The snow did not melt the way snow was supposed to.
It vanished.
Not gradually, not under warmth or sunlight, but as if the world itself decided winter was no longer permitted to exist.
One moment, the academy grounds were buried beneath white—blood-stained in places, cracked and scorched from alien attacks. The next, the snow collapsed into light, dissolving into countless particles that shimmered once before fading into nothing.
Silence followed.
A heavy, unnatural silence.
Students stood frozen where they were, breaths fogging the air that was no longer cold. Some were kneeling, others leaning against broken pillars, healers still pressing glowing hands against wounds that no longer bled.
Then the ground shook.
Not violently—but deliberately.
"Another attack?!" someone screamed.
"Get back—!"
Before panic could fully take hold, golden light surged through the shattered earth.
Runes—ancient, precise, impossibly complex—spread outward from the academy's center like veins. They climbed walls, wrapped around broken towers, and traced every fracture in stone and metal.
The academy began to rebuild itself.
Collapsed buildings lifted as if guided by unseen hands. Stone blocks rotated midair and snapped back into place with flawless accuracy. Broken staircases reversed their collapse, steps reforming one by one. Torn banners stitched themselves whole, their insignias gleaming brighter than before.
Students watched with mouths open.
"This… this is impossible…"
"No reconstruction spell works this fast…"
"Is time reversing?"
Healers stopped healing.
There was nothing left to heal.
Within a minute—no, less—the academy stood whole.
Perfect.
As if nothing had ever happened.
Not a single crack remained.
Only the memory of chaos lingered.
Rougen stood at the front of the grounds, cloak fluttering slightly in the residual magic.
"This academy," he said calmly, "was designed to withstand extinction-level threats."
His voice cut through the stunned silence.
"What you witnessed was the Restoration Grid. It activates only when a Calamity-class entity breaches the perimeter."
Students swallowed.
"That thing…" someone whispered. "It was really that dangerous?"
Rougen nodded once. "Yes."
Hiko stared at the rebuilt towers, chest tight.
Even after seeing Cosmic Room… even after seeing Rougen defeat that monster…
This place still felt terrifying.
Inside his mind, the devil spoke quietly.
This school was never meant to protect children. It was built to prepare sacrifices.
Hiko clenched his fists.
The days that followed were different.
No one laughed as loudly anymore.
Training grounds that once echoed with chatter now rang only with spells and impacts. Students pushed themselves harder, running longer, casting until mana exhaustion forced them to collapse.
The alien invasion had changed something fundamental.
They had seen death too closely.
Even those who once treated classes like games now trained with grim determination.
Hiko noticed how people watched him.
Some with fear.
Some with curiosity.
Some with something close to worship.
"The Hero of the Devils."
The title followed him like a shadow.
When he walked through corridors, conversations stopped. When he trained, people observed from a distance, careful not to get too close.
Only Goru treated him the same.
"Hey," Goru said one afternoon, tossing him a water flask. "Drink. You'll pass out if you keep going."
"Thanks."
Goru hesitated, then added, "Ignore them. People fear what they don't understand."
Hiko nodded, though the words didn't fully help.
Inside his mind, the devil laughed softly.
Fear is respect's older brother. Get used to it.
One month passed.
Winter retreated completely, replaced by damp soil and budding green. The academy's surrounding forest thickened, branches heavy with life.
On the first day of the new month, Rougen summoned the class.
Students gathered in the lecture hall, tension thick in the air.
Rougen stood before them, hands clasped behind his back.
"Today," he said, "we begin the next phase of your education."
The room quieted instantly.
"We will be traveling to the Great Forest."
Murmurs erupted.
"The Great Forest?"
"The one that stretches beyond the northern border?"
"That place is practically its own country…"
Rougen raised a hand. Silence returned.
"There, you will meet the Forest King."
That did it.
Shock rippled through the class.
"The king?!"
"As in that king?!"
"The one rumored to control beasts?"
Rougen continued as if the reaction meant nothing.
"You will travel by bus to the forest perimeter. From there, you will proceed on foot."
A bad feeling spread.
"This is not a short excursion," Rougen said. "You will camp inside the forest until we reach our destination."
Groans filled the room.
"Camp?!"
"For how long?!"
"You will bring your own materials," Rougen added. "Food, tents, tools, medical supplies. Plan as if you will not see civilization for an extended period."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"Each tent can fit four people."
Whispers exploded instantly.
"Four? We need to choose groups…"
"Who are you teaming with?"
"Don't pick someone useless…"
Rougen raised his hand again.
"There is more."
The room slowly quieted.
"For this expedition," Rougen said, his gaze sharp, "the class president, Goru, will act as the overall leader of the task."
All eyes snapped toward the front row.
Goru stiffened slightly but stood tall.
"Leader…?" someone whispered.
"Yes," Rougen said calmly. "Goru will be responsible for coordination, discipline, and decision-making during the journey. The success of this mission will rest heavily on their decisions and guidance."
Some students looked relieved.
Others looked worried.
"That's a lot of pressure…"
"What if something goes wrong?"
Rougen's voice hardened slightly.
"Leadership under pressure is not optional for sorcerers. It is required."
He turned back to the class.
"Once you enter the forest," he continued, "there will be no returning to the academy until we reach the king."
That silenced everyone.
Rougen waved his hand, projecting a massive map into the air. Endless green stretched across it, dense and foreboding.
"When inside the forest," he said, "you will travel approximately one hundred and twenty-five kilometers on foot to reach the temple."
The reaction was immediate and explosive.
"ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE KILOMETERS?!"
"That's insane!"
"We'll die out there!"
"This isn't training—it's torture!"
But not everyone panicked.
Some students straightened.
"125 kilometers… doable."
"Endurance builds power."
"This separates real sorcerers from pretenders."
Goru cracked his neck, grinning faintly, finally taking a moment to look over the class. "Listen up. We'll manage. Follow my lead, and we'll make it."
Rougen surveyed them all.
"This journey will test your survival skills, teamwork, and resolve," he said. "The forest is not your enemy—but it will not forgive mistakes."
He turned toward the door.
"Prepare yourselves. We depart in three days."
The bell rang.
As students filed out, fear and excitement mixed into something heavy and electric.
Hiko lingered behind, staring at the floating map.
Inside his mind, the devil spoke.
A forest with a king is never merely land. It is a domain.
Hiko exhaled slowly.
Whatever awaited them out there—
He knew one thing.
This journey would change them all.