"Fuck... Why did I even think that eating that monster's raw heart... would carry so few consequences...?" Sophia thought, coughing violently as a bloody froth coated her lips.
She writhed against the silk sheets of her king-sized bed, her breathing ragged, shallow, and agonisingly laboured. Immense, searing pain ripped through her body, leaving her completely helpless to mitigate the damage. Her black nightgown was stained with dark, crusty traces of dried blood—stark evidence of the moment she had foolishly swallowed the raw Disaster Dragon Heart while still wearing it.
"I can't... even channel my magic to numb the pain... doing that would dilute the magium assimilation and reduce the breakthrough boosts..." She thought through gritted teeth. Straining every muscle, she forced herself upright and reached blindly for the crystal water bottle resting on her bedside table. Flicking off the cap with trembling fingers, she drained the entire bottle in a single, desperate gulp.
Yet the moment the cold liquid hit her stomach, the agony multiplied exponentially. A violent wave of nausea surged up her throat. Stumbling out of bed, Sophia rushed into the adjoining bathroom, gripping the porcelain sink just in time to throw up. But rather than water, a thick, visceral pool of crimson blood gushed from her mouth, splashing against the pristine basin.
The pain reached an unbearable crescendo, as if her internal organs were being shredded in a blender while simultaneously bathed in molten lava. Her legs buckled, and she collapsed heavily onto the cold tile floor. The raw agony screamed for her to shriek in agony, but she clenched her jaw, her pride refusing to let out a single sound.
"For... the sake of... surpassing Amon, I will... endure this...!" Sophia swore internally.
Dragging herself back up by sheer force of will, she stumbled out of the bathroom, her vision blurring with every agonising step. She couldn't even reach the bed; her strength gave out completely, and she collapsed onto the plush carpet right beside it, her entire body shaking, paralysed by the overwhelming toxic heat of the dragon's blood.
"Damn it..." She muttered weakly, her heavy eyelids fluttering closed as her consciousness slowly slipped away into the dark.
Hours later, Sophia regained consciousness. She opened her eyes to find herself still lying on the cold floor, collapsed right before her bed. It was already morning, the brilliant rays of golden sunshine filtering through the grand, opulent windows of her dorm room.
"What a horrible experience..." Sophia thought, slowly pushing herself up from the floor.
To her surprise, the excruciating pain that had tortured her body was entirely gone. In its place, she felt extraordinarily rejuvenated, her limbs overflowing with a strange, boundless vitality—as though her very soul had been torn apart and reconstructed.
"What a strange, exhilarating feeling..." she murmured, extending her arms to stretch her body.
A sudden memory of the thick pool of blood she had thrown up into the sink flashed across her mind. Snatching her wand from the bedside table, she hurried into the adjoining bathroom to inspect the mess.
Stepping over the threshold and approaching the sink, she froze dead in her tracks, completely taken aback by the reflection staring back at her in the mirror.
Her face had become impossibly more captivating and refined, possessing an ethereal, hypnotic beauty. Her pale white hair looked more ethereal and silky, and her physical frame had undergone striking, undeniable modifications, her silhouette becoming far more pronounced, defined, and sensual. Her bust had visibly expanded, swelling from G-cups to an impressive, voluptuous I-cup.
Yet the most dramatic and shocking transformation lay in her eyes.
Her eyes gleamed with a radiant, crystal-cyan hue, filled with intricate, snowflake-like starburst patterns and sparkling highlights that granted them an icy, gem-like luminosity.
"It... worked..." Sophia muttered, staring blankly at her reflection, still struggling to process the sheer magnitude of the change.
Yet, as her initial shock settled, a wave of deep scepticism quickly crept back into her mind. "Did that agony merely reshape my body and alter my appearance?" She thought, her brow furrowing.
Determined to test her mana output, she raised her wand and aimed it directly at the blood-stained sink.
"Cleansing Fire."
The moment the words left her lips, a roaring inferno erupted from the tip of her wand. Instead of a modest flame contained strictly within the porcelain basin, a wall of brilliant, intense fire surged outward, engulfing the entire bathroom in a fraction of a second and catching Sophia completely off-guard.
