wolves and wings of birds, and amorphous masses of flesh riddled with unblinking eyes. Skeletal figures, rotting corpses, and wandering phantoms all spilled forth, driven by an insatiable hunger for destruction.
From a vantage point above, Noctis observed the grotesque scene. He was slightly taken aback by the sheer variety of creatures, but what concerned him more was their overwhelming numbers. Hundreds of polluted beings poured out, forcing him to mutter a curse under his breath:
"Damn it."
Regret crept in—his decision to take this risk might have been reckless. Could he really handle them with just [Living Nightmare], [Demonic Eye], and [Counteract]?
Sighing, Noctis steeled himself. There was no turning back. If necessary, he would use [Demonic Eye]. After all, he had recently discovered an upgrade to it. During his downtime—while waiting for Celia to arrive for the Genius Club interview—he had delved into his soul sea and reevaluated his abilities, stumbling upon the unexpected enhancement to [Demonic Eye].
Previously, it merely doubled all attributes, including Blessing abilities. But now, it had gained two additional effects:
[Weakness Detection]: "You can perceive the weaknesses of your enemies."
[Madman’s Indifference]: "For 15 minutes, you will enter a state of emotional detachment, focusing solely on a predetermined objective."
The discovery had left Noctis shocked, but he had forced himself to suppress his excitement in front of the girls.
Now, observing the battlefield from above, he found the contaminated creatures uncoordinated. They wandered in different directions in the academy without a goal. However, some seem to be following orders - especially a 4 meter tall figure with the head of a tiger, horns of a goat, legs of a horse and the muscular arms of a beast. In one hand it held a cup of blood.
"That one looks like the leader," Noctis murmured. But he wasn’t foolish enough to attack it outright. Instead, he sought out stragglers—isolated creatures that had been left behind.
His eyes locked onto a pack of five wolf-like creatures, their soulless eyes and gaping maws filled with writhing tendrils. Accompanied by four other polluted beings, they sniffed the ground as if tracking prey.
"If I let them be, they’ll find the students who haven’t evacuated yet."
Seizing the opportunity, Noctis dove from above, summoning [Living Nightmare] into a pitch-black tachi. He plunged the blade into a creature’s neck, spraying black blood across the ground. With a swift spin, he decapitated four more.
He then disappeared into the shadows, dodging the blows from the remaining four creatures. He jumped from behind a lizard-headed creature, swinging his tachi gracefully to take its head off of the lizard creature then quickly turned around and took off another head of a polluted creature shaped like an insect's body but with the head of a snake
But taking on nine enemies alone was no easy feat. Behind him, a fox-faced horror lunged, its maw stretching wide enough to swallow him whole.
However, Noctis was not alone.
[Living Nightmare] had a perfect 360-degree awareness and alerted him in time. Without hesitation, he commanded it to form a long, jagged spike from his cloak, driving it through the fox’s gaping throat and out the back of its skull.
The last enemy—a massive bat-headed serpent—let out a piercing shriek, releasing toxic soundwaves.
Noctis didn’t give it the chance. His tachi sliced through its head before the attack could take effect.
From afar, the tiger-headed leader had taken notice.
Rage boiled over, and it let out a deafening roar, killing several of its own minions in the process. Then, without hesitation, it began devouring them—tearing into their bodies, drinking their blood.
As Noctis watched, disgust twisted his expression. But something else caught his eye—the creature was growing.
"If I don’t take it down soon, this academy will be drenched in blood before the Church arrives."
Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Noctis made his decision.
Then, with a chilling calmness, he activated [Madman’s Indifference] and dove toward the monstrous commander, his heart devoid of fear.