Chapter 236: The Promise Inside the Fire

Seris was petrified.

Her body refused to move. Her mind refused to process. Nothing in front of her was making any sense.

She had seen Lilith’s side. A side she was completely unaware of. A demon lurking beneath the quiet, shy girl who blushed at compliments.

She had seen Jax’s side. A side that terrified her more than any enemy on this battlefield.

She had watched both of them hunt down professors and students as if there would never be any repercussions. As if consequences didn’t exist in their vocabulary.

And the most important thing that made her shiver to her core was Jax himself.

She knew this mode. She had seen it before. Back when he fought for her mother in Veldora. Those vengeance-filled eyes were exactly the same.

But this time, she didn’t know what he was fighting for.

She didn’t know if this was the right decision.

But one thing was certain. What Jax had said before was true. They had opened the cage for a monster who wouldn’t stop until his ego was satisfied.

And seeing his anger, hearing his words, Seris was absolutely sure he was going to burn everything that had lit the spark.

She had to do something. Stop both Lilith and Jax before they crossed a point of no return. But the confusion was driving her madder and madder with every passing second.

Because nothing added up.

During Jax’s fight with Amael and the other boy, the two girls from the Holy Order had been doing something bizarre.

One of them was missing her attacks deliberately. Every strike aimed at Jax conveniently landed a meter short. At one point she even sent a jolt straight into Professor Amael’s ass.

And the other girl? She had been healing Jax. Their opponent. The man they were supposed to be fighting against.

Everything was a mystery.

But then Seris saw Jax begin to move. His left sword dragged across the stone floor, the metal screeching against rock as he walked slowly toward Cleenah. She was holding her head, struggling to get back on her feet.

Seris acted.

A massive tower of wood erupted from the ground directly in Jax’s path. Blocking his advance.

Jax stopped. His eyes moved from the wooden structure to its texture. Then his gaze shifted back toward Seris.

"Don’t come in my way, Seris."

His voice was hard. Final.

Seris’s tears were already falling. "Please stop, Professor. You’ve gone really far."

He added without a shred of softness. "Stay right there. One more move, and I don’t know what I’ll do next."

A pause.

"So don’t interfere. And don’t make me regret my actions because of you."

Seris shivered. All these past days, Jax had been really nice to her. Nicer than she had ever seen him be with anyone else. For reasons she still didn’t understand, he treated her differently. Gently. Almost protectively.

But the version of Jax standing before her right now was someone else entirely.

She watched helplessly as he moved past the tower and approached the space between Cleenah and Lilith. He stood there for a moment. Between both of them. As if weighing something in his mind.

Then he turned toward Lilith.

She was screaming. Both hands gripping her horn and the hair around it. The demonic aura surrounding her body had thickened beyond anything they had witnessed before.

Stronger than any dark flame. More volatile than any cursed energy.

And inside that aura, Lilith was burning. Her own power was consuming her from within.

Jax didn’t hesitate. He threw both his swords to the ground and started walking toward her. Toward the hell flames.

Cleenah watched from behind. "What do you think you’re doing now?"

Jax didn’t turn. Just spoke over his shoulder.

"If I had stepped back, trust me, it would have been for your safety. Not mine."

He walked into the fire.

His enchanted gear began burning the moment the aura touched it. The fabric peeled away in smoldering strips. Then his skin. The heat seared through layers of flesh as he pressed forward step by step.

But he didn’t stop.

Reaching Lilith through the inferno, he saw the pain etched across every inch of her body. The bleeding eyes. The cracking horn. The power tearing her apart from the inside.

He wrapped his arms around her. Pulled her into a tight embrace.

Lilith, or rather the senseless creature Lilith had become, looked at him. She didn’t know what was happening. Didn’t recognize the warmth. Didn’t understand the gesture.

In confusion and rage, she bit down on his back. Her teeth sank through his burned flesh. Her nails dug into his skin from both sides, carving deep trenches across his shoulder blades.

Jax didn’t let go.

He whispered into her ear.

"It’s alright now, Lilith. I’m here. So you don’t have to worry about anything."

His grip tightened.

"Didn’t I promise you? That I would protect you no matter what? So here I am. Standing between you and death itself. And I’ll keep standing here until the God of Death turns back in defeat due to my stubbornness."

