Suddenly, all the lights went out. Countless black shadows rushed in from outside, plunging the ballroom into chaos. As the head of security for the dance, Ogier was the first to react. He shouted loudly, “Enemy attack! All students, evacuate from the back door! All security personnel, prepare for battle!”
Truth be told, Ogier hadn’t entirely anticipated this. This was Knight Academy City, bearer of the title “City of Equality.” It enjoyed support not only from the Blood Race but also from humans.
As such, human organizations opposed to the Blood Race generally wouldn’t target this place.
Of course… that was just in general terms.
Though the attack had come out of nowhere, the academy wasn’t entirely unprepared…
In truth, they didn’t need much preparation. The vast Knight Academy boasted over a hundred swordsmanship experts and more than a hundred superpower users. They weren’t just teachers—they were the strongest security force.
“How’s the situation?” Ogier asked.
One of the teachers in charge of superpowers replied, “No major issues, but the enemies are overwhelming in number. We’re worried we can’t cover everything and that the students might get hurt.”
Ogier maintained the utmost knightly composure, staying perfectly calm. “What the hell is the enemy’s goal?” In situations like this, they had to figure out the enemy’s objective before they could mount an effective counter.
“No idea…”
“Something’s off…”
If the enemies’ goal was to destroy the Knight Academy, this force—numerous but lacking any top-tier powerhouses—was far too haphazard.
Ogier’s vast combat experience told him one thing: the enemies were just buying time.
But even knowing they were stalling, he had no clue what they were waiting for.
The next second, Ogier steeled himself and declared, “Wipe out the enemies!”
“Yes, sir!”
The superpower teacher nodded. Compared to swordsmanship, superpowers had one overwhelming advantage: area-of-effect damage, the perfect tool for clearing mobs.
However…
Just as the teacher took a step forward to gather mana and annihilate the foes, he made a horrifying discovery—his channel was completely empty. Not a drop of mana remained.
He wasn’t the only one. The other superpower teachers had lost their powers too.
Ogier held his breath and focused his senses. Sure enough, his own channel had been drained clean. Shock unlike anything he’d ever felt washed over him. A power that could steal someone else’s mana? It was utterly unheard of.
“You all cover the students’ retreat here. I’ll head out!”
In this state, it was like his mana bar had hit zero, but his stamina was still there. Swordsmanship could still work. Ogier had to locate the source of this bizarre ability to turn the tide.
A power that stole mana within a certain radius? The user had to be nearby—probably not far, maybe even within sight of the venue.
The next moment, Ogier snapped his gaze up. His eyes locked onto the rooftop of the student dorms, a hundred meters away and slightly above. “There!”
The words had barely left his mouth when Ogier dashed forward and leaped explosively, shattering the ground beneath him. He landed on the rooftop of the opposite student dorm—a seven-story building. And there, just as he’d suspected, stood a cloaked youth with heterochromatic black-and-white eyes.
The figure exuded an eerie aura.
For some reason, the surrounding mana was flowing steadily toward his body.
This was Las. He and Adolf had already divided their tasks: Las would handle the academy’s security forces, while Adolf went after Iyefut Cape.
“Hmm… I see. So you’re the head of security this time. Platinum Tier level—good call on the division of labor. I gave that guy a stone, but even then, pitting him against Platinum would’ve been too much…”
“Enough talk. Take him alive!”
Ogier wasn’t the first-year class president because his strength was lacking. Quite the opposite—his fundamentals were rock-solid, making him perfect for mentoring newbies. His power ranked among the academy’s elite.
…
Meanwhile, in the ballroom’s back courtyard, hundreds of academy students were evacuating in tense but orderly fashion. Many were children of nobles and officials. Though most had never faced a real crisis, their family training and drills had prepared them well. At least now, they were panicked but not disorganized.
In the chaos, Iyefut Cape and Sang had gotten separated.
Iyefut was no fool. She didn’t know the attackers’ goal, but as the daughter of the Cape Family, she was likely a prime target. Her priority was getting to safety.
As for Mad Rogue, that guy didn’t need her worrying about him.
Like a fleeing princess, Iyefut clicked along in her high heels at a reasonably swift pace toward the dorms.
But she hadn’t counted on it.
A large group of unidentified enemies had already closed in nearby. For some reason, the superpower teachers—who could normally clear lines in seconds—had switched to sword fighting. Outnumbered, they hadn’t lost, but they couldn’t hold back the horde.
At that moment, Iyefut Cape showed more confidence than she had back in Rita. She held her head high, chest puffed out, nose practically in the air—yes, after a semester of training, she wasn’t the liability she’d once been. Even if she couldn’t beat enemies head-on, she could use her superpowers to summon wind beneath her feet and run faster.
“Wind… make me run faster~”
“Uh… what’s going on? Where’s my wind?”
Right then, Iyefut tried to call on her wind power for a boost—only to discover, to her shock, that her superpower had failed.
What the hell was happening!?
One second, she’d been feeling smug about herself. The next, she was dumbfounded.
All that hard work over a semester, and now she couldn’t use her superpower!!!
Oh no~
Though she had no idea what was going on, at least now she understood why the superpower experts were resorting to hand-to-hand combat.
Just then, a black shadow broke through the encirclement. Wielding a knight’s sword, it charged straight at Iyefut Cape. This was Adolf, seizing the gap created by his comrades distracting the teachers to claim her life.
This was the first step in eradicating the Red Lycoris!
Iyefut had already deployed her Wind Barrier ahead of time, so she reacted instantly to the danger.
But the Wind Barrier had failed without her noticing. Suddenly, a black shadow loomed over her at visible speed. She looked up and saw a fully black-geared, masked figure bearing down on her. Her eyes widened in a startled cry.
