After that, Nic skipped ahead again to the final important moment, when Qwelin Academy held an extreme camping trip in a dangerous forest.
"There's a high chance that this was the moment Shen Akira completely turned Ochana into his pawn… making the forest this dangerous," Nic said quietly.
Nic shifted into the dangerous forest, the place where the camping trip was held under professional supervision.
Then he saw Lingmei together with Hinata, but they weren't in the camping area.
"What is it, Hinata?" Lingmei asked coldly.
"I swear I heard Ochana's voice! I'm one hundred percent sure!" Hinata said while anxiously looking around.
"You're just hallucinating. There's no way she'd be in a place like this," Lingmei replied as she tried to pull Hinata back.
But then… Lingmei heard it too a faint whisper, unmistakably Ochana's voice.
"Huh?" Lingmei turned around, staring deeper into the denser part of the forest.
"You heard it too, didn't you?" Hinata asked.
Lingmei nodded and told Hinata to stay where she was.
But Hinata shook her head.
"No! I'm coming with you! Don't go alone…"
Lingmei let out a sigh. "Fine… then hold my hand."
They held hands and recklessly entered the deeper forest without permission from the teachers or staff.
After entering, they didn't see anything at first.
But a faint sound echoed like the breathing of a wild beast.
"Huh… there's nothing here," Lingmei muttered, holding her head, starting to think she might've imagined it too.
"L-Lingmei! What's that in the bushes?!" Hinata whispered nervously, tugging on Lingmei's clothes.
"…!?!"
Lingmei froze.
A tiger with pale white eyes emerged from the shadows.
"Run! Don't scream!" Lingmei shouted as she grabbed Hinata's hand.
But suddenly, something inside Lingmei cracked—like a mask breaking.
She stopped moving without understanding why.
"Lingmei? Why did you stop?" Hinata asked in confusion.
When Hinata looked at her face…
Lingmei's eyes were empty—like a robot that had run out of battery.
"LINGMEI, WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" Hinata shouted, shaking her.
Because of Hinata's scream, the tiger immediately charged toward them.
Hinata panicked, trying to pull Lingmei—but Lingmei was too heavy, completely unresponsive.
Left with no choice, Hinata decided to divert the tiger's attention away from Lingmei.
"I have to do something… HEY, TIGER! COME AFTER ME INSTEAD!"
Hinata ran, turning back toward the camping area while screaming for help.
Watching this, Nic slapped his forehead.
"She didn't circle back… she's running away from the camp," Nic muttered.
"Hinata… you're too innocent."
He followed her.
Hinata kept running until she hit a dead end.
The tiger stood right behind her.
Her body trembled in terror.
"Sister Aurelia… please save me…" Hinata whispered, on the verge of tears.
Just as the tiger was about to pounce—
"HINATAAAA!!"
Lingmei's voice echoed through the forest.
Lingmei's face now looked normal—no longer cold or empty.
She threw a rock at the tiger, enraging it and drawing its attention.
"HINATA, RUN THAT WAY! THE CAMP IS THERE!" Lingmei yelled.
But suddenly, a strong, pungent smell filled the air.
The tiger became even more aggressive and instantly lunged at Lingmei.
"LINGMEI!!" Hinata screamed.
Fortunately, there was a piece of wood nearby. Lingmei barely managed to block the attack.
"GO! I SAID GO! GET HELP!" Lingmei shouted.
Hinata nodded and ran—but after only a few steps, she heard Lingmei scream.
She turned back.
Lingmei had been slashed.
Guilt flooded Hinata again.
Confusion, fear, and hesitation had always haunted her.
But this time, she forced herself to run—
even though her heart felt like it was breaking.
Nic watched as Lingmei was completely cornered.
He wondered how she survived—
until the tiger suddenly stopped, reacting to a whistling sound.
Lingmei collapsed in relief.
Her leg burned with pain—something she'd never really felt before.
"Does it hurt?"
"Want me to help you?"
A hooded figure approached.
Lingmei stared, realization hitting her.
"Ochana…?"
It really was her.
Ochana laughed and pulled back her hood, revealing the half-destroyed side of her face.
"So… how have you all been? Looks like you're doing just fine," she said cheerfully.
"Makes me jealous. I've been so lonely and bored. But look at this—so many people came here. Visiting me, maybe? That makes me happy. Now I can share my experimental plants with them~"
"So you've completely lost your mind… and you're living here now?" Lingmei said coldly.
