The forest didn't return to normal.
Even after the Corrupted Guardian vanished, the air remained heavy, as if the land itself was holding its breath.
Candidates were gathered instinctively—some injured, some shaking, all silent. No one spoke about what they had just seen.
No one dared to.
I leaned against a broken pillar, arms crossed, breathing slow and steady. My body screamed in protest, but my face showed nothing.
Weakness here would be fatal.
Then—
The pressure changed.
Not wild like the monster's.
Controlled. Sharp. Focused.
Teleportation circles flared across the clearing.
One.
Two.
Five.
Figures stepped out, their presence instantly dominating the area. Long coats, academy crests, eyes that missed nothing.
Instructors.
An old man with silver hair stepped forward first—his gaze sweeping across the destruction, the scorched ground, the crushed trees.
"…This is beyond unacceptable," he said quietly.
Another instructor, a woman with cold blue eyes, knelt near the remains of corrupted mana in the air.
"A Guardian-level signature," she said. "Recently destroyed."
Her eyes lifted.
They locked onto me.
Every instructor turned at the same time.
I felt it immediately.
Their scrutiny was heavier than the monster's roar.
"Who did this?" the silver-haired man asked.
Silence.
No one answered.
Fear choked the clearing.
The man sighed. "I'll ask again."
His gaze sharpened.
"Who killed the Corrupted Guardian?"
Slowly—reluctantly—heads turned toward me.
Some candidates stepped away, creating distance as if afraid I might explode again.
The blue-eyed instructor studied me closely.
"…You," she said. Not a question.
I straightened.
"Yes."
Murmurs erupted instantly.
"That's impossible—"
"He's lying!"
"He should be dead!"
The silver-haired instructor raised a hand, silencing them.
"You," he said to me. "State your name."
"Kai."
"Age?"
"Sixteen."
A flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
"What method did you use?"
I paused.
How much truth was safe?
"Temporary amplification through a sealed weapon," I said carefully.
The instructors exchanged looks.
"A sealed weapon?" one muttered. "At that age?"
The blue-eyed instructor stepped closer. Too close.
Her presence pressed down on me, testing.
I didn't flinch.
"Your mana flow," she said slowly, "is unstable. Damaged. Yet moments ago, you displayed power rivaling a high-tier instructor."
Her eyes narrowed.
"That doesn't happen naturally."
I met her gaze evenly.
"It wasn't natural."
Silence again.
The silver-haired man laughed softly—once.
"…Interesting."
He turned to the others. "The exam is suspended. Survivors pass the second stage by default."
Relief rippled through the candidates.
But I didn't relax.
The man looked back at me.
"As for you, Kai," he said, smiling faintly,
"you'll be coming with us."
Not a request.
An order.
I nodded calmly.
Inside, the blade stirred.
"Caution advised."
Yeah.
I knew.
Because monsters weren't the only dangerous things in this academy.
Sometimes—
It was the people who watched from above.