"Right? The Queen really thought those students could defeat us?" Hikaru replied.
"Yeah. Also, who are those students again?" Glenn questioned.
"Hmm, I can hardly remember myself. Those students really didn't stand out much," Hikaru replied.
"I think the names of four of them are Amelia, Kian, Enman, and Heart," Glenn said.
"Really? How do you know?" Hikaru asked.
"Amelia is the class president of Class Blunder, and the other three were students from Class Excellence," he continued. "The Class of Greats had only one ally during that entire school year at Ka-agahan Academy."
"And that class we were once allied with was Class Excellence. That's why I practically know almost all the students in that class," Glenn added.
"I see. From what I know, all the classes despised the Class of Greats—probably because all you did was make enemies," Hikaru said.
"That's right. And everyone who became my enemy failed to defeat me—except for one," Glenn replied as he turned his gaze toward Hikaru.
"And that was the Class of Brilliants. I tried my best every day to overcome your class, and people even thought you were the Smiling Reaper because of how smart you were," he continued. "I despised you with all my heart… Heh, but that was in the past. In this world, it's all about power, not intelligence. I think this time, I might actually be above you."
"Oh really?" Hikaru said. "You're overestimating yourself, don't you think?"
"Heh… Configuration procedure... System," Glenn chanted as his status window appeared.
[Heavenly SYSTEM]
Level: 678
User: Glenn Villanueva
Element: Light
Tier Level: 5
Stats:
Strength: 478
Speed: 678
Defense: 126
"It's not that I'm bragging, but my level is already more than halfway to max," Glenn said.
"You call that not bragging?" Hikaru replied, calmly adjusting his glasses as he chanted, "Configuration procedure... System."
[Heavenly SYSTEM]
Level: 734
User: Hikaru Lamour
Element: Air
Tier Level: 5
Stats:
Strength: 734
Speed: 693
Defense: 720
"Get better," Hikaru replied.
"Tsk."
"You should probably learn to stop glazing yourself with pride," Hikaru added.
"Even in this world, you think you're better than me?" Glenn exclaimed.
"I never said that," Hikaru responded.
Glenn remained silent as more guards walked down the hallway, preparing their swords as the sun began to set.
"I have a question for you," Hikaru said.
"What is it?" Glenn responded with attitude.
"Well, it's about Alisa, the class president of Class Best. How is she?" Hikaru asked.
"Hm? You mean the only class that rejected the idea of sending the six students who crawled out of Hell into Hell?" Glenn said.
"Yeah. Where is she now? Didn't you just visit her yesterday?" Hikaru asked.
"Yeah, I did… I gave her an offer, but she rejected it. Heh, what can I say? She's the cold queen of Ka-agahan Academy. She's currently outside the castle, probably somewhere in the Forest of Sapat. Don't expect her back for the next three days—she's totally focused on leveling up," Glenn replied.
"I see… She's probably still sad and angry about how her comrades were killed by Black Hood," Hikaru said.
"I thought you'd know about it," Glenn replied with a smirk.
"About what?" Hikaru asked.
"About how Princess Millie wants Alisa dead," Glenn said.
Hikaru stayed silent.
"I guess you already knew. Princess Millie wants Alisa dead—by sending her to fight Black Hood. Alisa was the only one who opposed her idea, so she wants her gone. Simple as that. Princess Millie is cold on the inside—just like us, who laughed at the six students planning their revenge," Glenn continued. "Seriously, even though Alisa is a hero with tier 7 capabilities, the vice president of Class Best, Mia Aloura—the only student in Class Best who laughed with us—is also tier 7. So losing Alisa wouldn't be that bad."
"And of course, you don't want that. But despite it all, you're head over heels for that princess. Your lust for her—and Alisa—is insane. You're a perverted president. You can't get everything you want! AHAHAHAHA!" Glenn burst into maniacal laughter.
Hikaru broke character and threw a punch directly at Glenn's face, infuriated.
Caught off guard, Glenn fell to the ground.
For a few seconds, the two simply glared at each other—until Glenn smirked and stood back up.
"For being the Student Council President to literally being the class president of Class Brilliant... you're kind of sensitive, aren't you?" Glenn exclaimed.
"From what I can see, you're asking for another fist in your face," Hikaru responded calmly.
"What a show-off," Glenn muttered as he turned around—only to be met by Kobe, who had a big smirk on his face.
"What are you doing here, dickhead?!" Glenn exclaimed, his hands in his pockets.
"Says the one who got punched in the face. That's what you get for being an idiot," Kobe retorted.
Glenn teleported right in front of Kobe and threw a swift punch at his face. Kobe blocked it with his arms as the atmosphere began to darken.
Glenn glowed yellow, pushing back the darkness surrounding him—only for Kobe to appear behind him, throwing a kick directly at his head.
Glenn dodged and pointed a finger toward Kobe's eyes. Kobe was caught off guard by Glenn's speed—when a massive firewall sprawled across their path.
This caught the guards' attention as they approached the fighting students.
Kobe and Glenn stepped back as Alice emerged from the firewall. She extinguished it with a snap of her fingers and turned toward them.
