In a room steeped in darkness, the stench of old mold hung heavy in the air. Within it sat a lone man. He bit his lip as he stared at a glass vial filled with a shimring, azure liquid.
From the shadows, his eyes glead with a sinister light, and a voice thick with madness and obsession echoed against the decayed walls. “Just one more. I only need one more.”
He pulled a worn photo album from his breast pocket. Tucked inside was a picture of a young man with fiery red hair, beaming brightly at the cara. The man shut his eyes tightly, his hands trembling as he clutched the album. “With this... we can finally achieve our dream.”
Soon, his gaze drifted to the table before him, toward a mana stone. Unlike ordinary stones, this one glimred with a sickly black hue, pulsing faintly. Conflict flickered in his eyes as he stared at it, frozen in place.
Then, sothing crawled across the floor. A pale-white serpent climbed up the leg of his chair, its forked tongue flicking out as it slithered up toward him. From its mouth ca a woman’s voice, a honeyed whisper brushing against his ear.
“Don’t tell ... you’re hesitating now?” said the voice.
The man ground his teeth before answering, “I told you not to enter the laboratory.”
“Oh my, how scary.” The serpent let out a lilting laugh, then lazily coiled itself around his neck. “Don’t forget. Don’t hesitate. Don’t be afraid.”
It whispered again, silken and insistent, “You have a goal you must achieve, don’t you?”
The man pressed his lips shut, eyes closing once more. Yes, he had a goal worth sacrificing everything for.
With our own hands, we’ll save the world, he thought.
Sliding the battered album back into his chest, he rose slowly to his feet.
***
Senior Sophia looked down at Raios, who lay unconscious and sprawled on the ground, and let out a dry laugh. “Are we really going to do this? Will it be okay?”
I shrugged at her unease. “It’s not like he would’ve agreed if we asked nicely, right?”
“Well, that’s true, but still....” She rubbed her forehead as if struck with a headache, then sighed deeply and gave a reluctant nod. “Fine. So the tracking device is in place?”
“Yes. Now all that’s left is to wait for the fish to bite the bait.”
Leaving the unconscious Raios behind, I returned to the annex cafe with Berald and Senior Sophia.
We gathered around a small table and activated the tracking spell. A glowing map of the Hero Academy ford before us, light swirling until a single yellow dot blinked atop it.
“With this, we can track both his location and his condition,” I said.
Senior Sophia narrowed her eyes, studying the spell I had cast. Then she turned to . “Where exactly did you learn this kind of magic?”
“Sorry?”
“This tracking spell and that magic-nullifying barrier from earlier, those aren’t spells a Warrior Division cadet should be capable of.”
Her suspicious gaze told she hadn’t anticipated that my magical skill could be this advanced.
I swallowed a bitter smile. Where else do you think?
As she tilted her head in doubt, I murmured, “From the greatest mage on the continent.”
“The greatest mage?”
“Yes.”
Her lips twisted into a wry smile, her eyes sharp as blades. “Hah! Don’t tell you actually think Professor Bastion is the greatest mage alive?”
“What?”
“I’ll admit, his skill is undeniable. He’s a descendant of the Great Sage, after all. But calling a man who couldn’t even protect his disciple the greatest mage on the continent? Don’t you think that’s a bit much?”
I remained silent. It seed she had misunderstood completely. Well, since she didn’t know that I was a regressor, her thoughts would naturally jump to Professor Bastion.
Realizing I shouldn’t have said that before her, I replied, “That was careless of . My apologies.”
Senior Sophia pressed a hand over her chest, steadying her emotions with a short sigh. “No, I shouldn’t have snapped. Sorry!”
Watching her, Berald stroked his chin and asked lightly, “Hmm. Did sothing happen between you and Professor Bastion?”
Senior Sophia froze, her face stiffening. She averted her eyes and answered coldly, “No. Nothing happened.”
“For nothing to have happened, you sure seed awfully riled up the mont his na ca up.”
“That’s none of your business,” she replied firmly.
Berald chuckled softly, as if trying to lighten the heavy atmosphere. “Heh. Judging from your face, sothing did happen, huh.”
However, instead of easing the tension, the comnt only seed to make things worse.
Senior Sophia’s gaze hardened, sharp enough to cut as she glared at him. “You’re getting pretty cheeky, aren’t you? What does it matter to you what happened between and him? Hm? Who are you to stick your nose into it?”
“If I’ve overstepped, I apologize.”
She turned away, cold and dismissive. “Stop ddling in things that don’t concern you.”
But Berald spoke again, his tone low. “Even so. I’d still like to hear it.”
“You!”
