Perhaps the Seed of Sin could no longer be suppressed. It involuntarily released a pulse of magic, revealing Edith’s location: the academy’s bell tower.
Standing there, in the very place she and Lauria had plummeted yesterday, was a silent middle-aged woman. She wore rimless glasses, gazing towards the rising sun, an aura of profound loneliness clinging to her.
Upon sensing Dorothy’s arrival, she slowly turned to face her. A faint smile finally graced her stern features.
“Long time no see, Dorothy.”
Her voice was kind, a stark contrast to the strict Lauria that Dorothy remembered. Nevertheless, Dorothy performed a student’s bow, replying, “Long time no see, Mentor.”
“I still prefer it when you call me Edith. After all, I haven’t been your mentor for a long time, and I couldn’t teach you anything anyway. You are far more powerful than I am.”
Edith’s praise was heartfelt. As a mentor, she had always hoped her students would achieve great things, and Dorothy was her most cherished and proudest student.
It was her honor to have taught humanity’s strongest hero.
Watching the elegant, silver-haired woman before her, Edith’s eyes held a fleeting trace of nostalgia. “The first time I saw you, you were just a shy little girl. I never imagined that in the blink of an eye, you would have grown so much.”
“Time truly flies. It feels like only yesterday I was guiding you…”
She turned her gaze beyond the bell tower. The appearance of Rune Academy seemed to transform before her eyes, instantly reverting to how it had looked decades ago.
The fragrant gardens of today were once a clear lake, adorned with a small wooden bridge, serene and peaceful. Gwen Street hadn’t been as bustling then, with only a scattering of shops open for business.
Even though magic users could extend their lifespans, she wished time would slow down when she reminisced about the past.
Unfortunately, Dorothy wasn’t there to reminisce. Having realized Edith still possessed human consciousness, she asked with concern, “Can you still suppress the Seed of Sin? I will find a way to remove it from your body.”
A demonic aura emanated from Edith, identical to what Dorothy had sensed in Vigana. The once strict academy head now exuded an indescribable strangeness.
Yet, just as Meli had said, the Seed of Sin was not fully mature. As long as it could be extracted from Edith’s body, there was still hope.
“It’s too late.”
Shaking her head, Edith clutched her chest and sighed.
She walked to the edge of the bell tower’s railing, looking down at the students below, who moved like walking corpses. Disappointment laced her voice:
“Since I became a mentor at Rune Academy, this institution has been humanity’s most renowned academy. The heroes here lived under the adoration and admiration of countless people every day, and their once humble hearts gradually gave birth to arrogance.
What they didn’t know was that these were the demons’ favorite things, the nourishment for the Seed of Sin to grow. By the time I realized this, it was already too late.”
She faced Dorothy, her toes lightly resting on the railing. The gentle spring breeze ruffled her long hair and uniform, and her bright eyes were filled with profound apology.
“I am just like them; I became arrogant due to my position, becoming an accomplice to demons, and even a vessel for the Seed of Sin. But I am powerless to change any of this. I can only place my hope in you…”
As she spoke, she slowly covered her eyes.
A crimson aura slowly seeped from her facial features, gradually altering her appearance.
“I… I am unworthy of the title of Academy Head, and I don’t deserve to be a mentor. I don’t expect you to forgive me, but please, save everyone, just like before…”
Her voice grew increasingly faint. Pain caused her to gradually lose consciousness.
Her fingers transformed into slender, sharp demonic claws, and her eyes became a deep, abyssal black. She was no longer human.
“I believe you can do it.”
Her lips moved, uttering a final, silent plea. Then, she slowly lifted from the railing and floated into the air, a bloody, demonic aura beginning to spread from her body throughout the entire academy.
Dorothy, standing before her, was fixed by those black eyes. A massive, blood-red membrane enveloped them, ensuring no third party could intervene in their battle.
“What’s wrong?”
“What is that?!”
Below the bell tower, students yet untouched by the demons’ consumption of arrogance looked up at the spreading bloody aura, their faces filled with shock and confusion.
