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Chapter 439  [Event] [Semester-Exam At Vanadias] [27] Harvey And James Trapped

The first day of the Exam was drawing to a close, and everything had proceeded smoothly—perhaps too smoothly. Harvey, standing at the far end of the room, couldn\'t shake the gnawing feeling creeping up his spine.

The absence of conflict was strange. Rarely did the Exams proceed without some kind of confrontation between students, yet today, no significant clashes had occurred. Something was wrong.

Harvey\'s eyes flicked to one of the many screens displaying the feed from the Zones. On it, Amael was wandering the 7th Zone, moving silently. Not a single creature or student had crossed his path. Yes, the forest was large but the tranquility of it all was jarring. Even more disturbing was the fact that Harvey was certain Amael had been poisoned earlier. By all accounts, Amael should be struggling—at the very least showing signs of weakness. Yet, here he was, walking without the slightest hint of trouble.

Why is he still fine?

Something gnawed at Harvey\'s mind as his gaze drifted from the screen to the narrow windows. Outside, the world was cloaked in darkness, yet the feed from the forest showed bright, daylight conditions.

He glanced at James Raven, who stood on the opposite side of the room, scanning the screens. James gave a slight nod as their eyes met, confirming Harvey\'s suspicions without saying a word. He, too, had sensed it—something was very wrong.

They were trapped. The silence stretched painfully long. The other staff in the room—their supposed colleagues—had fallen unnaturally still. The usual sound of tapping and soft murmurs ceased, replaced by a suffocating quiet.

Harvey and James could feel it now, the weight of gazes turning toward them, the sharp, barely perceptible shift in the atmosphere. They both knew without a doubt—something was about to happen. And none of it was good.

Each figure in the room was subtly reaching toward something—hidden weapons or something else, perhaps—preparing to act.

"James!" Harvey\'s rang loudly. In an instant, an explosion of ice erupted from his hands, spreading outward in a violent arc, freezing the ground and air around him. The blast surged toward the figures who surrounded them, intending to incapacitate them before they could strike.

But before the ice could reach its targets, a roaring wall of fire materialized, countering the cold blast entirely. The fire hissed against the ice, turning the room into a battlefield of opposing elements.

They came prepared.

Harvey gritted his teeth, realizing just how dire the situation was. His ice magic was strong, but it was clear that these attackers were ready for anything. The illusion of normalcy shattered as their \'colleagues\' discarded their disguises. One by one, they revealed their true appearance—no longer staff members, but Elves of various lineages.

Dark Elves, High Elves, even Blood Elves.

"Utopia…" James muttered darkly.

 So this was it—an attack orchestrated by Utopia. But how had they gotten so close? How had they infiltrated the very heart of the exam grounds, where only trusted individuals should be?

"Toran..." Harvey whispered, clenching his fists tightly, his nails digging into his palms.

James glanced at Harvey, frowning. "Impossible… Tanya would never allow this." "I know. I know. But who else?" Harvey as well was certain Tanya wouldn\'t betray Sancta Vedelia as much as she harbored some kind of prejudices toward other races.

"We don\'t have time for that, Harvey," James said. "We need to get out of here—now. We have to warn the other Heads before it\'s too late."

Harvey nodded, but unease gnawed at the back of his mind. The situation was precarious. Melfina was still recovering from her brutal fight with Kleines. Reiner was recuperating from his fight with Navas. The Olphean Kingdom was leaderless, their queen missing in action, rather they had no intention of taking part in the war unless they were directly concerned. Several Heads were either weakened or absent, leaving them more vulnerable than ever.

The timing of this attack couldn\'t have been worse. This was exactly what Utopia had been waiting for—this moment when their defenses were down, their leaders scattered, and their forces divided.

"Wh-What the hell is this?" James gasped, a groan escaping his lips as he inspected his arm. A slender, metallic object protruded from his skin, resembling a needle. He had sensed the projectile approaching, but it shouldn\'t have been able to pierce his blood defenses. Normally, his regenerative abilities would have swiftly healed such a wound.

"James?! Are you okay?" Harvey asked worried.

"Yeah, more or less... but be careful. They\'ve clearly studied us, Harvey," James replied, carefully removing the needle. A chilling sensation spread through his body as he noticed a marked decrease in the flow of his blood. \'This isn\'t good.\'

"A Head and the son of another Head, isn\'t that delightful?" One of the Blood Elves smirked, his eyes glowing with an unnatural red hue. He pointed his sword menacingly. "Kill them!"

"Damn it!" Harvey cursed. It was clear that Utopia hadn\'t dispatched mere amateurs to eliminate them.

His eyes darted toward the surveillance feeds, which had been tampered with until now. As the true images became visible, his gaze was drawn to a particular scene. \'Celeste!\' Celeste was engaged in a battle against two opponents who were clearly not students and who didn\'t appear to be any elf from Utopia either. The strangers seemed not ordinary, and Harvey couldn\'t help but feel a surge of worry. \'What\'s going on?!\' Fortunately, Celeste wasn\'t alone. Elizabeth Tepes was fighting alongside her, but Harvey knew he couldn\'t allow the situation to escalate further.

He had to get all his students out of here.

***

-BOOM!

The earth trembled violently as a deafening explosion echoed through the barren landscape. Pierre was sent sprawling across the ground, his body skidding like a lifeless rag doll. Pain surged through every inch of him as he struggled to rise, his skin marred with grotesque red marks, each one a symbol of the curse that now bound him. John stood tall, his presence radiating a terrifying mana, his dark red mana swirling violently around him like a storm. He was no longer the man Pierre remembered from the restaurant months ago. Now, John exuded the strength of a peak 8th Ascension, his cold gaze fixed on the trembling figure before him. Pierre\'s heart pounded in his chest as he struggled to comprehend the immense growth John had undergone in such a short time.

In the blink of an eye, John was before him. His expression was as hard as stone, his eyes narrowing with disdain as he looked down on Pierre, who lay helpless at his feet. "Why are you here?" Pierre attempted a nervous laugh but it was cut off abruptly by a sharp, unbearable pain. He screamed in agony as John\'s boot came down mercilessly on his leg, the sickening crunch of bone breaking filling the air. Pierre\'s body convulsed, his breath catching in his throat as he clutched at his shattered limb, but despite the excruciating pain, a crooked smile lingered on his face.

"How is the Dolphis Princess?" For a brief moment, John stood in silence. His expression didn\'t change, but something dark and dangerous flickered in his eyes. Without a word, the ominous aura around him intensified.

-BOOOOM!

A violent burst of mana erupted from John. Dark red, cursed flames ignited from his outstretched hand, enveloping Pierre\'s broken body.

"HARGHHH!!" Pierre\'s scream was gut-wrenching as the cursed fire consumed him. His skin charred and cracked, the curse gnawing at him from the inside out, burning away everything until nothing remained but ash. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

John stood amidst the burned spot, his teeth clenched furiously. He couldn\'t waste time. Amelia was out there—somewhere—and he had to find her before they did. But as much as he wished to act, he was paralyzed by the uncertainty. The 6th Zone was vast, and Amelia could be anywhere—in either the lower zones or higher ones.

His eyes darted to the map on his screen, glowing faintly in the dim light. Time was running out, and every second he hesitated could mean disaster. After a short moment of hesitation, John made his decision. The 5th Zone—it was closer, and there he could question anyone who might have seen her.