"That's normal," the person said gently. "Because I don't exist."
Ethan fully creeped put.
"What?" he whispered, his voice trembling. His heart pounded as confusion and fear filled his chest. "What do you mean you don't exist?"
The person turned away slowly and began walking, his footsteps silent on the glowing water.
"I'm the one who made you go back in time... the one who made you regress," he said quietly. "But doing something like that isn't easy. Not just anyone can do it."
He paused, his voice growing softer.
"And I did it... without even using 'Ago', the legendary one. I did it more cleanly, more quietly... so perfectly that not even the those great constellations—could sense what I did. They don't even know that someone has gone back in time."
Then, he turned around to face Ethan again.
"But everything has a price," he said calmly, his voice almost too calm. "Because of what I did... my whole existence has been erased. I no longer exist."
Ethan slowly stood up, his legs still weak. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"But... aren't you standing right in front of me?"
"Yes," the person nodded, a faint smile on his face. "But that doesn't mean I'm alive. I was once your constellation... , I gave you the system. I left behind just a small part of my will, just enough to meet you one last time."
Ethan looked down, his hands clenched. There were so many things he wanted to ask.
"Is that so... then I have so many questions—"
But the man interrupted him, shaking his head.
"No. Don't ask anything. I can't answer. I didn't have enough time. I had to prepare everything in a rush. So just listen to me now... before it's too late."
Ethan's eyes widened as he saw something shocking.
The man's body... it was falling apart, little by little, like ash floating away in the wind.
"I made you regress... but mistakes can happen," the man said. "What if you had died by accident? That fear was in my heart. So, when I created the system, I placed a hidden trigger inside it."
His voice became heavier, slower, more emotional.
"If you died even once... the system would activate this backup. This moment right now. I'd save you... just once."
He looked at Ethan with calm, sad eyes.
"But remember... this is the first and last time we will ever meet, You will not be saved again."
Then, he slowly lifted his hand and pointed it toward Ethan.
At that moment, Ethan's body began to shine with a powerful green light. It was warm. So warm that it made him feel safe, like someone was giving him a new chance to live.
"I changed the system a little," the man said, his voice starting to fade. "I gave you an extra 4000 stat points in everything. Right now, you are a high-tier Rank B Awakened."
"But your skills will stay the same for now. To unlock more, you'll need to defeat stronger enemies."
His eyes, still visible, looked straight into Ethan's soul.
"But remember this—don't rely on the system too much. It's weak. It's built only from the leftover scraps of what little power I had."
The man's voice cracked, the final pieces of him starting to vanish.
"It will help you in the beginning... but after that, you're on your own."
Ethan clenched his fists. His throat felt tight. His heart ached.
"But... who are you really?"
The man smiled one last time.
"Someone who wanted to give you another chance... because I believed in you."
"You are the Hope!".
And then, just like that, he was gone.
Only silence remained.
----------------------------
Meanwhile, Sylvania and Emma were lying on the ground, completely defeated. Their clothes were torn, blood stained their skin, and deep cuts covered their bodies. Every breath they took was heavy and painful as they coughed up blood.
In front of them stood Elara's clone, tall and terrifying. His eyes were filled with rage, and in his right hand, he held a large sword, its sharp edge shining under the night. He pointed it at them with cold hatred.
"I lost them because of you two useless fools," he growled, his voice filled with venom. "And now… you'll pay the price."
He raised his sword high above his head, ready to bring it down and finish both of them in a single swing.
Sylvania and Emma looked up, their faces pale with fear. They couldn't even move. Their bodies were too weak, their vision blurry. All they saw above them was death. It was coming fast, like a dark shadow ready to steal their lives.
Tears welled up in their eyes. In that moment of helplessness, they shouted with every bit of strength left in them—
"ETHANNN!!"
CLANG!!
A loud metallic sound echoed across the battlefield.
Their eyes shot open in shock. They blinked rapidly, confused.
They were still alive.
