CHAPTER 59: The Fifty-Nineth Fracture

The cafeteria windows went dark.

Not night. Not clouds. Something else.

The glass bled black from the edges, like ink soaking through paper. Students froze mid-bite, mid-laugh, mid-sigh. A hum built in the walls, low and jagged, until the air itself felt carved open.

Then—silence.

Every light in the Academy died at once. Glyph wards sputtered. Security drones collapsed in heaps of dead metal. For a breath, the world held still.

Then the floor cracked.

Shadows spilled upward like veins, branching across the ceiling, dripping down between tables. Screams erupted as chairs and trays slid across the tilting ground.

From the fissure, two figures rose—blank-faced, glassy-eyed, skin glitching between flesh and curse-stitch. Gods, or the memory of them. Puppets.

And behind them—

A figure in black stepped through.

Thanatos.

The god of death.

The Underworld, walking.

Oizys sprang to her feet, shouting, “THANATOS! HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!”

Saaya, Yuuka, Alric, and I turned instantly toward him.

“That’s him!” I yelled at Oizys.

She stayed silent, nodding as she stared.

Thanatos’s gaze locked on me.

“You look different since we cast you into the realm between realms. I can’t believe you escaped… and with her by your side.” His voice was a dark blade. “I’ll kill your girlfriend first, then you. Destroy everyone in this school. And when I return to your world… humanity itself will be erased. Death will consume all.”

Rage exploded through me. I charged, a pinch forming in my fist aimed at his head—but two figures in black stopped my attack with an invisible barrier.

Oizys, Alric, and Saaya froze, staring.

Oizys’s eyes widened. “I knew it! Those were just fake gods on the throne of the 10th fractal.”

Thanatos ignored her.

I jumped back. “What a pain in the ass,” I muttered.

“Go and eliminate them, my puppets,” Thanatos commanded.

The two puppets shed their cloaks. Identical demons, grotesque and horrifying:

Their bodies were stretched thin, skin gray and slick, stitched wrong as if peeled from a corpse and reassembled. Black curse fluid pulsed beneath their skin, crawling like trapped worms. Heads lolled sideways, jaws unhinged, teeth grinding in wet clatters. Glassy eyes bulged, waterlogged and vacant. One demon’s eyes glowed crimson, the other bright yellow. Each movement jerked violently, as if tugged by invisible strings.

The yellow-eyed demon lunged at Oizys at impossible speed. Alric jumped in front, activating his law barrier.

“GET BACK, OIZYS!” he shouted.

“Kakakakaka!” the demon cackled.

The barrier shattered under its force. The demon’s punch slammed into him, sending him crashing through the cafeteria wall and into the courtyard.

“A-ALRIC!” Oizys screamed, rushing to his side.

The yellow-eyed demon turned to her, preparing to strike again. Smoke and dust erupted from the impact, obscuring the battlefield.

“Hey now, you can’t be doing that to the people at my academy,” a voice boomed.

Through the lifting smoke, Avalon appeared, launching the yellow-eyed demon back into the crimson-eyed one.

“Don’t worry,” she said, smiling. “I already talked to the principal. The remaining students are being evacuated. Upperclassmen are holding the other demons off.”

Alric staggered back into the cafeteria, growling, “That hurt, bitch! I’m not done with you!”

Oizys smiled at him.

Saaya turned and saw Karna standing there.

“Karna!” she exclaimed. “When did you get here?!”

Thanatos’s aura thickened, a dark black haze radiating around him.

“You ants are beneath me,” he roared. “You’re delaying the inevitable. You will all die!”

He launched toward me with impossible speed. The uppercut landed, sending me through the ceiling. He followed as we rocketed into the sky. I was thankful for my Scalar shield.

“Sukara!” Saaya yelled.

“I’m here to help,” Karna said, turning to Saaya. “You can handle the red-eyed demon yourself. I know you’ve grown stronger.”

Saaya smiled. “Leave it to me,” she said, turning toward the crimson-eyed demon.

