Forsaken By The Gods, I Made A Contract With the Demon King

The monster fully emerged from the dense vegetation, its form becoming clearer in Paradise's purple-tinged morning light. My breath caught in my throat as I took in its true size. It was massive, easily three times the height of a human, its body a horrifying combination of living shadow and crystallized essence that defied natural laws.

Each movement sent ripples through its form, like oil on disturbed water caught in strange light. The effect was hypnotic and disorienting - my eyes struggled to track any single point of its constantly shifting mass. The creature seemed to exist in multiple states simultaneously, parts of it solid while others dissolved into vapor.

Multiple eyes blinked across its surface in unsettling patterns. Some were massive, as large as dinner plates, while others were tiny as coins. All of them burned with the same inner crimson fire, and whenever they fixed on something, the air around that spot seemed to grow darker. Tendrils of pure darkness whipped around its body like living weapons, leaving trails of corrupted essence that made the very air hiss and crackle.

"Vile-rank Shadow Lurker," Derek's voice cut through our collective shock, steady and commanding. The certainty in his tone helped anchor us - he'd clearly faced such creatures before.

"Maintain distance. Sara, Jin - containment pattern. Kris, with me on the offense."

The seniors moved with the fluid coordination that comes only from extensive training together.

We were already instructed to just keep watch and not to interfere in the fights unless we are explicitly told to do so.

I did just that and observed the senior's fight.

Sara stepped forward first, her hands raised in complex gestures. Golden chains of pure light burst from the ground around the monster, their radiance a stark contrast to the creature's darkness.

She was a follower of the Radiant One God.

The main power the followers received was the affinity within the Light-type essence. And the radiant one was one of the popular gods too.

She was set to join the Radiant One sanctuary after graduating from the academy.

But that was not important now.

What's important is the power that she wielded.

'How bright..'

Some of the people compared the Radiant One God with the Sun God, but there was a clear distinction between them.

The Sun god was associated with Light and Flames where as the Radiant One was associated with Light, Healing and Judgement!

The power of wielder in the case of Radiant One was not dependent on the wielder but on the target. They get the power based on if the person in front of them deserve the punishment!

It was very interesting, that's why I was watching it with such interest!

The chains moved with purpose, trying to encircle and bind the Shadow lurker.

Jin moved in perfect synchronization with Sara's attack, his essence manifesting as translucent blue barriers that began boxing the monster in. The barriers hummed with power, each one intricately layered with multiple types of essence reinforcement. It was a masterclass in defensive technique.

"Stay in formation," Vyse ordered us juniors, her voice sharp with authority. Her essence-enhanced bangles glowed brightly as she reinforced the defensive perimeter around our group. The air around us grew thick with protective energy.

The Shadow lurker's response was terrifying. It roared - a sound that seemed to originate from everywhere and nowhere simultaneously, vibrating through both air and essence in a way that made my teeth ache. Several students covered their ears, but it did little good against a sound that seemed to bypass normal hearing.

The creature lashed out with its dark tendrils, testing Jin's barriers. Where they made contact, the blue light sizzled and sparked violently. The air filled with the acrid smell of burning essence, making my nose twitch. Each impact sent visible shockwaves through the defensive field.

Derek stepped forward then, his movements precise and confident. His hands wove complex patterns through the air, each gesture trailing essence that formed intricate symbols before fading. The air around him grew noticeably heavier with power, and suddenly the ground beneath the monster erupted in a forest of crystallized essence spikes.

The Shadow lurker writhed as the spikes pierced its form, its body distorting in impossible ways as it tried to avoid the attack. Its eyes flashed with what looked disturbingly like intelligence, all of them focusing on Derek for a moment that made my skin crawl.

Then Kris moved into position, and I understood why they called her the Essence Dancer. Her movements were graceful yet precise, each step and gesture perfectly calculated. The very air around her bent to her will as she manipulated the ambient essence. Wherever her power touched the Shadow lurker's form, the darkness began to solidify, transforming from its fluid state into something more vulnerable.

"Now!" Derek's command cracked like a whip, and all four attacking seniors struck simultaneously in a perfectly coordinated assault.

Sara's golden chains constricted violently, biting deep into the monster's now-solid flesh. The creature's essence fought against the binding light, creating spectacular displays of energy where they clashed. Jin's barriers contracted at the same moment, further limiting the Shadow lurker's movement while containing the backlash of energy.

Kris's essence control reached its peak, forcing more and more of the creature's form to crystallize. The process looked painful, if a being of shadow could feel pain. The monster's eyes rolled wildly, some closing while others stretched wide in what might have been agony.

Derek seized the moment to launch his final attack - a devastating barrage of essence spikes that struck the monster from multiple directions simultaneously. Each spike glowed with concentrated power, designed to shatter crystallized essence.

The Shadow lurker made one last desperate attempt at freedom. It thrashed violently, its eyes flashing with fury as it managed to break one of Sara's chains. But that moment of resistance cost it dearly, leaving it vulnerable to Derek's attack. The spikes struck true, shattering large portions of its crystallized form.

The monster's death was spectacular and terrifying. It exploded in a massive shower of shadow and crystal, fragments of its essence scattering across the battlefield like deadly shrapnel. Where the pieces landed, small patches of darkness smoldered ominously before gradually fading away. The air was thick with residual essence, making it hard to breathe.

"Area secure," Derek announced calmly, already moving to check the perimeter with practiced efficiency. "Everyone alright?"

I was about to relax, to let out the breath I'd been holding, when I felt it - the familiar warning tingle of Eternal Vigil activating.

Pure instinct took over before my conscious mind could process the danger. I bent sideways sharply, feeling the displacement of air as an arrow whistled past where my head had been a fraction of a second before. The projectile gleamed with poisonous essence, its dark metal drinking in the light.

Time seemed to slow as I tracked the arrow's continued path. It flew past me and found a different target - striking one of my classmates in the hand. His scream of pain shattered the post-battle quiet, the sound full of both surprise and agony.

"Ambush!" Jin's shout was accompanied by the instant manifestation of stronger barriers around our group. His reaction speed was impressive, but the attack had already found its mark.

Sara broke from the group immediately, rushing to the injured student. Her healing essence glowed with warm light as she worked to counter whatever poison had been infused into the arrow. The rest of the seniors formed a protective circle around us, their essence flaring in preparation for another attack.

I straightened slowly, my mind racing through implications and possibilities.

'Who?'

There were many names that came to mind, seeing as I was the only one targeted in the group.

Eternal Vigil's warning had saved my life, but now I had to be careful.

That level of reflexes wasn't normal for a junior student, and too much attention could be dangerous. From the corner of my eye, I caught Lyssandra staring at me, her expression unreadable but her attention uncomfortably focused.

"Multiple hostiles," Derek announced grimly, his essence sensing reaching out into the surrounding area. "At least five... no, seven signatures. Everyone back-to-back, standard defensive formation!"

The peaceful expedition had just turned into something much more dangerous. As we moved into defensive positions, I couldn't help but wonder if this was truly a random attack or if someone had been waiting for us. Either way, the real test was just beginning. And this time, I might not be able to hide all my abilities. Explore new worlds at empire

The weight of the kusarigama at my sides suddenly felt more significant. I might need them soon, and stealth might have to take a backseat to survival.

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