“Because I’ve been there too.” He smiled faintly, lifting his eyes toward the sky outside the window. “I once lived bottling up my grief, swallowing down my anger, convincing myself it was the wise thing to do.”
She just silently listened.
“But looking back, I was wrong.” With a rueful smile, Berald cast a glance at before continuing, “No matter how painful, how unbearable the mory, once I opened up to soone, the weight on my heart eased.”
“And what makes you think you would understand ?”
Berald shook his head, still smiling faintly. “I don’t. I don’t know what you’ve been through, what you’re holding back. I’m not that clever. Even if you told , I might not fully grasp it. But still, if I can be of help, then I want to be that help for you, Senior Sophia.”
Berald looked at her with a gentle smile. “We’re not strangers. We’re in the sa party, aren’t we?”
Senior Sophia’s eyes trembled faintly. Caught off guard, she quickly turned her head away, refusing to et his gaze. “Hmph, for a junior, you sure are arrogant.”
“Heh. Sorry.”
She let out a small scoff and clenched her fists tightly. “I had an older brother...”
Her voice dropped, quiet but steady. “Since we were young, he was always needlessly loud, annoyingly cheerful, and just like you, a ddleso busybody.”
With a bittersweet smile, she continued, “When he enrolled in the Mage Division, he suddenly said he wanted to research soul stigmatas. So he went to Professor Bastion. And then...”
A shadow crossed her face.
“Wait! Don’t tell the cadet who got caught in Professor Bastion’s research accident two years ago was...”
“Yes. That was my brother.”
Berald lowered his head in silence. He wanted to say sothing or anything that could comfort her, but no words ca to mind. After a long pause, all he could manage was an apology.
“Forgive . I shouldn’t have asked.”
She let out a dry laugh and said, “Oh? And wasn’t it just a mont ago that you said it’s better to share what’s weighing on your heart?”
“I-I didn’t know it was sothing this serious!”
Watching him break into a nervous sweat, she couldn’t help but chuckle lightly. “You’re right, though.”
Her expression softened, the burden on her heart easing as a faint smile touched her lips.
Just as the heavy air around them began to lift, the yellow dot on the floating tracking map rapidly blinked with a loud beep.
“What’s going on?”
I shot up to my feet, eyes locked on the dot racing across the map. “Raios is being dragged sowhere fast!”
It was moving toward the hill behind the academy, the very place where I had once fetched the mana-infused Seven Star Herb at Professor Bastion’s request.
“Let’s go!”
Senior Sophia, Berald, and I sprinted toward the hill behind the academy.
***
At the hill, the three of us darted through the thick underbrush. Or rather, Berald and I raced ahead swiftly, while Senior Sophia lagged behind, gasping for breath.
“Haaah!haaah!”
Without warning, Berald scooped her onto his back. “Get on my back!”
“What? Kyaaah!”
He charged forward with heavy strides.
“Put down this instant!” she ordered.
“If you squirm, it’ll slow down!”
Biting her lip, she grudgingly leaned into his back and stayed still.
We pushed on, deeper into the forest, until we spotted Raios lying unconscious on the ground ahead. Beside him stood a man wearing a mask.
Berald was the first to rush forward. “Brother Raios! Haaaahp!”
Mid-sprint, he conjured a ball of Mana Bullet and hurled it at the masked man. The stranger raised his hand, and a shimring blue barrier materialized before him. The Mana Bullet veered sharply midair, curving like a drawn arc in a painting. The masked man quickly rotated his barrier to intercept it.
An explosion thundered through the forest, louder than anything a Mana Bullet could cause. But the barrier remained pristine, with not a single crack upon it.
Realizing his opponent was no ordinary foe, Berald bit his lip and readied himself.
Senior Sophia stepped forward, her staff ready. “Stand back.”
She pointed it directly at the masked man. Red mana gathered at the tip of her staff, pulsing with destructive force. “Explosion Spear!”
The mana swelled into the shape of a long spear and shot forward like a crimson bolt of lightning.
The masked man didn’t move. Instead, he weaved signs with his hands. It was an outdated, inefficient casting thod with the only perk that it could be used silently. Even though it was supposed to be far slower than chanting aloud, blue light spread from his hands, weaving into intricate patterns. A fractal lattice of glowing lines unfolded, dazzling in its beauty. And with that, Senior Sophia’s spear of red mana shattered into countless fragnts.
Senior Sophia gasped, staggering back. For a tense mont, silence fell. The masked man’s eyes shifted between our party and the unconscious Raios. Grinding his teeth, he abruptly turned away, preparing to flee.
I exhaled deeply and stepped into his path. “Haaah!”
Fixing him with a heavy, unwavering gaze, I spoke in a low voice. “What exactly are you doing here, Professor Bastion?”
The man’s shoulders flinched.
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