Chapter 213: "He’s... he’s finally coming back."
The girl’s words were harsh, but the effect they had was anything but.
Adorable.
That was the thought that crossed the minds of the three people behind seraphine, leaving them at a loss for words. Just moments ago they’d been trembling in fear at the sight of that being, only to watch it turn into a little girl complaining about being called names.
Elena could feel that something wasn’t right here, and more than once, she couldn’t help but wonder if her mind had started playing tricks on her.
After all, everything that had happened lately, combined with what was happening now, was simply too absurd to be real.
PFFF
Unlike her, though, someone else couldn’t hold it in. The young woman next to her nearly burst out laughing at the scene, catching herself only after realizing what she’d done and swallowing the laugh.
The girl’s eyes shot straight to her, shooting her an angry, almost intimidating glare, but once again the effect it produced was the opposite of intended. This time, though, the young woman managed to hold it together, looking away to avoid meeting the girl’s eyes.
"Kill me? You? If I remember correctly, the last time you tried, you ended up getting your ass kicked by me,"
Seraphine said without holding back, and the comment seemed to irritate the girl, who looked ready to attack. But before she could, Seraphine’s playful expression turned serious as she spoke.
"Anyway, I’m not here to argue with you. We’ll have time for that later," she said, and before the girl could respond, she continued.
"I take it you’ve already sensed it, haven’t you?" she said. At those words, the anger on the girl’s face cooled, replaced by a serious expression.
She said nothing, but that was enough to tell Seraphine she was right.
"I don’t know what his intentions were, but if he left you here before he disappeared, then that should mean it’s here too, right?" Seraphine said. The girl didn’t answer right away, instead looking at her with an air of challenge.
"Even if it is, so what?" she said, keeping her tone sharp. Seraphine, though, didn’t seem bothered by that and simply said,
"It’s simple. I need you to retrieve it for me."
For the first time since the conversation began, the girl’s expression shifted, no longer angry, but something else entirely.
"Retrieve it? Have you lost your mind? Do you have any idea what happens if I remove it?" she said, no longer angry, but genuinely shaken by what she’d just heard.
Seraphine, though, didn’t react to that at all, keeping her calm expression as before.
"I know what will happen, but it’s our only option." she said, and her words seemed to confuse the girl for a moment.
"What do you mean?"
Seraphine didn’t answer, instead shifting her gaze past her, toward something behind her. Seeing this, the girl followed her line of sight until it landed on the cocoon, and she finally understood.
"Wait, don’t tell me-" she said, her voice trembling slightly, not with fear, but with disbelief, as the implications of what Seraphine had told her began to sink in. But she never got to finish the sentence, because Seraphine cut her off.
"Exactly what you’re thinking. I can feel that he needs it," she said, without saying who she meant, but there was no need. The girl seemed to understand anyway.
A look of shock and anticipation crossed her face as she murmured to herself,
"He’s... he’s finally coming back."
***
[Kingdom of Solren – Royal Capital]
The situation in the capital remained relatively stable, at least on the surface.
People lived in a constant state of fear as news of Hollow attacks on nearby cities arrived daily, everyone dreading that it was only a matter of time before the attacks reached the capital itself, currently the safest place left in the kingdom.
And this wasn’t limited to the capital. The surrounding territories felt it too. Everyone could sense the situation growing worse by the day, and the first sightings of A-rank Hollows had already been reported, which meant the attacks were bound to grow far more dangerous before long.
The tension was rising just as sharply within the academy.
Some students had already returned to their hometowns to lend a hand, while others were actively participating in relief missions to nearby villages and cities. Others were already fearing the worst and doing everything they could to avoid being sent on missions where they might end up dying.
After all, there had already been the first casualties, and that alone had made the students even more afraid.
They had enrolled in the academy precisely to become more skilled with their abilities and grow strong enough to protect themselves and the kingdom.
That had always been the purpose of the academy, but over the past few centuries, its education had become much less strict than it had been in the past.
The reason was simple, hollows had become increasingly rare, to the point that many people had grown carefree. By now, many students treated the academy more like a place to improve their status, or show it off if they already had one.
Only recently had the situation changed, but there hadn’t been nearly enough time to properly prepare before the first attacks from the abyss began raining down, and from that point on, the situation had only grown more complicated.
Meanwhile, in one of the mission halls, a group of five people was receiving instructions from an instructor.
It was a group made up of second-year students, all of them already geared up and ready to head out on a rescue mission to a nearby city.
It was also the group Selena had been placed in. After settling into the academy’s current situation over the past few weeks, she was finally about to head out on her first mission since her return.
Though only a short time had passed since she’d come back, she had already changed a great deal.
Physically, she looked much the same as before, but there were small differences, ones her peers had come to notice over the past while. Despite having gone missing for the past year, she hadn’t fallen behind the others at all.
Quite the opposite.
Her strength had increased drastically, to the point that both the students in her class and the instructors were astonished by her progress.
After all, she had left as a D-Rank Early-Stage, already an exceptionally high level for a first year student, but had returned as a D-Rank Advanced-Stage.
That was already considered impressive for a second-year student preparing to enter their third year.
And it would have been impressive even for her, if not for one small detail,
She was still only seventeen years old.