As Vale, Rose, and Evelyn continued down the hall, another long stretch of windows came into view. Rose must have noticed the way Vale's gaze drifted toward them, because a bright, almost too-cheerful smile appeared on her face, polished and deliberate.
"Would you like to watch the sparring matches of our combat class, Vale?" she asked, her tone light but her eyes still carrying the weight of the story she had just told.
Vale could tell her enthusiasm was forced. If she truly was over five hundred years old, as she had claimed, then she had lived through the destruction Dagon unleashed. She had probably seen cities burn… watched people she knew vanish into ash and lightning. Putting on a smile after revisiting that past must have been difficult.
Still, Vale's curiosity stirred. He had no memories, no context for this world, but something in him, the part that reacted to danger, to motion and battle, wanted to see these students test their strength.
So he nodded silently, eyes brightening with interest.
When they reached the windows, Vale found himself overlooking a massive open-air stadium. Hundreds of students filled the seats, shouting, cheering, jeering. Six tall banners hung from both sides of the arena walls, each marked with bold black lettering:
10E
10D
10C
10B
10A
… and 10X.
Vale tilted his head. "Ten X?" he murmured, puzzled.
A sly, knowing grin touched Rose's lips. "The X-Class," she said. "Our strongest class by far… but also our most troublesome. Every student in it has some sort of issue, behavioral, emotional, or related to their abilities. Put bluntly, it's a special education class for… volatile talents."
Vales curiosity deepened. He opened his mouth to ask more,
but the stadium suddenly erupted in unison.
"ESKAR! ESKAR! ESKAR!"
"And that," Rose said with a chuckle, "would be the Academy's favorite show-off."
"A cocky brat," another student near the window muttered to a friend.
Vale shifted his focus to the right side of the arena. A tall, muscular boy with bright red hair emerged from the tunnel, waving at the crowd. His smile was warm, confident, almost hero-like.
Evelyn snickered, her grin sharp and amused. "They'll stop cheering soon," she said under her breath. "He's facing her today."
Vale glanced at Evelyn. Her tone told him she wasn't just teasing, she was anticipating something.
"Don't worry," she added when she saw his questioning look. "The students are limited to second-rank abilities during official spars. But even with restrictions… some people shine above the rest."
Vale nodded slowly. That only piqued his interest further.
He never got the chance to respond, because the crowd suddenly shifted, boos erupting like thunder.
From the opposite gate, a tall girl stepped out. She moved with an irritated sort of confidence, her short black hair chopped unevenly except for vivid yellow streaks. Her build was athletic, honed, every line of her body suggesting hard training and sharper discipline.
She didn't carry a weapon.
Eskar, however, had already grabbed a wooden sword from the rack.
The boy pointed it at her, speaking with animated gestures, clearly telling her to choose one of her own.
The girl merely lifted her head, her pale face lit with a cocky smile that stretched into a wicked grin. She didn't bother looking at the swords.
She simply raised her fists and slid into a combat stance.
"Who is that?" Vale asked quietly.
"That," Evelyn said, "is Nym. The Academy's resident menace. Cocky, arrogant and sharp-tongued, and unfortunately for Eskar, extremely gifted."
The match began before Vale could comment.
Eskar lunged forward in a flash, quicker than Vale expected. His swordsmanship was polished, disciplined, impressive for someone his age. But Vale could see every opening, every flaw in his footwork, every moment where the boy hesitated or overcommitted.
Nym saw them too.
She weaved around each strike with casual ease, her grin widening as Eskar grew more frustrated.
Then Eskar shifted tactics, pulling one hand off his sword and thrusting it forward. Flames erupted violently from his palm, a wide plume meant to overwhelm her.
But before they could even reach her, Nym had already stepped in.
Her hand snapped up, grabbing his wrist, twisting it sharply aside so the fire burst harmlessly into open air. The motion was effortless, precise, almost anticipatory.
Before Eskar could regain his balance, she struck upward with her free hand, a single clean blow to his chin.
The boy dropped like a stone. His flames vanished as consciousness left him.
Vale stared, wide-eyed. The fight hadn't just been quick, it had been instant. No one should have been able to react to the flames before they ignited. No one.
Unless… they already knew what was coming.
"Impressive, isn't she?" Evelyn said proudly from behind him.
"…yeah," Vale murmured, still processing. His curiosity burned hotter now. What exactly had he just witnessed? Ability? Intuition? Something else?
