The silence in the clearing was absolute. The only sound was the pathetic, wet whimpering of Julian Valerius, who was still curled in a fetal position in the dirt, his expensive white uniform stained and ruined. The other students stood like statues, gripping their weapons with white-knuckled fear, terrified to breathe too loudly lest the monster in the black hoodie turn his gaze upon them.
Lysander stood with his back to the shivering noble. He didn't look down. To him, Julian was already a memory—an insignificant bug he had stepped over.
His attention was fixed solely on the woman standing ten yards away.
Isabella Thorne. The Rank-A Mage. The Battle Instructor.
She had not moved. Her riding crop was still in her hand, but her knuckles were pale. The sheer density of the Demon God's Aura had forced her to raise her own mana barrier just to protect her students from fainting. She stared at Lysander, her rimless glasses reflecting the moonlight, trying to dissect the anomaly standing before her. She was analyzing him—looking for a weakness, looking for a rank, looking for anything that made sense.
But Lysander was an abyss.
Slowly, deliberately, Lysander turned his head. The black glass visor of his Iron-Wraith Mask caught the pale light of the moons, giving him the appearance of a skull made of void.
"Professor," Lysander said.
His robotic voice was calm, devoid of the killing intent that had just crushed her student, but it carried a weight that was somehow heavier.
"You are calculating the odds. You are wondering if you can kill me right now before I become a threat"
Isabella's eyes narrowed slightly. He was right. Her hand twitched toward the magical foci on her belt.
Lysander took a step back, melting slightly into the shadows of the broken tree canopy.
"I will give you a piece of free advice. Don't."
He raised a gloved finger, pointing it directly at her heart.
"Today... you are stronger than me. If we fought right now, with your gravity magic and your Rank-A mana pool, you would likely win. I admit that"
The students blinked, surprised by the sudden admission of weakness. But then, Lysander's voice dropped, becoming a cold, jagged whisper that sent shivers down their spines.
"But that is today"
He tilted his head, his posture radiating an terrifying, absolute confidence.
"I am growing. Every second, every kill, every breath... I am evolving. You have reached your peak, Professor. But I have no ceiling"
He tapped the side of his mask.
"Etch this into your mind: Today you are the predator. But tomorrow? Tomorrow, you won't be"
"So before you decide to attack me again... ask yourself if you want to make an enemy
Who will surpass you? His name will be Zero. Mark my words
Isabella froze. The threat wasn't a bluff. She could feel it in her bones—the raw, unrefined potential pouring off him. He wasn't saying he might become stronger; he was stating it as a law of the universe.
BOOM. BOOM.
Suddenly, the sound of sonic booms tore through the air above the forest. Two streaks of high-tier mana—one fiery red, one steel gray—slammed into the clearing, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris.
The students cheered, their fear turning instantly to relief.
"It's Professor Kael!"
"And Professor Thorne's!"
As the dust settled, two imposing figures revealed themselves, flanking Isabella on either side.
To her right stood Professor Kael, a massive man clad in heavy plate armor, wielding a greatsword that looked like a slab of raw iron. He was a pure warrior, radiating heat like a furnace.
To her left was Professor Magnus, a tall, thin man in blue robes holding a staff crackling with lightning.
"Isabella!" Kael roared, his voice like grinding stones. He stepped forward, his sword raised. "We heard the explosion! We felt a massive spike of Killing Intent! Is it a Boss? Is it an assassin?"
Magnus scanned the area with glowing blue eyes, his staff humming. "I detect a foreign signature. Unknown class. Dark attribute."
Both men locked their eyes on Lysander.
"Is this the intruder?" Magnus hissed, mana gathering at the tip of his staff. "He crippled a student? Is Julian unconscious?"
Kael gritted his teeth, his muscles bulging. "Bastard. You dare attack the Academy? Isabella, give the order! We'll surround him and turn him into ash!"
The air in the clearing became suffocating. Three high-ranking individuals—two Rank-As and one high Rank-B—were now facing down the lone hunter. The odds had shifted from dangerous to impossible.