Alric and Avalon stepped closer to Saaya, eyes on the yellow-eyed demon.

“Hey Avalon, tag-team the yellow-eyed demon?” Alric asked.

She grinned. “This shouldn’t take long.”

Flames erupted around Karna then he launched into the sky, coming to aid me in the fight against Thanatos.

Smoke and dust hung thick in the cafeteria. The yellow-eyed demon crouched low, teeth grinding, black curse veins pulsing beneath slick gray skin. Its molten-gold eyes scanned Alric and Avalon, flickering with anticipation.

“You’ll regret stepping in,” it hissed, and the air warped with decay. A wave of rot radiated outward, corroding the metal floor beneath it. Dust, debris, even fragments of magic trembled under its influence.

Alric raised his hands, summoning a dome of law energy around him and Avalon. “Stay close!” he yelled. The barrier shimmered with silver runes, keeping the demon’s disintegration at bay… for now.

The demon lunged, a blur of yellow. Its claws swept through the air, and the nearest tile disintegrated to ash before Alric could react. He fired a blast of law energy at its arm—the impact scorched the demon’s skin—but it laughed, and its claws reached him again.

Avalon raised her hands, folding the 11th-dimensional shield around herself and Alric. The demon hissed, black curse fluid writhing like worms beneath its skin. “You cannot hide in order and dimension!” it screeched.

Alric surged forward, sword glowing with law energy, aiming to strike its chest. But the demon twisted unnaturally, claws raking across his arm.

Pain exploded through him. He screamed as his right arm began to disintegrate—the flesh, muscle, even bone crumbling into ash under the demon’s touch. The barrier flared violently, trying to slow the effect, but the decay was relentless. He staggered back, clutching the remains of his arm, golden energy sputtering wildly.

“ALRIC!” Avalon shouted, extending her shield to envelop him in the 11th-dimensional space. The air itself bent around her, slowing the spread of disintegration, holding the remainder of his arm intact—but it was mangled and useless.

The yellow-eyed demon laughed, a sound like grinding metal and tearing flesh. “Even your precious law cannot save you!” It lunged again, claws striking the floor where Alric had stood seconds before, corroding everything in its path.

Alric grit his teeth, fury burning through the pain. “No… I won’t let you—!” With his left arm, he unleashed a concentrated pillar of law energy beneath the demon, binding its legs to the cracked floor. The golden chains glowed bright, restraining its movement for a fraction of a second.

Avalon’s aura surged, expanding like a prism into the 11th dimension. The demon struggled, claws slashing at the invisible boundaries. Every strike twisted reality, but Avalon’s dimensional hold prevented it from fully disintegrating anything further.

“Not even a demon from the depths of hell could ever escape my 11th dimensional barrier!” Avalon yelled

Alric focused, channeling all his strength through his remaining arm. A beam of pure law energy shot toward the demon’s chest. The impact collided with the suspended curse, sparks of decay fizzling against the intense order of his magic.

The demon screamed, golden eyes flaring. Its body convulsed, veins of black curse fluid boiling as the beam burned through its corrupted flesh. Finally, it shattered, exploding into a cloud of gray dust that drifted harmlessly across the room.

Alric collapsed to his knees, clutching his ruined arm, pain radiating through him. “Ugh… my arm… it’s… gone…”

Avalon hovered beside him, her calm aura steadying him. “You will survive. The dimensional anchor slowed the disintegration enough to prevent fatal damage, but you must rest. That creature’s decay was absolute.”

He grimaced, breathing heavily. “Absolute… yeah. That was… almost the end.”

Avalon looked toward the other demons outside, voice quiet but firm. “There will be more. We must stay vigilant. And next time, coordinate with me before throwing yourself in like this.”

Alric managed a weak grin. “Point taken… but I can’t help myself.”

Oizys ran over towards Alric and hugged him, “thank god your safe”

Alric smiled at her, “I’m alright”

Avalon turned her gaze to Saaya and the demon with red eyes