"Kyah!"
"What are you doing all of a sudden?!"
"Assistant Aaron! Are you all right?"
Screams erupted throughout the lab.
The moment he was struck in the head, Aaron gave a hollow laugh.
Even if it was Aint Armian, he had never imagined the man would actually detect the demonic energy — let alone throw a punch without warning.
"…This is absurd. Professor, do you really believe that I'm—"
Crackle!
A surge of white frost spread through the air, freezing Aaron's entire body.
"—Kuh?!"
Aaron quickly chanted an incantation and conjured flames. He fought back against the cold and retreated several steps, shouting:
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"If you don't believe him — that boy may be a first-year at the academy, but he's also of Armian blood."
"No matter how much that bloodline is called the nemesis of demons, that doesn't mean they can detect every trace of demonic energy!"
"..."
"We've been together for three years. Is your trust in me so shallow?"
Shallow enough to attack me outright?
Aaron's expression hardened.
Once again, the freezing air lunged for his arms and legs — but this time, Aaron was ready.
He dodged swiftly, having anticipated the move.
"It's been three years with you, yes — but my patron has supported me for six. He guaranteed this."
"Three years and six years — is that all that matters? I've done everything for you these past three years!"
"As I recall, you were paid generously enough."
"Do you call that generous?!"
The assistants around them panicked at the sudden clash erupting in the lab.
"Professor! Even if Aint Armian said so, accusing Assistant Aaron of being a heretic is a bit—!"
"Yes, Professor! At least hear him out—!"
Aaron seized on their words, supporting their protests — but Rosalia didn't waver in the slightest.
She simply activated the grand magic circle she had prepared beforehand.
───!
A blizzard exploded through the lab, freezing everything in its path. Aaron's flames were snuffed out like candlelight.
In an instant, half his body was encased in ice, and he collapsed to the ground.
"You're using the Ice Crystal now?!"
"A heretic can't be caught through ordinary means."
"If you use an incomplete Ice Crystal like that, it'll shatter for sure!"
"I'll bear that cost."
That calm reply made Aaron's expression change. The flush of anger drained from his face, replaced by something cold and sharp.
"…So you've already decided I'm a heretic, haven't you?"
"Are you trying to call that a defense?"
Rosalia scoffed.
"The fact that you forced me to use the Ice Crystal is proof enough you are one, Aaron."
An ordinary assistant would never dare resist me.
"…True. I must've been too flustered — slipped up for once."
He laughed then — a strange, mocking laugh unlike before.
Gone was the earnest, good-natured man they had known.
Or rather, the "Aaron" they had known no longer existed.
"I thought I could use these idiots to escape, but that's impossible now. I didn't think you'd actually use the Ice Crystal this soon—hah…"
Aaron exhaled heavily, and black demonic energy poured out like smoke, filling the lab.
Crackkk!
A loud shattering sound followed as the ice fractured.
"Where do you think you're going!"
A sword of brilliant white light slashed through the darkness — Aint's blade. The demonic energy aiming for the assistants dispersed instantly.
"Armian… how troublesome."
Without hesitation, Aaron exhaled again, replenishing the vanishing black mist.
He made a quick decision.
It was impossible to take on both Armian and Rosalia at once.
For now, retreat was the only viable move.
'The window.'
As his hand subtly reached toward it in the darkness—
─────!
A massive backlash slammed into him.
A hidden magic circle flared to life, glowing across the walls — and not just there. The ceiling and floor were covered in dense runes as well.
"Ugh—when did she…?"
Tap, tap.
The sharp sound of heels approached. It was Rosalia.
With every step she took, the demonic energy recoiled, as though it were moving aside for her.
"Not long ago, when I was in the Taklakan Desert, I met a heretic who foolishly explained all his plans to me. Do you know what I called him?"
"I'd say that sounds exactly like you right now, Professor."
"No."
Rosalia shook her head slightly.
"He was merely foolish enough to talk."
Whereas I—
"I kept you alive for a reason."
At that moment—
────!
The magic within the laboratory roared to life.
"What… is this…?"
By the time Aaron realized something was wrong, it was already too late.
All around him — above, below, front, back, left, and right — six transparent magic circles absorbed the surrounding power and began to glow.
Cold, barrier, suppression, confinement, sealing — the runes engraved in each made their unified purpose unmistakable.
To capture Aaron.
To sever his flow.
To block his escape.
To freeze him completely — and seal him away.
The raging magical force was beyond anything Aaron could withstand.
Impossible.
He had been confident precisely because he thought escape was guaranteed — no matter if it was Rosalia, Armian, or a few assistants together.
But this—
"Don't tell me… you used the Ice Crystal here too?"
He understood now why the oppressive power was so overwhelming.
"Of course. Did you really think I'd waste the Ice Crystal just to freeze you a little? It was all preparation — for this moment."
It was a trap.
A flawless snare designed solely to capture Aaron.
Rosalia had willingly consumed the Ice Crystal's power for this.
"I despise having what's mine stolen.
To be precise— I loathe it."
Tap. She stepped closer to him.
"And that includes anyone who dares tamper with what's mine."
