Raine sat with an unnatural elegance, calm in a way that did not belong to anything human, as if she were reaching into something deep within herself that only she was meant to touch.

A pale, fog-like aura seeped out from the two colossal eyes hovering above her head, drifting and pulsing like breath taken from something dead.

At first, they moved with deliberate slowness, but as the aura thickened, the motion turned erratic, almost eager. The eyes rolled faster and faster in a sickening rhythm that felt wrong to witness.

Leomaris, the only one who could see them, felt himself being dragged toward them, like his consciousness was hooked and pulled into an endless, lightless void.

He clamped his hands over his eyes, sweat pouring down his face, heart hammering violently against his ribs, but it changed nothing.

The image had already burned itself behind his vision, branded into his mind like a curse he could never unsee.

He felt the terrible certainty that he had crossed into something forbidden, something no one was meant to perceive.

Panic swallowed all reason as his fingers trembled at his own eyes, pressing at the edges as if to tear the memory out by force, when suddenly everything stopped.

Then, suddenly, the pressure vanished, the pull broke, and in that unbearable silence came a voice, soft and impossibly gentle, one he almost convinced himself was the voice of a guardian angel.

"Are you okay?"

He struggled to open his eyes. The unbearable sensation had passed, he knew that, and still his body wasn’t convinced, braced for something that no longer waited.

When he finally managed it, the first thing he found was Raine’s red eyes. The concern on her face came after, slower, like something he had to focus on to see.

His mind hadn’t finished with the last thing before his eyes found the top of her head.

He forced himself upright, and the fear that had been sitting in him a moment ago gave way, suddenly and completely, to confusion.

"Wait, the eyes... they are gone."

Raine, who had leaned over to check on him, considered his words for a moment, decided they were sufficient, and exhaled. She took her seat with a comment.

"Actually... I think I know why you were seeing them in the first place."

Leomaris said nothing. He waited.

"You were marked."

"Marked?"

She nodded confidently.

"My ability allows me to perceive things most people cannot. So when I looked for whoever was amplifying negative emotions against you, I found that the person had marked you as a target."

Leomaris gulped back bile. He was well aware of what Raine’s ability could do. If the eyes had come at him that way, it was simply her method of removing the mark.

But the method wasn’t what undid him. What undid him was the implication sitting just behind. Everything he’d believed about his situation had just changed.

"Exactly. The culprit could be a Magician, possibly someone in our class, so Emerald is still a possibility. The mark turns you into a target for hatred, and once that resentment begins, it only grows stronger as long as it remains on you."

Raine leaned into her seat. "You were able to see the eyes floating above my head because it marked you as a threat due to the mark. But your ability likely played a role as well. I don’t think it would simply expose itself to everyone who could be a threat."

Leomaris exhaled deeply.

He was glad he’d gone to Raine. And now he had something he hadn’t had before: a system. The massive eyes would be his checkpoint. Their return would mean one thing only: he’d been marked again.

The relief was real, and then, almost immediately, something else moved beneath it.

His expression darkened. Something was still missing.

"But how was the dummy in the combat test affected? It was supposed to be emotionless, wasn’t it?"

Raine shrugged, book loose between her fingers.

"Everything I said was an assumption."

She said it the way someone might note the weather. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"What matters is that I’ve removed the mark."

Her eyes snapped to Leomaris. "It could be a Sorcerer. Find them before they use an attack I can’t perceive."

Leomaris leaned into his seat, thoughts pulling him under. Emerald was the obvious suspect, the only one, really. But physical contact was the problem.

He hadn’t had any with her. And unless her ability worked without it, unless she could mark someone from a distance, she couldn’t be the one responsible.

He’d keep an eye on her, that much was decided. But the more pressing question was whether she was working alone.

If she wasn’t, the pool of suspects wasn’t large. Everyone he’d had meaningful contact with had come from the novel, and he had at least a working knowledge of their abilities. At least.

"This is trickier than I thought."

He dragged his hands down his face, skin damp with sweat, frustration bleeding through the gesture.

’I don’t really have time to deal with this. I don’t know when I will meet Godfrey again; it could be tomorrow.’

His father had given him one chance to prove his worth, in the Runerth fashion, which left no room for failure.

He intended to turn the raiding of the Great Citadel into something useful: a connection to the underground market, a reputation built where reputations actually counted.

It was the only play he had. The only thing, in the end, that could save his head from a father like that.

’That would take too much time. Dealing with organizations’ sovereigns and illegal activities isn’t easy, and I still have classes to attend. I’m not like Rosay or Samael. I can barely even form a faction here.’

He let those words settle and gave them the silence they deserved.

Solutions came to mind, each with its own cost, and the first he decided to act on was the threat already living within the campus.

He turned his options over, one by one.

Then chose the most wretched among them, not because it was the easiest, but because it was the most effective.

He was going to keep his enemies close. He was going to befriend Emerald Vernal Isle. And he was going to do it with a smile.

—

—

The room was dimly lit with shelves climbing to the ceiling across two walls, a desk buried under sheets, books, and a typewriter.

Beside the typewriter sat a newspaper, dated 29th January, 1855, folded open to the fourth page. There, printed boldly was Leomaris Runerth. Apostle of Death. Praised for his achievements.

Behind the desk was a woman, cadet uniform removed save for her black waistcoat, white sleeves rolled to the elbow, cravat firmly around her neck. Her military overcoat hung over her chair. She faced the window to her left, white barrack cap on her lap, the stained glass throwing the reddish sun’s glow across her face.

By the entrance stood an individual fully clothed in black, face covered, identity unknown. And by the wall where the clock rested, a lady with white blonde hair, dressed in a cadet uniform and carelessly chewing on a jerky.

The mysterious individual’s eyes locked on the woman in the seat, Alicia Silverbird, and spoke.

"I’ve been keeping an eye on him as you suggested, Ace. He was marked for hatred. The spell was strong enough to affect even an artifact dummy, but I can feel it now, he’s somehow removed the mark."

For a moment, Alicia said nothing. Her face was blunt and cold as though whatever her mind held needed weight before it could be spoken.

Then the short blonde lady by the wall spoke.

"Wouldn’t it be better to confront him? He’s making a name for himself, isn’t he? He could be a threat to you, Ace."

Finally, Alicia’s violet eyes moved from the window and landed on the pair with an intimidation that grabbed their attention whole. And yet she smiled. Almost immediately, she smiled.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"What’s the fun in that? Give him some time, will you?"

She leaned into her seat.

"A portal to a Rune Realm world has just opened within the academy. It’s ours to raid." She smiled. "By the time I arrive, I believe he will have more of his will to show me."

The blonde-haired cadet frowned but held onto her jerky all the same. She was familiar with the look on Alicia’s face. And it was never good.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

"Don’t tell me... you’re going to kill him?"