After returning ho, Azrael soon forgot about the conversation with Fredrika. His performance at the Velvet Springhouse had been an elaborate charade, after all.
Every word of dissatisfaction had been carefully crafted deception.
"If I were to travel back in ti, I could definitely compete for Best Actor," he mused, unable to suppress a chuckle.
But his amusent faded quickly as thoughts of the Empire of Aetherlight's precarious situation crept into his mind. A faint sigh escaped his lips as his expression grew serious. "These are troubled tis indeed."
While he held no particular loyalty to the Empire, he understood the harsh reality: when the nest falls, no eggs remain intact. Should the Empire truly collapse, his future would beco far more chaotic and unpredictable. The comfortable trading networks and stable political frawork that currently supported his activities would vanish overnight.
Shaking his head to dispel these complex thoughts, Azrael began his daily ditation routine. The mounting pressure from the Crimson Oath Society and the constant threat of secret realm monsters had instilled in him a sense of growing urgency.
Monday arrived with the students' return to their dreaded morning classes at eight o'clock. However, thanks to their enhanced ntal fortitude as Lore Cardian Masters in training, none of them felt particularly fatigued.
During the first period of the Card Making Departnt, Azrael sat beside the twin brothers, Harold and Arnald, idly scrolling through his phone out of boredom.
Jacob, the eldest brother of their [Loving Family] group chat, had sent a new ssage.
[Jacob: The Lore Cardian Master reinforcents transferred from the inland territories have arrived ahead of schedule. It's rare to see such efficiency.]
[Corey: Only because of pressure from Lioren. Otherwise, we wouldn't see northern reinforcents until next month at the earliest.]
[Corey: But this leaves the inland regions sowhat exposed. I hope the students can handle the increased pressure.]
[Armani: Have faith in them.]
Azrael couldn't contribute to this high-level discussion and could only observe silently, absorbing whatever intelligence he could glean.
At that mont, Harold was enthusiastically accepting snacks from one of Azrael's ghost soldiers. "The counselor ntioned in the group chat that there's an important announcent today. Azrael, do you have any inside information?"
After Azrael's identity as Master Lucian's disciple had been revealed, the students in their class naturally understood his connection to their counselor, Alice. Additionally, several key mbers of the Battle Club, with the notable exception of Sun-Myun, had posted on their social dia that Azrael's recruitnt represented a significant strengthening of Pixar University's Battle Club.
The other students no longer underestimated him. Respect earned through strength always carried more weight than empty posturing.
"You only learn to show proper respect after taking a beating," Azrael thought wryly.
Regarding Harold's inquiry, Azrael had so suspicions, likely related to the northern secret realm situation. However, the school wouldn't reveal the complete truth to the students directly, which ant he couldn't share what he knew either.
After glancing at Harold's substantial fra, Azrael smoothly changed the subject. "Have you seriously considered losing weight yet?"
"Your parents are probably crying when they see you now. After all, they gave you that na for a reason."
Harold was plump while Arnald was skinny, a ironic reversal of what their nas suggested their parents had hoped for.
As expected, Harold's attention imdiately shifted to his appearance. His face reddened as he protested, "Do you understand what constitutes a '200-pound gentleman of refined proportions'?"
Arnald's eye twitched as he observed his brother's defensive posture. "You're definitely over 200 pounds at this point."
Harold looked wounded. "At least I'm not a walking skeleton like you."
Arnald rolled his eyes and decided not to engage further with his brother's body image denial.
While the three continued their banter, Alice entered the classroom with her characteristic dramatic flair. She swiftly wrote three large characters on the blackboard, "Check Your Phones."
The students below retrieved their devices as if nothing unusual had occurred. After half a year of classes, they had grown accustod to their counselor's unconventional teaching thods.
If Alice weren't a Diamond-level Lore Cardian Master and Master Lucian's disciple, student complaints would have flooded the administration long ago. Even now, Azrael suspected complaints had been filed but were simply being suppressed due to her credentials.
After all, a Diamond-level practitioner could easily serve as a full professor at any institution of higher learning, yet Alice worked as a re counselor. Having such unusual privileges seed perfectly reasonable under those circumstances.
Opening his phone, Azrael accessed their class group chat where a lengthy ssage from Alice awaited him.
[Alice: To enhance the practical skills of our Card Making students, the university has decided to implent an indefinite internship program. We hope all students will uphold our institution's excellent traditions during their assignnts and achieve aningful accomplishnts.]
"Obviously copy-pasted," Azrael noted imdiately. He couldn't imagine his senior sister typing such a formal, bureaucratic paragraph. The ssage had clearly been distributed by the administration or departnt heads.
The announcent conveyed a single, critical point: the freshman class would be participating in early field internships of indeterminate duration.
Azrael felt no emotional turmoil since he already understood the underlying reality. However, his classmates in the Card Making Departnt were stunned by this unexpected bombshell.
"Is this ssage from Professor Alice legitimate?"
"Are we really going on secret realm expeditions?"
"What is the administration thinking?"
These students had been in university for only half a year. While they knew internships were scheduled for their third year, none had prepared ntally for field deploynt as freshn. The intensity and danger of actual assignnts differed dramatically from their controlled training exercises.
Anticipating the students' concerns, Alice sent another ssage to the group chat.
[Alice: This internship follows principles of fairness and voluntary participation. Assignnt placent will be based on individual preferences.]
"I doubt many will choose exploration missions," Azrael reflected silently.
Though high-risk assignnts offered substantial rewards, not everyone was willing to abandon their comfort zones. Compared to dangerous exploration missions, safe and comfortable garrison duties seed far more appealing to most freshn.
Harold leaned over and whispered, "Azrael, what are you planning to choose?"
"Exploration missions, naturally," Azrael replied without hesitation.
The twin brothers weren't surprised by his response, though they were still impressed by the courage he displayed. Just as Harold prepared to respond, a deafening explosion thundered across the distant sky.
"What the hell was that noise!"
Every student in the Card Making classroom was startled by the trendous sound.
Alice's expression transford into sothing more serious than Azrael had ever witnessed. In a flash of movent that left only crackling energy behind, she vanished from the classroom entirely.
Monts later, every person in Pixar received an ergency alert on their mobile devices.
[Unknown secret realm breach detected. Please proceed to designated shelters in an orderly fashion.]
[Unknown secret realm breach detected. Please proceed to designated shelters in an orderly fashion.]
Unlike ordinary civilians, Azrael, as a registered Lore Cardian Master, received an additional ssage.
[Lore Cardian Masters: Report imdiately to Empyrean Gardens Community for civilian rescue operations.]
The unfolding situation reminded Azrael vividly of his first day in this world. On that occasion, a [Demon Nest] had invaded Velkairos, and he had been among those requiring rescue.
Today marked a complete reversal of roles. As a Silver-level Lore Cardian Master, Azrael had beco one of the rescuers rather than the rescued.
Other students in his class received similar ssages, though as Bronze-level practitioners, they were required to operate in coordinated teams rather than independently.
While his classmates sat in confused panic, an hideous black and red monster materialized directly within their classroom.
Without a mont's hesitation, Azrael activated his Pride symbiote form. Surrounded by a kneeling circle of spectral soldiers, he rose from his shadowy throne and disappeared from the classroom in a swirl of darkness, leaving behind only the fading echoes of otherworldly power.
The hunt was about to begin, and this ti, he would be the one doing the hunting.
Reviews
All reviews (0)