Chapter 74: Betrayed?

Just as Arthur thought that all hope was lost, a scream echoed through the battlefield. Inside the Holy Barrier blood stained the walls. One of the clerics just exploded into a cloud of blood mist. The other cleric screamed, scrambling for his life. Licking the blood of his fingers, Vlad instantly appeared next to the other cleric, ripping his throat. He yawned, disappearing into the shadows once again. As the two clerics lay dead on the ground, two beams of light shot down from the heavens, recalling the two holy beings. "Nice work!" shouted Arthur, running towards the remaining three enemies. Connor fired more arrows, keeping the paladins in place.

Jeanne attacked the priest, who was the leader of their team. The two paladins ran towards the priest, taking a couple shots of Connor's arrows to their bodies. Opening up a book, a wave of mana erupted from the priest. The two paladins were instantly healed, returning to peak condition. Beams of light shot towards Arthur, trying to stop him. "Ice Wall," casted Jeanne, reflecting the attacks. With a swing of his sword, the shields of the paladins shattered, sending them tumbling. Blood dripped down from their mouths, staining their white robes blood red.

"Surrender now!" shouted Arthur, not wanting to kill the two paladins. "I sacrifice my life to you!" shouted a paladin. Another beam of light shot down from the heavens, incinerating the paladin. The soul of the paladin turned golden, forming a weird spirit. The golden spirit rushed towards Arthur, merging together with him. "What type of attack is this?" thought Arthur, confused. He only felt himself gain a good amount of strength, powering him up. "Impossible!" the priest screamed. The paladin sacrificed himself in order to cast a forbidden spell. The spell's effects depended on how noble or malevolent someone was. If the target was a evil person, it would ignite their soul, burning them to ashes. But if the target was a virtuous man, the spell will turn into a blessing, granting them extra strength. With skilled swordsman such as Arthur, it was almost impossible for them to be a virtuous person due to the innocent people they would accidentally slaughter. That means Arthur had never ever hurt an innocent man before.

"We surrender," the priest surrendered immediately, not taking anymore chances. With five members all still conscious, Arthur's team earned five points for Corinth. Thunderous clapping showered them, the crowd was really satisfied with the intense battle. It was Jay's turn next, heading towards the stage with Louis and the other three students that he still didn't know who they were. Their opponents were from the Devil's Descendants, they were grinning as if they were getting new toys to play with. The situation wasn't looking good for the Devil's Descendants, but somehow Jay felt like they had another purpose for attending the competition.

"Be careful," Jay said. "You should take care of yourself first," Louis replied. The three students all took out their staffs, preparing for the battle. Observing their enemies, Jay saw three half devils, and two girls that seemed to be some kind of mage or witch. "Half devils have crazy speed and strength," said Jay, recalling the students that he fought. "I'll support you," said Louis, a little bit concerned. He trusted Jay, but somehow the three students felt a bit off.

With a bright Flare signaling the start of the battle, the three half devils began to shapeshift. They were originally still somewhat looked like a normal human being, but they turned into a fiery red demon with goat horns coming out from their heads. Their teeth grew long, and their skin turn bright red. Laughing, they charged towards Jay. "They are definitely faster than the previous half devils he fought before," he thought, assessing their powers. The half devils leaped, creating huge craters in the ground. "Earth Fortress," Malum casted, creating a large building. However, Malum seriously underestimated the half devils' powers. With a couple punches, cracks began to form. "We can only last for about ten more seconds," said Malum, trying to maintain the structure's integrity.

"Support me," Jay said to Louis, conjuring mana in his hands. The Earth Fortress collapsed, the half devils running at Jay. "Thorns," Jay casted, as robust vines shot towards the half devils. They ignored the plants, ripping them apart. "Requiem," Louis whispered, as he began humming a weird tune. The half devils' movements became slower, as if they were slightly intoxicated. "Wood Synthesis," casted Jay, creating a huge wall of cotton. The half devils were stopped as they ran into the wall, which soft texture made it hard for them to tear through it. "Fireball," casted Jay, igniting the wall on fire, trying to burn the half devils.

The three mages fired spells at the two girls, who easily blocked the spells with a demonic array. They continuously exchanged tier two spells, with the three guys barely contesting the two girls. One of the guys decided to cast a tier three spell, trying to overturn the situation. The two girls were trapped in a fiery tornado, while the three half devils were trapped in a huge block of burning cotton.

Jay and his teammates silently watched the fire, hoping that the fire did something to their opponents. But when they saw the opponents walk out of the fire with only slightly burnt skin, they were shocked. "Demons have resistance against high temperatures," explained Louis, seeing Jay's disappointed expression. "It's better if we surrender!" shouted Jay, trying to tell their leader to surrender. "Impossible! We can't possibly lose!" the three almost shouted simultaneously. They began to cast tier three spells at the girls. But once they saw the spells get easily deflected, a seed of doubt sprouted in their hearts.

Looking at each other, they seemed to make up their minds. "We surr..." the leader was going to forfeit, but he suddenly froze right in place. "What are you doing?" shouted the othe mage, shaking the leader. The leader had no response, just standing their quietly with his mouth open. "Not this again," thought Jay, was not allowing their opponents to forfeit something the Devil's Descendants did on purpose? The other two mages suddenly froze too, standing right in place.

Jay blocked an incoming attack with an Earth Spike, dodging back. Louis retreated while still humming his tune nonstop. "Want to see something interesting?" one of the girls said. "Not really," replied Jay, creating Earth Spikes left and right, trying to block the half devils' assault. "Well, I'm going to show you anyway," the girl said, as she chanted a spell. The whites of the mages' eyes turned black, as their expressions went blank. They turned around, and began to fire spells at Jay. The spells struck Jay, knocking him back. "Charm? Mind Control?" thought Jay, looking at the mages who were now only puppets for the girls. "They are radiating demonic energy," Malum said, trying to figure out why there were controlled. "The pills! Definitely the pills," Jay said. The pills were said to make anyone who took them stronger easily. The pills clearly allowed the girls to somehow control the mages who tried to gain strength the lazy way.

Thinking of how many people may have already taken this pill in the academy made Jay shudder. 2 against 8, Jay definitely couldn't win the fight. "We forfeit," Jay shouted, trying to surrender. "The leader is still alive and conscious, so you are unable to forfeit," the referee said. "Perhaps we can talk this out," Jay said, looking at the three half devils who were circling him.