"Everything is ready."
A professor’s voice ca through the transceiver.
"Everything?"
This ti, it was a student.
"Everything."
And then, a faculty mber confird it.
They were just a few of the people already moving around the academy during its examination. They weren’t so random group, after all.
They were D’Arclight spies—and more specifically, Evelina’s most loyal agents, handpicked by her to assist inside the academy. All of them, all at once, had just been switched to high alert.
This was the first ti they had been fully called on to fulfill their side of the bargain.
Power, in exchange for absolute loyalty.
To live as slaves, in exchange for a taste of D’Arclight power.
And now Evelina was going to use them to have her own fun tearing this little conspiracy apart, all while Cael remained completely in the dark. If he could run around making plans without telling her...
Then she could do the sa.
But she wasn’t doing this only for fun or out of pettiness.
She also wanted to see how Cael would react once she single-handedly dismantled an entire conspiracy. Part of her already knew exactly how he’d respond...
But another part of her—the side that had awakened back in Berian, the one stirred every ti he caught her off guard with his assertiveness—
wanted to be rewarded by him.
[So... don’t you think this is a bit overkill?]
The succubus’s voice echoed from the choker as Evelina sat on the edge of a railing atop the academy’s highest building, every entrance leading up to it sealed off by her spies.
Right now, she had complete control over the entire academy. That included excusing herself from exams just so she could focus on this alone.
"Overkill? It’s quite lacking, actually."
Evelina tilted her head slightly, eyes half-lidded as she looked down at the academy grounds below.
From this height, everything looked... small.
Students moving between buildings. Professors overseeing exam rotations. Duel matches beginning and ending like clockwork.
Normal.
Peaceful.
All was a carefully curated lie.
[You’ve surrounded the academy, planted spies in every key position, and you’re tracking a bunch of amateurs playing conspiracy. If this is "lacking," I’d hate to see what you call serious.]
"Serious?" Evelina murmured, a faint smile curving her lips. "Serious would be if Cael found out first."
The succubus fell silent at that, because she wasn’t wrong.
If Cael got involved, it wouldn’t be a ga anymore. It would be over—fast, brutal, and with a lot less... finesse.
Evelina rested her chin on her hand, her gaze drifting toward the academy gym where the duels were underway.
"Where is he right now?"
[Inside the arena. Waiting for his turn.]
"Good." Her fingers tapped lightly against the railing. "Then we still have ti."
Far below, scattered throughout the academy, her agents moved.
A janitor paused mid-sweep, shifting his grip on the broom as his eyes flicked toward a passing student—Frian. A librarian quietly slid a book back into place, whispering into a hidden transmitter embedded in the shelf. A pair of students lounged against a wall, their idle chatter covering the way their attention tracked every movent in the corridor.
"All targets accounted for."
"Secondary group entering the ruined wing."
"Unknown contact confird—white robes, golden mask."
Each report ca in clean, efficient, precise.
Evelina closed her eyes, and the academy unfolded in her mind like a map: every hallway, every shadow, every piece on the board.
"Seal the outer corridors of the abandoned wing," she said calmly. "Quietly. No one goes in or out without my permission."
"Understood."
"And isolate the inquisitor."
A brief pause.
"...Alive, mistress?"
Evelina’s smile deepened by a fraction. "For now."
[Look, I get that your spies are good and all, but do you really think they can handle the inquisitor?]
"Honestly, I’m counting on a few of them dying. It’ll make it easier to pin everything on him and give an excuse to go all out. I’ll just say I caught him in the act while I was on a walk and carried out a noble’s arrest on the spot."
[That’s a pretty big waste of spies...]
"I’ve got plenty to spare~."
*** Ruined Academy Wing
Frian barely had ti to react.
The mont he stepped back into the corridor, sothing felt off—the air, the silence. Too quiet.
"...Did you feel that?" one of the students behind him whispered.
Frian didn’t answer. His eyes swept left, right, over the empty hallway, but the feeling didn’t fade. It got worse, like sothing was watching them.
No—like sothing had already decided what to do with them.
"...We’re leaving," Frian said suddenly.
"W-What? But the eting—"
"I said we’re leaving." His voice sharpened, cutting through any protest.
Too late.
FWOOSH—
The shadows under their feet twisted, stretched, and rose.
"!"
Before anyone could scream, darkness surged up the walls, swallowing the corridor in an instant. The doors behind them slamd shut, windows blackened, and the light vanished.
"What the hell is—!?"
"Quiet."
A voice.
Soft.
Cold.
Right behind them.
Frian’s body went rigid. He hadn’t heard footsteps, hadn’t felt magic—nothing. Which ant—
He turned slowly, and his stomach dropped.
A girl stood there: white hair, red eyes, a presence so heavy it made breathing feel optional.
Evelina.
"Found you," she said lightly.
*** Cael’s POV
In the arena, I slouched against the wall with my arms crossed, watching yet another one‑sided duel drag on, boring, predictable, and pointless.
The guy in the ring tried to bull‑rush his opponent the mont his mind couldn’t handle any more magic—and got dropped with a single hit. And yeah, this was exactly why I preferred real fights.
There’s not really any fun in fighting people who know they’re safe.
"Arden."
Soone called my na. I looked over to see a professor staring right at .
"It’s your turn."
Finally.
I pushed off the wall and walked toward the center of the arena, hoping this one would last longer than ten seconds — though I wasn’t holding my breath.
Still, the mont I stepped into the ring, sothing felt off. Not dangerous, not threatening... just wrong, like sothing was happening sowhere just out of sight.
"...Huh."
I rolled my shoulders, trying to shake off the feeling. Whatever. If sothing interesting was going on, I’d find out sooner or later — and if not, I’d just make sothing interesting happen myself.
"Begin!"
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