The Anomaly's Path

I watched her head back toward the stairs. Her dark red dress swayed slightly as she disappeared into the crowd, leaving me standing alone under the bright lights with my heart still beating fast.

What the hell was that?

I stared at the empty spot where she had been just a second ago. The warm, quiet feeling in my chest hadn’t faded. For the first time in a long time, my mind wasn’t running through battle plans or game strategies.

It was just... stuck on her.

A heavy, sinking feeling slowly settled in my gut. I knew where this path led. Getting attached. Letting someone close. Falling for someone in a world this dangerous, it was a fast way to get hurt. It was a path full of headaches, weakness, and disaster.

I dragged a hand down my face and let out a long, tired breath. Then I turned back toward our table.

When I reached the table, the scene was a complete mess. Roan was slumped over the table. His hair stuck out everywhere. His collar was yanked loose, and a purple bruise was already forming near his shoulder.

Alice was calmly dusting her hands off on a napkin. Riven was flexing his knuckles. Lyssaria was looking down at her brother with disgust.

I dropped into my chair and looked at him. "Oh? You’re still alive?"

Roan lifted his head slowly, giving me a weak, painful smile from the table. "You... you’re a monster, Leo. A demon..."

"You reaped what you sowed, elf," I said, grabbing my water glass and taking a long sip.

Around us, the lively mood of the grand hall slowly returned. The musicians struck up another piece. Nobles went back to clinking their glasses.

I leaned back in my chair, resting my head against the wooden frame, and let out a quiet, heavy breath. My eyes drifted up toward the tall ceiling of the hall. Warm golden light spilled from the floating lanterns above.

It was a perfect picture of a peaceful, high-class banquet.

However...

Something is wrong, I thought.

The brief distraction from my dance with Seris faded, and my mind snapped back to its usual alert state. I rested my elbow on the table. My fingers tapped a slow, steady beat against the wood.

Think...

In the game, the academy banquet was the exact moment the Fallen launched their first big attack.

They didn’t march through the city or try to break the front gates. They used a rare Space Affinity to open a huge rift right inside the academy halls. They dropped an elite team directly on top of the students and nobles while everyone was relaxed and off guard.

I knew it was coming. I had even warned Morgana days ago that the Fallen wouldn’t hit the outer walls, they would use a rift to get past the defenses entirely.

But right now... nothing was happening.

I frowned, staring up at the grand hall’s clock. The hour was late. The main speeches were over, and the party was already starting to slow down.

Why didn’t it happen? My brows drew together into a tight frown. Did my actions change things that much? Did the academy’s hidden defenses change their timing? Or are they waiting for something else?

It didn’t make sense. The Fallen leaders weren’t idiots. If they were planning a strike during the banquet, they would do it, one way or another. If the attack didn’t come from outside...

My blood ran cold.

What if it didn’t fail? What if it just moved?

If they didn’t open a big, loud rift and send their team to attack... what if the anchor was already working right under us? What if the barrier was already broken from the inside? What if they changed their plan?

A sudden, chill ran straight down my spine. Every single survival instinct I had honed through brutal combat screamed out at once.

It wasn’t just me.

Beside me, Riven’s glass shattered in his hand as he grabbed it too hard. His eyes locked onto the center of the hall. Across the table, Cordelia’s head snapped up. The color drained from her face. Her eyes went wide with fear.

Down at the lower tables, Arthur stared at his hands as his mana flickered wildly. Amelia gripped the edge of her seat so hard the wood groaned.

"Leo..." Roan muttered, his voice dropping into a tight whisper. "Look outside."

I turned my eyes toward the large glass windows overlooking the academy. Beyond the glass, the clear night sky was disappearing.

A thick, sickly purple mist was rolling over the outer walls from the direction of the Sealed Valley. It swept across the academy grounds like a flood. It swallowed the gardens, smothered the courtyard lights, and climbed up the tower itself.

A heavy, suffocating fear instantly covered the whole banquet hall. The pressure was so thick and foul that the air itself felt like hot iron going down my throat.

The music stopped mid-note as several musicians collapsed over their instruments, clutching their heads in pain. The floating golden lanterns above flickered once, turned pitch black, and shattered into dust, plunging the whole grand hall into darkness.

Crack!

The large glass windows along the balcony shattered inward, and the heavy purple fog poured into the hall, flooding the marble floor like a dark, suffocating wave.

