Aldomite and his companions, driven by the desperate urgency to reach their friends at the inn, raced through the cavernous vault toward the exit. Their desperate rush ended abruptly at a dead end, where a massive, horned demon stood, its eyes glowing with malevolence, flanked by someone entirely unexpected: the revered Principal Hector.
The sight delivered a paralyzing, gut-wrenching blow of disbelief to Aldomite. Was this the truth? Was this gentle, kind man the one giving the orders? A searing wave of betrayal washed over him, far colder than the air in the vault.
A raw, white-hot fury instantly consumed Aldomite. He roared, not a battle cry, but a desperate question fueled by maximum core energy, launching himself into a frenzied attack. "Why?" he screamed, tears of rage mixing with the sweat on his brow. "Why did you murder them? Why are you doing this, Principal—HECTOR?!"
As Aldomite's reckless attack closed, the powerful demon—a creature of pure muscle and shadow—effortlessly intercepted the strike, sending shockwaves through the stone passage. Lipton, Calvin, and Felix immediately deployed their Familiars and weapons, positioning themselves to fight alongside Aldomite.
Principal Hector merely watched, his face a mask of sorrowful conviction. He looked not at the students but through them, past them. "You are merely still children," he stated, his voice a smooth, painful monotone devoid of his usual warmth. "You do not understand the true nature of this world, or the brutality of the people who rule it. Many of you carry a past you can't forget, thinking of vengeance."
The word "vengeance" hit Lipton and Calvin like a physical blow. They looked at each other, the painful truth of Hector's observation reflecting their own hidden scars.
Aldomite, however, met Hector's gaze with a gaze hardened by focus. "Vengeance is the relentless fire that forges steel," he declared, adjusting his stance. "It is a weapon. You used it to justify murder. You, Principal, will pay for every innocent life you've taken today."
A profound, weary sadness touched the edges of Hector's smile. He began to speak, not to justify, but to unburden himself, weaving the horrific tale that led him to this vault.
"Twenty-two years ago, before any of you drew breath, I was Captain Hector of the Royal Knights," he began. "I was a favored war hero, loyal to the crown and to Astoria. Yet, in the courts of men, loyalty is weakness." His voice hardened. "My success became a poison to the jealous nobles. They failed to frame me. They failed to assassinate me. So, they targeted the only things I valued: my wife, Elara, and my son, Lysander."
He paused, the memory etched on his face. "Invited to a false celebration, they were infected with a magically engineered disease—a slow, agonizing contagion that no healer dared approach. I was hundreds of miles away, fighting demons on the frontline, when the news reached me. I rushed home, not to a hero's welcome, but to an empty, isolated house. My family was locked away. Every servant gone. The King, whose life I had repeatedly saved, would not send a single healer, fearing the blight."
Hector let out a soundless sigh that seemed to carry two decades of grief. "I looked at my life's oath—my promise to protect Astoria—and saw the result: betrayal. I searched for a cure, only to be branded a deserter by the crown for prioritizing my own blood over the King's front line. I left them a second time, disgusted, but still bound by the chain of duty."
It was during the final, brutal campaign that fate intervened. The demonic commander he defeated offered him a deal for its life. "I can save them," the demon had promised. "I possess the power of true demonic healing. I will cure your family when your false god and your petty kingdom refused."
"There was no choice," Hector said simply. "I chose the demon over my fellow man."
He led the fiend and its kin to Almada—a city the Demon commander revealed was ancient demonic territory, not merely a troubled settlement—and the cure was administered in this very vault. The terrible cost: Elara and Lysander were transformed into creatures requiring the energy of human cores to stabilize and heal fully.
"And who provided the first sickness? Astoria's court," Hector hissed. "Therefore, Astoria will provide the remedy. The Academy will unknowingly supply the powerful young souls necessary for their final cure. Astoria will pay the price for their corruption."
Zechtron's internal voice crackled with contempt in Aldomite's mind: "Do not mistake tragedy for justice, boy. He uses the sin of a few wicked nobles to justify the wholesale slaughter of innocents."
Aldomite's cold resolve returned. "I understand your pain, Principal. I truly do," Aldomite stated, straightening his spine. "But my friends, the children you murdered, and the students you plan to feed your family, have nothing to do with that corrupt past. I will protect my new family of cadets, just as you are protecting yours."
Lipton, his face pale, tried one last time for clarification. "When exactly did Almada become a staging ground for demons?"
Hector's final words were delivered with the calm certainty of a man who had already won the long game: "Almada is a Demon Territory. It has been for centuries. The entire city, all the citizens you saw, secretly worship the Demon God, Galaxoius."
The name hit Aldomite with a physical blow, triggering the terrifying memory of Zechtron's true, ancient form—the face of an old, betrayed friend.
"So, everyone here is a follower of Galaxoius," Aldomite muttered, realizing the catastrophic scale of the conspiracy. He looked at Lipton, Calvin, and Felix. He could not fight Hector, the Demon, and an entire city. He had to save the inn.
"Go! Get back to the inn. Warn them, and take this news to the Academy council," he ordered. When Lipton and Calvin protested, declaring they would fight together, Aldomite unleashed a calculated, non-lethal blast of pure core energy that slammed into their chests. They instantly collapsed, unconscious.
He looked at Felix, who was staring in stunned awe at the raw power that had just erupted. "Take them. Go! Now!"
Felix, seeing the desperate, lethal fire in Aldomite's eyes, swiftly hoisted his two unconscious friends. "Be careful," he whispered, before turning and running back down the tunnel.
