29 Necrolith
A strange zombie with three heads sat in the center of the desert meditating, floating off the ground with a flame burning around its body.
Beneath it, millions of zombies seemed to merge together like a single unit, spreading endlessly for miles in the distance in the West Plains of the Star Night Border.
The Star Night Border existed between the two strongest territories of the Aresoul and the Mocralin, and separated the two powerhouse nations with large endless swaths of water on both sides. However, a small strip of land in the center had nothing but zombies as far as the eye could see. Yet, like a living organism, the zombies seemed to constantly be moving, waiting to be told to act on their most primitive, dark desires.
"The day is finally here," The three headed zombie, Necrolith, flashed open two strange white orbs and laughed before spinning in the air. "I sense him! Ha, the demon king has finally arrived!"
Necrolith held out his hand, created a black mist around his body before he shot forward. Breaking the speed of sound, two wings blossomed behind the zombies back, as a giant trident appeared in his right hand.
Surging forward, Necrolith's movements created a loud sonic boom, disappearing into the distance. Behind him, the million zombies that had flocked behind him slowly began to move. Chasing after the cloud of dust he left behind, a few even tearing off other zombie's heads in pursuit.
"I'm coming for you, Demon King!" Necrolith laughed and broke through mach 10 before disappearing into a strange abyss. "The sooner you're dead, the better!"
###
Howard heard his bones cracking and his entire body trembling.
The feeling of Ki Suppression felt like having an entire mountain being stabbed into your back. However, for three hours, he refused to faint, staring up at Barabin with an almost childlike happiness.
"I-I lasted longer than you thought, right?"
"I'm going to increase the force," Barnabin yawned and stepped down on the ground, causing Howard's body to be sucked into a strange vortex of energy appearing in the sand beneath him.
Boom!
The ground cracked outward in every direction before Barabin stepped off the ground and jumped high into the air.
Flapping his wings while he soared into the sky, Barabin created a gigantic sword out of the sand swirling around him. Holding it in his hand, Barabin looked down at Howard's little body and nodded his head before forming ten more swords that spun around him.
"He's a freak of nature.' Barabin said, biting his lip. "If he ever wants to get stronger, he has to lose here."
Barabin had dozens of students before over the hundreds of years he'd been in the Furnace. He had thousands of regrets buried in the sand in the desolate lands that surrounded him. However, what he most regretted was his first student.
His first student, Xall, had been a prince from a powerful aristocratic family that became one of the first students of Hell's Academy. His potential seemed endless, but like many with potential, his arrogance became his undoing.
Three weeks before a scheduled battle between the three nascent nations, the Varlan, the Aresoul, and the Mocralon, he spent every day playing with women he brought from the surface.
On the day of the battle, he rushed out with a sword in his hand, endless confidence, and found his head staring up at his ass while a magician burst him to flames. Long story short, Xall, staring at Howard, saw something they had in common. They'd never truly felt despair.
"Howard, this should feel similar to a world crushing you," Barabin held out his hands as the twelve stone might swords circled in the air. "I'm not going to make the same mistake with you! For the first time in ages, I found someone with potential! You're going to be carved into the finest jade! Take this! Burst Smash!"
Swoosh!
The dozens swords fell from the air like sharpened arrows towards Howard's body as it stirred in the sand. Looking up, powerless, at the falling swords, Howard smiled brightly.
Boom!
The dozen swords crash landed into Howard's body, causing the pressure on him to increase a 1000 fold and making his body turn to mush. Seeing the world turn black, a strange feeling emerged in Howard, forcing him to keep his eyes open in the throws of despair.
Bang!
The swords pressure on him increased once again, causing blood to fly out of his mouth as Barabin walked to his side. Touching him against the top of his head, Barabin smiling, watching Howard's eyes remain open as he finally passed out.
"You-you're worse than a monster. A true Demon King." Barabin picked Howard up and put him on his shoulder. "Let's hope no one found out about you yet."
