CHAPTER 460: CHAPTER 460 - OUTSIDE THE TRIAL

- Outside the artificial dimensions.

The control chamber thrummed with the steady hum of mana conduits and the flicker of countless monitor screens.

Normally, the Trial was dangerous but predictable, each beast bound to its territory by strict parameters. But today, something was wrong.

"Something goes wrong, sir!" The monitor operator’s voice cracked as he shot up from his seat, eyes darting across glowing runes on the display. "The Beast is acting abnormally! Many creatures have abandoned their territories, they’re hunting the prospective students in packs. Already dozens have fallen! At this rate... before the three-day deadline is over, no more than half will survive!"

Gasps rippled across the chamber.

"Principal!!" Miss Ember slammed her hand against the table, her crimson hair flaring as her aura leaked uncontrollably. "We can’t continue this. We need to stop the trial immediately!"

Eldrin, seated at the center throne-like chair, didn’t flinch. His eyes remained fixed on the projection of the raging dimension. His voice was calm but heavy, like steel chains. "We can’t do that. Once the trial begins, it cannot be halted. It will only end when the three-day period has expired... That is the law of the Trial"

"Law?!" Ember’s voice rose, raw with fury. "Are you just going to sit there and let them die?"

"We cannot intervene, Ember!" Eldrin snapped, the first crack of frustration in his tone. "The moment the Trial activates, its barrier seals completely. No one can enter... nor leave"

The room fell into tense silence.

And then, soft, measured, Alice finally spoke. She had sat motionless until now, arms crossed, her icy eyes reflecting the glow of the screens. Her lips curved in the faintest smirk.

"...There’s probably another way." Her voice cut through the air like a blade. Slowly, she turned her gaze toward one of the instructors, a wiry man with long, unkempt hair and round spectacles slipping down his nose. He flinched when her sharp eyes caught his. "Mr. Jimmy. If I recall, you were involved in the construction of this artificial dimension. That means you know a backdoor"

The man paled, his hands fumbling with the scrolls and quills scattered on his desk.

"I-I... wasn’t directly involved! At that time I was only an assistant. I merely followed orders." His words tumbled out quickly, almost tripping over each other. He avoided Alice’s gaze as though it burned him.

"Assistant or not," Alice pressed, her tone soft but unyielding, "you know something, right?"

Jimmy swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing visibly. Finally, he whispered, "I... I only know this, the artificial dimension draws its power from the same source that keeps this academy afloat"

The chamber froze. Even Eldrin’s usually unreadable expression tightened at the revelation.

"Then... we destroy it?" Alice asked, her tone deceptively casual.

Jimmy shot up from his chair, panic flashing in his eyes. "T-That can be done! If... If we destroy the core, the academy itself will plummet into the sea! And worse, the students inside the artificial dimension will be trapped there forever!" His voice had risen too high. Realizing his mistake, he shrank back into his seat, shoulders hunched. "I... I strongly advise against it"

Alice tilted her head, her eyes never leaving Eldrin. "So let me get this straight. We can’t stop the trial. We can’t send anyone in. And we can’t destroy the source. That sounds like a lot of excuses, Master Eldrin"

Her words sliced through the tense silence.

"I haven’t been here long," Alice continued, her voice steady, "but tell me, has the trial always been conducted this way?"

"Yes," Eldrin answered, his tone calm but firm. "Since the founding of this academy, the Trial has always been conducted in this manner. To accept the best among the prospective students. And it has never once changed"

Alice’s gaze swept across the chamber, lingering on each face in turn. "Then why... why does this anomaly happen now? Of all times? When my siblings are participating?"

The air grew heavy.

"Am I to assume," Alice pressed, "that someone here is targeting the D’Archy family?"

Murmurs erupted among the instructors, but Eldrin silenced them with a look.

"Who," he asked slowly, "who do you think is insane enough to target the D’Archy family? Such an act would demand a thousand lives as payment. Do not overthink this, Alice. What matters now is ensuring the safety of the candidates"

"Well~ maybe so," Alice murmured, though her eyes narrowed with suspicion. "But it’s still strange that this happens only now." She folded her arms. "And Master Eldrin, you are certain, absolutely certain there is no way for anyone to enter the artificial dimension once the trial has begun?"

"I have already told you. There is none," Eldrin said, his tone final. Then, with a faint edge: "If there is one person who could defy that rule, you know exactly who that would be. This is a closed dimension"

"...That’s quite complex," Alice admitted softly. Eldrin’s words were true. If her father, Taufik, were here, he could have cut through dimensions as easily as fabric. But he wasn’t.

Her thoughts shifted. "...What about my older brother?"

