The main hallway of the Academy suddenly fell silent. Nero stood right before Damian, his eyes dark and his gaze deep, as if pressing all the air between them. The dark aura around Nero rose slowly, this black mist seemed to slowly surround all of us.
Damian's right hand was already touching the hilt of Setsu'ryū, his breathing short and light. Behind Nero, several students looked nervous, starting to slowly back away. Behind Damian, Liam stood straight, his hand began to grip the hilt of his magic revolver, as if ready to draw his magic revolver at any moment.
All the students in the hallway held their breath, waiting to see who would attack first.
"If you think I lost yesterday... you're wrong," Nero's voice was low but intimidating.
Damian took a deep breath. "I never thought so. But if you attack first again, I—"
"Wait!" a voice shouted, breaking the tension. Someone was in the distance and running towards them.
Elric Blazekraal stood with a grin, his long hair fluttering, his hands crossed behind his head. "I just got back from the cafeteria, and i saw you guys! But seriously, you guys look like you want to kiss rather than fight."
In an instant, the silence turned into thin laughter. Some students giggled from a distance and behind the pillars.
Liam muttered, "A critical situation… ruined by a battle clown."
Damian quickly pulled Elric aside. "Elric! He almost killed me yesterday!"
Elric laughed and said. "The important thing is that you're still alive."
From the end of the hallway, Instructor Van appeared with an annoyed face. "Everyone to the teacher's lounge. Now."
The students started to walk away, leaving the hallway that had just been filled with tension. Some of them whispered to each other:
"Gosh, I was really looking forward to seeing Damian fight Nero," one of the students said disappointedly.
"Yeah, but luckily they didn't end up fighting," another student replied. "Imagine if their fight happens, this whole school could be destroyed, we'll have a semester off."
"That's right. Let's not think about it anymore, let's just hurry up and go to the cafeteria because I'm hungry…" added another voice, sounding relieved.
Without further ado, they blended into the crowd and walked towards the classroom, preparing for the next lesson.
In the Zephyrus Academy Teachers' Lounge, Damian sat restlessly on the sofa in the teacher's room. Beside him, Liam sat quietly, his hands folded in his lap. Across from them, Nero sat, but his gaze remained fixed on Damian with a sharp gaze as if he wanted to continue the fight. Elric sat beside Nero, chewing on an apple leisurely.
Instructor Van stood beside and in the middle of them, his eyes sweeping over each face. "Do you think this academy is a place for fighting?" his voice was firm.
Nero remained silent, his gaze still fixed on Damian.
Damian raised his hand slowly. "I didn't mean to cause a scene. I was just defending myself."
Elric swallowed the apple and added, "And I was just passing by when they were about to fight, Instructor Van!"
Instructor Van spoke firmly. "The principal has decided that the two of you will undergo regular night training. Starting tonight."
Hearing that, Damian immediately stood up. "Tonight?! Regular? With him?" He pointed at Nero.
Instructor Van gave him a cold look. "Yes. Problems must be solved through training." Damian quickly said, "Then… can I bring a friend? I mean, so… it's not just me and… Nero."
Van stared at Damian for a long time, then rolled his eyes. "Who?"
Damian stood up and pointed at Elric. "Him."
Elric blinked. "Eh? Me?!"
Damian thought to himself, "Hopefully the painting will react to Elric too since he's so strong, so I won't be alone with Nero, because I might die if I have to train with just him every night."
Van nodded. "Alright. Three of you. Practice tonight, under Professor Limbert's direct supervision."
Damian let out a long sigh and sat back down, while Nero just raised an eyebrow and Elric chewed on another apple, looking unconcerned.
Night came….
In the training arena. The moonlight illuminated the training arena, creating a calm yet tense atmosphere.
In the middle of the arena, Professor Limbert stood tall with his black robe fluttering slowly in the wind. "You will face a special simulation—not like usual," he said.
"But before we start, why are there 3 people joining tonight's training?" Professor Limbert asked in confusion
Damian answered confidently, "Elric, he is very strong, maybe even stronger than me, that's why. I was just curious, who knows, maybe the ancient artifact can…"
"Damiannn!!!" Professor Limbert said firmly.