_

A few moments ago...

A mile away from the main banquet hall, inside the upper tower where the VIPs and teachers were gathered, the mood had been quiet and relaxed. Vice President Helene Draven had been standing near the main table, holding a glass of wine with Damon and the senior professors.

But the moment she felt a faint, strange tremor and saw the barrier sensors around the Sealed Valley flicker, she didn’t waste a second.

She quickly told Professor Valerio and Professor Eleanor to keep the visiting nobles calm, seal the upper exits, and keep everyone safe. Then she rushed out of the hall at full speed, her black jacket tight as Morgana, Vance, and Damon followed right behind her.

They didn’t walk, they ran down the stairs toward the security room.

Their boots pounded against the floor, and their strong presence pushed past panicked staff. Inside the tower, within the heavily guarded Security Command Room, dozens of workers were glued to their screens.

"Vice President! Something’s wrong!" an operator shouted as the heavy doors slid open.

Helene walked in with fast, steady steps. Behind her came High Council Member Damon Draven, her younger brother, followed by Professor Morgana, Professor Vance, and a squad of elite academy guards.

"Report. What happened? What did we just sense?" Helene commanded, her voice cutting through the noise of the room like a blade.

The lead security chief stood up, bowing quickly with a pale face.

"Vice President! Everything was fine just a moment ago. But then we received a strange wave of mana. The barrier readings just spiked. Something hit the outer wards, hard."

"Was the city barrier breached?" Vance asked nervously, stepping forward.

"No, sir! The outer barrier arrays are intact! The city walls haven’t been touched!" The chief swallowed hard, pointing a trembling hand toward a large holographic map of Aegis Prime and the academy grounds.

"The signal isn’t coming from outside the city... it’s coming from the Sealed Valley!"

Morgana’s eyes narrowed into sharp, dangerous slits. "The valley? That place has been quiet since the exam ended. What could possibly be coming from there?"

"A gate has opened," the chief stammered, his fingers flying across the screen as red warnings flooded the display. "A rift just appeared deep in the sealed valley..."

"What is the rank?" Helene demanded,.

The chief froze. He looked at the reading, blinked, and looked again. His jaw trembled, and when he spoke, his voice was barely a whisper. "We... we haven’t fully checked the core output yet... but based on the mana and pressure we received... it looks like a... Grade 8."

The whole room went dead silent.

A Grade 8 Gate.

A cold chill ran down the spine of every single person in the room.

No one needed a history lesson to know what a Grade 8 Gate meant. Everyone in the world knew about the last Grade 8 Gate, the Frozen Cross disaster twelve years ago. Millions had died. Entire armies had been wiped out.

The horrors that came through a Grade 8 Gate weren’t just normal monsters; they were led by things that were as strong as Sovereigns or even stronger. Morgana’s jaw clenched so hard her teeth ground together. Her eyes burned with the bitter pain of the squad she had lost back then.

"A Grade 8..." Vance muttered, his face completely pale as he backed up against a wall. "That’s impossible... How could a Gate that strong open inside the academy without any warning?"

"It doesn’t matter how," Damon said flatly. The youngest Transcendent hadn’t flinched. His sharp grey eyes stayed fixed on the map. "Is the Gate open? Are monsters coming out of it? What are their ranks?"

The chief tapped the console, bringing up a live image. "The Gate is open in the valley, and the purple mist is pouring out, covering the land! The weakest monsters coming out are Grade 4 Greater beasts... and the strongest ones we’re picking up behind them are... Grade 7 Lords."

"Lord ranks," Helene breathed out, her eyes darkening. To fight Grade 7 Lord-rank monsters, you needed Transcendents.

"And where are they going?" Damon asked.

"They are rushing straight across the open valley!" the chief whispered, sweating heavily. "They’re charging straight for the barrier and everything in their way! That includes both the academy and Aegis Prime!"

"Damn it!" Morgana snarled, punching the side of a table. She knew The Fallen were behind the Gate. And they couldn’t do anything, even though they knew an attack might be coming.

"Fuck! They opened a full Gate right outside our doorstep! They knew we were ready for them, so they did something we couldn’t predict. They used the valley to drop a horde right at our outer walls!"

