The cavern was dead silent, save for the heavy, ragged breathing of Aria Sterling. She leaned against a stone pillar, watching Elias with a mixture of awe and deep-seated dread.
The dark, electric-blue smoke pouring out of the Void Chimera's mangled corpse was so dense it looked like liquid. It swirled violently, creating a miniature vortex of dark mana that pulled at the loose stones on the floor.
"Arise," Elias repeated, his voice echoing with absolute authority.
The vortex exploded upward. The shadow violently tore itself from the physical remains, expanding until its wingspan nearly brushed the cavern walls. It retained the terrifying upper torso of a gargoyle and the lower body of a massive arachnid, but it was now composed entirely of pitch-black energy, laced with veins of glowing purple void-magic.
[Extraction Successful!] [Commander Grade Shadow: Void Chimera (Lv. 28) has joined your legion.]
Elias looked up at the towering, nightmarish beast floating silently above him. He had lost fifty low-level skeletal warriors, but he had gained an aerial, area-of-effect Commander. It was a trade he would make a thousand times over.
"Your name is Eclipse," Elias said.
The Chimera bowed its massive head, letting out a low, echoing purr that vibrated through the ground.
Elias turned his attention to the glowing purple crystal resting where the Chimera's chest used to be. Irregular Bosses always dropped something game-changing. He picked it up.
[Item Acquired: Void Core (Unique)] [Do you wish to consume the Void Core to unlock a new skill? (Yes/No)]
"Yes."
The crystal shattered into stardust, absorbing into Elias's palm.
[New Skill Unlocked: Spatial Step (Lv. 1)] [Effect: Allows the user to instantly teleport to any shadow within a 50-meter radius. Cost: 50 Mana per use.]
Elias smirked. His mobility had just become virtually unmatched. Between Iron for brute strength, Blood for lethal precision, Eclipse for aerial bombardment, and Spatial Step for his own movement, he was untouchable.
"Return," Elias commanded.
Eclipse, Iron, Blood, and the rest of the surviving shadow legion melted into the floor, sliding seamlessly back into Elias's shadow. The oppressive, freezing aura in the room vanished, leaving only the smell of burnt ozone and ancient dust.
With the Irregular Boss dead, the localized EMP effect that had been masking the dungeon's dark mana instantly collapsed.
WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!
Blinding red emergency lights flared to life in the corridor outside the blast doors. The Academy's alarms shrieked at a deafening pitch.
Aria flinched, gripping her daggers. "The military sensors just came back online. They're reading the aftermath of a Level 28 anomaly. The entire base is going to descend on us in less than two minutes."
Elias calmly dusted off his hoodie. "Let them."
"Are you crazy?" Aria hissed, limping toward him. "If they find out a B-Rank Summoner single-handedly wiped out an Irregular Gate and possesses a shadow army, they won't give you a medal. They will lock you in a black site, dissect you, and weaponize your power!"
"And what will they do to a Sterling assassin caught trespassing in a restricted military zone?" Elias countered, raising an eyebrow.
Aria froze. He was right. Her family's reputation wouldn't save her from a treason charge for breaching a sealed Gate.
Heavy, synchronized footsteps echoed down the tunnel. Flashlights cut through the darkness.
"Listen to me," Aria said quickly, her amethyst eyes locking onto his. "My family gave me a one-time-use, S-Rank offensive artifact for emergencies. I'll tell them the seal broke, we got trapped inside, and I used the artifact to obliterate the Boss. You just provided a distraction with your summons."
Elias looked at her, calculating. It was the perfect cover story. It kept him in the shadows while elevating her status, which meant she would owe him her life, her silence, and her loyalty.
"You're taking a massive risk covering for me, Assassin," Elias noted softly.
"I'm securing my survival," Aria shot back, though she couldn't hide the slight tremor in her hands. "If I expose you, I have a feeling your shadow knight will cut my head off before the military even enters the room."
"Smart girl," Elias smiled.
"FREEZE! WEAPONS ON THE GROUND! HANDS IN THE AIR!"
A squad of twenty heavily armed military Hunters burst into the cavern, their rifles and mana-staves aimed directly at Elias and Aria. Behind them strode Instructor Graves, his face pale, his sword drawn.
Graves stopped dead in his tracks as his flashlight illuminated the massive, obliterated corpse of the Void Chimera. The sheer residual energy of the dead beast made the veteran instructor take a step back.
"By the Gods..." Graves breathed. He looked at Elias, who was sitting casually on a rock, and Aria, who looked battered and bloodied. "Cadet Elias? Cadet Sterling? What... what happened here?"
Aria stepped forward, dropping her daggers to the floor. She raised her chin, adopting the haughty, arrogant persona of a noble heir.
"Instructor Graves," Aria said coldly. "The military's sealing runes failed. The Gate breached. Cadet Elias and I were caught in the crossfire. The beast was an Irregular."
"An Irregular?!" Graves choked. "How are you both still alive? That thing is at least a Level 25 threat!"
"It was a threat," Aria corrected, pulling a shattered, empty silver amulet from her pocket and tossing it at Graves's feet. "Until I detonated a Sterling Family S-Rank Annihilation Sphere inside its mouth. Cadet Elias used his summons to hold it in place just long enough for me to strike."
Graves stared at the shattered amulet, then at the headless corpse of the Boss. The Sterling family was infamous for hoarding lethal, one-time-use artifacts. The story fit perfectly.
The instructor let out a massive sigh of relief, lowering his weapon. "Secure the perimeter! Call the medics!" he barked at the guards. He looked at Aria with newfound respect, then glanced at Elias.
"You did well holding the line, Summoner," Graves said, though he clearly attributed the victory entirely to Aria. "The Academy owes you both a debt. This could have wiped out the entire campus."
Elias simply nodded, playing the part of the exhausted, lucky survivor.
As the medics rushed in to treat Aria, she caught Elias's eye. He gave her a fraction of a smirk before turning away. The pact was sealed. Elias now had an S-Rank Assassin from one of the most powerful families in the country covering his tracks.
The Academy was his playground now.