Volume Three: The Academy's Total Rampage - Rush Hour

In the dark space, a "door" floats in the air.

Inside the door was a deathly gray-black.

Strangely, the frame of this "door" is made of gray-black cloth strips, which are wrapped in circles to form irregular rings, like the gaping mouth of a monster.

The eerie atmosphere was enough to frighten an ordinary person into fleeing in terror, but the three people standing in front of the door were clearly not "ordinary people."

"No matter how many times I watch it, I can't help but marvel at the profound skills of the Void Realm senior."

"Tch, it's just about connecting non-existent coordinates into a channel. Give me enough time and I can become stronger than him."

"Sick Spider, you mustn't be disrespectful to your senior!"

"Tsk..."

One is a tall, stone-like statue with gray-black, rock-like skin and sharply defined features.

One was tall, slender, and shapely, dressed in a butler's uniform, with a beautiful yet cold face.

Even among numerous combatants, Stone Strike and Sick Spider are among the strongest.

There is one more person.

Or rather, it should be a person.

Because his appearance was so distorted.

Curly hair, curly beard, awkwardly positioned limbs, and a crooked mouth.

But the most bizarre thing was his eyes and eyebrows.

It's vertical.

The eyes are not horizontal, but vertical, like Erlang Shen's third eye.

Such an appearance can only be described as terrifying.

"Ling Ye and Soya have sent a signal. It's time to set off. Are you ready, Raosen?"

"... Uh-huh."

"Our main target this time is the Boundary Breaking Armor, but reliable intelligence indicates that there's more than just the Boundary Breaking Armor as a Divine Item. Therefore, we will lead the way, and the higher-ups will arrive at the scene later. Understand?"

"Ah, you are very powerful..."

"Good, then let's go."

The three of them stepped into the "door" without any particular order.

Target: The Central United Academy!

"Monet!!!"

A giant metal centipede, brandishing its hooked claws and hissing, lunged at Monet, who stood frozen in terror. Evelynths, watching this, was frantic with worry and screamed at Monet with all her might!

"Monet! Get out of the way!!!"

"Huh? Ah!"

As if waking from a dream, Monet finally realized the reality of her situation; she screamed and flailed to the side—

Click!!!

"Oh--ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh----ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!"

Blood splattered everywhere, followed by Monet's scream! Sharp metal claws pierced Monet's slender ankles, lifted her up, and then hurled her away!

"Monet!!!!!!!!!!!!"

As Monet streaked through the air in a crimson arc and crashed violently into the wall of the experimental field, Evelynths could do nothing! Her frail body slid from the wall to the ground with a muffled thud, leaving a trail of blood that looked like a slug crawling across it. For someone of Monet's physique, this fall was far too severe!

"Gurgle... woo..."

However, Monet did not lose consciousness. She was curled up on the ground, groaning and trembling, with streaks of blood flowing from the corner of her mouth, clearly indicating severe internal injuries! Her ankle, which had been pierced at the beginning, was bleeding profusely!

"Monet! Monet! Monet!!!!"

Thump! Thump! Thump! Seeing the tragic state of her relatives and friends, Evelynths pounded on the reinforced glass like a madwoman, not stopping even as the skin and flesh on her slender knuckles were torn open! However, no matter how hard she pounded, the glass wall remained completely undamaged!

"Monet... Monet... Stop... Waaah..."

The atrocities on the other side of the glass wall did not cease because of the girl's pleas. The centipede slithered swiftly to the fallen Monet, its scarlet eyes darting about as if admiring its prey. Its four longest, hooked claws extended from the sides of its head, gesturing at the small body, and then—

Prick!!!

"Ugh--Guh... Wa..."

Monet, who was already on the verge of losing consciousness, suddenly opened her eyes wide, writhing in pain but unable to move, only able to let out muffled screams. Not only her ankle, but also her other leg and both arms had been brutally pierced! Flesh and bone were torn apart, and bright red blood flowed everywhere; clearly, the centipede wanted to completely disable its prey's ability to move first!

"Please... please... stop... stop!!!!"

Evelynths was almost heartbroken, but there was nothing she could do! An empty sense of powerlessness overwhelmed her like a vast ocean. She hated, hated Fiaz; she felt pathetic, pathetic for her own powerlessness; she felt despair, despair for this irreversible situation!

"I'll kill... you..."

Evelynths's unfocused eyes looked upwards, towards the observation room where Fiaz was.

"I'll kill you... I must kill you..."

A monotone voice repeated words filled with despair and hatred, while the temperature in the small room steadily rose—

"Kill you, kill you, kill you, kill you!!!"

In the observation room--

"Doctor! Quick, look at the instruments—"

"I'm watching!"

Fiaz stared excitedly at the rapidly fluctuating needles on the dashboard, her mouth practically stretched to her ears in a wide grin. All the readings were nearing full capacity—a sign that the special power within her was about to erupt!

"Waaaaaah... Waaaaaah...!"

Evelynths suddenly clutched her body, kneeling on the ground in anguish, her whole body trembling violently, her breathing growing increasingly heavy. At the same time, a crimson halo appeared around her—

"Huh!? Doctor, the value stopped increasing when it was almost full?"

"This must be some kind of critical state!" Fiaz wiped his glasses excitedly, grinning from ear to ear. "It's probably because her subconscious is still suppressing this power, and the two are locked in a stalemate, keeping her in this critical state! If left unchecked, her will will eventually give way, but I can't wait!! Mechanical centipede, give her some more stimulation!!!!"

