Allen followed the voice in his mind all the way here, and when he reached the Holy Demon Prison Tower, he finally locked onto its source.

  "This is it. Hidden this deep, you made me toss and turn all night."

  He muttered under his breath, his tone filled with the irritation of someone whose sleep had been disturbed. Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped straight toward the tower.

  At this moment, everyone else was gathered in front of the distant screens, and no one noticed the lone figure walking toward the tower.

  What was even stranger was that the terrifying pressure, which even an Intermediate Mage could barely endure, seemed like nothing at all to Allen.

  As the Demon King, his magic power shared the same origin as the Demon sealed at the top of the tower.

  With his strength, if he released his mental perception, he could discern every subtle fluctuation of that pressure.

  But within the Radiant Magic Academy, he never used his full power lightly. Once his identity was exposed, all of his plans to remain hidden would collapse.

  He calmly stepped into the first floor of the Holy Demon Prison Tower. Almost at the same moment, the distant screen refreshed with his information, clearly marking his name and current floor.

  Allen glanced at the staircase leading to the second floor. Without slowing down, he walked straight up, moving as casually as if he were strolling through his own courtyard.

  When this scene appeared on the screens, everyone froze for an instant, then burst into shocked exclamations.

  "Damn it, how is he so fast?"

  "Who is this guy? I have never heard of anyone like him at the Radiant Magic Academy."

  "A Fourth-tier Magic Apprentice. His climbing speed is far beyond Valerius, and he does not even pause."

  "Is the screen malfunctioning? Who is Allen? Could his magic rank be displayed wrong?"

  Most of the people present had never seen Allen before. He rarely moved around the academy, always deliberately hiding his edge. He had never taken part in any public trials, so naturally he was unknown.

  Amid the heated discussion, an apprentice who had once participated in the talent test suddenly cried out,

  "It is Allen, that beast who harassed Evelyn."

  The moment those words were spoken, realization dawned on the crowd, and their memories were instantly stirred.

  "It is him, the one called a useless Allen."

  "I was there at the talent test too. This kid had no magical affinity at all."

  "Back then he was only a Third-tier Magic Apprentice. After all this time he barely reached Fourth-tier. How could trash like that even climb the tower, let alone this fast?"

  The crowd was filled with doubt and confusion. No one wanted to believe what they were seeing. The contrast between Allen's past and his current performance was simply too great.

  But before they could sort out their thoughts, the change on the screen struck their perception once again.

  The number of floors next to the name Allen was jumping at a staggering pace, almost without stopping. Five floors, ten floors.

  His climbing speed was steady and fierce. On average, he reached the top of a floor every ten seconds.

  The pressure did not slow him down at all, and his movements were as light as if he were simply walking up stairs.

  This completely overturned everyone's understanding of the Holy Demon Prison Tower.

  Even Valerius had taken nearly two hours to reach the tenth floor, yet Allen had done it at a speed that was nothing short of overwhelming.

  The four elders on the high platform stared at the rapidly jumping floor numbers on the screen, and for a long while not a single one of them could find the words to speak.

  Valen from Blaze Light Academy was the first to break the silence."This… who is this, exactly?"

  "An apprentice at this level should not even be able to withstand the pressure around the Holy Demon Prison Tower, let alone get close to it. The moment they step into the pressure zone, they should be crushed."

  Eileen from Frostveil Academy spoke with a face full of shock."Not only did he successfully enter the tower, his climbing speed is this fast. This completely defies all magical common sense."

  Tobias from Dawnspire Academy kept shaking his head, his eyes filled with disbelief."This is absurd."

  "Even a genius mage could not ignore layer after layer of pressure with only the strength of a Fourth-tier Magic Apprentice.

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  What kind of forbidden magic is he using, or does he have some kind of artifact that can resist the pressure of a Demon?"

  The three of them spoke over one another, utterly unable to accept this reality that overturned everything they knew.

  Eleanor, on the other hand, was so stunned she could hardly believe her own eyes.

  Just moments ago, she had caught sight of Allen in the corner of her vision, his face full of irritation as he walked toward the Holy Demon Prison Tower.

  She had been puzzled by this strange behavior, and in the very next moment, she saw Allen's name and floor number appear on the screen.

  "Shouldn't he be resting in his room at this time?"

  Hearing Eleanor's words, Valen and the other two turned to look at her in confusion.

  Eleanor quickly gathered herself and explained with a hint of awkwardness in her tone,"This is the apprentice I mentioned to you before, the one I recently took in. Allen."

  "I really did not expect him to break into the Holy Demon Prison Tower."

  She could not understand why Allen had suddenly appeared here, nor could she comprehend how he was able to withstand the pressure of a Demon.

  ...

  Inside the tower, Allen continued to climb, following the increasingly clear voice in his mind. The pressure along the way did not slow him down in the slightest. It was not until he reached the twelfth floor that he finally stopped.

  Sweeping his gaze across the level, Allen soon spotted a familiar figure on the floor.

  Evelyn was lying on top of Aerin. Both of their magic robes were soaked through with sweat, their faces pale as they gasped for breath.

  The sudden sight nearly made Allen's jaw drop. He instinctively rubbed his eyes, seriously suspecting that his disturbed sleep had caused him to hallucinate.

