Although this was the classroom of the Twin Sages, at this moment there was only a single person inside.
This sorcerer was the current leader among the Twin Sage Sorcerers, and also the most powerful one of them all.
He stood silently by the window, deep in thought, considering how to deal with the mysterious intruder.
There was no doubt about it: the enemy bore clear hostility toward the sorcerers of the Academy, and their strength was formidable.
Conservatively speaking, the intruder was at least on par with the top sorcerers of each classroom—people like himself.
If that was the case, then ordinary Academy sorcerers stood no chance against such an opponent.
What troubled him even more was that the intruder's movements were completely unpredictable.
The lifts had already been destroyed, yet the intruder still managed to reach the Church of the Cuckoo.
He had no idea how that was accomplished.
Just as he was thinking, two figures—a man and a woman, suddenly appeared outside the window in front of him.
The Twin Sage reacted instantly.
These two were the intruders, and it looked like they intended to break in through the window.
He immediately raised his staff, and a Glintstone Comet shot forward.
The Azur's Glintstone Staff in Sellen's hand flared with magic, and a verdant glintstone barrier manifested directly in the comet's path.
Unlike the defensive sorceries used by most Academy mages, Sellen's barrier possessed a tangible glintstone structure—its defensive power was astonishing.
The barrier steadily intercepted the comet, both shattering and dispersing into fragments of light.
At the same time, Lucian kicked the classroom window open and flew inside.
The Twin Sage Sorcerer was already gathering power for a second spell, but Lucian's kick struck him full-on, sending him flying.
The sorcerer crashed through several desks and chairs, rolled twice across the floor, and finally came to a stop.
That kick had only been incidental—but for a sorcerer, it was more than enough to be devastating.
'This is bad', he thought.
He should have knocked them out of the air while they were still outside the window.
Now that they were inside the classroom, it was one against two—a hopeless disadvantage.
He needed to find a chance to escape and summon the other top-tier sorcerers to fight them together.
But when he tried to get back on his feet, he suddenly realized—
There was nowhere left to run.
Sellen had already walked over to the classroom's main door.
As her left hand pressed against it, countless emerald glintstone crystals spread and grew, sealing the entire doorway shut.
"Disciple," she said calmly,
"your luck is quite good."
"The very first one we found turned out to be a big fish."
"This man is the chief among the Twin Sage Sorcerers. Even among the Academy's instructors, very few can rival him."
"He put in quite a bit of effort back when they dealt with me."
Sellen turned around to face him.
Only now did the Twin Sage truly see her face, and his scalp went numb.
"So you really are impossible to get rid of, Sellen."
"If we'd been able to kill you back then, we would never have left a witch like you alive."
"And now that you can finally be killed, you come walking straight into our net?"
Sellen covered her mouth and laughed softly.
"Walking into a net? Your confidence is a little misplaced."
"Your nightmare has finally returned."
"Hehe… you lot should have known this day would come."
"I suffered no small amount of torment at your hands back then."
"Instead of bluffing here, you should think about what you want to say before you die."
Since she clearly wasn't planning to attack immediately, the Twin Sage took the chance to stall for time.
He needed to observe them carefully, and catch his breath. That kick earlier had been brutal.
"So… there are two of you?"
"I'm curious how you managed it. There should only be one Academy key."
"Oh, I see. That trick of yours—transferring bodies, right?"
"You scurried around like a rat back then, jumping between vessels. That's how you survived."
Sellen had tangled with them countless times before, so it didn't surprise her that he knew her methods.
"Sharp mind," she replied coolly.
"But it doesn't matter anymore."
"Before long, that head you're so proud of will shatter across the floor like glintstone rubble."
"And not just you, the rest of them will follow soon enough, one by one."
"But I'm merciful. I'll let your death have some value."
"You'll serve as a stepping stone for my disciple's study of sorcery."
"Oh, and don't bother hoping your little cry for help worked."
"I've already interfered with the flow of magic, and you know how soundproof these classrooms are."
Seeing that his small trick had been exposed, the Twin Sage stopped hiding it and tossed the glintstone shard from his sleeve onto the floor.
Since Sellen had no intention of acting, he turned his gaze toward Lucian.
She called him her disciple—but judging from what he'd seen so far, this didn't look like a simple master–apprentice relationship.
Lucian wore an ordinary Karolos Glintstone Crown, indistinguishable from any average sorcerer.
There was nothing remarkable about his appearance.
All the Twin Sage could sense was that Lucian's magical capacity was decent, but hardly that of a true top-tier sorcerer.
He had never heard of the Witch Sellen having a disciple before.
That kick earlier, and the route of entry through the window—none of it felt like the actions of a conventional sorcerer.
Most likely, this disciple was someone she'd taken on after escaping confinement.
In that case, his strength probably wasn't exceptional.
More likely a former warrior who'd switched to sorcery halfway, a half-baked sorcerer.
Roughly on the same level as Sellen herself. Some gap, but not much.
And now she intended to let this disciple fight him?
That wasn't just disrespect, it was outright humiliation.
