Chapter 262

Luna hurriedly searched for the item after hearing Sivar’s reprimand.

Judging it to be a very important object, she concluded it would be in the dormitory and, thankfully, she found it without much delay.

If there was a flaw to it being an important item, it was that it was just sitting on the desk. She decided not to tell Sivar.

‘I didn’t think he’d go off like that.’

He didn’t curse verbally. He unleashed a torrent of scorn with his eyes instead.

If it were anyone else, Luna might not have felt so intimidated, but it was Sivar, after all.

It was indeed a crucial item, and if she lost it, it would’ve truly made her blurt out some curses.

‘But it’s a bit strange.’

She fiddled with the item in her pocket as she walked.

She had also explained the signs of demons to others, and now all that was left was preparation.

Someone—probably either Rod or Sivar—had informed Rize. The sword saint and the saintess duo.

‘It would be nice to know just how strong the demons attacking us are.’

Sivar had mentioned it was vague. He said that although they were on par with Rod, the outcome was uncertain.

He also said that if luck was against them, there could even be two demons of Rod’s caliber showing up. That was, literally, a luckless scenario.

But with Rize bolstering them, it was comforting. However, they couldn’t afford to be complacent.

‘We don’t know how the demons will attack.’

She briefly stopped and turned her head. In the direction she gazed stood a monument.

With that monument erected, not only demons but even monsters couldn’t easily invade.

The entrance to the forest was guarded by soldiers, and the sky was shielded by high-level magic.

There was no way for demons to infiltrate anywhere. That’s why it became all the more curious.

‘Sivar is unique, so I’ll go with that…’

She had asked Sivar before how demons carried out their invasions.

His answer had been ridiculously straightforward: even if he knew, he couldn’t stop them.

What kind of invasion would he claim was impossible to prevent, even with that knowledge?

Even with Rod and Rize around, he advised to simply watch and wait.

‘When you think about it, it’s odd.’

Even though she had insight into many futures, she knew little about her own. This part felt bizarre to Luna.

It was as if she were pulled out of countless futures. She felt like she only understood the overall framework of the story.

She felt completely excluded. Ironically, it was Rize, not anyone else, who knew her best.

While some questions had been resolved, many still remained. Sivar’s true identity and his relationship with Rize. Additionally, Gaia’s secrets.

Could these be properly resolved after the demon invasion? With so many things to consider, her head began to ache.

‘At least I’ve gotten used to seeing things lately…’

Luna fiddled with her eyes. She had become accustomed to seeing other people’s stats.

At first, it was challenging, as she had to strain her eyes, but thankfully, now she felt better about it.

However, she still had to stare intensely, meaning she had to be cautious.

‘The saintess’s abilities were astonishing.’

She had once peeked at Rize’s physical stats. Since Rize was already aware of her secrets, she’d been forgiving.

And from what she saw, she realized how ridiculously strong Rize was. Just in terms of physical stats, she surpassed Sivar.

Combining this with the saintess’s divine power and Gwonseong’s skills, it was literally a weapon of mass destruction crafted by Chaos himself.

‘The more I know, the more incomprehensible parts keep popping up.’

Luna let out a deep sigh. How did she get wrapped up in such matters?

Maybe it was fate. After all, it started with Rize knowing her secret.

Of course, the real beginning was when she enrolled in the academy and met Sivar. As they say, they were all in the same boat.

‘First, let’s prepare. There’s still plenty of time.’

Right now, it was fall after summer. The weather was gradually getting cooler.

There was a high possibility of a demon invasion by the end of the year, so they had about three months left.

During those three months, she planned to improve her skills by training with Rod.

Whether she could stand against the demons with these skills remained uncertain, but it was better than doing nothing.

‘Since most of the professors would likely go on vacation by the end of the year, this could be a good opportunity.’

While contemplating the future, Luna returned to Rod’s residence.

She wasn’t particularly fond of using her brain, but with the circumstances being what they were, her thoughts couldn’t help but wander.

