“Dear ladies and gentlemen~ WELCOME to the Divine Academy on this beautiful planet of mine! My name is Alizer Waymur, and I’m your lovely principal~” A loud voice reverberated through the massive assembly hall, stirring thousands of young men and women awake.
Most were still students, old enough to have manifested their War Rune but too young to have unraveled their full potential. Yet, they had all one thing in common: Their Soultraits were 5-Star or higher.
The youngest were the first to jump up. Their heads flicked left and right, taking in the terrifying size of the assembly hall. It was larger than a football field, yet there were enough humans to fill the gaps neatly. “Kaleb?” Alice’s worried voice resounded. It wasn’t loud, but it was loud enough to be heard. Kaleb shot up from the ground and looked to his left, where he saw his sister. She held her head in pain but tried to suppress the mind-splitting headache when she saw her brother’s terrified expression. “Sis!” Kaleb pushed through the crowd of confused students and reached for his sister. He embraced her tightly, trying his utmost to contain his tears. Kaleb was a strong Lord. He was the heir of the Zenovia household. Crying. No, even going as far as sobbing wasn’t allowed. He grit his teeth and focused on hugging his sister tightly.
“Do you know where we are?” Alice asked Kaleb, who shook his head in their embrace. He was unwilling to release her again.
“I only know what that weird guy said. He called this ‘Divine Academy,'” Kaleb answered, but Alice was already aware of that.
“He also mentioned that the planet is his. That’s bad. I don’t know anyone called Alizer Waymur, and nobody owns a planet in the Tritan Alliance,” Alice’s energy stirred, and she was ready to use Frozen Kingdom and Queen to move at once as the puzzle pieces fell into place.
They weren’t in the Tritan Alliance anymore. “We are –….”
“As you might have realized, this is not your home planet anymore. We, the Paliat of the Supreme Human Alliance, chose to rescue you poor souls from corruption. Your people betrayed their race. They’ve forsaken their ancestry and chose to abandon everything the Supreme Human Alliance has been working for. Your people are the reason so many people are dying. But it doesn’t have to be like that. There is no need for so much bloodshed,” Alizer Waymur shouted, his sonorous voice resounding through the assembly hall. Most students stopped talking and looked over to the Divine Academy principal, Alizer Waymur. He levitated in the air with a vibrant smile.
“You can change that. Your powers are all the Supreme Human Alliance needs to ensure your people won’t hold onto their foolish beliefs,” He cleared his throat and released a burst of energy that swept across the entire assembly hall, enveloping everyone tightly, “As long as you work hard, every single one of you here can change your races’ fate.”
His expression turned dead-serious, which was a sudden change.
“Because if you don’t, your people will be torn into shreds. Because…the Supreme Human Alliance doesn’t think highly of traitors. We get rid of traitors and everyone who’s connected to them.”
Kaleb looked at Alice, who cursed quietly. She retrieved an Artifact from her War Rune – a small token – and infused energy into it. The small token was a Fragmented Legendary Artifact, one of a dozen fragments connected to the other pieces, sharing her location and vitals with the different fragments.
Kaleb noticed that something within him stirred when Alice used the Fragmented Legendary Artifact. He was about to retrieve his fragment when he saw that Alice’s fragment had shattered. Alice cursed but reacted quickly when she saw her brother’s reaction. She trembled her head, telling him to keep his fragment in the War Rune.
“You won’t be able to use any Artifact in the Divine Academy,” Alizer Waymur’s head flicked to Alice. She trembled, and her legs caved inward. Alice writhed in pain, but she didn’t lose consciousness, no matter how much pressure and pain flooded her.
“Killing you would be a shame,” He murmured, turning away as if he had never said anything. He studied a few students and nodded slowly.
At last, his expression distorted. A hideous grimace plastered his face as he erupted in anger.
“What a disgrace. Disgusting pig!” Alizer Waymur roared at the top of his lungs, unleashing a burst of concentrated energy toward a young woman. The young woman, between the age of 20 and 22, screamed once before the energy impacted. Her body exploded.
Shreds of skin, chunks of flesh, and bone fragments shot in all directions, showering the surrounding humans. Some students vomited, while others just retched. Some were also too stunned to say or do anything. Their blank stares to where the young woman had been standing just a moment ago were enough to tell how they felt.
“What happened?” Kaleb asked, only for Alizer Waymur to continue raging.
“How dare you sully your sacred body with a vermin’s seed inside you?!?! What a disgrace. A devilish whore!!!”
The principal of the Divine Academy continued raging, but the Zenovia siblings tried not to pay too much attention to him. Instead, they searched for other people. If Alice and Kaleb were here, there would be more familiar people. Finding Lincoln, Zeke, and some more familiar faces didn’t take long.
Lincoln and Zeke discovered the Zenovia siblings as well and approached them.
“Wasn’t that Betty?” Zeke asked, pointing in the direction of the young woman who exploded a minute earlier.
“Betty? The one who fell in love with that Berserker?” Kaleb recalled something now that Zeke pointed it out for him.
“The vermin’s seed…” Alice mumbled, a soft groan escaping her lips, “The Supreme Human Alliance got us. They managed to kidnap us. How?!” Lincoln studied Alice for a moment and shrugged. He seemed oddly calm, “A pillar of light appeared suddenly. It shrouded me, and I fainted. The next thing I remember is waking up in this shitty hall.”
“It was the same for me,” Zeke said while Kaleb nodded. Alice also recalled the pristine light, but she didn’t faint immediately. Something within her permitted Alice to withstand the pristine light. But it was only for a few seconds. She collapsed after a few seconds and woke up in the assembly hall.
“But something is odd,” Kaleb mumbled. “Other than hundreds of Descendants getting kidnapped by a pillar of light or a psychopathic Hyuman on a powertrip? Do you really need more? In that case, what do you think about us being entire GALAXIES away from our home, or that we’re helpless in a fucking Academy created by psychopathic genocitists?”
Kaleb winced when Zeke cursed him quietly, but he gazed at Alice instead.
“That guy didn’t blow my sister apart,” He mentioned, attracting weird gazes from everyone around her.
“I might not be the best sister, but do you want me dead this badly?” Alice complained. 𝓯𝘦𝘦𝑤𝑣.𝒸𝘰
“That’s not my point,” Kaleb shook his head, “You are a great sister, but I’m talking about this Alizer staring at you for a while. Don’t you recall Michael talking about the influence of Curses and how Curse Users affect the people around them?”
Alice raised her eyebrow, not quite sure what Kaleb was getting at, but nodded, “Michael stated that about his Curses and that it applies to every Curse User. It’s also the reason he gave everyone a Soultrait to ensure we can protect ourselves even better. But how is that related to this psychopath of a principal not killing me?”
Kaleb pressed his lips together, gazed at his friends, and decided to lean forward. It was probably better to whisper into his sister’s ear than speak aloud.
“Isn’t the presence of his Curses thicker around you because of your…closeness?” Kaleb mumbled into Alice’s ear.
She frowned at first but blushed a moment later.
That was a first for Kaleb. It was new, but the situation was too serious to joke around. Still, Kaleb couldn’t help but tease his sister, seeing her like this.
“Didn’t you sleep with Michael?”