Rose clapped her hands suddenly, the sound echoing down the hall. "Alright! That's enough spectating. We should continue."
Evelyn and Vale followed as she walked away from the windows. Even so, Vale's thoughts lingered on the arena.
On the girl called Nym.
And on how she had moved,
not with reaction,
but with certainty.
She had caught his interest.
The rest of the walk to the shoreline passed in a heavy, thoughtful silence. The halls slowly narrowed, the echoes of the academy fading behind them until finally they reached the end of the building, a glass elevator waiting at the cliff's edge.
The elevator was sleek and silver, constructed almost entirely of reinforced glass. When Rose tapped a sequence on the panel, the metallic doors slid open with a soft chime. The three stepped inside, and with another touch, the elevator began its descent.
Only then did Vale realize how high up they were, at least a hundred meters above the ground. The academy grounds spread out below them in a vast blend of rock, grass, and distant structures glinting in the afternoon sun.
But something was wrong.
Vale narrowed his eyes. The cliff formation at the edge of the grasslands was… moving. At first he thought it was crumbling, the rocks trembling as if an earthquake rippled through them. Yet nothing collapsed. The movement was too stable and deliberate.
It wasn't falling apart.
It was splitting open.
Rose and Evelyn noticed the motion as well. Both leaned slightly toward the glass, watching with curiosity, and mild concern.
"Did Caesar tell you he was running a test today?" Rose asked, glancing at Evelyn.
"Nope," Evelyn replied without looking away from the cliff. "He's probably here to see Leviathan too. They're close, and he hasn't visited in a long time."
Vale listened in silence, the names unfamiliar but intriguing. His focus, however, remained locked on the widening fissure in the cliff.
A glint of metal appeared first, something reflective rising from the depths below. Then more. A massive shape ascended, slowly emerging like a titan waking from centuries of slumber.
As the elevator continued downward, the full figure came into view.
A colossal machine stepped out of the split cliff.
Its metal plating was a matte black, layered like armor forged for a god of war. Six massive metal panels floated around it in a slow orbit, each one etched with glowing lines of energy. The colossus stood taller than the broken cliffs themselves, around one hundred and thirty meters high. Despite its enormous size, its frame looked agile, predatory, engineered for motion rather than mere intimidation.
Vale's breath caught in his throat. His eyes widened, tracing every detail he could make out.
Then a voice, young and amused spoke right beside him.
"You like Hachi?"
Vale jerked slightly and turned. A brunette man stood next to him as if he had been there the whole time. He was around Vale's height, dressed in a worn leather jacket and black jeans, eyes glinting with mischief.
He opened his mouth as if to speak again,
but Evelyn struck the back of his head with a swift, sharp punch.
"Stop teleporting everywhere," she snapped. "It's annoying, Caesar."
The man, Caesar, grunted, rubbing the back of his head with a wounded glare. "You know," he said, voice dripping with sarcasm, "you could have just asked. Words exist, Eve. They're free."
He then turned to Vale, expression softening into something more playful.
"Kid, careful around her. If she's your mentor, don't get on her bad side. She almost fed me to sharks once. True story."
Evelyn's eye twitched, her voice dropping into a low growl. "Maybe you shouldn't have nearly ruined the Rift Subjugation mission then."
Caesar opened his mouth, ready to fire back,
but Rose clapped her hands sharply, the sound crisp and commanding.
"Enough," she said firmly. "Blood-related or not, you two are still siblings. Behave."
Both Caesar and Evelyn froze, identical annoyed expressions crossing their faces, but neither argued. Vale stood awkwardly between them, unsure whether he should laugh, remain silent, or pretend he hadn't seen any of it.
The elevator reached the ground with a soft rumble.
Rose stepped out first, her voice warm again. "You came to see Leviathan as well, right, Caesar?"
He nodded. "Yeah. Haven't seen her in months. She saved my life last time a Rift opened in the Pacific. And I was planning to take Hachi to Mars today for a destructive capability test."
Rose brightened instantly, clasping her hands together. "Splendid! Then walk with us. Vale here is the new anomaly you've heard about. Perhaps you two should introduce yourselves, since you're an anomaly as well."
Vale stepped out of the elevator beside Caesar, the ocean breeze brushing against his armor. The scent of salt and distant storms filled the air as the beach stretched out before them.
Evelyn followed last, arms crossed and expression sour, but still walking with them.
The meeting with the Leviathan was close now.
And Vale's heartbeat quickened with anticipation.