Once back at Rod’s place, she found Sivar sitting at the table, utterly relaxed.

“Nomm nomm.”

“What are you eating?”

“Cookies. Eli baked them.”

Always munching something at every opportunity. Luna chuckled as she approached Sivar.

Her mouth was a bit bored, so she picked one of the cookies and ate it. It was chocolate chip and absolutely delicious.

“Aren’t the others all outside?”

“Yeah, but where’s the orb?”

“Right here.”

Luna pulled out the orb in response to Sivar’s question.

The orb reflected white in light, but it turned black in the absence of light. Now, it was closer to gray.

‘Should I ask the saintess what this is? Or maybe…’

Luna glanced at Sivar. He was nonchalantly shoving cookies into his mouth.

Despite being someone who couldn’t resist sweets, he was stuffing his face with chocolate cookies, even sipping milk in between.

She quickly dropped the thought of asking Sivar. He probably wouldn’t even give a proper answer.

‘Speaking of which, didn’t something odd happen after Sivar ate this?’

It was more like he held it in his mouth, and then he suffered from a high fever. She had borderline bleeding from her eyes.

It could have just been a coincidence, but she couldn’t completely dismiss it. After all, Sivar’s eyes turned purple back then.

Purple ranks among the highest of colors and could only be possessed by gods. More accurately, it should be magical power.

And not far away, Grace had purple hair and eyes. However, judging only by eye color wasn’t enough.

‘The fact that it changed is the problem.’

Red eyes turned purple, just like that. Not to mention, Rod felt that something was off as well.

Though she knew Sivar was a descendant of a demon, she questioned whose descendant he was.

Who in the world gave birth to Sivar for him to flicker between red and purple?

“Hmm…”

“?”

Had she been staring too hard? Feeling her gaze, Sivar turned to look at Luna.

His cheeks were stuffed with the cookie, making him look absurdly adorable as he gulped it down.

“Why?”

“Nothing. Just thought you look like an onion.”

“Who? Me?”

“Yeah.”

“…?”

When she said he looked like an onion, Sivar tilted his head as if to say what kind of absurd comment was that.

Yet she had no other way to express it. After all, the more you peel Sivar, the more something pops out, just like an onion.

She didn’t know what was hidden inside, but hoped only good things would emerge. Especially if her dreams were real.

Suddenly, the door flew open!

“Whoa! I’m dying of exhaustion…”

In came Kara shortly afterwards.

Despite the cool weather, she was drenched in sweat from head to toe after sparring with Rod.

“Drink this.”

“Ooh. Thanks.”

Sivar immediately handed her some milk, seemingly understanding what she wanted.

Kara, with a hint of a smile, chugged the milk eagerly. Then, with a look of relief, she added,

“I can finally breathe. I thought I was going to die.”

“Sister, how did the headmaster train you?”

“Just free sparring. I don’t have any problematic habits, so it just went straight to sparring.”

For Kara, that sounded reasonable enough. She was already quite the accomplished warrior.

What she lacked were overall physical abilities and magic. Technically speaking, she had no flaws at all.

Most importantly, her adaptability was exceptional, which probably meant Rod didn’t need to do anything special with her.

“Next up is you, Sivar, so go on. Did you bring your weapons?”

“Yeah. They’re over there.”

“Got it. Luna, you should hurry too.”

“Yes.”

Now that she had the orb, Luna headed to the backyard with Sivar.

Sivar shook off some cookie crumbs from around his mouth and got his weapons ready. Naturally, he had the greatsword and the axe.

Luna flinched at the sight but then shook it off and began to walk again.

‘Every time I see those, I can’t help but think of it.’

In her dreams, Sivar had proudly stood atop a mountain of corpses, with those weapons in each hand.

It was such a vivid dream that it felt impossible to forget. What reason could Sivar have had for that massacre?

Although it remained an unresolved question, she believed it would gradually get clearer. For now, she just needed to train hard.

