Editor : Amethyst00



Crackle—crack!

Light magic burst from Eliana's fingertips and swept through the Death Knights.

"Whoa, your magic's gotten even stronger, hasn't it?"

Carl exclaimed in awe as he pulled a potion vial from his coat.

Without hesitation, he hurled it toward the horde of undead.

Just before the vial struck the center of the undead formation, Carl drew a small hand crossbow and fired.

Pop! Sssshhhhh—!

The vial exploded like a grenade, and the compressed contents rained down like a storm.

Graaaaaargh!

A chorus of screams erupted from the ghouls, the lower-ranking undead.

"A purification potion?"

"It's a new one I brewed recently. Seems to be working pretty well!"

Carl grinned as he reloaded his crossbow.

He pulled out another potion and shouted boldly,

"Bring it on! I'll wipe you all out!"

Graaaaaargh!

As if responding to his cry, a vast wave of undead surged in from the distance.

Seeing that, Carl turned to Eliana.

"Strategic retreat sounds best, yeah?"

"Yeah."

The two nodded and immediately began to fall back.

"First priority is to regroup with Chelsea and Leo!"

"They must've seen my magic—they'll be here soon!"

Even before Eliana could finish her sentence, a whirlwind suddenly swept past them.

With a strong gust of wind, Chelsea appeared and pointed her staff at the advancing horde.

Carl and Eliana immediately veered left and right, clearing a path for her magic.

"Wind Storm."

A spell unleashed through Chelsea's specialty—rapid chant incantation—completed in an instant.

The summoned gale tore through the undead.

Just as Chelsea's face took on a grim expression while watching the devastation—

"Ahh~ My precious corpses… look what you've done to them."

A mournful voice echoed out as a hooded woman stepped forth from among the undead.

She cradled in her arms a large, rotting human head—its eyes missing, flesh decayed into grotesque ruin.

Yet the woman rubbed her cheek against the corpse's head affectionately, as if it were dear to her.

Chelsea made a gagging face.

Clack—

Eliana stepped forward and raised her sword toward the woman.

"A demon?"

"Pleasure to meet you, little fledglings. I'm Elan, a necromancer in service of the great Lich King."

Eliana's eyes twitched.

"Elan… you mean…"

"The Flesh-Eater?"

The group's expressions hardened at the appearance of the infamous high-ranking demon.

With a smile, Elan bit into the head she was holding.

The three instinctively recoiled in disgust.

"Tastes awful."

Ptui! She spat the flesh from her mouth and wiped her lips with a handkerchief, then looked over the group with calm eyes.

Finally, her gaze stopped on Carl.

"The orange-haired one? You look like my type."

"Lucky you, Carl. You never heard that even once back at school, right?"

"You're seriously joking now?"

Carl clicked his tongue and pulled another potion from subspace.

Chelsea tightened her grip on her staff, and Eliana raised her sword once more.

They knew the opponent was a high-ranking demon.

But none of them had any thought of retreating.

"Where's Leo?"

"I came ahead first. He'll catch up soon. Though… even if he's skilled, he's technically a civilian. Not sure how much help he'll be."

To that, Eliana answered firmly, "It's fine. We can take her down ourselves."

Chelsea nodded.

"Carl. Support us."

"You got it."

Carl took a deep breath, tension tightening his features.

Chelsea and Eliana had grown far beyond the level they'd shown back in their first year.

'I've done my best in my own way, too, but… it'd be enough not to hold them back.'

Carl smirked faintly and looked toward Elan.

'Still, what's a high-ranking demon like her doing here?'

High demons with reputations like Elan's rarely showed themselves—too many kingdoms had bounties on their heads.

Even within Land of Death, one would only encounter her in its deepest recesses.

'And this isn't even technically inside Land of Death.'

The area they were in now was near the outskirts—where undead occasionally appeared, but still outside official borders.

'Something's definitely not right.'

Carl quickly reorganized his thoughts and glanced toward the campsite.

'Leo… you better be safe.'

bl

Lumene's Warp Gate.

Even though it was late at night, students were still bustling about in front of the warp gate.

Among them, the vice student council president, Elena, was lying on a nearby bench, trying to get some sleep.

"Senior Elena! Wake up! You look like a homeless person!"

Celia scolded her as she shook her awake.

Elena turned over with a groan, clearly not wanting to move.

But Celia forcibly pulled her up to her feet.

"I got dragged out here in the middle of my sleep, you know."

When Elena grumbled, Celia flared up.

"We all got dragged out of bed!"

"The principal should be the one greeting them~"

"This is a student council event!"

"Why the heck are they arriving in the middle of the night anyway? Tell them to come tomorrow."

"Since when have elves ever cared about other people's schedules? They do as they please!"

"They're just like how Senior Elena used to be."

Lyl, who was helping support the staggering Elena, added softly.

Elena responded by stomping down on Lyl's foot.

"Yaaaawn—"

Elena let out a long yawn and rubbed her eyes.

"Elena-sunbae! Button up your shirt! Your underwear's showing."

"Didn't wear any. I was in a rush."

"Ah! Seriously!"

Celia, exasperated, buttoned up Elena's shirt herself.

She even straightened her tie, tidying up her clothes neatly.

"Celia. When you graduate, want to marry this unnie?"

"You just want to use me like a maid, don't you?"