Chaos erupted throughout the academy. The students, who had been like walking corpses, became incredibly violent, attacking anyone they saw like wild beasts.
High-level magic barriers illuminated the academy buildings, absorbing the students’ attacks. Some, unable to withstand the assault, shattered quickly, along with the structures they protected, sending rubble and dust flying through the academy.
Meli and Starshimmer hid in the library, maintaining order within. However, more than the academy’s students, they worried about Dorothy, trapped within the blood-red membrane.
“Your Highness…”
Meli’s small hands clenched tightly as she looked up at the membrane around the bell tower. Sensing its magical power level, her heart filled with worry.
Peak eighth-tier—significantly stronger than her. Could Her Highness truly handle it?
Inside the membrane, Edith, controlled by the Seed of Sin, scrutinized the woman before her, a sinister grin spreading across her face.
“You are humanity’s strongest hero, the Silverbloom Sword Princess? You don’t look like much. You think a mere seventh-tier strength can hinder my complete revival? You make me laugh so hard my teeth might fall out!”
The entity possessing Edith’s body naturally knew Edith’s thoughts. Thus, it was aware that this woman before it was someone Edith held great hope for, a hero who could supposedly kill it.
Now, upon seeing her, it almost thought it had captured the wrong person.
“A frail body, sluggish magic… what right do you have to stand before me?”
It laughed maniacally, the surrounding membrane trembling with its mirth. Dorothy, however, remained unmoved.
“Unfortunately, another Seed of Sin thought the same thing once. It later died by my hand.”
She stated the fact calmly, her words betraying no concern for the demon.
The laughter abruptly ceased. The demon licked its lips, falling silent for a few seconds. Then, as if remembering something, it pointed to itself and said,
“Do you know? This woman initially uttered many threats, vowing to expel our organization from the academy. But she didn’t succeed. We merely captured a few students in secret, forcing her to change her attitude.”
“Later, she not only agreed to swallow the seed but also offered our organization sanctuary. This surprised even us. The proud academy head would go to such lengths for her students. Tsk, tsk, what a not-so-bad bait.”
‘Isn’t it? I wonder if you, Silverbloom Sword Princess, will be the same later.’
‘I can already taste the blood of the woman before me,’ it thought, a wider grin spreading across its face.
Upon hearing its words, Dorothy’s anger flared, but she said nothing, merely covering the back of her hand.
This demon’s realm was almost identical to Vidona’s. In a head-on battle, she wasn’t entirely confident she could kill it.
Not much time had passed since the battle with Vidona, and her body was still on the verge of collapse. Forcibly using the power Sophia had given her could cause her body to break down in a very short time.
Yet, even so, she could not escape.
“I know you came to the academy because of those three new students, didn’t you? You have a good relationship with them, so you wanted to accompany them in Rune Academy…”
It was then that the demon’s slowly revealed truth startled Dorothy. A powerful sense of foreboding forced her to tense up.
“What did you do to them?”
Seeing her appear slightly uneasy, the demon burst into laughter. Then, it pulled out a crystal ball made of fresh blood and spoke to Dorothy: “Humans become vulnerable once they have someone they care about. Edith was like that, and you will be too.”
“What I did to them? Why don’t you see for yourself?”
As its words fell, blood surged within the crystal ball, and the scene shifted to a ruin.
A fierce battle had taken place here. The surrounding walls were gone, the ground was pitted, and remnants of blood and scattered fragments of skirts remained.
Isha and Aurora lay on the ground, coughing blood, their bodies bearing many claw marks from demons, clearly severely injured. Before them, a similarly disheveled Celia stood with her arms spread, her face pale as she sustained a golden barrier.
Behind her neck, the originally small butterfly birthmark had greatly enlarged, looking exactly like a demon’s magic tattoo.
Outside the golden barrier was a brutal sixth-tier demon. It bore no injuries, but it seemed incredibly anxious. The golden barrier’s tier appeared very high; no matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t break through to threaten the people behind the girl.