Lysander didn't flinch. He didn't draw his weapons. He just watched.
"Stop"
The command didn't come from Lysander. It came from Isabella.
She stepped in front of Kael, extending her arm to block his path.
"Isabella?" Kael looked at her, confused.
"Move! He's right there! He humiliated a noble!"
"I said stand down, Kael," Isabella said, her voice sharp and authoritative. She didn't look at her colleagues; she kept her eyes locked on Lysander's mask.
"He... he is not an enemy we need to fight tonight," she lied, though part of her wasn't sure if it was a lie. "He neutralized Julian, but he didn't kill him. If he wanted the boy dead, Julian's head would already be rolling on the grass"
"But his aura—" Magnus argued.
"Is gone," Isabella stated.
She looked at the spot where Lysander was standing.
The two male professors turned their heads.
Their eyes widened.
The spot was empty.
There was no smoke bomb. There was no teleportation flash. There was no sound of running footsteps.
Lysander had simply ceased to exist in that space.
While the professors were arguing, while Kael was posturing with his sword, Lysander had activated the Void-Weave Hoodie: Active Stealth and slipped into the gaps between the shadows.
"What?" Kael ran forward, slashing his sword through the empty air. "Impossible! I didn't take my eyes off him for a second!"
Magnus slammed his staff into the ground.
"Scan! Reveal!"
A pulse of blue detection magic rippled through the forest, searching for heat signatures or mana trails.
Ping... Ping...
"He's gone," Magnus whispered, stunned.
"He vanished completely. No tracks. No scent. Even my magic can't find him"
Isabella lowered her arm. She looked at the empty darkness where the "humble hunter" had stood. She remembered his final words.
Today you are stronger. But tomorrow you won't be.
A chill ran through her body that had nothing to do with the night air. She realized, with a sinking feeling, that she had just let a monster walk away.
"Check on Julian," Isabella ordered quietly, turning her back on the forest. "And double the guard. I don't think we are the predators in this forest anymore"
Five hundred meters away, perched high on a massive black pine tree, Lysander watched the magical lights of the Academy camp fade into the distance.
He deactivated his stealth, letting out a long, controlled breath.
"That was close," he muttered, his heart beating a little faster than usual. "Three against one. I would have died"
He looked at his hand. It was shaking slightly—not from fear, but from the adrenaline of suppressing his own power.
"Isabella Thorne..."
He memorized the name. He memorized her face.
"She was Strong. I'm not strong enough yet"
He turned his gaze West, toward the deeper, darker part of the Stratified Domain where the roar of a massive beast echoed in the night. The Rank-B Boss was waiting.
"System," Lysander commanded, his voice steel again. "Let's go get that XP. I have a gap to close"
He leaped from the branch, diving into the abyss, leaving the human world behind to return to the world of monsters.
The forest was quiet again, but the tension in the air was heavy enough to crush a normal man.
Lysander was gone. He had vanished into the night like smoke, leaving no footprint, no mana residue, and no proof he had ever existed—except for the terrified students and the damp stain on Julian Valerius's trousers.
Professor Kael, the massive armored warrior, stood in the center of the clearing, his chest heaving with unspent rage. His greatsword was still glowing red with heat. He swung it one last time at the empty air, scorching a nearby tree.
"Coward!" Kael roared, his voice shaking the leaves. "He runs! He insults the Academy, cripples a student, and then runs like a rat!"
He spun around, facing Isabella. His face was flushed with anger.
"Isabella! Why did you order me to stand down? Magnus and I could have tracked him! We could have surrounded the area! He's just one man!"
Professor Magnus, the thin mage, adjusted his glasses, looking at his staff with a frown.
"He is not just 'one man', Kael. My detection spells... they just slid off him. It was like trying to track a ghost. I've never seen stealth magic like that, not even among the Royal Assassins"
Isabella Thorne didn't answer immediately.
She slowly holstered her riding crop at her hip. She took off her rimless glasses, pulled a silk handkerchief from her pocket, and began to wipe a speck of dust from the lens. Her movements were slow, elegant, and terrifyingly calm.