"King Aksara?" Eldrin’s brows knit. "Perhaps. But it is not certain"

Alice nodded once, as if that was enough. "I see. I see. Then... I’ll excuse myself"

She turned, her steps deliberate as she made for the door.

"Alice!" Ember’s voice cracked across the chamber, raw and angry. "Do you not care about your siblings? How can you look so calm while they’re fighting for their lives?!"

Alice paused, her hand resting on the doorframe. For a moment, the faintest smile tugged at her lips.

"Worry?" she echoed, her voice light, almost mocking. "No. I believe in them. Rather than fearing for their safety... I’m more worried about what they might do to you, all of you if this farce continues"

Her words hung like a blade in the silence that followed.

"Find a way to end this soon... Otherwise..." Alice’s eyes glinted coldly as she glanced back over her shoulder. "...you’ll have far bigger problems than the beasts"

With that, she walked out, leaving no room for reply.

--------

Outside the chamber, away from the tense murmurs of instructors and council members, Alice walked calmly toward the place where two figures waited. Not far from the gate of the artificial dimension, Erelythe, towering and serene as a carved monument of death, stood with her arms folded, her black hair swaying faintly in the evening breeze. Beside her, Shasha, smaller in frame but no less sharp, leaned against a jagged stone, her golden eyes never straying far from the gate’s pulsating surface.

As Alice approached, the faint hum of dimensional energy thrummed in her ears like a restless heartbeat.

"What’s going on inside there?" Erelythe asked immediately, her voice calm but edged with quiet authority.

Alice let out a soft sigh and pointed toward the shimmering gate. "...Nothing too serious. But Aska and the others are trapped for three days in there. Until the Trial ends, no one can leave"

Erelythe’s red eyes narrowed. "Three days is nothing for them. They can endure that much. What troubles me is the unknown group that entered after them. Their presence is... Wrong." Her gaze lingered on the gate as if she could see through its veil. "Should I go inside as well?"

Alice arched a brow. "You can? Master Eldrin said it himself, once the Trial begins, no one can enter the dimension. Whoever that group is, they must know something the rest of us don’t. If you have a way to bypass that rule, then yes, it would be useful. Do you?"

"If there is no way," Erelythe said with chilling nonchalance, "then make one. I can force my way inside. I can shatter the dimension’s framework if necessary. If it collapses, Aska and the others will be unharmed"

Alice blinked, her smile faint but sharp. "What about the other candidates?"

Erelythe tilted her head slightly, as though the thought had barely occurred to her. "If their bodies are strong enough to withstand the collapse of a dimension, they will live"

Shasha, who had been quietly observing, finally spoke. Her voice carried a dry bite. "Other than Aska and his others, I don’t think a single one of those children could survive that. A collapse like that would grind them into dust"

Alice chuckled softly, her mismatched eyes gleaming in the dim light. "Then we can’t exactly do that, can we?"

Erelythe gave a small shrug, the gesture unnervingly casual for someone who had just suggested annihilating a dimension. "Then we wait, I guess"

The three of them fell silent, the only sound the low, unnatural pulse of the gate before them. Beyond its surface, shadows stirred, unseen and restless.

Alice crossed her arms, her gaze never leaving the shimmering veil. "Fine. Then we wait. But mark my words..." Her voice lowered, edged with certainty. "Whoever slipped in there with them... didn’t come to play student"

Erelythe tilted her head, as if considering whether that mattered. "Hmm~ They should be fine. Tell me, has Aska already learned My Lord’s Sword Technique?"

Alice’s lips quirked into a small smile. "SwordMagic? He’s only scratched the surface. You know as well as I do, even Aksa never truly mastered Father’s technique. He studied it, wrestled with it... Then forged his own path, his own sword. Without Father guiding them, I doubt either of them could reach that level"

"So in the end, it all circles back to the Lords, huh?" Erelythe’s words carried no surprise, only a quiet inevitability.

Alice’s expression softened for the briefest moment. "...Do you have any new information about my father, Erelythe?"

The Titaness shook her head. Her gaze rose toward the endless horizon. "None. But Lady Death herself spoke of him. She said he still walks, unharmed. Simply... forget the way back home"

Her voice, calm and absolute, carried the weight of something beyond mortal truth.

Alice exhaled slowly, her smile thinning. "...I see"

Shasha glanced between them, golden eyes narrowing slightly. "...Then it’s only a matter of time. If Master is alive, it won’t be long before he makes his return"

Erelythe’s lips curved faintly, almost imperceptibly. "And when he does, the world will remember why he was feared. Those new gods who came to Earth after the Lords departed... they forget whose land they tread upon"

Alice fell silent, her gaze drifting back to the gate where her brothers fought within. For a moment, her expression was unreadable, equal parts pride, longing, and something colder.

....

...

..

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