A heartbeat later, the flames vanished as quickly as they had manifested.
The entire bathroom stood in pristine, flawless condition. While her quarters were always meticulously kept, the tiles and fixtures now sparkled with an almost surreal, blinding lustre. Every trace of dried blood inside the sink had been utterly vaporised, leaving behind no sign that it had ever existed.
"That was merely a C-Rank utility spell..."She murmured, her voice trembling slightly as she stared at her wand. "Yet its raw output and heat density rivalled an A-Rank offensive spell..."
The last lingering remnants of her doubt dissolved in an instant, replaced by a surge of pure, mad excitement. A breathless, euphoric smile spread across her face as she looked back into the mirror at her dual-colored eyes.
"It actually worked."
. . .
It was currently Astronomy class, and Amon was dead asleep at the back of the lecture hall. It was easily one of the subjects he enjoyed the least, but skipping was out of the question—the course was strictly compulsory, and his overall academic standing depended heavily on his attendance and final grade.
At the front of the room stood Professor Lia Luthor. She wore her brown hair pulled back into a tidy ponytail, and her lusterless brown eyes were framed by round, polished spectacles. She possessed a pronounced, slender physique, smartly styled in a crisp black shirt, a black heel-length skirt, brown heels, and a light brown trench coat worn casually over her top.
"As we established in our previous lecture," Professor Lia said, tapping her pointer against a glowing, holographic cube hovering on the futuristic board behind her, "a world is comprised of infinite dimensions. Within each dimension, a construct of infinite multiverses exists. Furthermore, each multiverse houses an infinite number of universes within its framework."
She paused, sweeping her dull brown gaze across the rows of students before waving her hand. The holographic display smoothly transitioned to a new slide depicting branching, cosmic threads.
"The fundamental reason a multiverse contains infinite universes stems entirely from the mechanics of infinite probability," she explained, her tone measured and precise. "Every action yields a theoretical alternative, and those alternatives stretch into infinity. To accommodate every singular outcome of a choice, a dedicated universe exists for that specific reality. Consequently, an infinite number of universes continuously blossom within a single multiverse."
She paused, her sharp eyes singling out Amon, sound asleep in the back row. Beside him sat Seraphina, who immediately paled when she met the professor's gaze, realising they were completely busted. Seraphina's expression filled with nervous anxiety.
"Amon, Amon, wake up!" Seraphina whispered frantically, nudging his shoulder until he stirred.
Amon slowly opened his eyes, blinking away the sleep, only to realise the entire class—and Professor Lia—had turned to stare directly at him.
"Mr Crown, just because you hold the top spot in this academy does not grant you special permission to sleep through my lectures," Professor Lia said, her voice remaining strictly neutral and unbothered.
"Professor, with all due respect, I have already thoroughly mastered today's lesson," Amon replied, rising smoothly to his feet without a hint of fluster. His composure and confidence were almost frighteningly effortless, especially for someone who had just been caught napping in the back of a lecture hall. "As a result, I couldn't help but lose consciousness out of sheer boredom."
"Is that so?" Professor Lia folded her arms over her trench coat, raising an incredulous eyebrow. "Then by all means, why don't you step forward and grace the entire class with your mastery of today's material? Surely that shouldn't pose a challenge."
Amon let out a soft sigh at her challenge and flicked his wrist, producing his wand.
"Displacement."
The instant the incantation left his lips, space distorted. In a blinding flash of instantaneous spatial manipulation, Amon and the professor traded places. Amon now stood relaxed at the front podium, resting his hands on the lecture desk, while Professor Lia found herself suddenly seated in the back row next to a thoroughly stunned Seraphina.
A collective wave of gasps and excited murmurs broke out across the room, the rest of the students staring in awe at the seamless spatial spell.
"Today's lesson revolves around the structural hierarchy between the Lower Domain and the Higher Domain," Amon addressed the student body, his blindfolded gaze sweeping across the lecture hall as his voice resonated with calm, flawless clarity.