"Oh yeah, sorry, professor, I forgot," Damian said.
"Okay, it's okay, let's just continue with the training." Professor Limbert replied
Damian, Nero, and Elric formed a triangle, staring at each other but not yet speaking. Limbert raised his staff, and the floor began to shake.
From the middle of the arena emerged a large monster: a large monster made of stone. Its eyes glowed red, and its voice screamed very loudly.
"This is an artificial entity—a prototype of the academy's defense project. Your task: defeat it."
Nero charged forward first. His shadow moved swiftly, forming sharp blades from beneath the floor. The creature dodged swiftly, then retaliated with a flurry of large rocks aimed at Nero, Damian, and Elric.
Damian took a step forward, creating pillars of ice to protect his friends. With one movement, he threw shards of ice at the creature, causing it to stagger.
Elric activated the mana layer on his body, jumped high, and slammed the creature's head from above. The creature's head was shattered, but the rocks lying on the ground one by one reassembled into the creature's head again.
Professor Limbert watched impassively, his hand still on the staff. The fight continued fiercely: shadow attacks, ice blasts, and heavy fists alternately hit the creature.
Finally, with a combination of Nero's shadow trap, Damian's frozen area, and Elric's ultimate punch, the creature collapsed. Dust flew as its rocky body shattered.
The three of them gasped, looking at each other. Silence replaced the tension, no more killing intent, only relief that they had defeated the monster.
At the same time, vibrations were felt from below the training arena.
Professor Limbert pointed down the arena. "Downstairs… right under the arena…"
Professor Limbert told them to rest for a while and immediately ran to the room where the ancient painting was.
When they arrived there, the ancient painting was seen lighting up with white light, emitting a glow that was visible outside the room. This indicated that there was another child who had caused the painting to react.
Limbert, who was standing upstairs, stared with wide eyes, his breath stopped for a moment.
"…It can't be…" he whispered, his voice shaking with shock.
Later that night, after practice was over, Damian, Elric, and Nero walked slowly towards the exit of the training arena.
"Elric touched Damian's shoulder gently. "Are you okay?"
Damian nodded. "Not bad. I didn't think we could work together."
Nero walked behind them, silent, but his steps were no longer as heavy as before. When they were almost out of the training arena, Elric suddenly stopped.
"Eh… something's strange, did you hear that voice?" he muttered.
Damian stopped too. "What voice?"
Elric tilted his head, eyes closed for a moment. "Like… there was a voice calling my name… from under the training arena."
Before Damian could answer, Professor Limbert's voice was heard from a distance.
Professor Limbert appeared from the direction of the training arena stairs. "Tomorrow at the same time, this training will be held, and starting tomorrow, this training will be officially attended by Elric too. No ifs or buts."
Without protest, the three of them nodded and turned around, leaving the training arena.
Behind their light steps, one thought kept spinning in Elric's head; the voice he had heard earlier was not like usual.
The next day, in the Academy common room, the commotion suddenly turned into panic. A group of students whispered loudly to each other:
"Did you hear the news?!"
"A student was kidnapped last night!"
"What?! Who?!"
"Kyle Ardent! Rank 2!"
The atmosphere immediately became tense as the word "kidnapped" was repeated over and over again. Damian felt horrified and turned to Liam, seeing his best friend's face turn very serious.
"This is bad," Liam whispered softly, furrowing his brows. "Very bad."
Damian nodded slowly, his gaze focused on the crowd that was whispering faster. Thoughts of Kyle and the danger that lurked immediately filled his mind. He knew this was not news that could be ignored.
In a dark room lit only by a single magic crystal, the figure stood in front of a black mirror. Shadows covered his body, hiding his face behind a hood.
His deep voice finally broke the silence:
"Kyle Ardent… has been dealt with."
His steps slowly touched the surface of the mirror. His finger scratched a shadow symbol that suddenly glowed dark red on the black glass.
"The chosen children begin to unite… the ancient paintings begin to glow… but they do not yet know… that the history of this world will be destroyed by my hand."
His face was still hidden, only the faint outline of his jaw visible in the mirror.