"Spurt!"
"M-Matriarch!"
Black blood splattered across the cold floor.
Inside a chamber bathed in dim, oppressive light, a figure of enchanting beauty clutched her chest, gripping her heart tightly as her body wavered.
A shadowy silhouette materialized beside her in the same instant. Without daring to utter a word, the servant carefully supported her and guided her back to the thorned throne.
Even with her breathing irregular and weak, the Matriarch's presence remained overwhelming. The air itself seemed heavier. The servant stood motionless, head lowered, unable to break the silence.
Gripping the arm of the throne tightly, her skin now pale like shattered porcelain, the Matriarch murmured in a low voice steeped in disdain.
"He… failed."
Crack. Crack.
Her grip intensified. Fractures spread along the arm of the throne as a sinister red glow slowly seeped from her body.
"…Fortunately, because he was far weaker than me, his death only cost me a minor internal injury."
The servant hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously.
"How long… will you require to recover?"
"About one year."
The answer was cold and direct, devoid of emotion.
Turning her face slowly toward the kneeling servant, her eyes, still tinged with red, pierced him like blades.
"I demand all information regarding the incident Elijah was responsible for."
"Yes, Mother Matriarch."
With a deep bow, the servant vanished into the shadows of the chamber.
The moment his presence disappeared, the crimson energy surrounding the Matriarch surged violently, engulfing the hall like a living mantle.
"As soon as I find out…" her voice echoed low, warped by hatred, "…who was responsible for killing my pawn…"
BOOM!
The throne behind her was pulverized as the Matriarch rose.
Her face twisted in fury, eyes blazing in absolute crimson, she spat each word like a final sentence.
"I will personally ensure they suffer pain worse than death."
✦☀✦──────────────────────⚔──────────────────────✦☾✦
Amanda's consciousness was ripped from darkness by an intense light piercing her eyelids, forcing her pupils to react.
She awoke in a wide, silent space.
For several seconds, she stared at the familiar ceiling, the same one she had seen every morning for nearly a month. Slowly lifting her head, her eyes swept across the room, confirming where she was.
The room was spacious. A colossal bookshelf occupied one wall, packed with neatly organized books down to the last centimeter. On the right side, a large wooden desk rested in perfect order, a white lamp atop it, surrounded by carefully aligned stacks of books. A faint scent of wood lingered in the air, creating an almost suffocating sense of calm.
Sunlight streamed through wide windows, bathing the room in a warm glow.
Even before entering the academy, due to her exceptional results, Amanda had been invited to design her own room. That tranquility was the product of her choices.
And right now, she desperately needed it.
"…Ugh…"
Raising a hand to her head, Amanda felt a sharp pain pierce her temples. Every attempt to recall the previous night felt as though her mind were being torn apart.
The memories came fragmented, disjointed.
Elijah's demonic face.
The sea of mist swallowing the hall.
And finally… those eyes. Blue. Deep. Cold enough to pierce the heart of a Djinn.
Everything felt distant, confused, unreal.
Bam!
The sudden sound of the door opening snapped Amanda from her thoughts. Four figures entered the room, two strikingly beautiful girls and two equally eye-catching boys.
Emma was the first to approach, practically rushing to the bed. Her eyes scanned Amanda from head to toe as her hands touched her shoulders and arms, as if confirming she was truly there.
"Amanda! I saw the news… are you okay?!"
"…Mm."
Amanda nodded slightly, looking at the familiar faces before her. Jin, Kevin, Melissa, and Emma. She did not show it, but a warm sensation spread in her chest upon realizing they had come to visit.
"I was shocked when I heard what happened!" Emma continued, unable to contain her excitement. "How did you manage to defeat a Rank D villain?!"
"…Huh?"
Amanda frowned, genuinely confused.
"Don't tell me you forgot?" Emma blinked, pulling out her phone. "Here, look."
She activated a holographic projection, and within seconds, an article floated before Amanda's eyes.
[At 22:22 in the city of Ashton, a Rank D villain infiltrated the Human Academy's 'chain' and attempted to assassinate more than fifty students.]
[An anonymous report alerted authorities in advance. Upon arrival, they discovered the Djinn's corpse, covered in multiple wounds caused by arrows.]
[After investigation, it was confirmed that all food and drinks at the location had been tampered with using an extremely potent sleeping drug.]
[The owners of the establishment 'Le Farat' have been arrested on suspicion of collusion with villains.]
[Thanks to the heroic actions of an individual, the tragedy was prevented. Otherwise, the event would have resulted in a massacre.]
[The Academy officially recognizes the courage of elite student Amanda Stern, responsible for neutralizing the threat.]
[The motive behind the attack remains unknown.]
Amanda read every line with absolute care. She did not skip a single word.
"What… are they doing?"
She knew. She was absolutely certain she had not killed Elijah.
But to the world, all evidence pointed to her.
She had been found unconscious, bow in hand. Arrows bearing her signature were embedded in the Djinn's body. To any investigator, the conclusion was obvious.
She had received the credit… paid for in blood.
Only she knew the truth.
That night, she had fired only a single arrow, and it had nearly cost her her life.
Even with her mind clouded, Amanda remembered fragments. Students collapsing one by one, victims of the drug… and amid the chaos, two students still standing.
One of them enveloped the entire hall in a sea of mist, moving like a ghost through the white shadows. He sustained the fight, controlled the field, but could not deliver the final blow.
That role belonged to the other.
The one who watched in silence. Who struck only at the perfect instant. A blade so fast it could barely be perceived by the naked eye.
But the most terrifying part was not the speed.
It was the timing.
He attacked precisely when Elijah's guard reached its lowest point, as if he knew with absolute certainty that moment would come.
