BANYAZI

BAM!

Watson landed a devastating punch to Beef's nose. The crack echoed—her skull took a hit. He could already sense her next move.

Beef swung a kick, but missed. Watson was too fast.

"It's like he can read all my attacks before I even make them," Beef thought, panic rising in her chest as she kept trying. Punches, kicks, swipes—nothing worked. Watson dodged them all and countered each one with ease.

"I've got the advantage here," Watson told himself. "The skies must have cleared outside."

He struck Beef in the stomach. The impact threw her through the wall behind her, launching her straight into the reception area. She crashed through the glass walls of the receptionists office with a loud SHATTER!

Watson stepped forward, flames beginning to flicker around his fists and feet. His ears picked up the horrifying sounds coming from outside—students fighting and killing each other near the old lecture hall.

"Shit… this is sick. They're actually killing each other. I need to step in—but what can I even do? This is pure madness."

The violent chaos outside in the courtyard was even louder than the brutal fighting happening inside the old lecture hall—and louder still than the screams and blows echoing from the new lecture hall upstairs.

"Demetrius's fight is intense… and I can tell, his gotten way stronger. But something's off. How did he get this much power?"

Watson's eyes narrowed. "That fight must be wild. They really cleared the sky."

He glanced back toward the courtyard through the broken wall. He could see a glimpse of the action.

"I need to wrap this up and help Meech. That guy he's fighting… he's strong. But I can take him. I just need the right moment for my secret technique."

Beef groaned, trying to stand. She looked up at Watson walking toward her, his aura burning like the sun.

"He's too strong…" she thought, trembling. Her horns, once fearsome, now shrank back—useless. Watson didn't even flinch.

Before she could blink, Watson vanished.

"Bill! Help!" she screamed—

WHAM!

Watson's fist slammed into the back of her head, smashing her into the cold tile floor. The crack of impact echoed like thunder.

Before her body could even settle, Watson kicked her straight through the hole again, launching her back into the courtyard like a rag doll.

"This next kick," Watson said, his eyes glowing, "is for the books."

He sprinted after her, body blazing with heat. Fire coated his arms and legs.

Just as Demetrius and Bill were about to clash again, Beef's body came flying through the air and crashed hard into the courtyard ground. Her half-human, half-animal form faded, turning back into her normal body as she lay unconscious.

"Beef?! What the fuck?!" Bill shouted, just before—

CRACK!

Watson appeared and kicked Beef like a football. The blow lifted her off the ground, flames scorching her midsection as she went flying into the sky.

Bill's eyes widened in shock.

Demetrius didn't waste the opening. He crouched slightly, then launched forward like a missile.

BAM–CRACK!

His punch connected with Bill's jaw, sending him flying across the courtyard and into a line of abandoned cars along Leopards Hill Road.

Bill didn't stay down. He stopped mid-air, like he had stepped on something invisible, then shot back like a sling.

But just before he could reach Demetrius—

WHAM!

Watson came out of nowhere and stomped down on his back. The force drove Bill into the ground. Dirt and rock flew up. Watson kept stomping, each one digging Bill deeper and deeper, his flesh burning with each strike.

"No way," Bill's thoughts spiraled. "What's happening to me? I can't lose… Not like this. This isn't possible. This can't be my limit… No. No. No—Sinifunokufa! I don't want to die!"

"You son of a bitch!" Watson roared. "You're finished! Do you hear me? You're done, chikala!"

Still stomping, he brought his hands together and began to chant:

"As the heavens open and the sun emerges, we obtain the power to create and the power to destroy."

The flames around him roared louder. The ground heated up. The air around them thinned.

Watson's voice rose, burning with fury:

"Chibolya Secret Technique—Mwalila Mulilo! (Death of Fire!)"

His final stomp landed on Bill's back like a meteor.

BOOOOM!

Flames exploded from the ground, launching Watson into the air as a firestorm erupted below. The hole lit up with flames, swallowing Bill in a sea of burning light.

The fire that ate Bill didn't make a sound. It was just a sudden, violent silence. A pillar of pure heat that punched a hole in the sky, sucking the air out of the courtyard. For a second, the world was just white light and pressure. Then, gone.

The firestorm vanished as fast as it came. It left a perfect circle scorched into the mud, the edges glassy and black, glowing like a devil's branding iron. Of Bill, there was nothing. Not a scrap of cloth, not a flake of ash. Just gone.

Watson landed hard, the recoil of his own Juju throwing him like a stone. The fire of Chibolya flickered out, and the price came due. Man, the exhaustion hit him like a truck. Every muscle screamed. He looked at his hands. They weren't flaming anymore, just shaking.

"Fuck. Did I just kill him?" The thought was cold. Too cold.

Across the courtyard, Demetrius stood alone. The black-and-blue aura of Chiengi Chali, the Lion Demon, was still wrapped around him, but it wasn't a storm now. It was a low, dangerous hum. Like a generator about to kick into overdrive. He'd felt Watson's power. He'd seen the fire. He'd felt Bill Tendai's life just… switch off.

He gave Watson a look. Just a quick one. Then his eyes snapped back to the New Hall. Anne.

He moved. The world didn't blur; it just got out of his way

The New Hall was hell.

Mandamus's knuckles were raw. His clothes were torn and stained with blood that wasn't his. He'd lost count of how many he'd taken down. For every one he dropped, two more took their place. They weren't human anymore. Just obstacles. He slammed a possessed student into a wall, the impact cracking the plaster, and kicked another away, sending him tumbling over a pile of desks.

