I Swear I'm Not a Demon Masquerading as a Human

Chapter 81: Hyperion's Crisis

A buzzing sound reverberated in Hyperion's ears, distorting her sense of spatial perception. She watched as a silvery, liquid-like alien entity rampaged through the garden like a cannonball. With every impact, it churned up a spray of mingled silver and crimson, like steel tearing violently through soft cake.

The Rank 5 demon teacher had been standing at the classroom entrance, but he had already lost a massive chunk of his body to the silver entity. Jagged, gaping wounds tore across his frame, and blood gushed like a fountain from exposed flesh and bone, soaking into the grass. His severed remains lay motionlessly on the ground, trembling faintly like a puppet with cut strings.

All traces of life had vanished from him, leaving only hollow eyes staring helplessly up at the botanical garden's dome. The once-peaceful garden had transformed in an instant. Tranquility was swallowed by scorching black mist, plunging the area into a toxic haze filled with the rising chorus of screams.

A premonition of death gripped Hyperion's heart like an invisible, ghostly claw. An icy chill crept up her spine to her throat, making every breath feel agonizingly heavy. Her heart pounded violently, threatening to burst right out of her chest.

"Lady Hyperion... I've finally found you." Accompanying this hoarse voice, the silhouette of a figure approaching from the distant doorway grew increasingly distinct. It radiated a palpable, malicious intent that made Hyperion shudder.

Her limbs went rigid, rendering her unable to move, as if she had been bound by some form of magic. Nearby, the fragile Tier 1 Poet of Boundless Love was unable to withstand the corrosive toxic mist and quickly dissolved into a fading orange glow.

This rarely found time for relaxation and peace had instantly transformed into a bloody botanical garden of chaos and terror. The screams of the demonic students gradually faded as the silver monstrosity rampaged among them, swiftly devouring them all much like a harvester consuming weeds. With every victim, the silver entity grew ever more massive.

Hyperion wasn't worried about the Poet at the moment. When a summoned entity was "slain," it automatically reverted back to card form and returned to its owner. Of course, a cooldown period that was longer than that of a standard recall was incurred before it could be summoned again.

Right now, her concern was her own survival. The dense botanical garden was thick with the black mist of toxic magic. Amid tree trunks splattered with crimson blood, a pitch-black figure was closing in on Hyperion, moving with the focus of a predator that had locked onto its prey.

The dark figure's cloak snapped in the breeze stirring through the garden. Its stride was as steady and cold as the grim reaper's, and each step was heavy with the palpable intent to kill.

Hyperion finally saw the true face of the intruder. It was a woman with a gruesome scar across her cheek, accompanied by a servant-like warlock wreathed in black mist. Although she would have been quite beautiful without those scars, her frenzied, aggressive eyes were stained by countless past killings.

A Rank 5 challenger?

An overwhelming aura of power seemed poised to swallow Hyperion whole. She instantly cast Purify to break free from any crowd-control effects, then vanished into stealth and put some distance between herself and the enemy. Even though she had successfully concealed her presence, the classroom exit was blocked by the silver, alien-like entity, sealing off her last shred of hope and leaving her with no chance of escape.

The woman remarked as if she were deeply annoyed at having to deal with Hyperion personally, "You were supposed to just die naturally within this dungeon following the established progression."

She hadn't been certain at first if she had successfully "sniped" the right target, this particular daughter of a duke. But after interrogating numerous students along the way, she had finally picked up a trail pointing to Hyperion. A tall girl with silver hair and amber eyes had indeed been spotted in the school.

The woman controlling the silver entity was well aware that Hyperion had gone invisible and that the figure remaining in plain sight was merely a decoy. She didn't waste her energy attacking it.

The woman slowly said, "This Shadow Realm challenge must have matched two high-level experts together, triggering the headmaster protection mechanism and fulfilling the mission objectives. But for you, such luck won't strike a second time."

She didn't know where Hyperion's teammate had gone, but they were likely whiling away the time in some corridor or room elsewhere in the school.

According to intelligence received from her informant in Ikerite before she had begun the operation to assassinate Hyperion, the person who had entered the Void Gate alongside Hyperion was the top-ranked freshman from Ikerite University's Sages' College. He was a registered Iron Licensed challenger and a Rank 2 support related class.

Practical details regarding his entrance exam's results were concealed by Lawrence, the dean of the Sages' College. Therefore, he possessed potential, yet currently posed little threat.

Hyperion remained cloaked as she held her breath and focused intently. Had she not been empowered to Rank 4 by eating the special food at the restaurant, she wouldn't have even dared to tangle with this Rank 5 foe. Even so, she wasn't sure how long she could hold out!

The shadowy woman spoke to the empty air with absolute certainty, her voice heavy with murderous intent. "Miss Would-Be Duchess, come out willingly, and I'll ensure your corpse doesn't look too unsightly when I'm done with you. No one can possibly save you."

***

It was currently half past four in the morning at Ikerite University. The massive open-air screen in Gela Memorial Plaza remained illuminated, broadcasting a live feed from the Shadow Realm under the moonlight. The surrounding buildings stood silent and majestic in the night, with lights glowing from only a scattering of windows.

Students on the steps began to rise and stretch, chatting with sleepy smiles. Although they would likely be drowsy in class later, staying up all night to watch such a thrilling Shadow Realm run had been entirely worth it. Once Lance cleared the challenge and cut the feed, students began to leave the plaza steps, much like an audience departing after a movie.

The crowd in the plaza had thinned out considerably. Only a few students remained, watching the soothing scenes of the Poet enjoying herself in the demon academy's botanical garden. This played out like an ending theme, as if it was slowly tidying up before heading off.

One student commented, "I'm going to watch Lance's next Shadow Realm run too."

Another opined, "But for a Level 4 Shadow Realm challenge, there's a two-month cooldown. He won't be able to challenge another one until halfway through the semester."

Suddenly, the brightness of the warm, peaceful screen spiked violently, as if a drastic shift had occurred within the broadcast. It heralded not a pleasant surprise, but instead a blood-curdling, terrifying shriek.

The image on the screen shifted abruptly, causing many students, who had been busy cleaning up their trash, to shudder involuntarily and snap their heads up.

The students remaining on the steps cried out in alarm, "An assassin is targeting someone inside the Shadow Realm dungeon?"

Their eyes were riveted to the screen, captivated by the sudden, terrifying turn of events!

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