After hearing the details, Victor was utterly taken aback. His brows furrowed as his gaze darkened. “Children? You’re telling me they had the power of the Chosen Ones?”
Celestia nodded with a dreadful expression.
‘What in the world… How is this even possible?’ His mind raced, struggling to make sense of it.
The only way someone could possess power akin to the Chosen Ones was if they had been chosen by Arcane herself…. And yet, here they were, talking about children—mere children—wielding that kind of power.
‘What in the world is that bastard trying to create?’ Victor’s frown deepened. The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
If Master had truly managed to replicate the abilities of the Chosen Ones, then his plans extended far beyond simply getting a woman.
He was aiming for something much bigger, something far more dangerous.
“You said… they used an injection, right?” Victor asked, his voice steady but laced with suspicion.
“Yes,” Celestia confirmed. “The Princess had the suitcase with her. She made sure to take it before we left.”
Victor exhaled sharply, “Hmm…” His mind was already analyzing the situation, running through possibilities.
This development was unexpected, and now he had to reconsider his approach. Should he stick to his original plan, or would it be wiser to adjust his strategy? If this injection was as dangerous as it seemed, then Master wasn’t just toying with power—he was trying to manufacture something that went against the very laws of nature.
‘Now you are not bitching him, bitch?’ Victor really wanted to shout those words against the so-called Law of Nature.
“Where is she now?” he asked after a moment of silence.
“She’s in the Principal’s office, discussing the matter,” Celestia replied.
“I see…” Victor nodded before turning on his heels and making his way toward the exit. Celestia silently merged into the shadows, following closely behind.
As he walked past the children in the facility, his sharp eyes scanned them briefly… Guards were heavily stationed only those students who agreed to be helped were allowed inside.
Meanwhile, Kara, who had been sitting on the floor, playing with a small child, momentarily lifted her gaze. Her eyes glanced at Victor for just a second before she turned her attention back to the child as if she had seen all she needed to see.
…..
…
Meanwhile, in the Principal’s office,
“Is your body fully healed?” Principal Isadora asked, her voice calm but firm as she skimmed through the documents she had retrieved from the suitcase.
Sitting across from her, Aqualina gave a small nod. “Yes, Principal. I am perfectly fine,” she answered, though her tone was noticeably flat. Her eyes, however, remained locked onto Isadora’s face, staring at her as if she were the one responsible for everything that had happened.
Isadora sighed and set the documents down on her desk, “These details… I can’t make sense of them. Can you?” she asked, her brows knitting together.
The pages were filled with strings of alphanumeric sequences, making it nearly impossible to decipher anything without the proper key.
Aqualina glanced at them but shook her head. “No. I tried to analyze them earlier, but they seem to be encrypted. Without the proper decryption key, it would take forever to figure out what they actually mean,” she explained, her voice calm but serious. Even as she spoke, her blank expression never wavered.
Isadora clicked her tongue in frustration before shifting her attention to something else inside the suitcase. She carefully picked up one of the test tubes containing a strange, red-coloured liquid that had an eerie resemblance to blood. She held it up to the light, studying its consistency.
“And what about this?” she muttered, tilting the test tube slightly.
Aqualina barely spared it a glance before shrugging. “It looks like blood, that’s all I can say,” she said plainly.
Isadora frowned and was just about to crack open the tube when—
“If I were you, I wouldn’t do that,” Aqualina warned sharply, her entire body tensing as if she were ready to bolt at any moment. “I know what I saw, and I know what that stuff did to those people. Believe me, opening that thing would be the dumbest decision you could make. Let the professionals handle that shit before you end up regretting it.”
Isadora hesitated, staring at the liquid before finally sighing and placing it back inside the suitcase. “Fine. You have a point.” She leaned back in her chair, rubbing her temples. “Based on your testimony, it seems someone is actively working to create their own Chosen Ones.”
Aqualina nodded slowly. “That’s what it looks like.” still blankly staring at her as if waiting for something.
Isadora let out another sigh, one that sounded like a mix of exhaustion and resignation, “Sigh… Fine! What do you expect me to say? An apology? Come on, girl, you should know by now… betrayal is inevitable. It’s just a matter of when,” she muttered, nudging her forehead.
After all, Aqualina had been kidnapped because of her subordinates’ betrayal.
Aqualina’s lips twitched slightly, but her face remained blank, her gaze unyielding.
Isadora sighed yet again, finally leaning forward with a serious expression. “Listen… I am truly sorry for what happened. And more than that, I am relieved that you made it back alive. That matters more than anything,” she admitted, her voice softer than before. “I’ll compensate you for everything, I promise.”
That was all she could offer at the moment. True, she felt guilty about what had happened, but at the same time, was it really her fault? Maybe not directly… but indirectly, it was.
And that was enough to make her responsible.
Aqualina narrowed her eyes slightly before leaning forward, a slow, almost amused grin spreading across her lips. “Fine… but the compensation I want is a little different.” Her voice was soft, but there was something almost teasing in her tone. “Since your academy almost got me killed… I think I deserve something of equal value, don’t you?”
