Drago placed his hands on his hips and burst out laughing loudly.
— THAT WARM-UP WAS REALLY FUN! WE CAN DO IT AGAIN ANYTIME YOU WANT!
Ranta would rather it ended there for today.
— Hey, Ranta… getting beaten that easily, you're disappointing me.
Atela said this from a little further away.
Ranta simply apologized.
Noa and Nicolas, who had also stopped their training, watched in silence.
With a shocked expression, Noa noticed something he had never seen before.
— What does this mean…?
Nicolas glanced in his direction.
— There… there's not a single trace of chaotic energy coming from him…
He widened his eyes and checked for himself.
And what he saw shocked him just as much.
He couldn't perceive any chaotic energy at all.
Worse…
It practically didn't exist within him.
His body and soul were completely devoid of it.
On the bench at the back of the training hall, Marie was asleep, while Kobra simply observed.
— What are they doing…?
Drago continued warming up, throwing punches into the air, while Noa remained in shock.
And it was normal.
In this world, Chaos energy makes up absolutely everything:
trees, stones, objects…
Everything is composed of it in different forms.
But encountering someone who doesn't even have a small amount…
but practically none at all…
is unreal.
— Could you maybe be a bit quieter, please?
From the shadows, a beautiful young elf with long pale gray hair and amber-colored eyes, dressed in white and yellow, slowly stepped forward.
Emilia Fena.
— Emilia! Would you like to train with me?
Drago asked enthusiastically.
— No thanks… not at all.
she replied calmly.
Hajime looked at the last member of the team with his arrogant tone.
— Emilia Fena… princess of the Kingdom of Regnum. Only daughter of the king… future queen of the kingdom.
He paused.
— As if one princess wasn't enough… now there are two…
Beside him, Atela paid no attention to the provocation.
Her eyes stayed fixed on Emilia.
The latter noticed her, surprised.
— …Atela? Is that you?
Drago, still punching the air, suddenly stopped upon hearing that.
— ATELA? YOU'RE HERE TOO?!
Nicolas cracked his fingers, intrigued.
— They know each other?
Noa replied calmly:
— Not surprising… they're all children of royal families from powerful kingdoms. So it makes sense they know each other.
Drago suddenly jumped into Atela's arms without warning.
She almost lost her balance.
— WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU JUMPING ON PEOPLE LIKE THAT?!
— I'M SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!
Emilia walked over and gave Drago a light tap on the head.
— Hey! Why did you do that?!
— First, stop yelling. And second, don't jump on people like that, it's rude.
Atela smiled, slightly embarrassed.
— You two… really haven't changed.
Drago fidgeted like a child.
Emilia placed a hand on her chin with a slight smile.
— You've changed quite a bit since last time… but well, 7 years is a lot.
Drago looked proud.
— Maybe it's been 7 years for you… but for me, it's only been a month since I last saw her.
— …What am I supposed to do with that information?
Atela kept smiling.
But as she thought about it more…
Her expression slowly froze.
— …A month?
Noa approached Ranta to help him get up after Drago's impact.
— Enough reunions. We need to go… it's almost our turn.
Noa headed toward the exit.
The others followed one by one.
Atela remained frozen behind them, lost in thought.
— …A month… how…?
A few hours later…
The group walked through a long dark tunnel.
At the front, Ranta held a sheet containing information about his technique.
The others all had the same.
— It's really dark here… I can barely see the ground…
Emilia whispered.
Hajime, with his enhanced night vision, moved more confidently.
Noa observed the endless tunnel.
A memory surfaced.
Him, as a child… walking through a dark forest… torn clothes… still soaked… his hand held by Patriarch David.
They both walked into the darkness.
— Noa?
He came back to himself.
Without flinching.
— Are you okay? You looked lost.
Nicolas asked.
Noa shook his head.
— No… I'm fine. Just lost in thought.
They continued walking.
Then Nicolas suddenly stopped, surprised.
— …Wow.
Ranta also stopped.
Everyone followed.
— We've arrived.
At the end of the tunnel…
A huge black wall, like an empty mirror.
It completely blocked the passage.
But it reflected nothing.
Emilia slightly frowned.
— What do we do now?
Ranta hesitated.
— Harman just told us to come here at 19:40…
Hajime started getting impatient.
— Come here for what? There's nothing. Are you sure you got it right?
Marie, clinging to Kobra's leg, looked at the wall.
— Did we really do the right thing coming here…?
Silence fell in the tunnel.
Heavy.
Then…
Bluish markings, like lines of energy, appeared on the wall.
The darkness of the wall began to spread.
Like black flames.
It slowly engulfed the walls of the tunnel.
Then…
it swallowed the group.
They disappeared.
Without explanation.
Leaving behind…
only the empty tunnel.
And absolute silence.
Next chapter: The Executioner's Sword Judgment