CHAPTER 256: CHAPTER 256

It was lunch time when I bolted out of the classroom before our Instructor could even leave, my mind a whirlwind, and looked for Christian at the cafeteria, but I met Rex on my way and quickly smacked his head, the sharp sound cutting through the noise.

"Hey! What was that for?!" Rex grumbled, rubbing the spot with a pout, his tray wobbling in his other hand.

"Can’t you at least wait after I left the Academy to tell our friends I’m leaving?" I scolded him, my voice sharp, hands on hips.

"Well... we didn’t promise you anything so—" He cut his words when I raised my hand again, threatening another smack, and bolted away from me, dodging into the crowd. "It’s your fault anyway! You made us upset by what you said!"

"You idiot!" I shouted back, my frustration boiling over. "Anyways, have you seen Christian?"

"No and if I even saw him, I won’t tell you!" he said before disappearing into the throng, his voice trailing off.

I stood there, fuming, the cafeteria noise washing over me like a tidal wave. Rex’s words stung—upset? They were the ones spilling secrets like leaky faucets!

"Argh!" I said in frustration, clenching my fists as I scanned the crowd. No sign of Christian. I searched every classroom on the way, peeking into empty rooms and dodging curious stares, but the next person I saw was Angela. I was about to leave quickly, slipping away unnoticed, when she held my arm, her grip firm but gentle.

"Are you really leaving?" she said, tears forming in her eyes, her voice trembling.

"I’m sorry but yes," I said, looking away. Every time I look at her, seeing her resemblance to Raphael, I can’t help but feel guilty. So before she could ask more questions, I quickly spoke up. "When you were five and is starting to train how to use the bow you accidentally shot your arrow straight to your father’s legs and Raphael can’t help but laugh at the scene."

She fell silent in an instant, her eyes widening in surprise, and unconsciously loosened her grip on my arm. I took the opportunity and quietly ran away from her, weaving through the halls, my heart pounding.

In the end, I can’t find Christian to threaten him not to tell anything about Cypher, so I gave up the hunt and headed to the cafeteria to grab a quick lunch, my stomach growling despite the frustration. When I sat down with my food, I was alone at first, but then someone sat down next to me. I looked to my side, ready to glare at the intruder and shoo them away, but I almost choked on my food.

It was Cypher. He had a serious look on his face, his usual kind smile replaced by something intense, his eyes fixed on me like lasers.

I quickly gulped down my food, grabbed my tray to bolt, when he stopped me by saying, "Are you really dropping out?"

I drew a sharp sigh and sat down again, defeated. "Did Christian already tell you?"

He shook his head, his expression unchanging.

"Rex?" I said, and he didn’t react. Each time I say a name, his face gets darker, the tension building like a storm. Until he finally said, "Edge mentioned something about you leaving."

I blinked, surprise cutting through the irritation. Edge? So they all knew that I’m leaving? The spoon that I was gripping bent in half thinking that was Rex and Christian’s neck. I regretted that I told them that I’m leaving.

"Oh...." I trailed, not knowing what to say.

He scoffed. "So I’m the only one who’s in the dark huh? Tell me, when will you gonna plan to say to me that you’re leaving? Or are you planning not to tell me at all?"

"It was supposed to be a secret okay?" I said, my voice sharp as I stood up and left him alone at the table, tray in hand.

"When are you leaving?" he said, following me from behind, his footsteps echoing mine in the crowded cafeteria.

"This week," I said as I placed the tray at the counter, the clatter of dishes masking my frustration. I looked at him, but he was looking at my tray with dejected eyes, his fists clenched, then stared at me with that intense gaze. I looked away and started walking away, heart pounding.

"Can’t you just... stay?" he murmured, his voice low and pleading.

"I can’t," I said as he followed me to a nearby park.

"Then when I graduate, I’ll wait for you," he said as he grabbed my hand to face him, his grip firm but not forceful.

"You should look for someone else," I said, pulling my hand back gently.

Immediately, he frowned heavily, his brow furrowing deep. "Why do you keep push—"

In the middle of our conversation, a strange burst of magic power shot out in the ground, covering the whole surroundings and making the ground rumble, the earth shaking like an earthquake, trees swaying violently as a wave of magic energy rippled through the air.

"It’s starting..." I mumbled as I watched the scenery change in front of me. Those damn Rogues really did it in managing to piss off a legendary monster.

By the way, there are three legendary monsters that I created, the Kraken, Leviathan, and the Wraithfish and I’m guessing they pissed off the Kraken since that monster lives just beneath the Academy waters. Or... the author created another legendary monster.

"What was that?" Cypher said, his voice tense as he scanned the shifting landscape, the magic burst still echoing in the air.

The green leaves turned brown right before our eyes, wilting and curling like they were on fast-forward decay, and the cool breeze turned hot, a stifling wave that made sweat bead on my skin. Additionally, the Academy’s state-of-the-art buildings disappeared in a blink, leaving only a single dilapidated building standing in the middle of what was now a wooded forest, trees twisting unnaturally as if alive and angry.

"It’s the Kaleidoscope Effect," I said, my mind racing through the words I wrote.

It refers to a magical phenomenon situation where space appears fragmented into countless mirrored shards, resembling the view through a kaleidoscope. The environment constantly shifts and rearranges these pieces, creating an ever-changing mosaic of fractured realities.

"We need to hurry," I said, grabbing his hand firmly to pull him toward the dilapidated building, the only stable point in this chaos.

"W-Why?" he said, stumbling after me, his grip tightening.

"The space might change again any moment so don’t let go of my ha-" my words got cut off as his hand slipped away from me when the space distorted, a ripple of magic tearing through the air like a glitch in reality. I reached back, but he was gone, swallowed by the shifting shards, the forest warping around him.

Now the space was different again, the Kaleidoscope Effect twisting everything like a nightmare, the air filled with the smell of blood, thick and nauseating, clinging to everything. I turned to look at the building then back at the direction where the blood can be smelled. In the end, I gritted my teeth as I ran toward the direction of the smell, my dagger gripped tight, heart pounding. There are still students who need my help—one of them was Ezekiel and if my gut was right, caught in this mess with the Rogues.

When I arrived, fifteen Rogues were surrounding Ezekiel, their dark cloaks fluttering in the distorted breeze, weapons raised like a pack of predators. He was in the center, sword drawn, blood splattered on his uniform, but standing tall despite the odds.

"Hey! Pick someone your own size!" I shouted, my voice cutting through the chaos, and instantly they looked at me, their faces turning with predatory interest.

"Remillia?" Ezekiel sounded unsure at first, his voice hoarse from the fight, but when he clearly saw me, his face brightened for a bit but turned serious in an instant. "What are you doing? Leave here this instant!"

I didn’t answer and focused to check his condition instead. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to be the one bleeding. Rather, the blood came from the Rogues he cut down, their bodies strewn around him, wounds gaping and fatal. He was holding his own, but the Rogues were closing in, their numbers overwhelming.

"Oh? What a coincidence! We meet again, gray-eyed beauty. It’s been a while," someone clapped and revealed herself, stepping out from the shadows with that smug grin I remembered all too well.

Jane Melvin.

The assassin who almost killed me in the final exam. Thinking about it, I can’t help but be annoyed at her—that cocky attitude of hers. I was planning to fight her right here right now, to settle the score once and for all, but I’m saving my energy for the bigger threats. So I only taunted her, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "Yeah, it’s me. The one who kicked your ass. Got a problem with that?"