“You must be tired, aren’t you? Give up quickly. I promise you, even without this barrier, I won’t harm any of you.”
Its voice was exceptionally soft, easily lulling one into a false sense of security, especially the exhausted Celia, whose legs were trembling.
Yet, Celia showed no sign of wavering. She gritted her teeth, maintaining the golden barrier, steadfastly protecting the two behind her.
How could she not understand? A sixth-tier demon seeking them out undoubtedly meant it was targeting Dorothy.
“I will never be a burden to Mama, never…”
She murmured softly, letting sweat drip from her cheeks. Seeing that she had no intention of giving up, the demon stopped its coaxing, simply charging the barrier with its body and power.
The scene in the crystal ball seemed to be completely different from what the demon had imagined. It glanced at the black butterfly mark behind the girl’s neck and suddenly roared, “A demon?!”
“Damn it, I didn’t expect that little girl to hide such a secret!” It felt as if it had been played, and rage surged in its heart.
It was only natural for a demon capable of hiding in human society to possess some means of self-preservation.
“But it doesn’t matter. She won’t last much longer. By then, you’ll be just like Edith, letting us manipulate you to protect them.”
It scoffed, fully unleashing its peak eighth-tier power. The crimson membrane began to swell, and a powerful oppressive force surged forth, making it difficult for the silver-haired woman before it to breathe.
“Don’t worry, I won’t kill you during this time. I’ll make sure Edith watches closely, seeing that the rescue she’s endured for so many years, waiting for, cannot bring any miracles at all.”
Demons took pleasure in tormenting others, and it was no exception.
Since witnessing Celia’s bitter struggle, Dorothy had fallen silent. She stared blankly at the back of her pale hand, then seemed to ask herself, “Will we be vulnerable if our weaknesses are exploited?”
“Isn’t that right? Emotions are our demons’ best tools for toying with humans.”
“You are wrong.”
Dorothy took a deep breath, revealing the magic tattoo on the back of her hand. At this moment, the magical power level within her body began to rise steadily, matching the demon’s. She looked at the demon possessing Edith’s body, her eyes cold.
“Not only are they not a vulnerability, but our weaknesses also make us invincible. Demons are, after all, just demons. Without emotions, you will forever be relegated to lingering in dark corners.”
Stung by her words, the demon began to laugh loudly, but then, after a sufficient amount of time, it bared its fanged mouth and shrieked, “I’ve decided! I’ll make sure to torment you thoroughly later!”
Ignoring it, Dorothy closed her eyes, quietly sensing the magic radiating from the tattoo.
It was Sophia’s ninth-tier power. In the past, she had resisted this power, pushing her body to the brink of collapse. But this time…
[I will never be a burden to Mama, never…]
Celia’s words echoed in her mind. Her lips curved slightly, and the internal struggle deep within her heart slowly subsided.
Her daughter was trying so hard; she shouldn’t disappoint her.
So… Sophia.
This time, let’s save our daughter together.
The willow lock shattered, and the magic from the back of her hand surged wildly into her heart. The seventh-tier magical aura instantly ascended to the eighth-tier. The fierce winds stirred by the magic lifted her hair and skirt, and the blood-red membrane enveloping them seemed to wail as if unable to withstand such power.
Upon sensing her strength rapidly reaching peak eighth-tier, the previously confident demon suddenly froze.
Then, it stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes, muttering incessantly, “No, no, this is impossible…”
It couldn’t comprehend why a seemingly seventh-tier hero could suddenly reach peak eighth-tier. It was simply an impossible feat, and this wasn’t even her limit…
Her magical aura was still rising?
Could it be…
The demon considered a possibility, its eyes widening in horror. Then, under its somewhat fearful gaze, Dorothy effortlessly broke through peak eighth-tier, stepping into the ninth-tier.
“Ninth-tier? You’re actually ninth-tier?!”
Its words were laced with a shriek, its voice trembling. At this moment, it was truly afraid.