"A witch's disciple, hm…"
"I don't know what sweet lies she used to fool you, but this is clearly a terrible choice."
"Your teacher seems to have great faith in you. She even seems quite fond of you."
"I wonder—when my sorcery crushes you to dust, will she hold your corpse and cry?"
Lucian tilted his head slightly and shook it.
"Are you done?"
"If you are, then it's time to get moving."
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth, two perfectly identical Swift Glintstone Shards shot from Lucian's staff, colliding midair with the Twin Sage's spell and intercepting it.
Lucian raised an eyebrow.
'I wasn't even finished talking—and he already attacked. No manners at all.'
In the next instant, a spiraling Shattering Crystal flew toward Lucian at high speed.
The magical shield Lucian cast was pierced and shattered by its incredible penetration power.
Immediately afterward came a Glintstone Comet, trailing a long tail of light.
Lucian sidestepped, letting both spells skim past him, and casually flung a Glintstone Comet in return.
Seeing how agile Lucian was, the Twin Sage confirmed his suspicion.
Sellen's disciple was very likely a warrior by origin.
While releasing Crystal Barrage to detonate Lucian's comet, the Twin Sage simultaneously cast a magic shield behind himself, blocking Lucian's surprise follow-up—an instant double-cast Swift Shard.
At the same time, he continued retreating, trying to widen the distance between them.
But his caution was meaningless.
Lucian had no intention of closing in at all.
Such a perfect sparring partner deserved to be wrung dry of every ounce of value before being defeated.
Their sorceries began to collide violently.
Within the classroom, now filled with flying glintstone projectiles, Lucian carefully observed every movement his opponent made.
Sorcerer combat was highly homogeneous, nothing like the endless variety seen in warrior battles.
For a given spell, simply pouring in more magic did not automatically increase its power.
The structure of a spell determined how much magic it consumed from the moment it was constructed.
Beyond that, the only ways to improve it were deeper understanding and subtle optimizations.
That was why, at higher levels of sorcery, low-tier spells saw less frequent use—their upper limits were fixed.
Between sorcerers of similar skill, combat often came down to fine details and raw magical reserves.
Until one side seized the right timing to break the deadlock, battles tended to devolve into tense, grinding exchanges.
Whoever was struck first—whoever lost their rhythm, was effectively defeated.
In the past, movement and positioning mattered greatly.
But ever since the invention of instant magic shields, most battles had turned into stationary exchanges.
Because magic shields were so effective in internal duels, every Academy sorcerer learned to use them.
After all, for a physically fragile sorcerer, the difference between having protection and having none was night and day.
The Twin Sage's shields were small, precise, and extremely efficient in terms of magic consumption.
His Shattering Crystal had excellent armor-breaking effects against magical barriers.
He could also use double-casting fluently.
Lucian only needed to replicate his spell combinations once to save himself countless hours of experimentation.
As the battle continued, Lucian memorized these details one by one—and began imitating them himself.
If this was all the Twin Sage had, then even relying purely on sorcery, Lucian would have little trouble defeating him.
While the Twin Sage's spells were undeniably stronger across the board, Lucian's total magical reserves far exceeded his.
In terms of sheer mana capacity, the gap wasn't enormous.
But Lucian possessed the blessing of the sun—
His mana regeneration was vastly superior.
Suddenly, Lucian noticed that the Twin Sage Sorcerer raised his other, previously empty hand—and in it was another staff.
Having been suppressed for far too long, the Twin Sage spoke coldly:
"You're already dead."
"What?!"
In the next instant—while still maintaining his magic shield, the Shattering Crystal pierced forward as the vanguard, and then two Comets shot toward Lucian at extreme speed.
Four spells.
Released simultaneously.
Both Lucian and Sellen were startled.
Lucian had only just adapted to the rhythm of their intense exchange. This sudden spike in output caught him completely off guard.
The Shattering Crystal once again pierced through his magic shield, and the Comets—far too fast, followed immediately after.
Both Comets slammed squarely into Lucian's body.
Glintstone fragments exploded outward, scattering wildly and completely engulfing Lucian's silhouette.
Seeing that both Comets had landed cleanly, the Twin Sage finally let out a breath of relief.
Comet was already among the highest-tier sorceries in the Academy, terrifying in both power and speed.
Even a single direct hit would leave nothing behind, let alone two.
"Sellen, your disciple is dead," he said coldly."Next… it's your turn."
Yet Sellen showed no grief or panic on her face, only confusion.
She was thinking about how he had managed to do that.
This wasn't something that could be achieved just by holding two staffs.
Dual casting and split casting were entirely different mechanisms.
Normally, even if dual casting was combined with split casting, the result should have been four spells of the same type—or at most, one unique spell plus two repeated ones.
But what he had just used were four spells of three different types.
Strange…
The Twin Sage pointed his staff at Sellen and spoke with mockery:
"Sellen, you truly are a witch.Your disciple dies right in front of you, and you don't even look sad."
"What a pity for that sorcerer, he probably never realized he was just a tool to you."
Sellen glanced at him, clearly annoyed at having her thoughts interrupted.