Their hearts beat faster as they slowly looked up.
And there he was.
Ethan.
He stood right in front of them, glowing with green energy. His wounds were completely gone, and he looked stronger than ever before. His sword was raised high, blocking Elara's blade with ease.
His eyes were dark and serious. There was no fear in them. Only cold anger.
"You..." Ethan said, his voice low and chilling. "You're going to die today."
Elara's clone took a step back, suddenly unsure.
And in that moment, something changed.
Ethan had surpassed both Maruti and Esdeath in strength.
------------------
At the same time, on the other side of the academy…
Maruti was running fast with Esdeath slumped over her shoulder.
But suddenly, Maruti's pace slowed down.
In front of them was a huge crowd of students gathered near the academy garden entrance. They weren't moving forward. They were stuck, scared, and frozen in place.
That's when Esdeath saw it.
A gigantic snake—its body made of burning lava, its head shaped like a buffalo's, complete with massive horns. The heat coming from it was intense, and the ground around it was already scorched black.
It was the Scorching Lava Snake, a powerful Rank A monster.
Most of the weaker monsters had already been killed, but this one still stood tall, alive and raging.
But instead of running away, the students just watched.
Why weren't they escaping?
Because someone was fighting the monster.
A woman in a black and white maid outfit, graceful but deadly, was facing off against it. It was Lorraine, the head maid of the Mariette family. Even though she was only a Rank B, she was experienced and skilled. She was holding her ground against the lava snake, dodging its fiery attacks and slashing back with perfect precision.
Everyone was watching in silence. No one dared to step in. No one had the courage to help.
Esdeath frowned. Her instincts told her to stay away.
"Let's go back," she said quickly. "We've already won. There's no reason to fight anymore. We can't beat that thing anyway. It's just as strong as Elara's clone!"
But Maruti didn't answer.
"Hey... Predictor?" Esdeath called again.
Then she looked down and saw Maruti's eyes, wide and burning with fire—not fear, but anger.
"I remember now..." Maruti muttered. Her voice shook with rage. "That bastard... he was the one who sent me flying earlier!"
Suddenly, without any warning, Maruti dashed forward at full speed toward the lava snake.
"I'M GONNA GET MY REVENGE!" she screamed.
Esdeath's jaw dropped. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, IDIOT?!"
She struggled to hold on as Maruti ran faster and faster.
"WE DON'T NEED TO FIGHT THAT THING!!" Esdeath yelled.
But Maruti didn't listen.
Maruti ran straight at the giant lava snake with fire in her eyes. Without a second thought, she threw Esdeath off her shoulder.
"Woah!" Esdeath spun through the air but landed smoothly on the ground with a light step, brushing off her cloth like nothing happened.
"That's nice. Go die alone, idiot," she muttered, crossing her arms with a sigh.
"HYAAAAA!!" Maruti yelled as she jumped high into the air like a wild beast.
Even Lorraine, who had been battling the lava snake, looked up in shock.
"What the—?!"
Maruti flew straight at the monster's huge face. "Taste my kick!!"
BAM!!
Her powerful leg smashed into the lava snake's head. The impact echoed through the area as several of the monster's teeth went flying and shattered on the ground.
"GRAHHH!" The lava snake groaned in pain, shaking its head. It was clear that kick actually hurt him!
But before Maruti could celebrate—
WHOOSH!
The lava snake suddenly spun around with shocking speed and slammed its thick, burning tail into Maruti.
BAM!!
"Gahhh!!" Maruti tried to block, but the tail still sent her flying through the air like a broken doll.
She crashed hard onto the ground right beside Esdeath.
"Oww! It burns—it burns!" Maruti rolled back and forth on the grass, smoke rising from her body as the burned spots sizzled. But after a moment, she got back up like nothing happened.
"Let's go! One more time!" she shouted with excitement, her fists clenched, eyes glowing with battle lust.
Esdeath stared at her. "Are you a cockroach or what?"
