Chapter 230: Many Battles

Girl’s Residence, Astralis Arcanum

The girls’ residence was in chaos.

Shattered stone. Burning banners. Screams mixed with the clash of steel and spellfire.

At the one corner of it—

Maera Stormheart.

Her dark purplish-black hair whipped wildly behind her as she moved. Olive-gold eyes—sharp, Wolf like Ears and bushy wolf like tail slit like a predator’s—burned with fierce focus. Red clawed gauntlets covered her hands, the metal edges gleaming with wild red mana.

A hooded attacker lunged at her—

She caught his wrist mid-swing.

Twist.

Crack.

Her knee drove into his ribs.

Her clawed gauntlet tore through his chest like paper.

She didn’t slow down.

Another came from the side—she ducked, spun, and ripped across his throat in one fluid motion.

The girls’ residence courtyard was one of the most chaotic zones in the academy. Students fought desperately. Professors clashed with higher-level attackers in some distance, explosions shaking the air.

Maera barely noticed the destruction.

Her only thought—

Protect. Survive. Kill.

A hooded figure slipped behind her, blade raised—

Thwip.

An arrow coated in mana pierced straight through the attacker’s skull.

The body collapsed before it could strike.

Maera glanced sideways.

Drevin Solveil stood a short distance away—dark blue hair, black eyes calm and focused, bow already nocked with another arrow.

They locked eyes.

She nodded once.

He nodded back.

They resumed fighting without another word.

But even while tearing through enemies, Maera’s mind drifted.

Where are they…?

Ron.

Lia.

Selene.

Jax.

Her jaw tightened.

Are they…?

The thought tried to surface—

No.

Her claws slammed through another attacker’s shoulder.

They’re fine.

They had to be.

But why weren’t they here?

Then—

An explosion echoed from farther away.

Maera paused for half a breath.

Her senses sharpened.

That mana signature—

She knew it.

Ron’s fiery mana.

Selene’s structured rune mana.

Lia’s cutting wind-like sharp mana.

Jax’s neutral mana.

But mixed within it—

Something else.

Dark.

Sinister.

Heavier than those four.

Her ears twitched slightly.

“…That’s them.”

Drevin loosed another arrow. “You felt it too.”

Maera nodded.

“That explosion. That mana. It’s undoubtedly those four.”

She turned toward the direction of the blast.

“…And something stronger.”

Drevin’s expression hardened. “That other presence feels bad. It’s much stronger than us and similar to professor level.”

Maera clenched her gauntlets.

“I don’t know what I can do,” she admitted.

“But I can’t just stand here and wait for them to die that’s why I am going to them.”

Drevin didn’t hesitate.

“I’m with you.”

Maera glanced toward a copper-haired boy fighting nearby.

“Col! Hold your defence!”

Col glanced back briefly, blood on his cheek, then nodded firmly. “Go! We’ll manage!”

Maera and Drevin didn’t waste another second.

They burst into a sprint, cutting through the battlefield toward the violent clash of mana in the distance.

Toward their friends.

Toward something far stronger than anything they had faced tonight.

And neither of them slowed down.

—

The courtyard was wrecked beyond recognition.

Cracked stone. Burn marks everywhere. Pieces of shattered pillars scattered across the ground. Smoke drifted slowly through the air, mixing with the metallic scent of blood.

Ron stood at the front, breathing heavily. His black armor was torn in multiple places, cuts running along his arms and side. Dark blue flames flickered around him, unstable but intense, wrapping his body in heat.

Lia stood beside him, gripping her white chokuto tightly. Blood stained her sleeve and thigh, but her dusk-pink wind aura still sliced sharply around her like invisible blades. She looked exhausted—but focused.

Jax stood a little behind them. His left hand was drenched in blood, dripping steadily. One of his guns lay on the ground nearby. The other remained steady in his right hand, white mana faintly flickering around him. He wasn’t joking. He wasn’t talking. Just watching.

Behind them, Selene maintained a rune shield. She looked untouched at first glance, but blood trailed from the corner of her mouth. The strain of sustaining the barrier was obvious.

In front of them stood the man.

His hood was gone now.

Lean. Sharp features. A jagged scar ran from his left temple across his cheek. Short jet-black hair streaked with white strands. Amber eyes faintly tinged with violet. Rune-etched black leather armor clung to his body.

He didn’t look injured at all.

Not a scratch.

He rested his double-ended obsidian polearm casually on his shoulder.

He smiled.

“Kekekeke… I’m impressed,” he said lightly. “You little puppies have good coordination. Good teamwork.”

His eyes scanned each of them.

“But you’re still little puppies.”