Dora frowned as if she had just realized something, “So you want my lif—”
“Of course not,” Aqualina interjected sharply, cutting her off before she could finish. Leaning forward with an almost playful smirk, she rested her elbow on the desk, “You might have heard about Aether, right?”
“…??” Dora’s gaze turned questioning. What was she talking about? Aether?
Aqualina blinked, tilting her head slightly as if she were genuinely baffled. “What? You don’t know?”
“Know what?” Dora asked, her frown deepening.
Aqualina let out a dramatic, audible gasp, placing a hand over her chest as though Dora had just insulted her entire existence, “Are you seriously telling me that you, a Sovereign, have no clue? Because, honestly, it feels like you’re completely out of the loop. How do you even call yourself a ruler if you can’t keep up with what’s happening in the world?”
Dora’s eye twitched. Aqualina’s tone had turned outright disrespectful, but she let it slide—just this once. The girl had been through hell, barely escaping with her life, so Dora could forgive her attitude.
But questioning her worthiness? That was a whole different matter.
Only she knew the kind of relentless effort she had put in to keep everything under control—first, rescuing that damn Victor, who had been on the verge of drifting into the endless void of space, then dealing with Aalric, the monstrous creatures, and those infuriating Origin Pillars.
And now, this?!
“Anyway,” Aqualina continued, exhaling as though she was done wasting time. “Aether is the real Arcane King.”
“…Pardon?” Dora blinked, convinced her ears were playing tricks on her.
Aqualina sighed dramatically and repeated, this time enunciating every word carefully, “As I said, Aether is the real Arcane King. It was Kai who stole his powers!”
“…Come again? Kai what?” Dora’s mind struggled to process what she had just heard.
Aqualina’s lips twitched furiously. ‘This old hag!’ She inhaled sharply, about to yell—
“I SAID AETHER IS THE REAL ARCA—MFFF!!”
Before she could finish, an invisible force clamped her mouth shut. Her furious glare shot straight at Dora, who was now staring at her with an exasperated look.
“I can hear you just fine, little girl,” Dora muttered, rubbing her temple as if she were getting a headache. Then, shaking her head, she added, “What I don’t get is… are you even listening to yourself? That’s impossible! You can’t just steal a Chosen One’s status! That’s unheard of!”
No historical record mentioned anything about someone stealing the power of a Chosen One. Not once in the entire history of Arcane had something so absurd ever been documented.
“Mmfffff!!”
“Oh? Right.” Dora waved her hand, and the force around Aqualina’s mouth disappeared.
Aqualina immediately scowled at her before snapping, “I’m telling the truth! And if you don’t believe me, go ask the old man—oh wait, you can’t. Mortimer, the so-called ‘Savior of Millions’ or whatever ridiculous title he had, openly admitted the truth before his death!”
Dora’s eyes widened. “Wait… Mortimer is dead?”
Aqualina nearly smacked her own forehead. ‘Oh, for fuck’s sake. And she calls herself a Sovereign?!’ She crumbled inwardly, barely restraining herself from letting out a groan of frustration.
Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and refocused. “Whatever,” she said dismissively. “I’m not here to give you a history lesson. What I need is compensation for what happened. And since you, as a Sovereign, have the power to set things right…” She leaned in, a sly grin tugging at her lips. “Then do it. Get back what was stolen. Give the throne back to the real king.”
Dora stared at her in stunned silence.
This was ridiculous.
Absolutely ridiculous!!
She had never—never—heard of someone doing something like that. And even if it were possible, how the hell was she supposed to reverse something like this?
She didn’t have that kind of power!
Aqualina, however, was completely serious.
“Kai is nothing more than a thief who stole what rightfully belongs to Aether,” she declared firmly. “And I want it back. That’s the only compensation I’ll accept. Otherwise, I refuse to take anything else. Please.”
Dora’s expression shifted slightly as she processed the weight of Aqualina’s words.
Unlike the previous incident—where the entire academy had been thrown into chaos, many had been wounded, and several had died—this time, the target had been a single individual. And that attack had been carried out using her own academy, her own office, and even her own Vice Principal.
Aqualina knew this was the perfect opportunity.
‘Hmph! Once Aether gets his throne back, he’ll be above the clouds, untouchable! And those other bitches? Forget them—he’s going to shower me with love!’ Aqualina was already grinning ear to ear at the thought.
Just then—
Knock, knock…
Dora sighed, “I’m busy. Come la—”
Thud!
Before she could even finish, the door swung open with force.
“Well, looks like everyone’s busy today,” Victor said as he walked in without hesitation, his usual composed expression unwavering.
Aqualina’s lips twitched in irritation. Dora, on the other hand, looked like she had just seen a ghost.
It finally clicked.
Now she understood why Aether was so powerful. Why he had always seemed… different.
‘Everything makes sense now—Wait. No, it doesn’t. What sense?! He lost his powers! He shouldn’t even be this strong anymore, and yet—’ Dora’s mind spiralled into confusion.
How in the world was Aether still this powerful after losing everything?
Victor, meanwhile, scanned the room, his sharp eyes immediately catching the distinct reactions from both Dora and Aqualina.
______
[Author’s note: Just for your information this is current:}
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