She looked at the eager Young Master seated in the center of the classroom.
His hands gripped the front of his chair as he rocked back, curiosity written all over his face—
—but beneath it, tension.
A quiet, restrained anger.
"In order to answer your questions…"
She paused, choosing her words carefully.
"Yes. The bet still applies.
Your grandfather's… very overpowered allies are visiting.
Nothing is broken—you are being monitored during this overview.
No one controls your grandfather. He will appear when he wishes.
You will not be finding that out.
And yes—I teach Combat, Stealth, and Medical."
She shifted slightly.
"You will be allowed through a Distortion… when you place within the top eight of the test."
Her expression flickered.
"—!_!— Where did you hear about the Lost Heiress?"
A brief pause.
"…It is unconfirmed."
Another.
"Yes."
"…Maybe."
"No."
"…Unsure. It depends on what she is already capable of."
A beat.
"She has likely surpassed you… considering she has survived this long."
SLAM
The chair crashed against the ground as he stood.
Smooth.
Controlled.
He stepped forward slowly, his head lowered so far that—even with enhanced vision—she couldn't see his face.
Sigh…
Then—
He lifted his head.
A calm smile rested on his lips.
Eyes closed.
"I know…" he said lightly. "But those were on my mind when you asked for questions."
A slight tilt of his head.
"You didn't specify."
A pause.
Then—
"If I place in the top three… will I receive a secondary prize of my choosing?"
His tone was casual.
Too casual.
Beneath it, something darker stirred—
A surge of bloodlust, barely restrained, triggered by the realization that he could not go save her.
"If… you place within the top three," she replied, watching him closely, "then yes. I will grant you a second prize."
She paused.
Curiosity crept into her voice.
"Though… I am curious."
A small gesture of her hand.
"Do you… not know what you males are… compared to us females?"
"…?_?"
His composure shattered.
For exactly 2.7 seconds, his mind went completely blank.
Then it snapped back—fast.
He searched his memory.
Nothing.
Not a single lesson.
And judging by her tone…
It mattered.
"Never mind," she said, dismissing it.
She pressed her fingers to her forehead, brushing loose strands of hair back as she tilted her head slightly upward.
"You will learn, in time, what it means to have a sister… or a fiancée."
A pause.
"And the dangers that come with being a Sworn Master."
Her gaze lowered back to him.
"But for now… that is all the time we have."
He bowed at the waist, his dominant hand clenched in a fist over his heart.
Then turned—
And walked out toward his first class of the day.
The moment the door closed—
She sat down heavily in her chair, exhaling slowly.
Her entire demeanor shifted.
Colder.
Darker.
More… natural.
"Show yourself," she said quietly. "I know you're there."
The darkness moved.
It slid across the room, sealing the door shut before collapsing inward, condensing into itself.
Shades of black twisted and distorted—
Faint streaks of white flickering within.
A shape formed.
Towering.
Over seven feet tall.
Broad-shouldered.
Six arms.
Three marked with the same glowing pattern along one side of its torso.
Its voice…
Dragged from something far deeper than sound.
"We… f…nd… her… but… s…ome…thing… is… wrong…"
Dread.
Absolute.
It flooded her body.
Its presence pressed down on the room, crushing the air itself.
She dropped to her knees.
Cold sweat ran down her skin as the pressure forced itself into her lungs.
Then—
It noticed.
The weight lifted.
It exhaled.
And she could breathe again.
"Tell… your… boss…"
A pause between each broken word.
"Two… hundred… seventy-six… years… searching… for… bio… sig…n…"
And then—
It was gone.
The lights flickered back to life.
She didn't hesitate.
Bending her knees—
She vanished.
She reappeared outside, standing atop the mountain peak.
Below, volcanic smoke twisted through the air, heat distorting the horizon.
She moved quickly, finding a carved indentation and dropping into it—
Sliding down a narrow path carved into the side of the deepest, oldest active volcano.
One that had never fully erupted.
She passed through a thin distortion.
Heat slammed into her instantly.
The boundary.
The very surface of the lava itself.
It rippled unnaturally—
As if the world were breathing.
She landed hard on solidified obsidian.
No hesitation.
She sprinted forward.
Standing still here meant death.
She rushed toward the Counselors' sector.
Then—
A brief pause.
"…Do I smell burnt flesh?"
A glance down.
"…Oh well."
She kept moving.
"This is more important than a scratch."