Far from the military compound.
Several kiloters away.
A massive crater had been carved into the earth like a wound.
The surrounding terrain was devastated.
The ground itself had collapsed inward, forming a deep pit at the center of the impact zone.
And at the bottom of that pit....
Two figures lay buried in rubble.
For several seconds, neither moved.
Then the debris shifted.
Stone cracked apart as an arm forced its way free first.
Caelum.
His uniform was torn in multiple places.
Blood stained the side of his face, trickling down from his temple. One of his shoulders had been partially dislocated from the impact. He exhaled sharply, dragging in a breath that tasted like iron and dust. A few ters away, the old military officer pushed himself up as well. He looked worse.
His chest had caved inward slightly from the strike.
Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth as he coughed violently, forcing air back into his lungs.
The devastation around them spoke louder than their injuries.
Fractures ran across the crater walls like spiderwebs.
Trees at the periter had been flattened completely.
Chunks of molten earth still smoldered, releasing thin streams of smoke.
Even the air felt unstable, vibrating faintly from the residual force of the collision.
Neither spoke imdiately.
There was no point.
Both understood exactly what had just happened.
They had been swatted away by a projection.
The humiliation burned hotter than the injuries.
The old man was the first to move properly.
Without wasting ti, he reached into his storage space.
Light flickered briefly around his wrist.
The next mont, several crystalline vials appeared in his palm.
High grade healing serums.
He crushed one imdiately and drank another.
The liquid glowed faintly as it slid down his throat.
Almost instantly, steam like vapor began rising from his wounds as torn flesh started knitting back together at visible speed.
Caelum did the sa.
He pulled out a jade box from his storage ring.
Inside were dicinal pellets, each radiating dense vitality aura.
He swallowed two without hesitation.
A third he crushed and pressed directly against the bleeding wound near his ribs.
The pellet dissolved into liquid energy on contact, seeping into his
flesh.
Cracks in his bones began realigning.
Dislocated joints reset with dull popping sounds.
Neither man spoke while treating themselves.
Their pride did not allow conversation yet.
Only after several minutes did the old officer finally exhale slowly.
His breathing stabilized.
He looked up toward the distant military compound.
His expression dark.
"...A projection."
The words ca out hoarse.
Caelum wiped the blood from his jaw before answering.
"Yes."
Silence returned briefly.
The old man's hand clenched slightly.
"A demigod level projection... deployed on a military post."
There was anger in his voice.
But beneath it... wariness.
Caelum did not respond imdiately.
His gaze remained fixed on the horizon.
Then he spoke.
"She held back."
The old man frowned.
Caelum continued calmly.
"If she intended to kill us, that strike would not have thrown us away."
It would have erased them where they stood.
Both knew it.
The realization did not comfort the old man.
It irritated him further.
His aura flared faintly before settling again as the healing serum
completed its work.
"...These academies are becoming troubleso."
Caelum said nothing.
But inwardly, he agreed.
His thoughts drifted back to the youth suspended in the air earlier.
Michael Norman.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"...Perhaps we should have gone about the issue in another way. The
current situation does not favor us."
The old man scoffed.
He spat blood to the side.
"Next ti we will act through formal summons."
Caelum finally turned to look at him.
"There will not be a next ti."
The old man paused.
Caelum's gaze returned to the horizon.
A brief silence followed.
Then he added quietly, "At least... not openly."
The aning was clear.
The old man exhaled sharply through his nose but did not argue.
Because after what they had just experienced, even he knew direct confrontation with academy backed demigods was strategically
unwise.
He rose fully to his feet.
Caelum stood as well shortly after.
Both still looked battered, but no longer incapacitated.
The old officer cast one last glance toward the distant compound.
"...That boy."
"Yes."
m's eyes darkened faintly.
There was a pause.
Then the old man spoke again.
"He is now officially on the Federation watch list."
Caelum did not object.
He only said one thing in return.
"...He already was."
Silence followed.
Then both figures vanished from the crater in twin flashes of light,
leaving behind only the ruined pit.
The return to the academy was supposed to feel like relief.
It did not.
Sera did not waste ti.
The mont she confird the last student was through, she turned
and locked eyes with Michael.
"Michael Norman," she said.
Her tone was calm.
Her face was not.
"Co with . Now."
A few nearby students flinched.
Michael nodded once and stepped forward. But he did not step alone.
Rynne stepped with him.
Sera's eyes shifted, but after considering Rynne's background, she
allowed it.
They did not speak again until they reached the inner administrative
tower.
The deeper they went, the quieter it beca.
By the ti they reached Sera's office, the atmosphere already felt
heavier.
Sera pushed the door open without slowing.
"Inside." The door shut behind them.
Runic arrays lit briefly across the walls.
Sera walked behind her desk and finally sat down. But she did not relax.
Her posture remained straight, shoulders tight, fingers interlocked on
the tabletop.
She gestured once.
"Sit."
Michael sat across from her.
Rynne dragged a chair beside him without asking and sat as well.
Sera's eye twitched faintly, but she let it pass.
Three seconds of silence followed.
Then Sera spoke. "What is going on, Michael?"
Michael blinked once.
Sera leaned forward slightly.
Her gaze was sharp now. Not instructor sharp. Investigator sharp.
"Start from the beginning," she said.
*
Thank you for reading today's Chapters!!!
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