Sandro, one of the leaders of the Cult of the Sacrifice of the Goddess of War, was an eighth-circle mage classified as one of the strongest in the cult, yet he still wore an irritated expression for not having managed to make his plan work.
'I didn't understand at the time how they managed to escape somehow, but now I will make sure to eliminate some in the name of my goddess.'
Standing up from his throne, he approached the five faithful kneeling in front of him. Among those five, only one was considered powerful by the cult; the reason he liked the other four was simply because they were the most loyal to him among his subordinates.
"Today we will launch a surprise attack, so don't disappoint me like you did two years ago."
"Yes, my lord."
Swinging his cloak in front of his followers, they all vanished, being sent to different locations in the city of Sanos. He had sent at least one hundred and fifty followers. He knew the strongest man in the world was there, but he didn't care much, since Victor himself cared about nothing except that barrier. Walking a bit further forward, he knelt before a statue of a woman covered by a dark cloak with the symbol of a deer on her back.
'My goddess, forgive me. I used one of your barriers left behind to kill simple students and still failed.'
He began scratching his skin with his hands, a deep shame twisting his face. He had failed his goddess and deserved punishment for such a sin.
"I promise that this time I will fulfill your mission—"
"If you ask me, I'd say this mission of yours will fail again."
'Who?'
Behind him, the academy's director wore a serious expression. Sandro began to sweat, especially because he knew the difference in their levels.
"How did you—?"
"Let's say we already knew where this attack would begin, so I waited, and when you sent your subordinates, I simply used a spell to follow yours."
Taking a step back, Sandro assumed a defensive stance. From what Hao said, he managed to follow his magic even from another location, which was an absurd feat to accomplish with something so simple.
"If you already knew, then your students must be somewhere else?"
"Actually, no, because those young ones were very eager to return what was done to them."
"What? They're idiots? Know that those students of yours won't be able—"
"Don't worry. The teachers of my academy also want revenge for that attack."
Sandro began sweating even more because this meant they could eliminate all his subordinates. This would destroy a large portion of one of the cult's three great powers.
'I have to逃—but there's a problem.'
"Barrier Prison."
Snapping his fingers, Hao enclosed them both in a barrier, preventing any attempt Sandro might have made to flee. Fear filled Sandro's expression as he took a few steps back.
'How am I supposed to escape from this monster?'
He wasn't the only one having problems. As soon as his subordinates arrived in the city of Sanos, they were greeted by attacks that killed some of them and scattered the rest in different directions.
"I don't believe these rats were the ones who made that barrier."
Of course, the one who launched that attack was Virelle, her deadly gaze tracking the strongest among them. Behind her, Angela, wearing the purple battle outfit of Virelle's family, also wore a serious expression.
"Looks like the two of them are already going after the strongest… well, as their teacher I suppose I have to do the same."
A little farther away, Zenaria sighed and turned her attention to a woman in red armor. She had a determined look as she cut down the cult followers with her sword. She was the third-year teacher—more precisely, the knight who trained her students.
'Soul Knight Siena Red… I never thought they would become so strong just because we let them enter the high-level library.'
She was a seventh-circle mage, but with her weapon she reached eighth-circle power, and apparently she had wanted to talk to Enrico for years—something that made Zenaria discover that it was Enrico's idea to combine ego weapons with mages.
'She must be very grateful.'
Watching Siena cut down several sixth-circle cultists with ease, Zenaria nodded and prepared to do the same.
'If those two were here, this would be much easier.'
She was referring to the two previous teachers before she and Virelle took over. Unlike the other teachers they had defeated, those two were chosen to serve as royal guards, which opened the position to the strongest ones who wanted to teach Class S.
'Both were eighth circle, which would have been impossible for me back then, but now I've reached that level too.'
Gathering a purple spell in her hand, she threw it toward the cult followers, eliminating at least twenty of them at once. Zenaria had trained intensely over the past two years to truly earn the title of Class S teacher, so she wouldn't disappoint her students.
"Are they insane? We came to cause chaos, but they're the ones who seem to be trying to destroy the city."
"You idiot, can't you see?"
Two cult members ran through the city. The one who hadn't noticed earlier finally saw that no damage was being done to the city or to civilians.
"Wait—where are the civilians? And why is the city taking no damage?"
"They must have moved them somewhere else. And about the city—looks like we're inside a barrier made by the director of the Astrong Academy."
"Shit, so this was a trap. Since when did they know about this attack?"
"I don't kn—"
"Since a month ago."
The two stopped when they heard a voice in front of them. Looking up to the top of a house, they saw a very beautiful girl, leaving them stunned.
"A girl? She looks young."
"Do you think she has a boyfriend?"
"As always, they mistake me for a girl."
At first they were confused by the words—but before they could ask anything or take a stance, their heads were already flying through the air, severed from their bodies. Elian stood behind them, daggers in hand, sighing.
"Well, I'm already used to this."