Ron forced himself upright despite the pain. “Hah… Who are you?” he demanded. “Why are you attacking our academy? Why now?”

The man tilted his head slightly.

“Still asking questions when you’re about to die,” he said. “Fine. I’ll answer a little.”

He lowered the polearm and spoke clearly.

“We’re from the Vassel.”

Selene stiffened. “The Vassel…?”

“Yes,” he continued calmly. “And I am Varak Thorne.”

The name landed heavily.

Ron’s grip tightened on his spear.

“This is our debut,” Varak went on. “We’ve been hidden for a long time.”

Lia’s voice cut in, steady despite her injuries. “Why attack us?”

“To weaken future obstacles,” Varak replied. “Your academy produces too many capable people.”

He smiled faintly.

“We are preparing the world… for its true masters.”

Ron frowned. “Masters?”

Varak’s eyes gleamed with something close to fanaticism.

“Our Gods.”

“The Abyssals.”

Silence fell for a second.

Even the air felt heavier.

Jax swallowed.

Selene’s runes flickered slightly.

Varak shrugged. “That’s enough explanation. You can ask the dead for more.”

He raised his polearm—

—and suddenly stepped aside.

A fist slammed into the ground where he had been standing.

Stone cracked outward.

Wild red mana erupted.

Maera Stormheart stood there, claws glowing, slit pupils narrowed sharply. Behind her, Drevin landed lightly, bow already drawn.

“Guys!” Drevin called.

Varak laughed, louder this time.

“Oh? More puppies?”

Maera ignored him and tossed a vial backward. “Selene!”

Selene caught it and drank immediately. Mana surged back into her system. She quickly cast healing runes, stabilizing Ron, Lia, and Jax’s worst injuries.

The group tightened formation.

Maera stepped forward, claws tightening.

“We fight together,” she said firmly. “Use what Professor Zane taught you.”

Varak’s expression shifted slightly.

“Zane…?” he repeated.

His eyes narrowed just a little.

“As in… The legendary Zane Creed?”

He studied them more carefully now.

“You’re his students?”

Ron froze. “You know Professor Zane?”

Varak gave a thin smile. “Of course who doesn’t. Zane Creed, the saviour of the world. He interfered in our plans before, you know the dungeon incident he saved the students without any scratch . He was a problem.”

Maera’s eyes sharpened. “The dungeon incident… that was you?”

“One of the reasons we couldn’t attack earlier was Chairman Caelum,” Varak replied casually. “Then your Professor Zane appeared. Another variable and he was even stronger than your chairman.”

He shifted his polearm slightly.

“We considered removing him, bit against him what could we even do…? The higher ups was very worried. ”

” lucky us.”

” he sacrificed himself and moved from the way on his own.”

” For us it was very Convenient.”

The words hit harder than any attack.

Ron’s jaw tightened.

Lia’s grip on her sword trembled slightly.

Silence fell among the students.

Professor…

Even in death—

He had been protecting them.

Without them knowing.

Maera’s eyes burned.

“Enough talking,” she said.

Varak lowered his polearm into a proper stance for the first time.

“Good,” he replied softly.

“Show me how much the saviour has taught you.”

—

At some distance from the students’ battlefield—

The air itself trembled.

Explosions cracked through the academy grounds in rapid succession. Stone shattered. Mana collided. Shockwaves rolled across rooftops.

Two forces were clashing violently.

A burst of violet light shot upward—

Then a streak of lightning answered it.

The impact forced both figures apart.

Dust cleared slowly.

On one end stood a woman.

She wore a black frilled skirt that moved lightly despite the ruined ground beneath her. In her hand rested a long violet crystalline scythe, its blade translucent yet sharp, faint dark light pulsing within it.

Around her neck was a thin scar that circled it completely—like a permanent choker carved into her skin.

She was smiling.

Calm.

Amused.

Opposite her stood Seris Velmira.

Her robe was gone, sleeveless grey armor exposed. Strands of dark green hair had slipped loose from their neat pins. Lightning flickered faintly along her arms. Her glasses were off.

Her jade eyes were no longer calm.

They were furious.

The woman twirled the crystalline scythe lightly.

“My, my… Seris Velmira, was it?” she said playfully. “You’re much stronger than the reports suggested, but you aren’t cute at all. ”

Seris didn’t respond.

She lowered into a stance.

Lightning crackled harder around her.

“I don’t know who you are but get out of my way or you will die,” she said coldly.

The smiling woman tilted her head slightly.

“Oh my. ”

” You are quite fierce.”

” Then make me…”

The violet scythe hummed.

And the battlefield between them ignited once more

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