"You’re going to explain how you did that," Marlen said, finally finding her voice as she turned away from the burning horizon. "After we get back to the Strongholds."
Her tone was sharp, but beneath it—exhaustion, disbelief, and maybe a trace of awe.
"Sure," Cendric muttered, staggering slightly.
As soon as he faltered, hands reached out to catch him. The group closed ranks around him silently but walking forward.
Together.
————
Back at the Stronghold, I walked into the command room, my steps echoing softly against the floor.
Much of it had been repaired. The students had done well—wiring restored, panels upright, most of the screens blinking back to life. I made my way to the center and lowered myself into the command chair.
My body eased into it, but the warmth beneath felt wrong. Unnatural. Like a mory soaked into the tal. Maybe it was the residue of Vera’s cruelty... or sothing worse.
I leaned back, exhaling.
Then across the room one by one, the students’ syncwatch lit up. A quiet chi echoed.
My own holographic interface flared to life.
I glanced down.
And froze.
My eyes widened.
[ Match Disqualification Report]
25 Red Line Students have been Disqualified
Responsible Parties:
1. Cendric Valeris
2. Silas Valeris (Contributor)
[Red Line Faction – Eliminated]
All mbers of the Red Line Faction have been disqualified.
Reason:
No eligible students remain under the faction.
Note:
This was not due to surrender or removal by Azaira.
The faction was eliminated because all its mbers were defeated.
Status: Faction Disqualified
A quiet gasp spread across the command room.
Screech!
Chairs scraped back as students rose to their feet in unison, eyes wide. Every pair of eyes locked onto .
I remained seated.
Calm. Barely.
But even I could feel the tension rising in the air like smoke.
"Is there a visual?" I asked aloud, my voice cutting through the silence. "A feed of the stronghold?"
Soone scrambled at the console. Within seconds, the central hologram shimred.
Students poured in from outside so running, others breathless from the climb but all drawn to the glowing footage like moths to fla.
And then—
The image focused.
The Red Stronghold, once proud and unshakable, stood for a mont.
Then it detonated.
A plu of crimson fire swallowed the towers. Shockwaves rippled outward like the land itself was trying to scream. The valley trembled beneath its light. Ash and smoke curled skyward like the end of a Chapter written in fla.
A beat of stunned silence.
Then the whispers began.
"...How did Cendric do that?"
"I an, of course he did. He’s Rank 2. He’s... amazing."
"No, seriously maybe Kael saw it. Maybe he used the Eye, predicted this. Sent Cendric and Silas there on purpose."
"...That’s insane.
"But it happened, didn’t it?"
I didn’t say anything.
I just watched the ashes rise from the valley floor watched the last embers of the Red Line fade.
How?
To destroy an entire stronghold like that it isn’t sothing a student should be able to do. Even now, part of still doesn’t believe it. That place was a fortress. Reinforced, layered with defense magic, designed to hold against full invasions. You don’t just tear it down.
Or is this his special eye technique one that lets him trigger explosions through what he sees? After all, above Ketsugan, the four higher Valery eyes each begin to develop their own unique abilities.
This is what makes the Valery so rare. Their eyes don’t just offer heightened visual prowess they awaken powers that can bend or even bypass the system’s natural rules.
In this world, your abilities co from either your Path... or your bloodline body. The Valery have both.
No use thinking too deeply. Cendric could explain it himself once he got back.
"Where are they currently?" I asked.
One of the students near the console tapped a few buttons. A glowing map flickered to life, showing blinking markers moving across the terrain.
"They’re en route, heading back to our base."
"I see. Good."
I turned to face the rest of the room, raising my voice.
"Since the Red Line has been eliminated, that ans we’ve secured a victory. Everyone gets a break today. We’ll resu work tomorrow."
A wave of cheers erupted around the command room.
"Thank you!" several voices echoed.
I turned my body back toward the front and looked at the map.
The display showed our stronghold, shaped like a star, positioned in the south. To the east was the forr territory of the Red Line now officially under Velvet’s control.
My gaze shifted west, to the proud blue territory of the Blue Star. In the western forests of their land, a massive crater still scarred the earth left behind from my fight with Radger.
Then I looked northwest, where the golden banner of Valkcross shone over their territory, regal and unyielding.
And finally, at the far north, lay the Commoner Union smallest among all, their territory modest but present.
The most worrying enemy right now is the Blue Star. If anyone is going to rise above the golden prestige of Valkcross and trample the Commoner Union beneath them, it’s them.