With a fluid flick of his wand, three items materialised on the lectern: a golden cube, a silver cube, and a small vial containing a thick, dark, gooey liquid. The students watched in quiet confusion, yet their eyes remained glued to the front as Amon uncorked the vial, poured the viscous fluid over the silver cube, and stacked the golden cube directly on top of it.
"Consider the Golden Cube as a representation of the Higher Domain, and the Silver Cube as the Lower Domain," Amon explained, turning his attention back to the class. "The black liquid represents Limbo—the layer separating the Higher and Lower Domains."
He lifted the stacked construct so every student could see it clearly.
"Both domains encompass an infinite number of worlds. However, the realms within the Lower Domain are designated as Puppet Worlds, whereas those residing in the Higher Domain are known as Divine Worlds. The Higher Domain views the entirety of the Lower Domain as mere fiction, transcending it on an absolute level. To put that into perspective: a single atom originating from the Higher Domain fundamentally transcends the entirety of the Lower Domain's existence."
"What is Limbo?" Amon asked, his blindfolded gaze sweeping over the silent, captivated student body before coming to a rest on a familiar face near the middle row. "What do you say, Ms Denver?"
Every head in the lecture hall turned toward Tia Denver. Unfazed by the sudden spotlight, she calmly pushed back her chair and stood up.
"Limbo is a state of oblivion, where one is forgotten," Tia answered smoothly, her tone perfectly even.
"You are correct, Ms Denver!" Amon proclaimed with sudden, dramatic enthusiasm.
He flicked his wand with a theatrical flourish, summoning a shower of bright, shimmering confetti that burst directly over Tia's head and drifted onto her shoulders. Though her stoic, near-emotionless facial expression didn't so much as twitch, Amon's sheer antics grated on her nerve endings internally.
"Anyway," Amon continued, seamlessly returning to his lecture as Tia quietly sat back down. "Limbo is a layer of absolute nothingness that disintegrates anything it touches. It makes no distinctions. Whether it is a Divine World or a Puppet World, Limbo destroys it completely. It exists as a construct that transcends both the Higher and Lower Domains, positioned precisely between them to act as a cosmic buffer—preventing the two Domains from colliding and annihilating one another."
Amon brought the stacked cubes back into view, using his spare hand to deliberately detach the golden cube from the black liquid and the silver cube below.
The second the golden cube was separated, the dark, gooey substance violently engulfed the silver cube, dissolving it into nothingness within seconds. Simultaneously, the microscopic droplets of black fluid clinging to the bottom of the removed golden cube began to rapidly rot its surface.
"The opposing energies radiated from the Higher and Lower Domains constantly keep Limbo in a state of equilibrium, preventing it from consuming either domain," Amon explained, holding up the deteriorating golden cube for the entire room to witness. "If one domain collapses or shifts away from the structural axis, the balance breaks. The remaining domain falls apart instantly, while the domain that attempted to move away is gradually corroded and 'forgotten' under Limbo's pervasive influence."
The golden cube rapidly corroded away into nothingness, leaving behind a fine shower of metallic dust in Amon's palm. He casually wiped his hand against the side of the lecture desk, clearing the residue before addressing the student body once more.
"And that concludes today's lesson."
Hearing those words, a wave of visible surprise washed over the entire lecture hall. Barely ten minutes had passed since he stepped onto the stage, yet he was already declaring the class finished.
"If you don't believe me, feel free to ask Professor Luthor," Amon added, gesturing lazily toward the back row.
The entire student body turned in unison toward Professor Lia Luthor. Sitting beside Seraphina, she adjusted her round spectacles, looking thoroughly impressed by the concise demonstration.
"Yes, Mr Crown is correct," Professor Lia confirmed, her voice carrying clearly across the room. She stood from the desk and began walking down the aisle toward the podium. "I must admit, I wonder how you managed to condense such an abstract, highly complex topic into something so easily digestible."
"I'm just built different, Professor." Amon shrugged, a playful smirk tugging at his lips as he passed her in the aisle and made his way back toward his seat next to Seraphina.