A current of brilliant yellow core energy surged and flowed across Aldomite's skin, fueled by his overwhelming rage and hatred. He was ready to engage, his eyes set on Hector and the towering demon.
Principal Hector, however, seemed entirely unconcerned with the demon. He instructed the creature, "Do not waste your time pursuing the three boys. Aldomite is all I need."
The words hit Aldomite with a fresh wave of fury. He focused his hatred on the Principal as Hector continued his cruel confession, explaining the Academy enrollment. "The Council never wanted you, Aldomite. You were accepted solely because of my recommendation," Hector admitted. "I claimed you had the talent to be a great asset to Astoria, but I was only ever interested in the raw power of your core. Every word of support, every motivational lesson—it was all a calculated effort to ensure you would be the perfect nourishment for my son."
"So, I was nothing but food for your family?" Aldomite managed to snarl, his voice shaking with disbelief and hate.
In that raw moment of realization, Aldomite attacked. The demon was instantly there, a solid wall of muscle and shadow, intercepting his strike. Aldomite was now battling the formidable creature, his focus clouded by rage. Striking wildly, fueled by pure hate for the betrayal, he fought like a barbarian, sacrificing every Knight-Academy lesson on form and strategy. The familiar presence of Zechtron's hatred for Galaxoius resonated within him, amplifying his fury.
Principal Hector watched, an analyst's appreciation in his eyes. He was impressed that Aldomite, despite his blind rage, was holding his own against the demon—a performance that only solidified his worth as the final cure for Hector's son.
As his rage peaked, Aldomite felt the chilling edge of darkness threatening to consume his core. Then, a memory broke through the hate: the calming voice of his mother and the gentle encouragement of Salvot. He recoiled from the edge, stopping his relentless barrage. He took a deep, shuddering breath and regained his composure.
"I won't lose my way again," he told Hector, his voice now steady.
Hector was momentarily stunned by the sudden, profound shift in his target's energy, but he still held confidence in the demon's victory. He had no idea that while he coveted Aldomite's physical core, Aldomite possessed an even greater, hidden asset: Zechtron, the secondary core sought by powerful demons.
With a focused mind, Aldomite executed a strategy. He summoned his Familiar to engage the demon, using the distraction to land a crippling blow. The plan succeeded: Aldomite defeated the powerful demon, leaving Hector visibly shocked.
"You are next, Hector!" Aldomite screamed, ready to press his advantage.
Before he could strike, a grotesque, crawling demon scuttled out of the shadows, physically pushing Aldomite back. "You are needed, Hector!" it hissed, clearly protecting the Principal. As Hector turned to leave through a separate tunnel, he paused only to tell Aldomite, with cold pity, "You should hurry to the inn, Aldomite."
"You are not getting away!" Aldomite yelled, but the crawling demon was already throwing a barrage of flying spikes at him. Forced to dodge, Aldomite watched in helpless fury as Hector vanished into the tunnel. Realizing the clock was ticking, Aldomite abandoned the fight, knowing the secondary demon would not give chase. He had to warn the others.
Aldomite burst from the vault and rushed toward the inn at immense speed. Felix, still carrying the two unconscious boys (now awake and horrified), saw Aldomite blur past them and felt a wave of relief.
Aldomite slammed into Professor Desmond's room. The Professor, relieved, immediately demanded to know where he and the others had been, his fury mounting when Aldomite admitted to defying his order. But before the lecture could truly begin, Aldomite cut him off: "Professor, I have information."
Aldomite recounted the entire terrifying ordeal—the vault, the captured students, Hector's confession, and the planned attack. Desmond listened, the lines of worry deepening, but he seemed to believe the story after seeing the small bruises on Aldomite.
As Aldomite turned to leave, intent on preparing the other cadets, Professor Desmond drew his blade and plunged it into Aldomite's back. "You know too much, Aldomite," he whispered, twisting the blade.
Aldomite staggered, shocked. Just then, Principal Hector strolled into the room from the back, applauding. "So you work together?" Aldomite managed to choke out, blood pouring from his mouth.
At that horrific moment, Elise, worried after hearing news of Aldomite's return, walked in. Seeing the bleeding, stabbed hero and the two smiling traitors, she screamed. Hector, without hesitation, prepared to strike her down. Aldomite, mustering his last ounce of strength, launched himself back, pushing Elise out of the way. "Run, Elise! Run!"
Felix arrived, Lipton and Calvin stumbling in behind him. They had been told Aldomite was at the inn and were eager to chastise him for his reckless move in the vault. Instead, they found Elise weeping on the floor, staring in horror at the doorway. As they looked up, they saw Aldomite, unconscious and bleeding profusely, being effortlessly carried away by Principal Hector.
Calvin reacted instantly, drawing his weapon. His familiar, knowing a straight attack would be suicide, intervened, unleashing a powerful magic that momentarily blinded both Hector and Desmond. Lipton and Calvin grabbed Elise and the two surviving cadets and rushed down the stairs, Lipton frantically yelling to the panicking cadets: "If you want to survive, you have to leave Almada tonight!"
The desperate panic amplified as Calvin's Familiar sensed a monstrous, overwhelming energy approaching the inn's front door. The door flew open, and the great demon Arabatogon stepped into the light. It sniffed the air, its voice a chilling rumble that silenced every scream:
"I smell Zechtron."
Chapter 9 : THE AWAKENING