Ti seed to freeze for a mont.
Then, slowly, Professor Lena began to move. Her steps were unsteady at first — hesitant, almost fearful — as she made her way toward the figure standing before them. Toward .
"R–Rin…" she whispered, her voice trembling. "You're alive? Didn't that man… didn't he kill you?"
Her finger pointed shakily at the man in the white demon mask — at .
The clone version of turned his head, eting my gaze for a fleeting second. There was a flicker of understanding between us — wordless, but complete.
He knew what to do.
"Huh? No," he said, his tone weak but steady. "That's not true. He… he saved from the Rose Dragon. I rember hearing a voice telling to rest, to sleep if I was in pain."
He winced, clutching his head like soone fighting a lingering migraine. Professor Lena imdiately dropped to his side, panic flashing across her face.
"Shh, it's alright," she murmured, patting his shoulder gently. "You're safe now."
Watching her like that, I felt a small pang of guilt. I was taking advantage of her kindness — of her trust.
But it had to be done.
I exhaled softly beneath the mask, letting my voice echo through the chamber.
[Hmm. So, can I assu you don't wish to fight anymore?]
My tone was calm — detached, but not mocking. [I don't mind continuing, but the Great One doesn't want you gone just yet. I was only told to test you.]
Professor Lena stood, still shielding the wounded "Rin" behind her. "Thank you," she said carefully. "For protecting our group. But we can't just let you walk away."
[Oh?] I tilted my head. [And why is that?]
The tension in the room thickened again. The cadets who had lowered their weapons now raised them once more, though the fury from before was tempered by uncertainty.
"Because," Lena said, her voice firr now, "you said you belong to so organization. You admitted your purpose was to test our cadets. So you'll have to tell us who's behind you."
A pause. The masked figure — I — gave a quiet laugh, soft enough to feel almost human.
Yes, this was bound to happen.
Honestly, I'd been waiting for it.
The mont emotions hit the boiling point, reason always went out the window — and now, with the way they were glaring at , it was only a matter of ti before soone swung first.
I sighed inwardly. I really needed to defuse this before it turned into a massacre. Or at least… find a way to end it without completely shattering my "mysterious masked man" act.
Hmm. How could I phrase this so it didn't sound like mockery, but still kept my image intact? Sothing balanced, maybe a bit cold but not insulting—
[You speak as if you're in a position to offer goodwill, Professor.]
…Ah, damn it. That ca out harsher than I intended.
[I don't think that's sothing those who were being unilaterally defeated by just monts ago should be saying.]
There it was. The nail in the coffin.
Even through the mask, I could feel the killing intent spike. Rachel's expression twisted, Lena's eyes narrowed, and even Ryen clenched his fists.
Oh no. This is bad. Why did I provoke them now of all tis?
Was this mask cursed? It had to be. No sane person would pick a fight in this situation.
—I'm telling you, I don't sense any sinister energy in it. This is just your true nature…
Zaho Yuren's voice echoed flatly in my head, utterly unimpressed.
If he could have rolled his eyes, I was sure he would have.
Yeah right, I thought. A curse this subtle wouldn't show up on your radar anyway.
The silence that followed was suffocating.
Every eye in the room locked onto — on the man in the white mask.
Professor Lena's hand, still trembling slightly, hovered near her wand. Rachel's sword reflected the flickering mana torches. Ryen's expression hardened, a storm of emotion barely restrained.
Even the air seed to still, waiting for soone to break it.
Then Rachel took a step forward.
Her voice was quiet but sharp as a blade.
"…You talk too much for soone hiding behind a mask."
[Perhaps,] I replied evenly, letting the distortion in my tone deepen, [but I find people listen better this way.]
That only made the air colder. I could practically feel Rachel's temper fraying.
Her knuckles whitened around the hilt of her sword. "You think this is funny? You play with us, you show up out of nowhere, and now you act like so goddamn prophet—"
"Rachel," Lena cut in quietly, her tone like ice. "Not yet."
Rachel froze but didn't lower her blade. The flicker in her eyes said she was seconds away from ignoring that order anyway.
anwhile, I stood perfectly still — outwardly composed, but internally, Zaho Yuren was sighing so loudly I could almost hear him crossing his arms.
—You really can't help yourself, can you? You had the upper hand, and then you went and poked the hornet's nest.
'It's called maintaining authority,' I thought.
—It's called suicide, idiot.
I ignored him.
Instead, I slowly raised a hand, not in defense but as a gesture of authority.
[Rember this. I'm the one showing you rcy. You're only alive because the Great One hasn't decided what to do with you yet—and you'd do well to rember that your group is safe only because I chose to show goodwill.]
The masked man's voice carried through the chamber like a slow echo, heavy and unhurried, yet it pressed down on everyone like a physical weight.
No one dared to move. The tension was so thick it felt like the air itself might shatter if soone breathed too loudly.
I could tell things were teetering on the edge. One wrong word, one nervous twitch, and all of it—the uneasy peace I'd barely managed to hold together—would collapse.
All I had to do now was end it convincingly. Leave before the mask slipped.
But how?
"...Can I ask one thing?"
The voice broke the silence like a crack in glass. It was Ryen.
He stepped forward, his face pale but steady, his tone formal again—probably because seeing still breathing had cald him just enough to think straight.
"If you didn't want to kill us… or kill ," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully, "was your purpose to test ?"
Good. Perfect, actually. Thank you, Ryen. Thanks to that, I had my opening.
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