The Academy's Doomed Side Character

Chapter 356: The Masked Woman [4]

Fusion.

That was the only option left.

There was no time to think about the consequences.

No time to worry about what would happen to my body afterward.

If I failed to stop that attack, everyone here would die.

Ryan.

Leo.

Professor Lena.

Me.

The entire area would be erased.

And I wasn’t willing to die just because I was afraid of the cost.

The red woman slowly raised her fist.

There was no proper stance.

No complex technique.

No preparation.

Just a simple punch.

But that was only because she didn’t need any of those things.

The overwhelming crimson energy gathering around her fist had already surpassed techniques and forms.

There were probably only a handful of people in the entire world capable of blocking that attack head-on.

So I made my decision.

"Fusion."

The moment the word left my mouth, something connected.

My vision blurred.

The world tilted.

And then—

Another consciousness merged with mine.

A familiar presence.

Ancient.

Proud.

Unyielding.

Zhao Yuren opened his eyes through my body.

For the first time since this battle began, genuine shock appeared on his face.

His gaze locked onto the red energy surrounding the masked woman.

And he froze.

As if he had witnessed something that shouldn’t exist.

Something that violated common sense itself.

A low voice echoed inside my head.

—A truly twisted being.

The next moment—

The red woman threw her punch.

BOOOOOOOOM—!!!

The world exploded.

The crimson torrent erupted forward like a river breaking through a dam.

No.

A river wasn’t enough.

It looked like an ocean.

An endless flood of life force rushing forward with enough power to bury everything in its path.

Ryan moved first.

"Block it!"

Holy power erupted from his shield.

Golden light blazed brighter than ever before.

The holy barrier met the incoming torrent.

For an instant, it held.

Then—

CRACK.

The holy light shattered.

Not weakened.

Not pushed back.

Shattered.

Like fragile glass struck by a hammer.

"...Ugh...!?"

Ryan coughed blood as the backlash threw him through several collapsed walls.

His shield spun away into the darkness.

Then Leo stepped forward.

His protective qi erupted outward.

Layer after layer of mana condensed into a defensive wall.

The strongest defense he could create.

The crimson torrent crashed into it.

BOOOOOOM!

The barrier survived for less than a second.

"...Gah?!"

The protective qi burst apart violently.

Leo’s body was launched across the battlefield like a ragdoll before disappearing into the debris.

Just like that.

The two strongest students of their generation had fallen.

Without resistance.

Without accomplishing anything.

The battlefield became silent.

Only two figures remained standing.

Me.

And the red woman.

Zhao Yuren didn’t hesitate.

The instant Ryan and Leo fell, he seized complete control.

As if he already knew.

As if he understood that this wasn’t an attack that could be blocked through ordinary means.

My primal qi vanished at a terrifying speed.

Consumed.

Burned.

Converted into power.

Lan appeared in his hands.

Not in its spear form.

Not as a blade.

A staff.

The form he knew best.

The form he had wielded for countless battles.

Then he moved.

SWOOOSH!

The staff traced a line through the air.

The strike landed against the crimson torrent.

Yet the ocean of life force didn’t stop.

It didn’t even slow down.

The first strike changed nothing.

The second strike followed.

Then the third.

The fourth.

The fifth.

The sixth.

Each movement was perfect.

Each strike contained principles far beyond my understanding.

Lines overlapped.

The lines became planes.

The planes became barriers.

A defensive domain formed from countless precise strikes.

The crimson torrent finally began to tremble.

Not because it was weakening.

But because Zhao Yuren was forcibly redirecting it.

One strike.

Ten strikes.

Twenty strikes.

Fifty strikes.

The staff became a blur.

The battlefield disappeared beneath an endless storm of motion.

My muscles screamed.

My bones cracked.

My meridians felt as though they were being torn apart.

But Zhao Yuren didn’t stop.

A hundred strikes.

Two hundred.

Three hundred.

Only then did the torrent begin losing momentum.

The crimson flood started shifting.

Its direction changed ever so slightly.

Sweat streamed down my face.

My hands felt like they were splitting apart.

My throat burned.

Every breath tasted like blood.

The slightest mistake would send that attack into the surrounding city.

Thousands would die.

So Zhao Yuren continued.

Five hundred strikes.

Seven hundred.

Eight hundred.

Nine hundred.

The world became nothing but red light and the shadow of a swinging staff.

Then—

One thousand.

BOOOOOOOOOOM—!!!

The final strike landed.

The entire crimson torrent twisted upward.

Like a dragon being forced into the sky.

The ocean of life shot into the heavens.

The clouds above exploded apart.

A massive scar appeared across the sky itself.

Only then did the attack finally disappear.

Silence.

The battlefield fell completely silent.

My legs nearly gave out.

"...Crazy."

That was all I could say.

The pain hit me immediately afterward.

Every muscle in my body screamed.

My arms felt detached.

My chest burned.

Even breathing hurt.

Inside my mind, Zhao Yuren’s exhausted voice echoed.

—I apologize.

For the first time, he sounded tired.

—This is my limit.

The connection weakened.

Control returned to me.

The overwhelming presence vanished.

Leaving only my battered body behind.

I staggered forward.

Barely remaining standing.

Then I looked up.

And froze.

The red woman was still standing there.

Completely unharmed.

No signs of exhaustion.

No heavy breathing.

No visible injuries.

Instead—

She was smiling.

A bright smile.

A delighted smile.

The smile of someone who had just discovered a fascinating toy.

"...You’re kidding."

My voice came out weakly.

The woman tilted her head.

Then, as if the previous attack had cost her absolutely nothing—

She slowly raised her fist again.

Crimson light gathered around it.

Once more.

And for the first time since this battle began—

I felt genuine despair.

I was going to die.

Thousands thoughts scattered across my headeas as I faced my death.

From old life to this current life.

And from all these memories of my existence one thought surfaced more than any other thoughts could.

’I want live....!!’