Daniel’s voice echoed.
More precisely, it reverberated in the ears of the mages from House Windwhisper and House Lunastone.
The words sounded like a death sentence.
To erase both houses from existence…
They knew all too well what that meant.
Was he truly determined to kill them all?
More despairing was the fact that, even if they wanted to resist, there was nothing they could do.
Against someone of Daniel’s strength, resistance was impossible. Their lives hung solely on his whim.
The head of House Windwhisper’s face turned ashen.
He fully understood the meaning behind Daniel’s words.
“I… as the head of House Windwhisper, am willing to offer up all of our family’s assets to Crossbridge Academy. I will also lead by example… and take my own life. All I ask… is to leave a single bloodline for House Windwhisper. I will seal their memory and ensure they never return to Riverside City or appear before Crossbridge Academy again,” he said, voice heavy with resignation.
This was the only option he could see — a choice born from desperation.
Were there any other way, he would never sacrifice his family so completely.
“Very well. I accept,” Daniel replied.
The head of House Windwhisper, who had been holding his breath in fear, seemed to relax slightly.
Then, he saw Daniel lift his finger, pointing toward the unconscious head of House Lunastone.
With a gentle swipe of his fingertip through the air, a change overcame the head of House Lunastone.
The mana within him suddenly grew chaotic, threatening to tear through his magic patterns.
Blood trickled from his mouth.
In mere breaths, the head of House Lunastone died in his sleep.
Then, one by one, the mages of House Lunastone began exhibiting the same symptoms.
First, their mana turned turbulent, breaking through their magic patterns and wreaking havoc on their bodies. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
Then they stopped breathing and collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
One after another.
All in the same way.
The scene was both awe-inspiring and horrifying.
Not only for the mages present, but also for those affiliated with House Lunastone elsewhere in the city, who met identical fates.
The head of House Windwhisper realized, with a mixture of shock and dread, that Daniel must have used some form of bloodline or magic-pattern magic — something capable of killing an entire family at once.
Thus, almost no one from House Lunastone would escape.
All of them were doomed.
Comparisons can be a powerful thing.
Seeing what had happened to House Lunastone, the head of House Windwhisper almost felt relieved.
At least he had chosen to sacrifice himself and his people to preserve a sliver of his family’s legacy.
The head of House Windwhisper rose from the ground, turning to face the mages of his family, who stood trembling in fear.
It broke his heart.
“Daniel, let’s get this over with. Afterward, we’ll go to the city and turn over House Windwhisper’s remaining assets…” he said.
Closing his eyes, he waited.
Though his eyes were shut, he could still hear the sounds of each of his family members collapsing to the ground, one by one.
Tears flowed from his eyes, tracing lines over his weathered face.
This was the consequence of his actions, but the entire House Windwhisper would bear the cost.
He was a sinner, the one who had brought ruin upon House Windwhisper.
When the last body fell, the head of House Windwhisper turned to Daniel.
“Let’s go. We’re heading to House Windwhisper.”
With that, he swiftly made his way toward Riverside City.
Daniel turned to the others from the academy.
“Rowan, take some of the students and go to House Lunastone. Bring all of their assets back to Crossbridge Academy,” he ordered.
“Yes,” Rowan replied, though he was still in a daze. Snapping out of it, he responded and led a group toward House Lunastone.
Although House Lunastone’s mages had been killed by Daniel’s magic, a massive family would still have many who weren’t mages or weren’t directly part of House Lunastone.
When Rowan and his group arrived at House Lunastone, they found it in chaos.
A large family like that would naturally include some who were not of House Lunastone by blood but were mages associated with them.
The Crossbridge Academy members surrounded the estate, and Rowan set to work apprehending any mages attempting to loot or flee.
In the midst of this, Nora spotted a familiar face.
“Teacher Loren… is that you?”
Loren had once taught potion-making at Crossbridge Academy, so Nora recognized him.
Back then, Loren had been a patient teacher, respected and admired by all his students.
But… he had been the first to leave the academy following the old headmaster’s sudden death.
He’d declared his new allegiance to House Lunastone, reaping substantial benefits, and even encouraged other teachers to leave.
It was Loren’s efforts that had pushed Crossbridge Academy close to the brink of closure.
Originally, despite the old headmaster’s death, the academy would have continued easily, as long as there were teachers and students.
The teachers had all been at Crossbridge Academy for years and considered it home.
But with Loren’s persuasion, several teachers had been lured away by the two houses, throwing the academy into a dire situation.
Loren had played a key role in the betrayal, exploiting his connections and knowledge of his colleagues’ struggles to tempt them with promises of better opportunities.
In House Lunastone, seeing Loren again, Nora’s feelings were complex.
On one hand, Loren had been a good teacher, dedicated in his lessons.
But in dismantling Crossbridge Academy, he had been just as relentless, as if he held a deep grudge against it.
“Oh, Nora! How have you been? I heard Crossbridge Academy managed to recover and even hired a new potions teacher! That’s wonderful,” Loren said, smiling as if he had forgotten his betrayal of the academy.
But Nora’s expression was cold.
“Why did you do it back then?” she asked flatly.
Loren’s smile froze, and then he replied, “Because… they had leverage on me, so I had no choice. But just now — did you hear? The mages of House Lunastone, they’re all dead! That means I’m free of their control!”
“Now I can return to the academy. I don’t even need to teach — just living there, even doing odd jobs, would be enough for me… Nora, you have no idea what I’ve gone through here!” Loren’s expression grew pained.
He stepped closer to Nora.
“Nora, could you tell me… how things have changed at the academy since I left…” he began, but his words were cut short as a potion appeared in his right hand, uncorked and ready.
“Nora, my dear student, forgive me, but I have to leave. With House Lunastone’s mages mysteriously dead, I took the chance to grab a trove of rare potions. Given enough time, once I escape Riverside City, I’ll be a potions master! Although I’m not sure what happened, I assume House Lunastone’s plan to destroy the academy failed.”
“I can’t stay here. I need to leave immediately. Goodbye, Nora. Your teacher will miss you,” Loren muttered to himself, readying a spell with his left hand and aiming it at Nora.
But Nora dodged, her mana surging as she bound Loren in place.
“Teacher Loren, you look utterly fake when you lie,” she said coldly.
The moment her words ended, the binding released, and Loren’s lifeless body fell to the ground.
After her training in the semi-divine artifact, Nora had come to recognize the insincerity behind Loren’s words instantly.
“If it were the old me, I might have believed you,” she murmured.
But things had changed now, just as Crossbridge Academy had become something new.