If he had not been there…
A chill ran down Amanda's spine.
She would have lost her head.
The closeness of death awakened an old, forgotten fear. A cold that settled deep in her chest.
Precision.
Control.
Mastery.
Coldness.
Strategy.
Those words echoed in her mind whenever she thought of that duo.
Who… are those guys?
"Hey, hey, Amanda!"
Emma's worried voice pulled her back to reality.
"…Sorry."
Amanda lowered her head, realizing she had drifted off and completely ignored the others.
"It's okay," Emma smiled gently. "You must still be in shock."
She placed a hand on Amanda's shoulder and gestured for the others to leave.
"We'll let you rest. If you need anything, call us."
Blinking cheerfully, Emma quickly led everyone out of the room.
Clank.
The door closed.
Silence reclaimed the space.
Alone, bathed in the soft light of the room she herself had designed, Amanda Stern stared into the void, surrounded by questions no one else even knew existed.
✦☀✦──────────────────────⚔──────────────────────✦☾✦
"Do you think she's okay?"
Outside Amanda's room, Emma asked the small group gathered in the hallway.
Kevin let out a quiet sigh before answering.
"…Honestly? It's hard to say. Her face never shows much."
Kevin could vividly imagine the chaos unfolding inside Amanda's mind.
He knew everything.
Since the dungeon incident, Kevin had been observing the Book of Truth with even greater caution. That was why, when the previous night's events began to unfold, he had been completely caught off guard.
For a moment, he considered rushing to the location.
But it was pointless.
The restaurant was hours away from Lock, and the Book only showed ten minutes into the future. There was no way to intervene directly.
In the end, all he could do was spend all his mana to create a margin of interference in a single, nearly imperceptible detail. Advancing Ren's attack by exactly one second.
One second.
That was what separated Amanda from death.
Even so, when the fight ended, Kevin watched in near disbelief as Ren and Yuto constructed the scene with surgical precision. Every wound on Elijah's body was pierced by arrows fired by Amanda, creating a flawless narrative.
The way they silently agreed to dump everything onto Amanda's shoulders was almost comical.
A lie so perfectly crafted that not even the authorities dared to question it. Apparently, those two had no interest whatsoever in recognition.
They dumped all the credit onto Amanda without mercy. An… unusual decision.
Kevin felt relief that everything had worked out, but at the same time, a lingering chill refused to leave his spine. The course of the world could change drastically over the smallest details.
"True…"
Emma nodded in agreement.
Despite everything Amanda had been through, her expression remained the same as always. Neutral. Distant. Even for someone as outgoing as Emma, it was hard to get close to her. It was impossible to know what she was thinking.
Does she even consider us friends?
The thought surfaced, and Emma quickly pushed it away.
Sensing the heavy atmosphere, Kevin tried to change the subject.
"But still… I didn't expect her to be strong enough to defeat a Rank D Djinn alone."
A lie spoken naturally.
"Yeah. Who would've thought? What about you, Melissa?"
"…Hm?"
Melissa lifted her gaze from the holographic terminal she was examining, visibly bored, filled with research reports for the alchemy class she would have to teach.
"I think… it's impressive."
The apathetic tone made Emma puff her cheeks in frustration.
"Oh, come on! At least pretend you care!"
"Not happening."
Though she had known Amanda and the others for over a month, calling it friendship would be an exaggeration.
Melissa spent most of her time locked in the laboratory. Research came before everything else, and anything unrelated to it simply did not matter.
Or at least, that was what she told herself.
Outwardly, it seemed like they all got along. In reality, the coexistence existed because they shared the same roof, and because maintaining good connections was never a bad idea.
After all, everyone there was destined to become a pillar of humanity.
Besides, for some unclear reason, people always avoided them. Fear? Envy? Admiration? No one knew for sure. But it naturally kept their social circle small.
Emma sighed and turned her gaze to Jin.
He stood behind Melissa, completely silent. His face was a mask of indifference, as if he were in another world.
"…Well, I'm heading out," Emma said, giving up. "We'll talk later."
Kevin and Melissa followed her, leaving Jin alone in the corridor.
Silence stretched.
A few minutes later, Jin clenched his fists tightly. Veins bulged on his forehead as he struggled to contain the rage boiling inside him.
His mind was chaos.
It wasn't enough that Kevin was stronger than him. Now… Amanda too?
No matter how he rationalized it, killing a Rank D Djinn alone was something absolutely impossible for his current self.
People believed he held third place merely due to talent and status. No one had any idea how much he had trained, how much effort he had poured in.
He had arrived at Lock convinced he would be the strongest freshman.
But the results crushed him.
Third place.
And the gap between him and first place Kevin was absurd.
The failure echoed even louder because of his family, who had always placed crushing expectations upon him.
Melissa… he could accept. Her academic performance was simply monstrous.
But Kevin? A nobody before Lock.
That wounded his pride like nothing else ever had.
Still, Jin did not let the rage consume him entirely. Kevin was not an enemy.
He was an obstacle.
One that needed to be overcome. But now… Amanda too?
He had known her since childhood. Their parents led rival guilds, Demon Hunter and Starlight. They had always been compared.
Jin had felt deep pride when he ranked above her during the entrance evaluation.
So had his father.
It had been used as proof of superiority.
Now… it felt like a cruel joke.
The longer he stayed there, the more Jin realized something he had never considered.
He was not special.
He had grown surrounded by praise, sustaining an arrogance that felt justified.
But maybe…
Maybe he had never been the best.
"…What am I?"
Staring down the long, dark corridor, Jin felt something new take root slowly within him.
A bitter seed.
Inferiority.