"Thunder Domain," Levi said quietly, and then his body exploded with lightning.

"Crackle!" "Crackle!" "Crackle!"

Lightning instantly crackled his was concentrated, focused, channeled directly into Marcus's body through the points of contact. The energy didn't disperse into the air or create flashy visual effects. Every single volt of power, every single spark of destructive force, was being pumped directly into Marcus at point-blank range.

Marcus's body went rigid, his muscles spasming uncontrollably as electricity coursed through every nerve, every cell, every fiber of his being. His mouth opened in a silent scream, his eyes rolling back in his head as the lightning cooked him from the inside out.

The smell of burning flesh filled the air, and Marcus's expensive academy uniform began to smolder and char. His carefully styled hair stood on end, then started to burn. His skin, which had been smooth and unblemished, began to crack and blacken like overcooked meat.

Levi gritted his teeth as he held him tightly, ignoring the pain of the sword still piercing his heart and continuing to channel power.

The lightning wasn't just damaging Marcus's body. It was disrupting his nervous system, slowing his reaction speed to nearly zero, preventing him from using any techniques or making any defensive moves in an instant.

Marcus tried to activate his teleportation skill, but his body simply wouldn't respond.

The continuous electrical current had completely overwhelmed his control over his own muscles and energy.

"DIE!!!"

The intensity of the lightning surged dramatically. All the bits of energy he had stored evaporated as he fueled the thunder domain.

Marcus's skull, unable to withstand the pressure and the intensity of the electrical discharge, began to crack. Thin lines appeared in his skin, glowing with internal light as the lightning found weak points in bone structure.

"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"

The sound was like ice breaking on a frozen lake, only wetter, more organic.

Then, with a final, sickening crunch, Marcus's head exploded.

Blood, brain matter, and fragments of skull erupted outward from the point between Levi's hands, staining his arms and chest in warm, fluid.

Marcus's headless body stood there for a moment, swaying slightly, his hand still gripping the sword embedded in Levi's chest. Then, slowly, the corpse collapsed backward, the sword sliding free from Levi's body with a wet, sucking sound.

For several seconds, there was absolute silence in the forest. The only sound was the soft drip of blood falling from Levi's hands to the ground below.

Seraphina stared at the scene with eyes so wide they looked like they might fall out of her skull. Her mouth hung open in shock and disbelief.

Marcus Silvercrest, a Rank 4 Super Soldier, someone who should have been effectively invincible in this trial, had just been killed by someone he had supposedly defeated.

"Im…impossible," she stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. "You were… the sword was through your heart. You should be dead. How can you still…"

But Levi wasn't looking at her yet. He stood there for a moment, swaying slightly, looking down at the massive hole in his chest.

[3000x activated]

[Regeneration Lvl 8]

Then, in that instant, the wound began to close. The process was visible, flesh knitting itself back together with disturbing speed.

His regeneration skill had actually been pushed to level 8 in just a single day.

The hole in his chest, which should have been instantly fatal, was closing from the inside out. Muscle reconnected, blood vessels sealed themselves, and finally skin grew over the surface.

Within the span of fifteen seconds, the only evidence of the wound was a large patch of fresh, pink scar and blood staining his torn clothing.

Only then did Levi turn his attention to Seraphina. His expression was completely blank. There was no anger, just cold, merciless killing intent.

He didn't speak, but he moved.

Seraphina tried to scramble away, tried to flap her wings to fly but her wings were broken and she was too weak to do anything.

There was a slight thunder clap and Levi appeared before her in a blink.

Seraphina opened her mouth, to beg for mercy, or perhaps to make some final threat, but she never got the chance to speak.

Levi's hand, still stained with Marcus's blood, slapped downwards.

"SPLAT!"

The sound of her skull fracturing echoed through the entire forest.

Levi's hand didn't stop at the surface. The force of the blow drove downward, and Seraphina's head was literally crushed, collapsing inward like an eggshell under a hammer.

Her entire head, from the crown down to her throat, was smashed into a pulpy mass of bone fragments, brain tissue, and dark blood.

Her body jerked as her tail thrashing weakly, and then it then fell silent. She was dead.

Levi stood there for a moment, looking at the two corpses. Marcus's headless body lay a few meters away, still occasionally twitching as residual electricity discharged through dead muscles.

"Finally!"

He heaved a sigh of relief as he started at the two corpses.

The adrenaline that had been keeping him functional finally began to fade, and then the pain started to surf though his body, making Levi groan.

He staggered slightly, as he turned and walked towards the cave.

Levi turned and began walking, each step requiring conscious effort and willpower.

He made it back to the cave's entrance,

Levi's eyes immediately found the small hole where he had placed the little thief.

The little thief's chest was still rising and falling, shallow but steady. The wound from Seraphina's blade had closed significantly, helped by the various treasures Levi had fed it. The creature was sleeping, its body focusing all available energy on healing and recovery.

The little thief was alive. "That's good!"

But Levi himself was at his absolute limit. His vision was starting to blur at the edges, and he could feel his consciousness slipping.

His gaze fell on one of the massive beast corpses from the earlier tide, a Rank 7 creature whose body was easily large enough to hide inside.

Using the last reserves of his strength, Levi drew his cleaver and began cutting into the beast's side. He carved out its intestine, creating a makeshift hiding place within the corpse itself.

It was disgusting, and the smell was terrible, but it would hide him from casual observation.

Levi carefully picked up the still-sleeping little thief, cradling the small creature against his chest as gently as possible. Then, with his remaining hand, he pulled himself into the space he had created in the beast's corpse.

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