“A magician like you must prioritize adaptability and judgment above all else. However, I know this is in the talent area, and it can be tough; reflexes can be improved, though.”

“Heh… heh…”

“But first, you need to build your stamina. Aren’t you training with Sivar?”

“I’m doing it, but… I’ve been a bit busy lately…”

As they entered the yard, they noticed Grace collapsed on the floor. It seemed she had collapsed from exhaustion.

Eli was quietly observing their interactions. Well, she was in a non-combat class, so she didn’t really need training.

If she trained, it would probably just be learning how to run away quickly. Luna walked over to Eli.

“Are you back?”

“Yeah, what were you doing?”

“Just watching. I don’t have anything to do, do I? I’m just hoping to heal Sivar later.”

“Heal? How?”

At Luna’s question, Eli flashed a mysterious smile. It was somewhat cheeky.

“There are many methods. It’s Sivar’s favorite.”

“Hmm…”

Let’s pass on Eli’s unique methods for now. Luna thought as she brushed it aside.

Then, turning her head forward, she saw Grace stumbling out.

Her hair was plastered with sweat, and her clothes were drenched.

Thanks to that, her white shirt barely veiled her undergarments, but she appeared unfazed.

“Uh… Grace?”

“Yeeah…”

“Your clothes are a bit… well…”

“I know…”

When a person is utterly exhausted, they lose all sense of embarrassment.

Grace said this as she walked towards the residence, probably thinking of washing up.

Now, all that was left was the sparring between Sivar and Rod. Luna turned her attention to them.

“Before we spar, let’s do some warm-ups. Follow my lead.”

“Okay.”

Sivar mimicked Rod’s movements. Apparently, the etiquette had been well instilled as Sivar followed Rod’s instructions remarkably well.

Of course, there were occasional attempts to mess with Rod, but they always went to waste. Rod was too quick on the draw for that.

Luna watched them as they did warm-ups while fiddling with the orb in her pocket.

Just in case she lost it, she needed to double-check.

“Alright then, let’s ease into it.”

“Strength?”

“Adjust it according to your preference. Just don’t break the house.”

“Okay.”

It seemed like the sparring was about to begin. Luna focused her eyes, letting herself get absorbed in the match.

Sivar was getting stronger by the day. While he previously lacked in technical skills, he was gradually filling that gap.

Above all, he was already quite strong. If he truly caused a ruckus, Rod might even struggle to keep up. But that was merely her opinion.

‘Since it’s a spar, it should be fine…’

Just then, while Luna was absentmindedly resting her chin on her hand and gazing ahead.

Her vision blurred. The scenery shook briefly before changing in an instant.

Surrounded by swirling flames, her vision was overwhelmingly red. The sky was filled with smoke.

Luna panicked but could still see the people amidst the flames. The scene changed, but the people remained the same.

‘Sivar and… the headmaster? But…’

Sivar was drenched in blood from head to toe. In one hand, he wielded a greatsword and in the other, an axe.

Facing him was Rod… who looked incredibly gaunt. His cheeks were hollow, and his slightly exposed arms looked like thin branches.

He was nowhere near healthy, that was for sure. If someone was showing those symptoms, that’s exactly how they would appear.

Yet, his brilliant eyes were fixed firmly on Sivar. His weapon reflected the same bright focus.

Despite looking like he would fall with the slightest nudge, his spirit was undeterred.

Rubbing her eyes—

Luna rubbed her eyes. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

But the scene remained unchanged. Sivar drenched in blood, and Rod looking like he might fall at any moment.

Eventually, their standoff didn’t last long. Sivar took a step forward and charged at Rod.

Clang!!

The sound of the axe meeting the greatsword echoed.

Her vision began to wobble again, and she returned to her original situation.

However, the sight of Sivar and Rod locked in weaponry remained identical.

‘What on earth… is going on…?’

Luna felt utterly confused.

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