. . .
"That was a really cool lesson, Amon!" Seraphina exclaimed as she walked beside him, her voice bubbling with genuine admiration and her smile radiating pure warmth. "You'd make an amazing professor!"
"It wasn't anything special, Sera," Amon chuckled, maintaining his easy stride alongside her. Internally, his heart was practically melting from the sheer, unadulterated cuteness she exuded. "But say, where are we heading?" he asked, a subtle smile touching his lips.
"There's this new café right near the academy," Seraphina replied enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling. "I've been dying to try their strawberry cream frappé! Word on campus is that it's an absolute delicacy!"
"Alright, I'm buying out the entire establishment after this," Amon resolved instantly in his mind. Aloud, he simply raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"
"Yeah!" She beamed, though her bright smile swiftly transformed into an endearing pout. "And I'm dragging you along because you seriously need to eat something other than grass and raw vegetables for once," she added, her tone laced with a ridiculously cute attempt at annoyance.
"It helps maintain my peak physical condition, Sera," Amon offered calmly, though every instinct inside him was screaming to aggressively shower her with affection right then and there.
During the academy's generous lunch break, students were permitted to leave campus grounds to dine or relax in the surrounding district. Taking full advantage of the rule, Seraphina had invited Amon out—an invitation he had naturally accepted without a second thought. Of course, before leaving, he had utterly annihilated Lucy with a barrage of sharp verbal insults after the latter made a smirk-filled quip about the two going on a "date."
Continuing their lighthearted banter, the pair soon arrived at the café, only to find the interior bustling with activity. It was practically overflowing with fellow students from R.S. Advanced Academy.
Seraphina blinked, taken aback by the crowd. "Wow, this place is insanely popular, isn't it?"
"Sera, go ahead and secure us a table," Amon said gently, giving her a reassuring nod as he began turning toward the counter. "I'll handle the order and join you in a moment."
"Alright," Seraphina nodded, sweeping her gaze across the crowded room in search of an open spot. But as her eyes scanned row after row of filled booths, it began to look utterly hopeless—there wasn't a single empty table in sight.
"I really should have come here with him over the weekend instead..." she thought with a soft sigh, continuing to look around desperately.
"Seraphina, over here! Come sit with me," a familiar voice called out over the ambient chatter of the café.
Seraphina turned toward the sound and spotted Jeanne sitting alone at a spacious table built for four. A wave of immense relief washed over Seraphina. She quickly made her way over and slid into one of the empty chairs across from her.
"Thank you so much, Jeanne!" Seraphina beamed, her expression brightening with genuine gratitude. "You're a lifesaver! Also—"
Before she could finish, Jeanne cut in with a warm, knowing smile.
"I know Amon is here with you. You don't have to explain," Jeanne said softly, her eyes twinkling with quiet amusement.
"Haha," Seraphina laughed softly, rubbing the back of her neck. "I guess you did see us enter together. Silly me!"
The two slipped easily into conversation, with Seraphina doing most of the talking—animating her hands as she gushed about academy life—while Jeanne listened attentively, offering gentle nods and polite smiles.
A few minutes later, Amon approached their table, accompanied by a striking figure walking alongside him.
The man was tall, looking to be in his mid-twenties, with a broad, intimidating frame that practically demanded respect. Curly black hair fell to his shoulders, ending in a rich, dark purple gradient ombre. He possessed pale skin, and polished golden-framed spectacles rested over sharp, dark purple eyes. He was indisputably handsome, an impression amplified by his meticulous attire.
He wore a refined, dark grey-and-black double-breasted vest and coat lined with dark purple silk, accented by a plush dark fur trim along the collar and grounded by tall black leather boots. Fastened to his left chest was a dark purple brooch adorned with a silver sword lapel pin. A loosely tied red necktie added a touch of casual flair, complemented by asymmetrical silver piercings glinting on his earlobes.
"Um, Amon, who is that?" Seraphina asked, her eyes darting curiously between the newcomer and Amon.