"The class president of 'Good'? What the fuck are you trying to accomplish here?!" Kobe blurted out.
"You were about to lose your right eye if I didn't stop you two. I understand both of your anger, but from my perspective, you've completely lost your minds. Seriously—fighting inside the castle!?" she continued. "And Hikaru, I thought you'd stop them right away. That's why I didn't act immediately when I saw them clashing. But it seems you were part of it too."
"You two, come with me!" the lead commander of the guards yelled at Kobe and Glenn.
They both clicked their tongues and followed the commander as Alice turned her gaze between them and Hikaru.
"Recently, you've become more irresponsible as the Student Council President. I highly recommend you step down from your position," Alice declared as she turned her back on Hikaru and left.
"Where are you going?" Hikaru called out.
"It doesn't concern you, and it's none of your business... but I suppose I'll tell you anyway," she continued. "I'm heading to the Forest of Sapat. I'm going to look for Alisa. Why I'm looking for her? Again—not your business."
Alice left, and Hikaru looked down at the ground, then turned his gaze toward the window.
"What have I become..." he muttered.
Meanwhile, back at the tavern...
Xiandre and Velmora exited, with Velmora looking satisfied from her meal.
"Our money won't last forever if this continues," Xiandre remarked.
"Fufu~ well, it's alright. I have plenty more Infernite coins," Velmora replied.
The two walked the streets together as Velmora led the way.
"So, where are we going exactly?" Xiandre asked.
"We're heading to the brewing shop. It's where people purchase potions and other consumables used in battle," Velmora explained.
"Wow, you really know this place, huh?" Xiandre replied.
"Well, I used to live here, after all... back when I was still human," she said.
They spotted the brewing shop in the distance, and Xiandre suddenly felt someone watching them. He remained calm as the two entered.
Inside, they were met by an old woman sleeping at the counter and a child wandering around.
Velmora approached the counter and tapped on the table. The old woman slowly opened her eyes.
"Hello there, can we get some invisibility potions and buffing potions?" Velmora asked.
"Oh, well yes of course, dear. We have those on the third—"
Before she could finish, Velmora tossed a bag full of gold coins onto the counter.
"I'm asking for the special ones—the ones used by the strongest people in this world," Velmora stated.
The old woman smirked and snapped her fingers. A dimensional storage opened beside her, and she pulled out a chest filled with potions.
Velmora smiled, inspecting each potion carefully.
The old woman yawned as the wandering child bumped into Xiandre.
The kid fell to the ground, then looked up at Xiandre's intimidating appearance. Horrified, she jumped into the old woman's arms in tears.
"Who is she?" Xiandre asked.
The old woman turned to him and replied calmly, "Oh, this young one? She's actually my grandchild. Her name is Iris. And did you know? Despite her appearance, she's actually older than me."
"Older? But she looks like a 9-year-old," Xiandre said, confused.
"Well, her mother was a witch. When Iris was born, her mother was attacked. People in this world hate witches. Their house was burned down. In her final moments, the mother cursed her daughter with immortality—her last hope to keep her alive. Then she teleported her away from the burning house. Because of this, Iris has trauma related to knights. The ones who burned their home were the royal knights of the Grimores."
"Grimores?"
"Yes, that's the royal family's last name. Anyway, I found her in the Forest of Sapat while searching for herbs five years ago," the old woman explained.
"You're telling me all of this... but how do you know it's her true story?" Xiandre questioned.
"Because she told it to me herself," the old woman replied.
"I see..."
"Hey, umm... I'm taking all of this. Thanks!" Velmora called out as she dropped the chest into her dimensional storage.
Xiandre turned to Iris and saw her breathing heavily. He sighed.
"What's your name?" he asked the old woman.
"You can call me Nova," she answered.
"Well, we'll be taking our leave now," Velmora said, turning toward the door.
"Goodbye," Xiandre added as he followed her.
As Velmora grabbed the door handle, Iris called out.
"Wait!"
Xiandre and Velmora turned back as Iris sprinted toward him.
"Here, take this. It's a potion my mom gave me back when she was still alive," she said.
Xiandre took it and inspected it.
"What does it do?" he asked.
"I don't know myself... but she told me to give it to someone who looks strong and scary, but is also kind," she replied.
"Kind, huh? I see... thanks," Xiandre replied.
Velmora exited the shop, and Xiandre followed as Iris waved at them.
Walking the streets again, Velmora spoke up.
"You got quite attached to them so easily," she said.
"Attached?"
"Yeah, it seemed like you were being kind to them. Was that the real you?" Velmora asked with a smile.
"I may look like someone who would break the mouth of anyone who talks back to me... but inside, I'm not that kind of person. I had a sister once—she had the same behavior as Iris," Xiandre replied.
"Oh? I see. Fufu~ I guess you really are a kinder person deep down," Velmora teased.
"That couldn't be true. The countless lives I've taken, the amount of blood and dead bodies I've seen, the murders I've committed... there's no way I could see myself as the kind of person others should be complimenting. And besides... behind Iris, there was a shadow. A silhouette of a woman I didn't recognize. But Guessing From what Nova told me... it was probably the spirit of Iris's mother."