Lorraine turned toward the girls and frowned. "Hey! Students aren't supposed to interfere!" she said, her voice strict.
But then her eyes fell on Esdeath—and her face changed completely.
"Oh thank goodness… she's alive," Lorraine whispered, relief washing over her. A smile formed on her lips. She clearly knew about Esdeath's importance to Lortell Mariette. If something had happened to her, Lorraine would've been in big trouble.
"It was a good idea to help these crowd of students ... I knew Esdeath would be among them" she thought to herself, leaping back just in time to dodge another lava-filled strike from the snake.
"How much longer can I keep this up?" Lorraine bit her lip, sweat dripping from her forehead.
Just then, a small, cute high-pitched voice echoed through the garden—
"Dragon Punch!!"
Everyone looked up in surprise.
A little girl—no more than six or seven years old—was flying in the air. She had two tiny, adorable dragon wings on her back, flapping like butterflies.
It was Selene.
BOOM!!
Her tiny fist—glowing with silver energy—slammed right into the lava snake's head, breaking one of its horns clean off.
"SRCHHHHBB!!" the lava snake roared in pain and fury, its tail whipping wildly.
"SELENE!!" Esdeath screamed, her heart jumping to her throat.
The snake's tail lashed out like lightning.
WHAM!!
It smacked Selene hard, sending her flying through the air like a ball.
"NO!" Esdeath ran as fast as she could, heart pounding like a drum. She leaped into the air—and caught Selene just before she hit the ground.
"Are you crazy?!" Esdeath scolded, hugging Selene tightly. "I told you to stay in the room! You're not ready for battles like this!"
Selene's small body trembled a little, and she looked up with big teary eyes. "Ouch... I just wanted to help…" she said softly, her cute voice full of guilt.
Then a soft, calm voice spoke behind them—neither deep like a man's nor soft like a woman's.
"I'm really sorry. I couldn't stop her."
Esdeath turned her head sharply. She knew that voice.
It was Corin.
She gritted her teeth. "I told you to protect her! Can't you do even one thing right?!" She raised her fist to punch Corin out of frustration—
But stopped mid-air.
Corin's cheek was red and swollen like a balloon.
"Huh? What happened to your face?" Esdeath asked, confused.
Before Corin could answer, Selene quickly looked away, her little hands fidgeting with her fingers.
"Umm… actually... he did try to stop me," she said in a shy, nervous voice. "So... I gave him a slap…"
Esdeath blinked.
Selene gave her the sweetest, most innocent smile she could manage.
"…You slapped him?" Esdeath asked, speechless.
Selene nodded slowly.
"I didn't mean to hit so hard…"
Corin just stood there, looking like he'd accepted his fate.
Esdeath let out a deep sigh. She didn't even know what to say anymore. Everything was happening too fast, and now even Selene had gotten herself involved.
"Take her back to her room!" she said firmly, handing Selene to Corin.
"What? No!" Selene shouted, trying to resist, but Esdeath didn't budge.
Without even looking back, she turned and ran straight to Maruti. "So, do you have any idea what we can do now?" she asked, catching her breath.
Maruti rolled her eyes. "Did you really think I'd have a plan? I mean, I did break one of his teeth, so… revenge kinda taken? But if I try again, he might just break my bones."
Esdeath went quiet for a moment. Her sharp eyes scanned the field, her vision enhanced by a skill that let her see farther and clearer than normal people. She saw Arthur still fighting with ten different versions of Elara. He hadn't died yet, which meant the real danger was far from over.
Her mind raced. "The Archduke is here. Lorraine is here. But… where's Lortell? She's not anywhere on the battlefield..."
Then suddenly, her eyes lit up with hope. A bright smile spread across her face.
"There's only one person who can save us now!" she said.
She didn't wait for Maruti to ask who. She filled her lungs with air, took a deep breath, and shouted with everything she had—
"LORTELLLLLLLLLLLLL!"