"That's Marquis Xirgo, and he informed me that he happens to own this establishment," Amon replied with a smooth smile, sliding into the empty seat beside Seraphina.
The Marquis gracefully took the remaining seat at the four-person table, placing his hands together over the wood.
"It is a pleasure to meet you both," the Marquis said politely, his voice deep, smooth, and brimming with mature authority. "I am Xavier Xirgo, and as Mr Crown mentioned, I hold the title of Marquis. I currently govern the Crestline territory, the Valen territory, and the Altresh territory."
"Wait, the Altresh territory?" Seraphina blinked, looking genuinely confused. "Isn't that under the jurisdiction of Marchioness Altresh?"
"It was, little miss," Xavier replied with a low, amused chuckle, his dark purple eyes glinting behind his spectacles. "I took her down."
Across the table, Jeanne's gaze remained perfectly impassive, though her internal posture shifted to razor sharpness. Sitting right in front of her was the very man who had wiped out her loyalist, slaughtered her society's members, and was currently being considered by the Empress to become a Duke.
Seraphina let out a small, startled breath, her eyes widening in genuine shock at how casually he brought up the fall of an entire noble house.
Noticing her stunned expression, Xavier smiled smoothly, his tone remaining as pleasant and composed as if he were discussing the weather. "Marchioness Altresh had been colluding in some rather severe illegal activities, and matters were rapidly spiralling out of hand. I simply decided it was high time to intervene and put a permanent end to her nonsense."
"O-Oh... I see..." Seraphina offered, forcing a small, nervous smile as she tried to process the weight of his words.
"In any case, Mr Xirgo, allow me to introduce my companions," Amon chimed in, leaning back slightly with his usual unbothered air. "These two are my good friends—"
Before Amon could finish the sentence, Xavier held up a hand, a subtle, practised smile gracing his features.
"Miss Seraphina Nightfallen and Miss Jeanne Nova," Xavier supplied seamlessly, his dark purple eyes flicking between the two girls behind his golden frames. "The news media was practically whipped into a frenzy over R.S. Advanced Academy's fresh batch of first-year admissions this term. The top ten scorers' profile photos were broadcast across every major network across the empire."
Jeanne, who was secretly bristling with quiet irritation at the unexpected presence of the very man who had just executed her loyalists and wiped out Altresh, maintained a perfectly cool exterior. She tilted her head toward Amon, a mocking, affectionate spark in her eyes.
"You wasted your breath, good boy," Jeanne said teasingly, directing her jab straight at Amon.
Amon let out a heavy, long-suffering sigh and slouched back into his chair, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Why are you always so shameless?"
"Now, now," Xavier chimed in, chuckling lightly as he rested an elbow on the table. "It isn't good to fight like this, especially in a public setting. You should learn from the little miss here." He gestured toward Seraphina with a courteous nod. "She is so well-mannered and polite; you two would do well to follow her example."
"You're speaking as if you've been smitten by our dear friend, Marquis," Jeanne replied smoothly, her lips curving into a playful, teasing smile. "I've heard rumours that you aren't the type to hand out compliments unless someone has thoroughly caught your interest~"
"J-Jeanne, don't be rude to him!" Seraphina interjected, a faint flush rising to her cheeks as she looked thoroughly embarrassed by her friend's blunt jab.
"Well," Xavier scratched his head with a light chuckle, his dark purple eyes warm behind his golden-framed spectacles. "She certainly is a lovely lady, but you're exaggerating matters a bit, Miss Nova."
"That's a pretty roundabout way to announce that you have a death wish, Xavier," Amon thought silently, a cold, intense, suffocating darkness coiling tightly around his heart.
On the surface, Amon's expression remained tranquil, composed, and utterly unreadable behind his blindfold. Yet beneath that stoic facade, a vicious, possessive instinct roared to life, calculating different ways to erase the Marquis from existence before the afternoon was over.
"You really don't value your life at all, do you, Xavier?" Amon added mentally, his unseen gaze boring into the unsuspecting nobleman with quiet killing intent.