Chapter 120: Lessons from the Shameless Master PT 3

"I summon you... Varitas."

when the drop of crimson blood hit the scorching, cracked floor.

Instantly, it began to glow with a deeply ominous, crimson light. The ground crackled as a massive, complex magic circle composed of ancient runes erupted across the rocky surface. The intensely hot air above the circle began to swirl rapidly, catching Myra’s hair and making it flutter elegantly around her face.

A few seconds later, something began to materialize from within the demonic script.

It was extremely small—roughly the size of a five-year-old child. The creature was covered entirely in sleek, obsidian-black scales, with two bat-like wings folded neatly against its back. Its piercing, molten-yellow eyes scanned the room lazily while a long, thin tail whipped back and forth behind it as it floated a few feet off the ground.

Despite its almost comical, tiny stature, an incredibly heavy, suffocating presence instantly flooded the cavern, making the girls’ breath hitch in their throats.

The little demon let out a wide yawn, stretching its tiny arms above its head. However, the moment its molten eyes landed on Myra, it flinched so hard that it immediately snapped its tiny body into a perfectly straight, rigid posture.

"Yes, my lady?" it squeaked respectfully.

Myra gestured lazily toward the violently churning river of molten lava.

"Varitas, dear. Clean this mess up for me, would you?"

The tiny demon bowed deeply.

"As you wish, my lady."

Everyone — even Lucian — watched in absolute, stunned silence as Varitas hovered directly over the magma river like a tiny dragon. Suddenly, he unhinged his jaw, opening his mouth to an impossibly wide angle.

Gulp. Gulp. Gulp.

It defied all logic. The thick, glowing streams of magma bleeding from the walls, and the entire roaring river below, were forcefully sucked up into a single, massive tornado of fire. It all flowed directly into the tiny demon’s mouth, exactly like a high-powered vacuum pump mercilessly inhaling a storm.

Sera’s eye twitched violently.

"What... what am I even watching right now...?"

Aria’s mouth was hanging slightly open in pure disbelief. Even Elira, who normally didn’t react to anything, actually blinked a few times in genuine shock.

In less than a single minute, every last drop of the hot magma had completely vanished into the demon’s bottomless stomach. The cavern, which was just a bubbling hellscape moments ago, was now nothing but cracked, blackened stone.

Varitas floated back over to Myra, politely covering his mouth to muffle a very satisfied burp.

"All done, my lady. Anything else?"

"No. You’re dismissed."

"I deeply appreciate the meal." Bowing one last time, the tiny demon vanished into thin air with a quiet poof of black smoke.

Myra looked down at the uneven, jagged floor and cracked her knuckles with a sharp pop.

"Now then... let’s flatten this out a bit, shall we?"

She casually brought her hands together and gave a light, single clap.

RUMBLE!!!

The entire cavern floor shook violently in response. Massive chunks of jagged, razor-sharp rocks suddenly began moving on their own—as if they had gained a mind of their own. Guided by some unknown, invisible force, they lifted into the air, reshaped themselves mid-flight, and slammed back down with precision, perfectly locking together into smooth, flat stone tiles.

Every single piece of debris found its place automatically, assembling itself like a sentient puzzle.

Within mere moments, the treacherous, death-trap cavern had been completely terraformed into a pristine, perfectly level training arena.

Myra nonchalantly dusted off her hands, a satisfied smirk stretching across her lips.

"There. Much better."

She turned back to face the group, her predatory eyes gleaming with immense amusement as she looked at the three utterly dumbfounded, frozen girls.

"Welcome to your new training ground, my sweetie-hearts~"

Standing completely frozen off to the side, Lucian let out a long, deeply exasperated exhale, shaking his head as he murmured under his breath...

"By the way, there’s something important you all should know about this place,"

All eyes immediately turned toward him.

"This is a Time Distortion Zone."

Sera blinked in confusion.

"A... what?"

"Time flows differently here. Simply put, roughly twelve to thirteen hours inside this place is equal to about thirteen or fourteen seconds on the outside. So, no matter how much time we spend in here, whenever we leave, we’ll return to our world at almost the exact same time we left."

It was as if Sera and Aria had been waiting to hear exactly that. Both of their eyes sparkled brightly with overwhelming excitement as their gazes immediately shifted toward Myra.

"Mhmm, I get it," Myra shrugged.

"Okay then, we will train without any time limits..."

Hearing this, the two girls practically bounced on their heels, bursting with pure joy.

However, they were still completely oblivious to the harsh reality of the situation... and just how tragically those bright, innocent smiles were about to be shattered.

A short while later...

Myra stood perfectly relaxed right in the center of the newly leveled arena, with Sera standing directly opposite her...

Sitting off to the side in the corner of the arena, Elira, Aria, and Lucian watched the scene unfold.

"How long do you think this broomstick is going to last?" Elira whispered flatly.

Lucian replied, already thoroughly enjoying the highly predictable outcome.

"If Master actually strikes... I’d give her ten seconds. Barely."

"Seriously...?" Aria blurted out in disbelief.

"Lucian, how could you possibly know that...?"

"Well... I just know."

After seeing how strong she is, even just once, I have this heavy feeling she’s not normal. Not by any chance...

Elira and Aria simply stared at him, blinking blankly.

Meanwhile, back in the center of the arena...

Sera gripped her flaming blade tightly, her knuckles turning white. Sweat already beaded on her forehead as she stared at Myra standing casually in front of her—hands still on her hips, not even bothering to summon a weapon.

"Whenever you’re ready, dear~" Myra purred with that infuriating, elegant smirk.

Sera grit her teeth. ’Don’t underestimate me...’

She exploded forward, her blade cutting through the air with a sharp whistle. A horizontal slash aimed directly at Myra’s throat.

Myra tilted her head slightly.

The blade passed through empty air.

"Too slow, sweetheart."

Sera didn’t stop. She pivoted immediately, bringing her sword down in a vertical cleave.

Myra leaned back— just barely — her feet never moving an inch from their original position.

"So Predictable."

Gritting her teeth harder, Sera unleashed a flurry of rapid strikes — slashes, thrusts, diagonal cuts—each one faster and more desperate than the last.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

Myra swayed effortlessly, her body moving like water. Every single attack missed by mere centimeters.

And she hadn’t taken a single step.

Sera was panting now, frustration boiling over.

"Stop... dodging...!" she yelled, launching herself forward with a flame-boosted dash.

Myra simply ducked under the blade, her smirk widening.

"Make me."