"You'd have been better off saving the Ice Crystal for the conference, Professor."
"Don't worry," she said coldly. "You'll soon be wishing you were dead — begging me to let you die."
"…Then I suppose I'd better make sure I escape."
Black energy oozed out, enveloping Aaron's entire body. It was demonic energy.
"So you finally show your true colors."
"In a situation like this, hiding it would be foolish."
───!
"Kyaaa!"
"Get back!"
In an instant, mana collided—an explosion erupted between the two.
The assistants screamed and scattered. Aint seized the moment and charged through the gap.
Clang! Though it was flesh against steel, the impact rang out like metal colliding.
— A barrier!
A defensive shield was wrapped around Aaron's hand.
"How utterly disgusting."
Aaron's face twisted in hatred at the light shining before him.
"Armian. You cursed bloodline."
"The curse is yours, not mine!"
A surge of demonic energy burst forth, blasting Aint back.
"I admit you caught me off guard, but you'll never catch me. Until next time, Professor."
Just then, the door slammed open.
"Aaron Frine! So it was you!"
It was Fernan, who had been waiting outside. He froze—first at the sight of the frozen laboratory, and again at Aaron, somehow unscathed.
But emotion didn't come before action.
A staff appeared in his hand, and an earthen wall rose, blocking the window between Aaron and his escape route.
"Well done, Fernan!"
There was no chant. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of icy spears filled the room and all flew toward one target.
"…Tch."
Aaron thrust his hand forward, summoning a wall of black fire that melted the spears.
But in that fleeting gap, the nemesis of demons closed in.
───!
Light and darkness clashed.
Aaron's body slammed into the stone wall. He spat acidic blood and pushed Aint back as the latter rushed him again.
"I'm not really fond of brawling, you know…"
He smeared his own blood on his fingers and flung it into the air. A black magic circle appeared, summoning creatures—monsters.
"Saids?"
Shadow beasts of the 8th tier that mimicked nearby life forms. Each one transformed into the likeness of the nearest being—some became Aint, some Rosalia, some Fernan, and others took on the appearance of the assistants.
They attacked.
"Foolish tricks!"
Rosalia's magic froze them solid, and Aint's light erased them completely.
Within seconds, every Said was annihilated.
But that was enough time—for Aaron to find another escape route.
He ran. Not toward the window—the grand magic had turned that path into a deathtrap.
The answer was the other way—the open door Fernan had used.
Everyone was focused on attacking him; no one guarded the exit.
"Stop him!"
"Close the door!"
"I don't think so."
Fernan whipped up sand to slash at him, but Aaron didn't dodge—he took the hit head-on.
Then Aint's sword came down. Aaron met it, sacrificing his arm and spraying the acid from his wrist to drive Aint back.
At the same time, he unleashed fire, encircling the doorway in flames. Assistants trying to close the door screamed and stumbled back.
Fernan ground his teeth.
Rosalia's lab was large, but it wasn't suited for heavy earth magic—any wrong move could collapse the building.
That was why even Rosalia limited herself to freezing and launching ice spears.
But when Fernan saw where Aaron was heading, a crooked smile spread across his face.
"You fool of a heretic. You're moving exactly as I expected."
Originally, Fernan hadn't intended to drastically alter the prophecy's path.
The future was an asset.
That knowledge of what was to come was his greatest weapon. Altering it recklessly would be like throwing that weapon away.
So until now, he had made only minor changes—except for his relationship with Ruina.
But this was different.
This was not the beginning of his downfall, like Ruina had been.
This was the end.
If he didn't stop it—if he didn't change it—everything would be lost.
There were no other options. Even if it meant destroying the prophecy's value entirely, he had to act.
He would capture him—or kill him.
No third choice existed.
"…Is he smiling?"
Aaron had reached the door, only to halt. He had no choice.
"Well, well, Senior was right. It's my first time seeing such an obvious heretic in person. In the name of the Great Dragon God, I'd like to perform an exorcism myself."
Because outside the door stood a human saint—waiting for him.
"Sorry, but I'd like that task left to me, Student Jace."
"…Headmaster?"
No—
Behind the saint stood a giant of immeasurable power, one no one could oppose.
"…Seems escaping won't be an option."
An indescribably vast mana crushed Aaron's body, pinning him in place.
"Not just for now, but forever. You think you can cause chaos in my academy and walk out alive? You heretic scum."
The headmaster stood with his hands clasped behind his back, chuckling. None of them had even noticed when he arrived.
"You won't be leaving here. Nor will you die easily."
"Are you sure of that?"
"If I weren't sure, I'd deserve to die myself. A man with no ability, just age — that's all I'd be."
The headmaster lightly tapped Aaron's forehead with a finger.
That alone made Aaron's form collapse.
"Professor Rosalia."
"Yes, Headmaster."
Rosalia hurried to his side.
"Freeze him. You're better suited to sealing trash like this than I am."
"Yes, sir."
"I've already torn away everything protecting him. It should be simple now."
Rosalia silently drew a magic circle. As she recited the incantation, Aaron's body froze rapidly from head to toe.
The crisis was over.
"I've heard most of what happened."
But—
It wasn't quite over yet.
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