"Lost my mind? Yeah… maybe I have," Ochana chuckled.
"I don't live here. After all, I don't belong anywhere, right? Huh—where's little Hinata? Crying somewhere in fear?"
"What do you really want?" Lingmei demanded as she stood up.
"What are you doing? I'll tell everyone about you!"
"Still no apology in your dictionary, huh?" Ochana sneered.
"Even after seeing me like this, you're still so cold. It really pisses me off. Should I just let this tiger tear you apart? Honestly… I really hate you, Lingmei."
"I don't know," Lingmei replied quietly.
"I just followed my thoughts… and saved whoever I could."
"YOU THINK I COULDN'T HAVE BEEN SAVED TOO?!" Ochana screamed.
"TCH—DAMN IT!"
She was about to order the tiger to attack—
But voices approached.
People were coming.
"Tch… you're lucky," Ochana muttered before pulling her hood back on and disappearing.
Lingmei was rescued.
Hinata collapsed in relief, thankful Lingmei was alive.
But after that, the problem shifted to Hinata—
because her emergency scream caused everyone to scatter while searching for Lingmei.
And that was when several people fell ill—
especially Yao Lin and Iroha, who even collapsed unconscious.
Hearing this, Hinata once again blamed herself.
No one accused her.
But the guilt never left her.
It gave her no space to feel safe.
Her frustration only grew—especially after learning from Lingmei that Ochana was still alive, and had been called insane.
With her emotions completely tangled, Hinata finally broke.
She chose to leave Qwelin Academy, locking herself away to calm down.
After Hinata left Qwelin Academy Lingmei became alone, he started to get a new mask, namely his absurdity.. he somehow felt confused with himself.
"Actually, what's wrong with me... it's like I'm not myself, but ughh, I'm really dizzy!!"
Lingmei finally tried to approach someone who could understand her after that.
---
Nic emerged from Lingmei's past and lay down on the bed.
He began forming his strategy and immediately headed toward Xinyin Akakawa territory.
To enter the area, identification was required.
"A suspicious area like this should've been destroyed already," Nic muttered.
He activated God of Illusion, turning himself invisible.
After entering, Nic moved around freely.
The locals looked uneasy—he was a new face in a small territory where everyone knew each other.
Shen Akira noticed this through the CCTV.
"Is he looking for me?" Shen Akira thought.
He immediately ordered the guards to handle it.
If Nic saw anything suspicious, it would be dangerous.
Nic didn't care.
Anyone who blocked his path was knocked out with a single blow.
His stats were no longer comparable to normal humans—
not even the strongest among them.
"What the hell is he…?" Shen Akira muttered.
"Wait…"
He remembered the strange raven-like figure he had encountered before.
He turned to his assistant.
"Hey. Do you know anything about that strange raven figure?"
"A raven?" the assistant replied.
"There's no information like that in our country. Maybe it's from another nation?"
Shen Akira calmed himself.
"Forget it. Just find information about that man. Where is he now?"
Nic was gone—from every CCTV feed.
The guards reported that the intruder had already left.
"What…? He wasn't even after me?" Shen Akira was completely confused.
Because Nic had truly left.
He returned to Meihei territory, this time as Death Raven.
The moment he touched the gate, he was bombarded with gunfire.
None of it hit.
In a single move, everyone collapsed unconscious.
From the third floor, Lingfeng saw everything.
Enraged, he grabbed his twin razor-sharp swords and rushed out to kill Death Raven.
Death Raven entered.
Lingfeng attacked—but his blades shattered the moment they clashed with Death Raven's claws.
Lingfeng's face was grabbed—
and he was dragged into the very room where he had once brainwashed Lingmei.
Death Raven tied him up and fixed the TV he had previously destroyed.
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO?! LET ME GO!!" Lingfeng screamed.
"Zeta. Activate God of Emotions, God of Psychology, and God of Illusion," Nic ordered.
"Crush his mental state. Create an illusion through that TV. Clean his mind."
Lingfeng's mind shattered instantly.
He begged, cried, and pleaded with Death Raven.
Nic didn't care.
He forced Lingfeng's face toward the TV—
which should've been dead, but now displayed an illusion that rewrote his mind.
Nic also absorbed all the dark aura within Lingfeng—and the entire house.
"GET OUT AND LOVE YOUR FAMILY!" Death Raven roared.
When it was over, Lingfeng regained consciousness—confused, unaware of what had happened.
Death Raven was already gone.
To be continued…