Panic spread across the training grounds as the massive wave of water crashed down from nowhere. Students screamed and scrambled in every direction, some slipping on the soaked ground, others raising barriers too late.
Thankfully, the water didn't stay—it flowed away unnaturally, seeping into the ground as if swallowed by the earth itself. But even so, the force of the wave had left many students injured, coughing, or too shaken to continue.
The instructors had no choice but to stop the lessons for the day.
Before any investigation could even start, Sylvania stepped forward on her own. Her voice was steady, but her face was pale as she admitted responsibility for what had happened.
The teachers, though not angry, immediately told her to report to Lilith. Even though Lilith was no longer the vice principal, her authority and reputation were still unmatched.
As for the rest of the students, they were dismissed early, free to do whatever they wanted for the rest of the day.
———
Inside Lilith's office, the air was quiet and heavy. The small-framed woman sat behind her desk, her childlike appearance hiding the immense pressure she radiated.
Her sharp gaze stayed on Sylvania, who stood nervously in front of her, hands clasped in front of her skirt.
"So… a voice came into your mind, and then you became one with water?" Lilith asked.
Sylvania kept her eyes lowered as she nodded. "Yes… it was an ethereal, divine voice. The next moment… it just happened," she explained honestly.
Lilith went silent for a few seconds, studying her carefully. Then she simply said, "You can go."
Sylvania blinked in surprise. "Huh? Really?"
"Yes. But remember this—trust yourself more than you trust anyone else."
Sylvania tilted her head slightly, not understanding the meaning behind those words. Still, she bowed politely, pinching the corner of her skirt in proper etiquette before leaving.
Lilith's eyes lingered on the door long after Sylvania was gone. A faint sigh escaped her lips as she leaned back in her chair.
"It's happening again…? If that's the case, a great war might not be far off. I'll have to reach some things to Kailith."
———
Meanwhile, on the rooftop of one of the academy buildings, Maruti and Esdeath stood silently, watching the chaos below. Their clothes were damp from the earlier wave, forcing them to change.
"The reporters still aren't here yet," Esdeath muttered under her breath.
Maruti gave her an annoyed look. "You're worried about reporters? You should be worried about Ethan's team. Don't you think they're growing too fast? We started first, went through all that pain to enhance ourselves with essence stones… and now they've caught up like it's nothing. Is that what they call talent?"
Esdeath didn't answer right away. She stood quietly for a few seconds before speaking, her tone calm but laced with a sharp edge.
"They're the main character's team," she said matter-of-factly. "Of course they'll grow faster. But that's exactly what I want. Pigs need to be fattened before they're butchered." Her voice twisted into something dark and cold.
Maruti groaned and threw her hands up. "Ha! Have you never seen anime or movies? Villains let the heroes get stronger, and then what happens? The hero gets some sudden power-up and kills the villain in the end! That's exactly what's going to happen to us!"
Her frustration was clear. Ethan's raw strength was already above theirs, and if Violet and the others also kept improving at this speed, it was only a matter of time before they'd be treated like background extras—unimportant and replaceable.
But Esdeath didn't seem to care. "The reporters still aren't here," she said instead. "That can only mean Anastasia Dailies is preparing an exclusive report."
Maruti raised an eyebrow. "Exclusive news?"
Esdeath nodded. "Yes. They were the ones who spent all that time and money finding out the author of that book—the one about the future I saw. They'll want all the credit, all the attention, all the fame for themselves."
She narrowed her eyes slightly and added, "Someone will probably approach you soon for a secret interview. They'll save it and release it later, turning it into a breaking news story that will shock the entire kingdom." A slow, wicked smile formed on her lips. "Not bad… not bad at all."
Maruti sighed heavily. "Great… as if having a stalker wasn't enough, now I have to deal with some reporter too."
"Be ready," Esdeath warned, her voice turning serious. "If you sense someone following you, approach them first. And whatever you do, don't let Kailith notice that person… or you know what will happen."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," Maruti replied, waving her hand like she couldn't care less.
The two of them went quiet for a while, the sound of wind brushing past the rooftop filling the silence. Then Esdeath's gaze shifted toward the thick, sprawling forest behind the academy.
"Let's go hunt some Hypostasis," she said. "We need more battle experience."
Hypostasis were strange rank B monsters made entirely of tiny cube-like particles, moving as if they were machines. They came in all kinds of shapes—giant floating blocks, rabbit-like figures, even animal forms. Each one had an elemental type, like Electro Hypostasis, Earth Hypostasis, or Wind Hypostasis.
Their bodies were valuable, often used as materials for refining space-path essence stones.
More dangerous than those, however, were Human Hypostasis—rank A monsters with intelligence far above normal beasts. Their bodies weren't used for space-path stones, but for transformation-path ones instead.
Esdeath's real goal today was to hunt rank B Hypostasis so she could refine space-path essence stones for Corin. As a wolfman, Corin had a natural affinity for space-path energy, and refining such stones would be easier and more successful for him.
Even though he wasn't her true subordinate—only bound to her by force—his potential was too good to waste.
But Maruti just let out another sigh. "Weren't we supposed to go tomorrow?"
"We've got nothing else to do today," Esdeath said in a flat, emotionless tone.
"That's true," Maruti replied with a shrug. "Let's go then!"
