Thud!
The walls of the cube slowly released and collapsed to the ground, releasing Victor from within.
He stepped out, his sharp eyes immediately locking onto Celestia, who stood before him with a small but unmistakable smile on her face.
Victor stretched his arms high above his head, letting out a long yawn as his joints cracked from being confined inside for so long. As he rolled his shoulders to loosen up, his gaze shifted around the area, taking in the sheer destruction surrounding them.
“Damn, man… this place is a total wreck,” Victor muttered, his brows furrowing as he observed the broken ground and scattered debris. It looked as if a massive explosion had torn through, leaving only ruins behind. Chunks of stone lay everywhere, remnants of what once might have been structures.
“They really must’ve gone all out,” he mused under his breath before turning his attention back to Celestia, who was still watching him with that same amused expression.
“Is everyone in their positions?” Victor asked, his tone turning serious.
Celestia gave a small nod. “For the most part, yes. Everything is going according to plan so far. There were a few unexpected issues, but nothing we couldn’t handle,” she said, her lips curving into a knowing smirk.
Victor narrowed his eyes slightly, “You seem a little too happy. What’s going on?” he asked, suspicion lacing his voice.
Celestia’s smirk widened. “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough,” she said in a cryptic tone, her golden eyes gleaming with mischief.
Victor frowned for a moment, debating whether to press her for an answer, but eventually, he just sighed and shook his head. “Whatever,” he muttered. Without wasting any more time, he summoned one of his clones, altering its appearance to be an exact copy of himself before handing it another mask identical to his. He gave a brief order for it to stay inside the cube.
Celestia raised an eyebrow as she watched him, “Is there really a need to keep hiding at this point?” she asked as she casually closed the cube once more.
Victor raised a hand to his face, his mask flickering for a brief moment before shifting and condensing into a small ring on his finger.
Now, as Aether, he let out a soft chuckle, “Call me paranoid, but I still haven’t seen the faces of the other table members. It’s better to be cautious than reckless,” he remarked, his tone light yet calculated.
Satisfied, he turned his focus upward, his sharp gaze locking onto the sky where countless water knives were cascading down like deadly raindrops.
He then activated Nightfire’s illusion spell scroll.
“It’s Aether time~” he murmured with a dark chuckle before striding forward, heading straight toward the source of the unnatural downpour.
Meanwhile…
Stab!
Stab!
Stab!
Stab!
The rain of razor-sharp water knives relentlessly struck the ground, embedding themselves deep before dissolving into liquid once more.
It was an eerie sight—like a storm that held no mercy.
A tiny hooded figure darted frantically through the battlefield, barely avoiding the relentless assault from above.
The figure disappeared just in time to dodge another knife, reappearing a short distance away. But then—
“S-Shit!” the tiny figure cursed as another knife suddenly closed in, just inches away from piercing its body.
With fast reflexes, it twisted mid-air, barely escaping the lethal attack while clutching tightly onto a cube—one that contained Mary.
Not far from the figure, Master was also navigating the deadly rain, his movements precise as he slashed through any knives that dared to come too close with swift, calculated swings of his sword.
Meanwhile, the monstrous wolf had no such luck… Due to its sheer size, dodging was impossible. Its massive body was riddled with stab wounds as the water knives rained down mercilessly, piercing through its flesh. Unlike the knives that melted upon touching the ground, those that embedded themselves into the monster remained intact, lodging deep within it.
“Arrrrhhh!” the creature let out a guttural roar of agony, its limbs twitching as it struggled to move. But each step only worsened its suffering, as more knives continued to rain down, slicing into its exposed flesh.
The downpour was relentless… unforgiving!!
And yet, curiously, not a single drop touched Dora. She stood unscathed amidst the chaos.
The tiny hooded figure’s movements grew sluggish, hindered by the erratic nature of the falling knives. They struck at unpredictable intervals, varying in speed and trajectory, making it increasingly difficult for them to navigate. And then—
Stab!
A particularly large knife found its mark.
“Arrrh!” the hooded figure cried out, staggering as a blade dug into its side. Its body trembled before collapsing to the ground, and in that instant, the cube it had been holding slipped from its grasp, tumbling away.
For what felt like an eternity, the deadly rain continued its merciless assault.
And then, finally…
The storm ceased.
Sandra slowly descended from the sky, landing gracefully beside Dora. Her expression was a mixture of concern and curiosity as she extended a hand toward her,
“Dora? Are you alright?”
Dora coughed violently, a thick stream of blood splattering onto the ground as she struggled to catch her breath. Pain radiated through her body, but she forced herself to move, slowly reaching out to grasp Sandra’s hand.
With Sandra’s help, she managed to lift herself up, her legs wobbling as she steadied herself. Before she could say anything, Sandra quickly pulled out a high-level healing potion, uncorked it, and pressed it into Dora’s trembling hands.
“Drink this,” Sandra urged, her voice softer but firm.
Dora didn’t hesitate. She lifted the potion to her lips and downed it in a single gulp, the warm sensation spreading through her body almost immediately. Some of her wounds began to close, and the pain dulled slightly.
Meanwhile, standing a few feet away, Master remained utterly frozen, his face twisted in absolute disbelief. His mind was racing, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Sandra was here.