His voice softened further.

"But Lilith, are you doing the same? Didn’t you promise me as well? That you would fight back? That you would follow the words I told you before the match?"

Inside Lilith’s mind, the world was collapsing.

She was staring at her own reflection. A mirror that was swallowing her whole. Pulling her deeper into the darkness she had spent her entire life running from.

Images flooded the glass. Her father dying. Her mother and brother’s lifeless bodies being dragged away from her. The blood on the floor.

Then the mirror showed her the lonely girl. The one left behind. The one who grew up in silence. In hiding. In a cage of someone else’s making.

But then there was Jax.

Even before meeting him, she had dreamed of him. A blurry figure standing tall against the void. And every time she lost herself to her form, every time the demon inside consumed her mind, there he was.

Standing tall. Releasing an aura that eradicated the darkness within and shone brighter than the sun.

His words from before echoed through the collapsing mirror.

’Remember this, Lilith. Whatever happens in there, whenever you feel like the world is caving in or everything inside you is screaming to break, don’t panic. Don’t lose to yourself.’

’Just close your eyes. Let the darkness come. And in that darkness, find the girl who stands tallest. Not who others tell you to be. The strongest version of yourself. The one I see when I look at you.’

’And in return, I promise you this. Every darkness standing ahead of you will fade. And when you open your eyes, the only thing you’ll see is yourself standing in a light you never knew existed.’

Bloody tears dripped from her eyes.

She hugged him back. Her arms wrapped around the body she had been destroying.

And then she saw what she had done. The bitten flesh on his back. The burns covering every inch of him. The deep nail marks carved across his shoulders.

Her mind shattered further. She screamed louder than before. Harder. The guilt compounding with the rage compounding with the pain until nothing remained but noise.

Jax held on. "I know you’re in there, Lilith. These tears are the proof. So just fight for yourself more. Fight for me."

But Lilith couldn’t take it anymore.

The energy inside her detonated. A blast erupted from her body and sent Jax flying backward. He hit the stone floor and skidded across it, leaving a trail of blood before coming to a stop.

He lay there. In utter pain. Barely moving.

Celestine clicked her tongue from across the dungeon. "How dare she do that to him."

Her arms crossed. Her eyes scanned Jax’s crumpled body with visible irritation.

"He looks in terrible condition right now. At this rate, he’ll get eliminated. And not only would we have to live in this world without him, but his reward to us would take far too long."

She raised her hand. "I can’t afford that. I’m healing him."

Ava grabbed her wrist. "Don’t. Remember what he told us. We shouldn’t do anything until he gives the signal. And if you break that condition, no rewards."

Celestine hissed but lowered her hand.

Meanwhile, Cleenah watched the scene and laughed. "Do you think you can cure these cursed creatures through words?"

She stepped forward, holy sword gleaming.

"These creatures don’t have a heart. No matter how much they seem on the surface, they won’t hesitate to kill when they get the chance."

Her expression carried a weight that went beyond this battlefield. A personal suffering. An old wound.

"You may see my methods as rogue. But when it happens to you. When it happens to your loved ones. You will understand everything."

She charged at Lilith. Blade raised. Ready to end this.

But a figure appeared in her path.

She halted.

A boy stood between her and Lilith. Muscular. Composed. Radiating a fighting spirit that didn’t belong to anyone present.

Bruise Lee. Jax’s summon.

Jax had pushed himself onto his knees. Blood dripped from his mouth. His body was a ruin of burns, bites, and broken ribs.

But his voice carried the authority of someone who had already decided the outcome.

"I already gave you the warning. Don’t run your mouth in front of me."

His eyes locked onto Cleenah.

"Both your voice and your face irritate me. And you are alive right now only because the time of your death registered in my saga hasn’t arrived yet."

A pause.

"Stay right there for some time. Before I give you a surprise."

Then his eyes shifted to Lilith.

She was still out of control. Still burning. Still screaming. Still consumed by the demon within.

Jax smiled. "Looks like I’ll have to scold you myself."

He activated his skill.

[Soul Thief]

[Target: Undefined]

[Met the skill criteria.]

[Accept? Yes / No.]