"Sister," Damon said, turning his head toward Helene. "I’m heading to the valley edge to stop the breach before the main horde crosses the open boundary."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Helene snapped, grabbing his arm. "You’re a Transcendent, Damon, but a Grade 8 Gate means Sovereign-level horrors could come through at any second! You can’t fight a Grade 8 alone!"

"Then what should I do? Sit in this room while everyone dies?" Damon asked, his tone cold, calm, and firm as he pulled his arm free. "The Gate isn’t fully open yet. The Sovereign-rank boss hasn’t crossed over. If I hit the rift now, I can buy time and slow down the opening. It’s the only way."

"I’m going with you," Morgana said instantly, stepping up beside him.

"Morgana, no!" Vance reached out, his voice cracking. "You know wha—"

"Shut up, Vance," Morgana growled, her eyes flashing with cold anger as her War affinity flared around her. "Stay here and help everyone."

"I know why you’re saying this, Morgana," Vance said, his voice shaking as he stepped forward, his hands twitching at his sides. "You’re still thinking about what happened back then. The Great Gate disaster... your whole squad—"

"I said shut up, Vance," Morgana cut him off, her voice dropping into a low, deadly whisper that made the air feel thinner. She turned her head, glaring at him over her shoulder with a look so fierce it stopped him cold. "What do you even know about me? Nothing. You know nothing about what I carry."

"I know enough!" Vance blurted out, his body stiffening despite the terror coming off her. The usual shy, awkward researcher was gone, replaced by raw desperation.

"I was there after it... happened! I saw what it did to you! You barely survived that day, Morgana. If you throw yourself into a Grade 8 Gate right now, you aren’t going there to hold the line. You’re going there to die!"

The whole room went dead silent. Even the workers at their screens held their breath, too scared to make a sound.

Morgana didn’t yell. She didn’t hit him. She just stared at Vance, her purple eyes narrowing into sharp, unreadable slits. For a second, the hard mask she always wore cracked, showing the hollow pain of the past, the memories of blood, ash, and the comrades she had lost twelve years ago.

She turned her whole body toward him, taking one heavy step forward.

"Then let me die," Morgana said quietly, her voice steady.

"Better to fall out there bleeding than to sit in this safe room while history repeats itself. You’re a brilliant researcher, Vance. You always were. So do what you’re good at, stay here, run the arrays, and make sure these kids don’t end up like my old team."

Vance opened his mouth to argue, his chest heaving, his face pale and desperate. "Morgana, please—"

"I don’t need a savior, Vance," she interrupted, her voice softening just a little. "And I don’t need you dying for me either. Keep the barrier stable. That’s an order."

Before Vance could reach out or say another word, Damon stepped beside her. The aura around the young Transcendent flared into a bright, humming pillar of energy, wrapping around both him and Morgana.

"We’re running out of time," Damon said flatly, his grey eyes casting one last look at his sister Helene. "Hold the campus."

Crack!

A sharp, loud boom shattered the air in the room. In an instant, Damon and Morgana shot out through the open balcony at blinding speed, leaving behind a strong gust of wind that scattered papers across the desks.

Vance stood frozen in the empty spot where she had just been, his arm still half-out in the air. His fingers slowly curled into a tight, shaking fist. He let out a ragged breath, slammed his palm against the nearest wall, and dragged a hand through his messy hair.

"God damn it, Morgana..." he muttered through gritted teeth, forcing his eyes back toward the map of the Sealed Valley. "You stubborn, reckless idiot."

Helene didn’t give him time to fall apart. She placed a firm hand on Vance’s shoulder, her presence anchoring the room.

"You heard her, Vance," Helene said, her eyes burning with command. "Running the defense grids is on you now. Don’t let her sacrifice be for nothing."

Vance swallowed hard, straightened his coat, and snapped his gaze to the screens. "Understood, Vice President. Starting secondary shields now."

Helene closed her eyes for a second, taking a long, deep breath to steady herself. When she opened them, her face was hard as stone.

"Listen up," Helene ordered loudly, her voice echoing across the room. "Send an emergency message to the Astra Union High Command right now! Tell them a Grade 8 Gate has opened at the Academy! Send a direct message to Headmaster Vega’s personal mana-link watch as well!"

"Understood, Vice President!" the communications team shouted, and they immediately began to work.

Helene turned toward the remaining guards and teachers. "The rest of you, move! Secure the VIPs and nobles in the second hall! I’m heading to the main student hall..."