He glanced over at the girls. They were still fighting, backed into a corner. Their movements were getting slower, more desperate. Natasha had a deep cut on her arm. Taonga was limping. But Anne, she was still in front, a shield of pure, stubborn will. Her face was pale, her eyes wide with terror, but she never stopped swinging the broken piece of wood she held.

"Hmm this pye".

A massive figure, a university cleaner now twisted by the crow-magic, charged at Mandamus. He braced himself, the impact rattling his teeth. This was a losing fight. They were all running on fumes.

It was then that the air changed.

A sudden, bone-deep cold swept through the hall, slicing through the heat of battle like a blade. The possessed students—those swarming the girls, the one grappling with Mandamus—froze mid-motion. As if triggered by some invisible signal, they all turned at once, glowing eyes locking onto the shattered balcony entrance.`

A lone figure stood there, silhouetted against the brightening sky.

The cleaner holding Mandamus recoiled, stumbling back. A low growl rumbled from its throat—fear.

Demetrius stepped into the hall. He wasn't the same person who had leapt from the window hours ago. His clothes were torn to shreds, his body covered in fresh cuts and bruises—but it was his aura that made the room tremble. A storm of black-and-blue energy rolled off him, thick enough to choke the air. It was ancient. Predatory. And it screamed power.

The demon inside him stirred, catching the scent of foul juju in the air—and it was furious.

"Crow magic," a voice growled in his mind, like stones grinding. "Here. After all this time. The cowards still hide behind puppets."

Demetrius pushed the voice aside. His eyes scanned the wreckage—Mandamus, still breathing hard. The girls, cornered and bleeding. And then—Anne. Still on her feet. Still defiant.

His jaw clenched.

He took one step forward, and the floor cracked beneath his foot.

"Anne."

His voice sliced through the silence like a blade.

"Close your eyes."

Without hesitation, Taonga and Natasha did the same.

"If I delayed any longer, it might've been too late," Demetrius thought, bracing himself. "But why have they stopped? Are they reacting to Chiengi? Even so… how do I stop this?"

Mandamus groaned, rising from the floor.

"What the fuck is this day even?" he muttered. "This shit is crazy."

He stared at Demetrius—his body bruised, torn, and radiating power.

"Damn, nigga, you strong as fuck! You took down those bastards outside, bally? Vazoona?(like for real?)

"Watson helped with two," Demetrius replied. "Chill, I need to think. They're all drawn to me somehow."

"What the fuck does that even mean, bro?"

"Look around, chikala. Why'd they all stop the second I got here?"

Mandamus hesitated. "Chikala, I don't know, man. Kapena(maybe) Dante. He came by like two minutes ago. Said he'd be back."

Demetrius exhaled sharply.

"Ah, yakosa lelo(it's hard today). Mandamus exe. Iyi ndiye wamakamba ati(this that thing people say that goes)—what a morning."

They both laughed—brief, breathless, and a little too forced.

Mandamus side-eyed Demetrius mid-chuckle, eyebrows twitching. "This nigga ain't even funny," he thought, stretching his smile just a bit wider to sell the fake laugh.

Across from him, Demetrius narrowed his eyes slightly, his grin frozen. "That joke wasn't even funny. Is this nigga still high?" he wondered, chuckling just loud enough to keep the moment moving.

Their laughter faded into an awkward silence, both knowing the other was faking—but neither saying a word.

In the next moment, Demetrius vanished—reappearing beside the girls. In a flash, he had moved all three of them outside the hall, just past the double doors.

Taonga was on the verge of a breakdown, gripping her braids, chest heaving.

"Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop. Jesus, please make it stop."

"Tee, chikala, chill." Natasha slapped her across the cheek.

Taonga froze. Her hand flew to her burning cheek.

"We're safe, exeh. But more importantly—look." Natasha pointed toward Demetrius and Anne.

Demetrius gently held Anne's hands.

"I'm glad you're alive."

Anne looked up, her voice trembling.

"Me too, Meech. Everything's just… so extreme. It doesn't even make sense. But I'm not complaining because… because…"

She looked down, flustered.

"Ah. I've felt shy."

Demetrius smiled.

"I love you."

Anne's breath caught. Her wide eyes locked onto his.

Taonga and Natasha, just behind them, gasped—stunned.

"You said it back," Anne whispered, voice shaky, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Mhm. I love you, Anne." He nodded. "Let's stay alive, no matter what. I promise to protect you. And I'll do my best. Wait here for me. This won't take long—I promise."

"Okay… I love you, Meech. Keep your promise. I trust you."

Demetrius kissed her forehead and vanished in a gust of wind. The breeze lifted her hair as she watched him go.

Back in the hall, Demetrius appeared beside Mandamus. The possessed students still hadn't moved.

"I got them out. Let's hurry," he said.

Mandamus nodded.

"You're fast as fuck—but what the hell took you so long?"

"My shawty, bro."

"Whipped!"

Demetrius ignored him.

Mandamus looked around. "Anyway, I think you were right. In the time you were taking the girls out… these niggas started twitching again."

Demetrius stayed silent, his focus narrowing.

"So what's the plan?" Mandamus asked.

"I… I don't know, bro. I don't—"

Suddenly, Demetrius clutched his head. A searing pain ripped through his skull. His vision blurred. The room spun.

"Oh shit!" Mandamus backed up. "Nigga, what's wrong?"

Demetrius couldn't respond. The pain was too much.

He let out a raw, guttural scream—then collapsed.