FALLEN ORACLE

**Chapter 4: The Special Competition (10)

"Carl, cover me with your summons. Seth, stand in front and draw its attention."Carl didn't hesitate. He followed Chen Yi's order without a second thought. Seth, however, looked confused. Clearly, he wasn't used to being commanded by someone who had been his opponent moments ago."Seth, do as he says!" Bill, having narrowly survived, regained his composure and called out to his teammate.With Bill's endorsement, Chen Yi became even bolder in his commands. "Natalie, Sword Manifestation! Bill and Phil, flank it with psionic interference. Liv, take Nika's ice spike staff and slow its advance."In an instant, he had assessed the situation and assigned everyone the most suitable task.In that moment, the seven former opponents, facing life and death, displayed astonishing unity. With just the strength of a few trainees, they managed to temporarily hold back the powerful pureblood demonkin.Chen Yi himself retreated to the farthest back and began channeling mana.Since he wasn't yet proficient with Thunderstrike, and to avoid missing or hitting his comrades, he decided to cast Psionic Lock first.This spell marked a target's position to guide subsequent spells' mana flow. With it, he didn't have to worry about Thunderstrike missing.Though Psionic Lock wasn't overly complex, it wasn't a spell Chen Yi used often or excelled at. The worst part was that he had lost his spellbook and could only rely on memory to guide the mana.He knew that the lives of seven classmates—including his own—depended on this Psionic Lock. The pressure was immense.But the more pressure he felt, the easier it was to make mistakes under stress. At the very start, his mana guidance faltered and broke.On the other side, the demonkin, pushing through the interference, spat three fireballs at Phil. Phil dodged two but was hit by the third. His robe immediately turned red.Everyone now had a preliminary assessment: the standard robe could barely withstand one hit from the demonkin. A second hit would almost certainly be fatal.*Damn it. If only I hadn't lost my original spellbook.*Anxious, sweat beaded on Chen Yi's forehead. He told himself he had to stay calm.*Chen Yi, think of the goddess on the cross. Despite her situation, she could precisely control the shape of her own wounds. And you can't handle this? If this is all you're capable of, how will you ever save her, even with powerful magic?*At that thought, Chen Yi gradually steadied himself. Under his control, the mana stabilized. Soon, his Psionic Lock landed accurately on the demonkin.At the same time, Natalie managed to strike the demonkin with two Sword Manifestations, using the fragments of robes and shields.The creature shrieked but quickly recovered. Only a faint scratch appeared on its exposed hand. Its scale-covered body seemed unharmed—this thing's defense combined a monster's physical toughness with a mage's protective shield.Carl's summons, not particularly powerful, scattered in terror at a single roar from the demonkin. None dared face it directly.All hope now rested on Thunderstrike.Chen Yi opened his spellbook and began casting the Elemental spell.The massive mana draw made his robe flutter loudly. A golden glow surrounded him. With one hand holding his spellbook and the other raised flat, his ring pointed at the demonkin.The spellbook pages flipped rapidly in the wind. Completely focused, Chen Yi read the symbols as they turned.His comrades were stunned by the sight. As far as they knew, Chen Yi only knew the most basic spells. But in this moment, he looked every bit a top-tier mage.Even though they had followed his orders, some had wondered privately: he's just an intermediate trainee, with no powerful magic—why was he in the back, needing everyone's cover?But seeing him like this, anyone could tell: something big was coming.If the trainees could sense something was off, the intelligent demonkin could certainly sense it too. In fact, it could perceive even more—and what it saw filled it with unprecedented terror.What frightened the demonkin wasn't Chen Yi's solemn posture as he channeled massive amounts of mana.Rather, through its animal instincts, the demonkin vaguely sensed a colossal phantom standing behind Chen Yi—a figure, a woman.The woman, like Chen Yi, held a spellbook and pointed her ringed hand at it. And this woman—there was no way the demonkin could oppose her.This was something etched into every demonkin's double-helix structure, even through genetic engineering: a mage's fear of a far stronger mage.The demonkin's momentary fear gave Chen Yi ample casting time. Thunderstrike was nearly complete.Even if it snapped back to reality now, Seth stood ready at the front. The demonkin would take this hit no matter what.But at this critical moment—then, without warning. An ice spike inconveniently jutted from the ground and struck the demonkin's toe.The cold touch jolted the demonkin awake. It immediately spotted the source of the attack—Liv, wielding the ice spike staff.The demonkin acted instantly. Shaking off the summons from the two summoners, it charged straight at Liv. A Discharge spell shattered Liv's robe. Behind her lay the unconscious Nika.Clearly, before Thunderstrike could fall, both girls would die.In this desperate moment, Liv hadn't deliberately defied Chen Yi. In fact, she was now willing to follow his orders.But she had always done whatever she wanted. Seeing the enemy stop moving, she couldn't resist attacking—forgetting Chen Yi's command to "slow its advance."This lapse was pure reflex on Liv's part. The moment she swung her staff, she regretted it. But in a life-or-death fight, regret came too late.Just as Liv closed her eyes, waiting for death, a gust of wind blew her and Nika aside, saving them from the demonkin's fatal strike.Enraged that its prey had suddenly vanished, the demonkin whipped its head around and saw Chen Yi, who had interrupted his spell to blow the two girls away with an Air Pressure staff.The demonkin couldn't speak, but it thought quickly. Why bother killing the two women first? This man—he was the real threat. Take him out, and the others would be nothing.Chen Yi had no good options. The last thing he wanted was to interrupt his nearly complete Thunderstrike. But in that split second, if he hadn't acted, he would have watched his classmates die.Seeing the demonkin charge at him, Chen Yi didn't retreat. He ran toward it. "Seth, cast Speed on me!"Seth obeyed immediately.Faster now, Chen Yi rushed at the demonkin—and the next moment, he was knocked flying, his robe shattered."Chen Yi!" Carl, still summoning his Clay Giant, cried out in alarm.But Chen Yi scrambled to his feet immediately. He ran toward the cliff edge, using small water bullets from Beginner Ripple to obscure the demonkin's vision.Soon, both man and beast neared the cliff.The demonkin was no ordinary dumb animal. It quickly understood Chen Yi's intent—he was looking for a chance to knock it off the cliff.If that was the case, why not strike first?With that thought, a hurricane blasted from the demonkin's mouth, sending Chen Yi flying backward. With the cliff behind him, he was blown over the edge without question and fell straight toward the bottom.The cliff was at least a hundred meters high. Falling from that height meant certain death.Seeing this, all his comrades froze. Liv fell to her knees, unable to cry.Chen Yi... had just fallen to his death?