Chirp chirp~~~~~~~!!!!

Responding to its master's command, the centipede pierced Monet's limbs with its four sharp claws, lifting the already dying woman from the ground and opening its deformed mouthparts!

Let's eat!

With a piercing hiss, the deformed mandibles snapped down at Monet's head.

-- at that moment,

Boom!!!!!!!

The incredibly sturdy outer wall of the testing ground collapsed with a deafening roar, and amidst the flying debris...

The silver glint of the knife flashed by in an instant.

Clang!!!

It was a soft sound, yet it reached everyone's ears.

"Tsk tsk tsk, if I had been half a second later, Xiao Wu's adorable clubmate would have been in serious trouble."

Stand up and sheathe your sword.

At the same time, a straight crack burst open from head to tail on the mechanical centipede.

With a flash of silver light, the centipede's ten-meter-long body was split lengthwise in two.

Monet, who had just been pierced by the grappling hook, was caught by a pair of slender yet strong arms just before he hit the ground.

"How pitiful, but you're still alive, you're lucky... Don't think everything will go your way, Doctor."

The tall, handsome young man, Ling Ye, looked at the astonished Fiaz and a mocking smile appeared on his lips.

"Who are you..."

"I'm just a nobody, don't worry about me~"

With that, Ling Ye, carrying Monet, swaggered to the glass wall, swung his knife, and shattered the reinforced glass into pieces.

"Hey, young lady, is your name Evelynths? Are you alright?"

There was no response.

Evelynths curled up on the ground, trembling slightly, her eyes lifeless.

For some reason, it evokes the image of a bomb about to explode.

"... This is bad. The eruption of the karmic fire is inevitable. We have no choice but to get her away from here."

"You bastard!!!"

Enraged, Fiaz was immediately surrounded by a large number of machines, but at that moment—

A new intruder has appeared.

A wisp of blue smoke flowed in from the opening created by Ling Ye, coalesced, and condensed into a—girl.

The girl had long, ice-blue hair and bright red eyes; she was a beautiful girl who was unforgettable at first glance.

The Black Crow's second-in-command – Gold Silver Grass.

At this moment, she was looking at Ling Ye in surprise, seemingly not expecting him to be there.

"Ling Ye —wait, you and Soya are already making your move?"

"I knew you'd come, Gold Silver Grass —no, I should call you—Ferguson, the Direct Subordinate of the Huang Huo."

"..."

Gold Silver Grass —or rather, silver, silent.

Meanwhile, Fiaz in the observation room also stopped moving.

"Wait, what did that kid just say? 'Huang Huo'? Could it be... that organization...?"

Meanwhile, the atmosphere at the testing ground grew increasingly eerie.

After a moment of silence, Yin immediately regained his composure and smiled.

"Ah, Ling Ye, your arrival makes things much easier. Let's hurry—"

"You don't need to pretend in front of me. I know a lot of things, including—what your master is plotting."

"..."

"Ah, but don't worry, I haven't told Soya a single word about the dangers I know. Otherwise, do you think you'd still be safe and sound?"

"... What exactly do you want?"

"Who knows? But you, your purpose in coming here... is probably not the Boundary Breaking Armor, is it?"

"... So what?"

"It's nothing, I just want to give her to you."

As he spoke, Ling Ye picked up the still trembling Evelynths and handed her to Silver.

"You... you just gave her to me like that?"

Silver hesitated for a moment, but still took Evelynths from him.

"I don't care what you want to do, but no matter what—you see, she's a ticking time bomb. The Crimson Lotus Karmic Fire could explode at any moment, and then we'll all be doomed. This girl is the same; her arteries are injured in her limbs. If she doesn't get treatment quickly, she'll die. Get them away from the city as fast as you can."

"... Well then, thank you very much."

Yin had no idea what Ling Ye was planning.

I didn't have time to think about it in detail.

The frail girl in his arms was on the verge of death.

The thing inside the other silver-haired girl in his arms could explode at any moment.

If the karmic fire were to descend upon the city, the resulting unrest would be far too great to be resolved by merely causing tens of thousands of deaths.

For both public and private reasons, she must be kept away from crowds!

"Ling Ye, what about you? What are you going to do?"

"Me? I want to wait for someone here first."

In the observation room--

"Doctor! They... they just kidnapped Evelynths like that! And they even mentioned Hellfire and stuff, you don't—"

However, Fiaz simply stood there, seemingly lost in thought, without replying.

"The powerful organization that initially lured me in... the Boundary Breaking Armor... the Karmic Fire... ha..."

Fiaz suddenly smiled, a very strange smile.

"You can all do whatever you want, go wash up and go to bed. Evelynths isn't going to worry about this for now—or rather, she doesn't have time to."

"What are you saying?! Now--"

"I already said you don't need to worry about it, because—even more interesting, more terrifying, and more brutal VIPs are about to arrive, and as the top leader of the Central United Academy, I have to take the lead in welcoming these foreign guests!"

Countless mechanical parts formed a massive propulsion wing, the ceiling above opened automatically, and Fiaz grinned as he took off, leaving the League of Scholars and disappearing without a trace.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ling Ye God saved the day! Anyone who said he should die should have some self-respect!