Selene Dais isn’t just talented she’s playing a different ga entirely.
In the novel, it always felt like she was five moves ahead, weaving plans inside plans, pushing pieces no one even noticed until it was too late.
A part of still hopes the future will follow the tiline I rember... but deep down, I know that’s a foolish hope.
This isn’t a story anymore. It’s real. And if I want to survive her, I’ll need to prepare because when Selene Dais finally moves, it won’t be rcy that follows.
The command room buzzed in soft whirs and blinking lights. Outside, the wind carried ash.
Suddenly, one of the students at the console stood up and called out, "Marlen and the squad have arrived!"
"Good," I said, rising from my seat slightly. "Go et them."
The stronghold doors slid open with a hiss then the flood began.
Valery students surged forward, pouring out of the base like a tide, sprinting across the yard to et the returning squad.
The mont Cendric and Silas crossed the threshold, they were sward.
"H-Hey, wait! stop hugging—too tight!" Silas gasped as arms wrapped around him from every direction.
"Cendric! Silas! What’s your watch number? Let’s et at the fancy restaurant after this!"
"I wish we could’ve brought a gift!"
"Don’t worry we’ll flood your dorm with them once the this is over!"
Inside the command room, I watched the scene play out through the live feed, a quiet smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.
"Incredible... Cendric, Silas!" soone shouted on-screen. "You two should’ve been at KVE Academy from the start!"
"Agreed!" another chid in, raising a hand for a celebratory shoulder slap—
Smack!
The hand landed squarely on Silas’s bald head.
He flinched. "OW—what the hell?!"
The student froze. "I—I thought that was your shoulder! Why’s your head so shiny?!"
Silas groaned, deadpan. "Why is that always the first thing people say..."
Cendric just laughed, leaning into the noise like he’d lived here forever like the crowd had always belonged to him. But his eyes, just for a mont, flicked upward toward the command room window.
Toward .
I t his gaze and gave a subtle nod.
He’d done it.
They both had.
As soon as i gave subtle nod cendric couldn’t help but let out a genuine smile reaching his eyes.
Soon, the crowd lifted both of them Cendric and Silas hoisting them high above their heads.
The two were carried like champions, laughter echoing off the stronghold walls as students cheered and stumbled under their weight.
Then, the chant began.
First a few.
Then all.
In perfect, rowdy unison:
"Who beat the Red Line?"
"Tricky Cendric and Strong Silas!"
"WHO BEAT THE RED LINE?"
"TRICKY CENDRIC AND STRONG SILAS!"
The walls of the stronghold rang with their voices proud, shaless, loud. It wasn’t elegance. It was family.
And in that mont, nothing else mattered.
As I watched them being carried into the stronghold, I turned and began walking toward the main hallway to et them.
But as my footsteps echoed down the corridor, I paused.
There, near the far wall, was Liora.
Her hand moved in slow, steady motion guiding the vacuum over the dusty floor, tracing careful lines with quiet determination. Her shoulders hunched, focused, as if every sweep of the machine was a duty only she could fulfill.
"Liora..." I murmured, approaching.
She didn’t look up.
I stepped closer, then gently reached out my hand settling over the vacuum she gripped so tightly.
Her fingers tensed at first, reluctant.
But she didn’t pull away.
"Go," I said quietly, my hand still resting over hers. "They’re waiting for you."
She shifted slightly, but her eyes stayed downcast.
"I can’t go."
"Why not?"
Her voice was small. "Because... I don’t belong there. I didn’t fight. I didn’t help. I’m in a wheelchair, Kael. This is the most I can do. Keep the place clean. Stay out of the way."
My hand gently took the vacuum from her. I set it aside, then slowly knelt before her not because I had to, but because I wanted her to see clearly.
"Liora," I said softly, "do you rember what you did when Vera ca for our students? When everyone else froze, you moved. You didn’t hesitate. You put yourself between them and danger without a weapon, without armor. Just your will."
She bit her lip.
"I rember," I said. "I rember you crawling across the ground. I rember you offering yourself in their place."
Her eyes shimred, but she didn’t speak.
"Strength isn’t always loud. It’s not in titles or combat scores. Sotis, it’s the quiet ones the ones who stay, who care, who endure despite everything that hold up the sky for others."
I gave a soft smile.
"You’re not weak, Liora. You’re the reason I can still stand."
A silence passed between us.
Then I echoed what Jessa once told , words I hadn’t forgotten.
"The strong... are always kind."
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