"Yup."

Elena burst into laughter, looking every bit the innocent princess, and Celia let out a deep sigh.

Watching the scene, Chloe leaned over to Lyl and asked quietly, "Is it true Elena-sunbae was once called the Queen of Lumene?"

"It's true. Before you guys enrolled, Elena-sunbae was pure charisma! She was basically a tyrant!"

Lyl clenched her fist, her eyes sparkling.

'…Is that a compliment or an insult?'

Chloe gave a dry laugh, not sure what to think, and turned her gaze to Elena, who was now being pushed toward the warp gate by Celia.

Right now, Elena seemed more like a pampered little princess—it was hard to imagine her as a reigning queen.

Once Elena was finally presentable, Chen Xia spoke up.

"I think we're just about ready?"

"Yeah."

"Still… why are they suddenly coming here?"

Chen Xia looked puzzled.

The ones gathered at the warp gate tonight were the 1st-party members from the 3rd, 4th, and 5th years.

They had come in perfect form, despite the late hour, for one reason: to greet the student council president of Seiren—Rune.

Though the reason for Rune's sudden visit to Lumene was unknown, no one wanted to show even the slightest flaw in front of her.

No, rather—they wanted to appear perfect.

Lumene students had to be superior to those from Seiren.

Of course, they had to prove it as rival academies.

But more than that—it was the way Rune treated the students of Lumene.

Rune behaved as if Lumene students weren't even worth noticing.

She was blatantly different when dealing with students from Azonia or Damien.

Her dull, indifferent eyes seemed to look at them like a child examining dolls on display in a toy store.

That utter lack of interest, knowingly or not, left Lumene students feeling bitter.

'Why does she act that way?'

As Chen Xia silently pondered—

The warp gate flared with light, and the elves appeared.

At the head of the group was none other than the president of Seiren—Rune.

A beauty so mesmerizing it made one momentarily forget to breathe.

With a blank expression, Rune passed through the warp gate and surveyed the Lumene students who had come to greet her with a solemn air.

"Thanks for the grand welcome. Sorry for the late hour."

"Welcome to Lumene, student council president of Seiren."

Rune and Elena exchanged polite smiles and formal greetings.

Shortly after, the Seiren students were guided to their assigned lodgings.

"Rune-sunbae."

"What is it, Lunia?"

"Do you not like Lumene students?"

Rune let out a small laugh at Lunia's cautious question.

"It's not that I dislike them—I just don't care much."

"Why not?"

"They lack individuality."

"Huh?"

"They're all works of Leah. Copies molded in the image of someone else. Artificial creations.

Rune spoke in cryptic tones.

Lunia and Eiran looked visibly confused, unable to understand what she meant.

bl

Perched on a tree not far from where Chelsea and the others were fighting, Leo narrowed his eyes as he watched the battle unfold.

'Carl… he's the same.'

He reads the flow of the battlefield and responds with sharp instincts. At the same time, he supports Chelsea and Eliana with precise coordination.

He's exactly the same as the Carl from Leo's world.

But Chelsea and Eliana were different.

In the movements of those two, Leo saw glimpses of someone else. And it wasn't hard to guess whose movements they resembled.

'Mine.'

The unique styles of Chelsea and Eliana were gone.

Their combat methods.

Their timing of attack and defense.

Their rhythm, their pacing.

The way they took control of the fight—

Everything mirrored the fighting style of Kyle, the Hero of Beginnings.

As if someone had intentionally trained them to mimic him.

'Lysinas… what exactly are you thinking?'

Leo frowned deeply.

Just then, Chelsea and the others successfully defeated Elan and exchanged high-fives.

'…If those two are like this, the others are probably in the same situation.'

Leo let out a long sigh.

KRRRRRUMBLE—!

Thunder rumbled across the sky.

Leo lifted his gaze.

At that moment, a bolt of black-red lightning crashed down upon the place where the three were standing.

A sudden arrival.

The face of the Lich King.

The three froze in place, their expressions hardening.

"So, these are the dolls crafted by the Student Council President of Lumene."

The Lich King sneered.

Whirling dark mana.

Overwhelming presence.

Just like the records described him.

It didn't take long for the three of them to realize—

This was the Supreme Commander of Tartaros.

"Wh-Why… all of a sudden…"

Carl let out a shaky voice.

Could they survive?

That single thought consumed his mind.

STEP… STEP…

Footsteps echoed in the distance.

The three flinched and turned their heads.

A white-haired boy was calmly walking toward them.

"L-Leo…"

Carl barely managed to speak.

Even though they were paralyzed by the overwhelming pressure of the Lich King…

Leo walked forward unfazed.

"Ho…?"

The Lich King let out a low noise of interest as he eyed Leo.

'What is this brat?'

From the shadow beneath his hood, the Lich King's eyes narrowed sharply.

Leo stood before him now, tilting his head up to meet the towering figure's gaze.

"My neck hurts. Mind lowering yourself a bit?"

"Bold words. Do you even know who I am?"

"Oh, I know very well."

CRACK—!

"……!"

THUD—!

Leo kicked the Lich King's shin.

The bone shattered instantly, and the Lich King dropped to one knee.

Now that they were eye level, Leo looked him straight in the face and smirked.

"You seriously don't recognize me?"

The Lich King's eyes widened in shock.

"You… it can't be…!"