  When Evelyn saw Allen suddenly appear here, her face filled with shock as well.

  No matter how she thought about it, she could not believe that Allen would show up on the twelfth floor of the Holy Demon Prison Tower. Even many Intermediate Mages found it difficult to reach this place.

  "Allen…" Evelyn's face turned bright red, partly from the rush of blood caused by her exhausted magic, and partly from the embarrassment of being caught in such a disheveled state. She could not even manage to form a complete sentence.

  Seeing Evelyn's mortified expression, and recalling how she always deliberately kept her distance from men, Allen instantly pieced together what he thought was the whole story.

  He hurriedly turned around, facing away from the two of them, and said,"Evelyn, do not worry. I did not see anything. What happened today, I will absolutely not tell anyone."

  After saying that, he quickly ran toward the staircase leading to the thirteenth floor, afraid he might witness something even more shocking.

  As he ran, Allen was full of amazement."That was incredible. I never would have thought Evelyn liked women."

  He thought to himself that it finally made sense. No wonder he had never heard of Evelyn having any interaction with men.

  Even an accidental brush of shoulders would make her react strongly. It was not that she disliked him. It was simply that she did not like men at all.

  Watching Allen's hurried retreating figure, Evelyn felt her mind go completely blank, as if it had short circuited.

  The dizziness brought on by her exhausted magic mixed with the shock of what she had just seen, making her wonder if she was hallucinating because she had run out of power.

  How could Allen possibly appear on the twelfth floor of the Holy Demon Prison Tower?

  But in the next moment, Aerin's trembling voice shattered her self doubt and confirmed that what she had seen was not an illusion.

  "A Fourth tier Magic Apprentice?" Aerin propped herself up against the wall and barely managed to sit upright, her gaze fixed on the direction of the stairway.

  She could clearly sense the faint magical fluctuations coming from Allen. They truly were only at the level of a Fourth tier Magic Apprentice.

  Yet that Magic Apprentice had forced his way through layer after layer of pressure to reach the twelfth floor, something that completely overturned all common sense in the world of magic.

  The two of them supported each other as they slowly recovered, their minds filled with the absurd fact that a Fourth tier Magic Apprentice had climbed to the twelfth floor.

  Evelyn's cheeks burned even hotter. Being caught in such a disheveled state was already embarrassing enough, but Allen's line about seeing nothing somehow made her feel inexplicably guilty.

  ...

  On the fifteenth floor of the Holy Demon Prison Tower, Valerius and Felix were gasping for breath, yet the excitement shining in their eyes was impossible to hide.

  Originally, Felix had planned to burn his own magic to forcibly push Valerius up to the fifteenth floor.

  To their surprise, the two of them had actually broken through the pressure of the fourteenth floor together and reached this height that no one had ever set foot on before.

  They stood stiffly in the center of the fifteenth floor, their magic nearly drained dry, unable to even move their fingers, yet still unable to suppress their exhilaration.

  This was an achievement worthy of being recorded in the annals of the Holy Demon Prison Tower. From this day forward, the name of Blaze Light Academy would forever be bound to this record.

  Felix tightly gripped Valerius's hand. In each other's eyes, they saw the same wild joy and pride, which kept them barely standing under the terrifying pressure.

  Just as the two of them were about to circulate their magic on the spot to recover and catch their breath for a moment, a series of hurried yet light footsteps suddenly came from the direction of the stairway.

  The sound was especially clear in the silent fifteenth floor. Valerius and Felix's pupils shrank as they turned in shock to look toward the stairs.

  Reaching this place was already their limit. Could there really be someone else who had kept up with them, and with such an unhurried pace?

  A few seconds later, Allen's figure appeared in their line of sight.

  The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds. Allen looked at the two men in front of him, their hands tightly clasped, their bodies drenched in sweat, their gazes locked together.

  His expression instantly turned deeply conflicted as a rapid stream of thoughts flashed through his mind."Is this… attraction between the same sex? Why is everyone so open about it?"

  Seeing Allen suddenly appear, Valerius and Felix were stunned, their faces full of disbelief.

  The pressure on the fifteenth floor had already made it hard for them to breathe, and their magical circuits throbbed with pain.

  Valerius struggled to open his mouth, wanting to demand who the other person was and how he had reached this place, but all he could manage were broken words."You… you…"

  Seeing Valerius stare at him so intently and unconsciously tighten his grip on Felix's hand, Allen instantly filled in the rest of the scene in his own mind. He waved his hands nervously and explained in a hurried tone,"No… that is not my thing."

  Afraid of being misunderstood, he quickly added,"You two carry on. I did not see anything. I will absolutely not disturb you."

  Allen was convinced that the two of them, seeing that he looked decent, were trying to invite him to join their side.

  He had no intention of that. After hurriedly refusing, he did not dare linger. He turned and ran toward the sixteenth floor, afraid of falling into an even more awkward situation.

  At this moment, his heart was filled with frustration. He secretly regretted acting on impulse and chasing after that voice tonight.

  First he had stumbled upon the intimacy between Evelyn and Aerin, and now he had run into the tenderness between these two men. It left him feeling uncomfortable all over.

  He was even more troubled about how he should face Evelyn in the future. He could not possibly keep deliberately avoiding her forever.