---
Meanwhile, after stepping out of Lilith's office, Sylvania found Ethan and the others waiting for her.
"What happened? Did she say anything?" Emma was the first to speak, her voice filled with curiosity.
Sylvania shook her head. "No… but I'm feeling really tired. Maybe I should take a quick nap."
"Yeah… I'm feeling kind of exhausted too," Violet sighed.
"Me too," Emma added, her shoulders slumping.
Ethan glanced at the three girls. He had wanted to ask Sylvania about that enormous water magic she used, and how Violet had suddenly grown so strong, but seeing them all looking drained, he decided against it.
"Alright, you should all go rest. I think I'll spend some time with my mother. She came all the way here from the village, and I still haven't taken her anywhere," Ethan said, a trace of guilt in his voice. He'd been so busy lately that he was starting to feel like a bad son.
"I'll be going too," Cassandra said in her usual calm, emotionless tone.
---
Later that day, Cassandra sat alone in her personal room, a neat stack of papers laid out in front of her on the desk. Earlier, a man had come by to deliver them—a full background report on Esdeath.
As the daughter of the former Archduke, Cassandra had plenty of resources and connections to gather any kind of information she wanted. She slowly flipped through the documents, her sharp eyes scanning each line.
"Hmm… nothing too unusual," she murmured. "Black hair, often called a witch by others, bullied as a child, sometimes mistaken for a vampire." She let out a small sigh.
"Except for being born on a blood moon… but blood moons happen every two years, so it's not exactly rare."
She turned to the next page, her eyes narrowing as something caught her attention. "She was arrested and questioned about the death of Eldon Karthanis… but it turned out the real killer was a boy backed by a revolutionary group. He was executed for it."
Cassandra's lips curled slightly, the closest thing to a smile she ever showed.
She kept reading. "Her roommate went missing. Then Esdeath disappeared with Maruti, only to return later claiming she had been searching for Luna… but Luna never came back."
Her gaze sharpened at the next part. "Some witnesses said Luna was seen running through the streets, shouting at another 'green-haired' girl that she was going to kill her… but that girl turned out to be her sister. Later, the investigation didn't find anything."
Closing the file, Cassandra stood abruptly and turned toward the door. "I should start with Eldon's case. Looks like she's not as innocent as my big sister describes!",
-------------
As time passed, the sunlight began to dim, casting long shadows over the forest. Deep within the trees, Esdeath and Maruti were locked in battle with a strange-looking monster—an Electro Hypostasis.
It had taken them more than two hours just to find one. Along the way, they had already hunted down two Wind Hypostasis, and this was their third target.
The Electro Hypostasis had the shape of a large floating cube, its surface covered in strange glowing patterns. In the center, a bright dark-blue core pulsed with energy, but it was heavily guarded by layers of tiny, solid, cube-like scales that shifted constantly.
Maruti was on the ground in front of the monster, dodging its attacks, while Esdeath was perched on a tree branch about a hundred meters away, carefully watching.
Hypostasis were notoriously hard to defeat. Their defenses were incredibly tough, but their core was their weak spot—like a heart.
The cube shifted suddenly, taking the shape of a giant fist, and slammed down toward Maruti.
**BAM!**
The impact shook the forest. Trees trembled, and cracks split the ground where the fist had landed, showing just how powerful the creature was.
It transformed again—this time into a pair of massive scissors—and snapped toward Maruti, clearly trying to slice her in half. She reacted instantly, jumping high into the air and avoiding the deadly cut.
"How much longer?!" she shouted toward Esdeath.
Esdeath didn't answer. She was busy transforming her ZK-20 weapon into a sniper form, her eyes locked on the creature's glowing core, finger ready on the trigger.
Then, out of nowhere, Maruti felt something strange around her legs. It was like invisible chains wrapping tight, freezing her in place.
"It's barrier magic!" she growled, teeth clenched.
The Hypostasis shifted again, turning into a massive open palm, and for the first time, its core was exposed. The huge hand came crashing toward her.
Unable to dodge, Maruti crossed her arms in front of her face to block, but the moment contact was made—
**Zzzzt!**
An overwhelming surge of electricity tore through her body, making her muscles spasm.
"Fuck—how much voltage is this?!" she gritted out, her body shaking.
Then—
**BANG!**
A loud gunshot rang out. A sharp white beam tore through the air and struck the monster's exposed core. A web of deep cracks spread across it instantly.
The Hypostasis faltered, its glowing patterns flickering, and then it began to fall toward the ground.
"Fire Punch! Fire Punch! Fire Punch!" Maruti didn't waste a second. She unleashed a furious barrage of flaming punches straight at the damaged core, venting all her pain and frustration until the cube finally shattered into pieces.
"Phew… third one down. That's enough for today," she said, catching her breath.
Esdeath leapt down from the tree, walking over. "Collect the body and let's go. The sun's about to set, and we're deep in the forest."
But before Maruti could even move, a crushing force pressed down on both of them. The air felt heavier, almost suffocating.
In the blink of an eye, the forest was gone.
The smell of greenery vanished, replaced by the dry, burning scent of sand.
They stood in the middle of a vast, endless desert. The sky above was a blinding pale blue, the sun high and merciless, beating down with intense heat. The time wasn't evening anymore—it was the middle of the day.
Maruti looked around, her mouth dry. "So… what the fuck just happened?"