"Who said my disciple is dead?"
"You? Really?"
The Twin Sage was about to sneer—when a voice suddenly came from behind him.
"Sigh… just messing with you."
"Your next line is: 'That's impossible!'"
The Twin Sage turned around.
And froze.
Lucian was standing there—looking completely fine.
Only now did the Twin Sage finally understand what that sorcerer in the Church of the Cuckoo had meant by:
"He's not a sorcerer."
The Shattering Crystal had already broken Lucian's magic shield.
Those two Comets had struck him directly.
They should have pierced straight through his body, then blown through the classroom.
Or at the very least, they should have reduced him to pieces.
And yet—
Under the sorcerer's robe, Lucian's body was merely torn and bloody, embedded with glintstone fragments.
No deeper injuries.
Not even his internal organs were damaged.
For a moment, the Twin Sage genuinely wondered if it had been too long since his last real battle—and whether his spells had somehow grown weaker.
Lucian patted his mangled flesh, brushing off the glintstone shards embedded in it.
"Honestly, you didn't even play along with my line.Zero sense of drama."
"I even went out of my way to cooperate just now."
"But I bet you're really surprised, huh?Too bad you're wearing a glintstone crown, I'd love to see your face right now."
Seeing the Twin Sage standing there in silence, completely stunned, Lucian lost interest.
He had only responded instinctively after hearing such a classic line.
Of course, the guy had no idea he'd just walked into a joke.
Lucian shook his head, casually removed his glintstone crown, and drank two Crimson Flask charges.
The torn, bloody flesh on his body began to regenerate at high speed.
Only then did the Twin Sage finally choke out a few words:
"…That's impossible…"
He truly was shaken.
Not just because the damage was so light, but because he had finally recognized who Lucian was.
The man before him was the very same "Storm King" Lucian, who had long been at odds with the Academy.
No wonder his body was that strong.
Everything suddenly clicked into place.
The Academy had targeted the Storm King in the past precisely because he was the one who had freed Sellen from her imprisonment.
That alone was enough to mark him as an enemy.
Later, as Lucian's strength and influence continued to grow, they had abandoned further harassment.
But no one had ever imagined—
That Sellen was his teacher.
No wonder Lucian had appeared out of nowhere on the Weeping Peninsula to rescue the secretly imprisoned Sellen.
And now, she had brought him back to the Academy—for revenge.
'If your student was already this strong, why were you even hiding?!If you'd just said Lucian was your disciple, none of this would've happened!'
The Twin Sage's final counterattack was ferocious, but meaningless.
Lucian walked up to the corpse, nudged the sorcerer's hand with his foot, and kicked the staff away, confirming that he was truly dead.
Sellen approached as well and said:
"Take off his crown and let me see.I want to know if he's someone I recognize."
"His behavior during the fight was strange."
"Normally, a single staff should be more than enough."
"And when he injured you, that spell combination was… abnormal."
Lucian nodded and stepped forward to remove the crown—
Only to find that it wouldn't come off, as if something was stuck.
So he drew the Sword of Night and Flame and cleaved straight through the glintstone crown.
As it shattered, the sorcerer's true form was revealed to the master and disciple.
"…Huh?"
Lucian stared at the corpse—a body with two heads, one on the left and one on the right.
"…What the hell is this, some kind of DOTA-style two-headed Ogre Magi?"
"Teacher, this guy is—"
Sellen had already reached a conclusion.
"Disciple, I know what you're wondering."
"These two heads weren't like this originally. They were fused later."
Unwilling to use her own staff, Sellen took Lucian's staff and pried open the corpse's collar.
"Look here, there are traces."
"They were twins. Both were outstanding sorcerers in the Academy."
"One belonged to the Twin Sage classroom, the other to the Karolos classroom.That's why he could use Comet, it came from his brother."
"In that case, the spell combination makes sense.One of them used dual casting, the other fired two Comets."
"They also played a major role in suppressing the Primeval Current faction back then."
"And yet now, they used Primeval techniques themselves—stitching themselves together."
"Hmph. They didn't even understand what they were copying."
"Trying to increase their strength this way?Utter stupidity."
Lucian looked at the corpse and shook his head as well.
He didn't know how they'd done it, but it honestly felt easier to deal with than two separate enemies.
This sorcerer hadn't been weak.In terms of raw output, he was already close to a top-tier hero.
But like all sorcerers—
His body was far too fragile.
Lucian glanced at the door Sellen had sealed with glintstone.
At this point, infiltration had essentially run its course.
They had already reached the Academy's teaching district, there was no need to stay hidden anymore.
All the sorcerers still inside the Academy were members of the faction that had chosen betrayal.
The rest had long since been expelled.
In other words, the Academy had already been "purified" internally.
Now, Lucian could act without any concern of killing the wrong people.
He was here partly to help Ranni rescue Rennala—
And partly to help Sellen reclaim what she was owed.
There was no doubt about it.
Every sorcerer remaining in the Academy was fair game.
And now—
It was time to help two witches carry out their vengeance.