Standing right in front of him.
But how?
His fingers twitched as his thoughts spiralled, ‘Why is Sandra here all of a sudden? This… this shouldn’t be possible.’
More than anything else, one horrifying question gnawed at his mind.
‘How the hell did she escape from Victor’s grasp?’
Victor wasn’t someone who would just let his prisoners walk free. No, something was wrong—something wasn’t adding up.
‘Did she kill everyone just to get out?’
For a brief moment, another possibility crept into his mind.
Had Victor planned this?
Had he orchestrated this entire situation from the shadows?
But Master quickly dismissed the idea. No, that couldn’t be.
Victor had been inside the cube the whole time, cut off from the outside world.
There was no way he could have issued any new commands or controlled the flow of events.
And more importantly, everything had happened so quickly. There had been no window for Victor to communicate or manoeuvre a scheme like this.
‘Then what the hell is going on?’ Master inwardly screamed in frustration.
His patience snapped as he sharply raised a finger, his hand trembling slightly from suppressed rage, “You dare betray me again?”
Sandra merely smirked. There was an air of confidence—no, defiance—in the way she stood.
“Betray you?” she repeated, tilting her head slightly. “That’s rich, coming from the man who’s been trying to use me from the very beginning.” Her voice dripped with mockery, her eyes filled with something sharp and unreadable.
Master’s expression darkened further. He stared at her intently, noting the changes in her demeanour. Something about her was different. The way she spoke, the way she carried herself—it wasn’t the same Sandra he once knew.
There was no hesitation, no trace of fear. Instead, she stood before him with an aura of rebellion, unshaken by his presence.
For a moment, he said nothing. Then, he took a deep breath, a slow grin creeping across his face. His lips curled in amusement as he let out a low chuckle,
“Well, well… you actually came all the way here.” His grip around his sword tightened as he took a step forward, his smirk widening, “I was wondering how I’d get you back, but I suppose the gods are smiling on me today.” His tone darkened as his eyes glowed with malicious intent. “I’ll end both of you right here, right now.”
As if responding to his command, the fox monster stirred. The deep, gruesome wounds that had been inflicted upon its massive body began to mend at an unnatural speed. Its flesh sealed, its breathing grew steady, and its once-weakened form slowly regained its strength.
A guttural growl rumbled from the beast as its bloodshot eyes snapped open. It turned toward Sandra and Dora, its gaze brimming with rage and hunger.
Master smirked, stepping forward once more, “Did you really think a few wounds would stop us?” His voice was dripping with arrogance, his posture radiating superiority. “You’re a mistake, Sandra. You never should have turned against me. Do you even care about your daught—”
“She’s already safe,” Sandra interrupted.
A sudden, suffocating wave of murderous intent erupted from Sandra’s body, heavy and unrelenting.
Master’s breath hitched for just a moment.
“You said ‘a few wounds’?” Sandra repeated, her lips curling into a slow, dangerous smirk.
Then, with a snap of her fingers—
The water knives embedded in the fox monster’s flesh shimmered violently. Within seconds, they underwent a terrifying transformation, hardening into pure, unyielding ice.
crck… crrracccckkkkk!!!
A loud, sickening crack echoed through the battlefield.
The massive fox monster froze in place, completely encased in a thick layer of ice. Its furious eyes were still visible beneath the frozen shell, locked in an expression of rage and pain.
But that wasn’t the only thing frozen.
The tiny hooded figure—who had been mere moments away from reaching the cube containing Mary—was also caught in the sudden onslaught of ice. The creeping frost enveloped its entire body, locking it in place just before it could lay a single finger on the cube.
Sandra let out a soft chuckle as she tilted her head, watching with amusement as Master’s expression twisted into something beyond rage.
“Now?” she mused, her voice filled with mock curiosity. “Now it’s two versus one. And if my calculations are correct…” She glanced at Dora, whose wounds were steadily healing, her strength slowly returning. “I’d say we have the upper hand, don’t we?”
Dora, still catching her breath, managed a small, knowing smirk.
Master’s body tensed. His fingers twitched. His eyes darted between the frozen monsters and the two women standing before him, realization slowly dawning upon him.
Sandra wasn’t bluffing.
His plan—his carefully laid-out plan—was crumbling right in front of his eyes.
But Sandra wasn’t done.
“Oh, I almost forgot to mention something,” she continued, her tone light, almost playful. “That little plan of yours for the academy?” She let out an amused laugh. “Yeah… sorry, but it’s already been destroyed.”
Dora raised an eyebrow, a flicker of confusion crossing her face.
Master’s entire body stiffened.
“W-What do you mean?” he stammered, his voice barely above a whisper.
Meanwhile, back in the Zephyra Empire…
“You are the most pathetic Chosen One I have ever seen in my life,” Alaric spoke, his voice devoid of emotion, cold and detached. His empty, unreadable eyes stared down at the motionless Kaelen, whose body lay sprawled on the ground.
Blood poured from Kaelen’s mouth.
Alaric’s expression remained blank as he tilted his head slightly.
“Why did Arcane even choose you?” His voice held nothing—no anger, no mockery, just a simple, empty statement as he watched Kaelen’s broken form tremble.
