The Villain Professor's Second Chance

Anastasia knelt beside the base of the altar, her sharp eyes scanning the intricate symbols carved into its surface. She traced her fingers lightly over the etchings, her brows furrowing as she deciphered the ancient language. Her calm demeanor never wavered, but I could see the tension in her shoulders.

She is a foreign variable.

A person that I didn't know of, but somehow despite of her eccentricity, I could find myself to trust her.

And if there is a word that could describe her, especially those eyes.

It would be 'Intelligent'.

"This… this isn't just an altar," she murmured, almost to herself. "These runes… they're not for worship. It's a summoning device." She straightened, her eyes meeting mine with a grave expression. "Something—someone—built this to call forth creatures."

"Creatures from where?" I asked, though I could already guess the answer.

Lyan's voice cut in before Anastasia could respond. He had been standing off to the side, his sharp gaze locked on the altar, his face pale. "The Abyss," he whispered, the word barely audible. His usual calm was gone, replaced with a tight, fearful edge. "It's pulling from the Abyss. I don't know what kind of creature would be summoned… but if this thing activates, we're all screwed."

The Abyss. Just hearing the word sent a chill through me. It was a place of pure darkness, chaos, and destruction, a realm that even demons feared. If Lyan was right—and he often was—this altar could bring forth something far worse than anything we had faced before.

"Creatures of the Abyss," he continued, his voice shaky. "If this thing triggers… they'll come."

I nodded slowly, my mind racing. This wasn't just a simple mission anymore. If we didn't shut this down, we could be facing a large-scale disaster. My eyes flicked toward Aurelia, standing at the edge of the clearing, her fiery red hair catching the faint light of the runes. She hadn't said much since we arrived, but I could see the storm brewing in her eyes.

Aurelia stepped forward, her hands flexing at her sides. "So what are we waiting for?" she said, her voice laced with impatience. "Let's destroy this thing and be done with it."

"Aurelia, wait—" I started, but it was too late.

With a sharp flick of her wrist, Aurelia summoned her golden flames. The fire roared to life, wrapping around her hands and wrists like glowing serpents. She grinned, her eyes gleaming with a dangerous mix of excitement and anger. Without hesitation, she hurled the flames at the altar, her fire crashing into the stone with a deafening roar.

For a moment, the oppressive energy seemed to falter, the dark aura around the altar shrinking back as if recoiling from her power. But then, the stone pulsed, and the altar responded.

The ground beneath us trembled violently, cracks spidering out from the base of the altar. A pulse of dark magic rippled through the air, and the oppressive weight I had felt earlier intensified tenfold. The energy pouring from the altar was raw, chaotic, and far more powerful than we had anticipated.

"Shit!" Aurelia cursed, stumbling back as the pulse hit her. She wiped the sweat from her brow, her eyes wide. "That's… stronger than I thought."

The air around us grew thick with dark energy, and before I could issue a command, something moved. Fast.

A blur of shadows shot toward me, a figure emerging from the darkness with inhuman speed. I barely had time to raise my sword before it was on me. I blocked the blow, but the force of the impact sent me flying backward. I crashed into a jagged rock, the wind knocked out of me as I hit the ground hard.

I blinked, my vision swimming for a moment. The figure, now fully visible, stood over me. It was massive—easily twice the size of a man—and its skin was black as night, covered in jagged scars and markings that pulsed with dark energy. Its eyes gleamed with a cruel, malevolent light.

"What are humans doing here?" the creature snarled, its voice a guttural growl. "This place… is not for you."

I pushed myself up, my sword still in hand, and narrowed my eyes at the creature. "I could say the same to you."

The demon sneered, its jagged teeth bared in a wicked grin. "You think you can stop us? Pathetic."

From the shadows, more figures emerged. They were different, but no less terrifying. One was wreathed in flames, its body a burning inferno of destruction. Another moved with the grace of a shadow, its form constantly shifting and flickering. A third was encased in ice, frost clinging to its body as it stepped forward, the air around it freezing.

The final demon, smaller but no less imposing, radiated decay, its very presence causing the ground beneath it to wither and die.

Each of them bore the mark of Tiamat.

High demons of Tiamat. I had heard rumors of them, but seeing them now, standing before us, I knew we were in for a fight unlike any other.

"Aurelia, Anastasia—prepare yourselves," I called, my voice steady despite the surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins. "Lyan, keep them off-balance with illusions. We can't take them head-on."

Lyan nodded, his face pale but determined. With a series of quick gestures, he summoned another wave of illusions, the forest filling with phantom copies of our group, moving erratically through the clearing. The demons hesitated, their eyes darting between the real and the false.

Aurelia wasted no time. Her golden flames erupted once more, this time aimed at the demon wreathed in fire. The two forces clashed in a violent explosion of heat and light, the clearing filling with a blinding glow. I could hear Aurelia swearing under her breath, her flames barely holding back the inferno.

Anastasia moved with deadly precision, her dark flames coiling around the shadow demon, pinning it in place. Her fire was cold, calculated, a stark contrast to Aurelia's wild inferno. But even as her flames wrapped around the demon, it flickered, slipping between the shadows, evading her grasp with a fluid grace that was unnerving.

I turned my attention to the ice demon, its cold, malevolent gaze locked on me. Frost began to creep across the ground as it moved, the temperature plummeting. I could feel the cold seeping into my bones, but I didn't let it slow me down. My mind was already calculating, analyzing its movements.

I feinted to the left, drawing its attention, then spun to the right, my sword cutting through the air with deadly precision. I aimed for the core I had seen earlier—the faint glow of its energy source beneath the ice. The demon reacted quickly, a wall of ice shooting up between us, but I was faster. My blade struck the ice, shattering it with a deafening crack.

The demon hissed, recoiling as I pressed the attack. I could see the flicker of fear in its eyes, and that was all I needed. I surged forward, my sword aimed for the core, ready to end this.

But just as I was about to strike, the ground beneath me shifted. The decay demon had crept up behind me, its withering touch turning the earth to ash. I stumbled, my balance thrown off, and in that moment, the ice demon lashed out.

A jagged spear of ice shot toward me, aimed directly for my chest.

I barely had time to react. I twisted, bringing my sword up to block, but the force of the blow sent me staggering back. Pain shot through my arm, but I pushed it aside, my mind focused on the task at hand.

"Draven!" Aurelia's voice rang out, sharp with urgency.

I glanced over to see her struggling against the fire demon, its flames growing hotter and more violent with every passing second. Her own fire was holding it back, but I could see the strain in her eyes. She couldn't hold out much longer.

"Anastasia, switch targets!" I called. Discover stories with empire

Anastasia nodded, her dark flames shifting from the shadow demon to the fire demon. The two flames—golden and dark—clashed in the air, creating a swirling vortex of light and shadow. It was mesmerizing, almost beautiful, but there was no time to admire it.

I turned back to the ice demon, my grip tightening on my sword. This time, I wouldn't miss. I surged forward, my blade gleaming as I aimed for the demon's core.

The tip of my sword glinted in the dim light, mere inches from its target.