---

Chapter 113: I Can Tell at a Glance You’re Not Human

Diya Cassandra, the current leader of the Purple Magic School, is the mastermind behind Leanna’s tragic fate, having seized control of the school by murdering its former head over a decade ago.

In the original story, he was merely a name mentioned in passing, lacking any displayed power.

Roy had never underestimated him, but he was still surprised when Diya’s true identity exceeded his expectations.

“Who exactly are you?”

“What a strange question, Adventurer. You don’t even know who I am and yet you’re involved…”

“Cut the nonsense,” Roy interrupted coldly, stating firmly, “That attack just now was neither a spell from a Purple Mage nor a trick of a cultist.”

It was a power that didn’t appear in the original story and was not mentioned in Roland’s notes.

However, Roy had deduced the gist of it through elimination.

“You’re not human at all.”

Diya paused, then covered his mouth, his chuckle light at first, which quickly escalated into laughter, then morphed into a chilling cackle.

Soon, the laughter turned dark and haunting, as Diya’s jaw literally split open, revealing obsidian fangs. His frame bulged with muscle, his skin deepening to a black hue adorned with grotesque purple veins, while his hands transformed into sharp, glinting claws. From his back emerged a pair of scythe-like wings.

Without Roy needing to say a word, even Leanna finally recognized his true form, whispering in disbelief, “Demon Race…?!”

Since the demon tide at the beginning of the Third Era, the Demon Race had been defeated and isolated beyond the Desperate Defense Line. Apart from small-scale disturbances near the borders, they had nearly vanished from human sight.

Demons were the vanquished foes of heroes, no longer a threat to humanity. The so-called three great enemies of mankind felt more like an afterthought, added to the history books alongside beasts and cultists.

This had become common knowledge among all Veszyrans.

Yet, faced with the reality before him, what awakened was an instinctual dread and fear of a demon, a being entirely different and more powerful than humans.

“To be precise, I am part of the Demon Race.” Diya corrected, bowing with his twisted and terrifying form.

“Allow me to introduce myself; I am Diabolus, a cadre of the Flame Demon Ifrit, one of the Four Heavenly Kings.”

“Hmph, so Diya was merely a disguise…” Leanna murmured, finally understanding how easily he seized power.

It was rumored that demons were crafty and powerful, holding a high status among their kind. Her father likely died without fully uncovering Diya’s identity.

At this thought, Leanna couldn’t help but ask the question that had haunted her for years.

“You went through all this trouble to take control of the Purple Magic School; what on earth is your goal?”

“My goal? How could I ever tell the enemy my true intentions?” Diabolus squinted, openly reveling in delight, “However, from a personal standpoint, mingling among humans, seizing their legacies, and watching you all tear each other apart is incredibly entertaining.”

Leanna’s breath quickened, her purple eyes growing cold, only to soften slightly when Roy took her hand.

At that moment, Malfoy let out a faint groan.

“Get… away…”

“You can’t win…”

“Don’t say any more,” Roy casually sprinkled holy water on Malfoy.

Holy water worked better than any healing potion, and Malfoy’s wound began to visibly heal at an impressive rate.

“Let’s hurry and get out of here,” Roy sighed helplessly.

The red mage struggled, “But, you guys can’t do it alone…”

This battle should have belonged to the academy.

Adventurers were outsiders, and Leanna was a student; he shouldn’t abandon them.

Roy said coldly, “You’d just be a hindrance if you stayed.”

Even with holy water, Malfoy was just barely holding on.

Hearing this from Roy, Malfoy had to suppress his reluctance and staggered away.

The demon looked down at all this, not bothering to intervene, as if crushing an ant would be too much effort.

At that moment, Leanna suddenly stepped forward to stand in front of Roy.

Her anger didn’t cloud her judgment.

“Junior, you should leave too.”

“Sister?”

“We can’t win.”

Leanna’s tone was light, but it weighed heavily in Roy’s ears.

Did he not understand?

Mid-tier extraordinary beings were truly capable beings, possessing the strength to turn the tide of battle.

But if he were only facing a Sequence 6 opponent, even someone like the Death Knight, Roy felt confident.

But Sequence 5 was different.

Sequence 5 was renowned for fighting against a thousand foes, in the truest sense, capable of determining the outcome of a battle.

Setting aside those extraordinary mythical creatures, without a doubt, this was the strongest enemy Roy had ever faced.

And the opponent was a demon, often more formidable than human extraordinary beings of the same level, which also meant he had no informational advantage.

In fact, just the pressure from a Sequence 5 emanated made Roy’s heart race and breath shallow.

But so what?

From the very beginning, Roy had been prepared to face this moment.

“I won’t leave.”

“Roy!” Leanna turned back, somewhat irritated.

But Roy merely looked at her calmly, retorting, “Who do you think I came here for?”

“If anyone’s leaving, it should be you.”

Leanna bit her lip, seemingly wanting to say something, but looking at the boy’s calm face, her emotions ebbed slightly, morphing into a resigned sigh.

She hadn’t expected this day would come when she couldn’t argue with him.

Facing a Sequence 5, a demon capable of easily defeating three Sequence 6 mages, this fight was undoubtedly life-threatening.

Strangely enough, standing alongside this young man, she didn’t feel afraid.

Leanna turned back toward the distant demon, glancing slyly with a soft smile that exuded charm, “This is my battle; besides, leaving a junior behind would be quite irresponsible for a senior.”

“Funny, I think a guy who abandons a girl is also pretty irresponsible,” Roy remarked, drawing his sword toward the distant demon with a leisurely tone.

Just then, the long-silent demon grinned fiercely.

“Let’s wrap up the arguments, shall we?”

“After all, none of you will be leaving.”

Diabolus lightly unfurled his wings and leaped down. Just that action unleashed a terrifying wave of extraordinary power, sending visible purple shockwaves that scattered surrounding debris.

“Let’s see, who should I start with…?”

Before he could finish, with a flash, the cloaked swordsman charged forth, sword raised.

Sparks erupted.

In an instant, Roy closed the distance to Diabolus, striking with all his might, only for his claws to effortlessly deflect the blow.

With a mere flick, Roy felt a force like a thunderbolt rebound against him, forcing him back violently.

But his movements remained perfectly composed.

With a three-level disparity in bloodline ranking, it was no surprise he couldn’t match the demon’s strength.

However, he had long been prepared, projecting a second longsword into his hand.

With both swords out, he unleashed a flurry of swordplay that wove an impenetrable web of blades.

Diabolus, with just one hand, matched the flowing golden sword light, his gaze not even bothering to settle on Roy.

An unremarkable close-combat extraordinary being, at most a Sequence 7, wasn’t worth his attention.

However, Leanna was not your ordinary Sequence 6, and he needed to exert a bit more caution…

In that fleeting instant of thought, Diabolus suddenly froze.

Because the blades that met his own were suffused with rich blood energy, unleashing tremendous power, smashing right through his claws and closing in!