Chapter 440 [Event] [Semester-Exam At Vanadias] [28] Amael And Alvara


    "How long do we have to keep goingggg?" I groaned with my head hanging upside down, the world a dizzy blur beneath me. I could feel the blood rushing toward my temples, each pulse intensifying the dull throb of a headache that had been guing me for hours. Oddly enough, the difort brought a strange sense of relief, a counterbnce to the gnawing poison coursing through my veins. Not that I enjoyed the pain—I wasn''t a masochist—but it was the only thing that seemed to take the edge off the relentless burning inside me.


    Alvara, as usual, didn''t bother responding. She surged ahead, her expression colder than ever. It must be difficult for her to be this close to a Half Human like me.


    "I can''t take it anymore!" I iled my arms in frustration, shaking my head like a child throwing a tantrum. "I need to rest!" Alvara finally stopped, ncing back at me with cold, narrowed eyes. "You''d better have good information about Bryelle," she said tly. She wasn''t the type to waste time, and the fact she was even entertaining me for this long meant she was desperate for answers. Whether it was because of her deep attachment to Bryelle or growing suspicions about Utopia, I couldn''t say for sure. Probably both.


    I grinned stupidly, trying to disarm her with my charm. "Don''t worry, Princess Alvara! I never lie!" I gave her my most innocent, exaggerated smile. "Now, how about we take a breather, huh?"


    "No," she said curtly, cutting off any further discussion as she turned away and continued running. But then, without warning, she stopped again, her attention suddenly drawn elsewhere.


    Curious, I twisted my head around as much as I could, trying to see what had caught her eye. The forest was dense, the shadows long and dark, but nothing seemed immediately out of ce. Still, Alvara''s golden gaze was fixed on something—or someone—in the distance. Before I could protest, she abruptly changed course, her pace quickening as she veered off the path we''d been following.


    "Hey! Where are you going?!" I shouted, trying to keep my bnce as I swung helplessly in her vines'' grasp. "I''m gonna die if we keep this up, Princess Teraquin! Seriously, I can''t feel my legs anymore!" Alvara ignored my whining once again.


    Momentster, shended in front of a small group of students huddled together. They looked like they were working as a team, probably hoping to take out as many members of the opposing side as possible before being caught themselves. Their faces turned white as they spotted us, or more specifically, Alvara.


    "Shit! It''s Alvara!" "And that Olphean freak is with her!" "Run!"


    "Hey!" I yelled, ring at them as I squirmed like a worm caught in Alvara''s vines. "I''m not a freak, guys! Come on, I''m just—" But before I could finish my sentence, they had already taken off in a panicked sprint, disappearing into the forest like frightened rabbits.


    Alvara didn''t seem willing to let them escape, though. With a flick of her wrist, one of her vines shot out like a striking serpent, moving so fast it blurred as it wrapped around the leg of one of the fleeing humans.


    "Really, Alvara? Now''s the time to show your racism?" I quipped, shaking my head in mock disbelief. "I knew you had a thing against humans, but during an exam? That''s low, even for you. Come on, I''m human too! You don''t see meining—well, not about that, at least!" "Will you ever shut up?" Alvara growled, clearly irritated, as her vine yanked hard, pulling the boy to the ground with a sickening thud.


    "Argh!" He groaned in agony as his leg gave way, blood soaking into the dirt from the deep gash where Alvara''s vine had dug into his flesh. He writhed on the ground, clutching at his leg in an attempt to stop the bleeding.


    Alvara''s expression twisted into one of utter disgust as she stepped closer, her eyes narrowing in disdain. "He''s not human," she muttered. "He''s a filthy hybrid."


    "Hybrid? What''s a hybrid doing here?" I muttered aloud.


    Alvara''s gaze remained fixed on the hybrid, who was no longer hiding his true form. His human disguise had slipped, revealing the distinct features that marked him as something... other. Her vines coiled tighter around him, poised to strike, their thorny edges gleaming red. Alvara kept a careful distance, her expression clearly contemptuous Her caution made sense. There was no legitimate reason for a hybrid to be here, in the middle of an exam designed strictly for students. Hybrids didn''t belong here; they weren''t even supposed to be this close to students of Trinity Eden. And yet, here one was, lurking in the forest, wearing a disguise.


    "What are you doing here?" Alvara asked coldly. She watched him intently, vines twitching as if eager to act at a moment''s notice.


    The hybrid stared back at her for a brief moment before looking away, his lips curling into a sneer. "You''re not my target. Leave me."


    Alvara''s eyes narrowed dangerously, but she didn''t say a word. The moment stretched on, until—without warning—her vines shot forward. Thorny tendrils pierced the hybrid''s body with a sickening fleshy sound, pinning him against a tree.


    "Arghhh!" He let out a strangled scream, blood spewing from his mouth as the vines tore through his flesh. His body sagged against the tree,pletely immobilized as crimson rivulets trickled from the multiple wounds Alvara''s vines had created.


    She watched dispassionately for a second longer before turning away, leaving the hybrid to bleed out as if he were nothing more than a minor inconvenience. She didn''t spare him a second nce as she resumed our path, her focus already shifting back to our little adventure.


    "Wait, Aren''t you going to ask who his target is?" I asked surprised by her disinterest.


    "I don''t care."


    I blinked, caught off guard by how easily she dismissed the whole thing. Alvara was really something. She had no interest in the hybrid''s motives or the broader picture. In her mind, his existence was an offense enough to warrant his brutal execution. It wasn''t about strategy or gathering information—she simply despised hybrids. And now, the poor guy was crucified on a tree, left to die slowly and painfully, because he''d had the misfortune of crossing her path.


    Still... something gnawed at the back of my mind. Why was a hybrid here, of all ces? N?v(el)B\\jnn


    "What the hell... Could it be...?" My eyes widened as the pieces began to fall into ce, a realization dawning on me.


    I had been wondering all along who would try to kill Bryelle, but now it made sense. Utopia... they must be involved. The hybrid was just a pawn in their scheme—a tool. Utopia was likely using Behemoth to eliminate Bryelle and stoke the mes of Alvara''s hatred toward the current state of Sancta Vedelia. It would push her further into Utopia''s grasp,pelling her to abandon any ties to her homnd and throw her full weight behind their cause.


    But that wasn''t all, was it? There was something else... If Utopia''s reach had extended this far, it wasn''t just Bryelle they were after. They had bigger ns. Maybe Amelia was a target too. Or Celeste. It all lined up too perfectly to be a coincidence. I groaned as the puzzle in my head became too much to bear, my brain throbbing from the effort of thinking through the fog of poison that still pulsed through my veins. "..."


    Alvara''s cold eyes pierced through me. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and I knew she was onto me. She had probably sensed the shift in my demeanor—realized that I had put something together. She was waiting for me to talk, to spill whatever it was that had caused this sudden change in my expression.


    But if I told her that her sister, Bryelle, was in danger, she''d likely toss me into the nearest pitfall without a second thought, leaving me to die in my poisoned state. No, I had to y this carefully. My head was still spinning and while I worried for Bryelle, I suspected there was still some time to act. Enough time, at least, to deal with this Viper King and stay alive long enough to make a difference.


    "Could it be…" I repeated with a sluggish voice as if I were in some kind of drug-induced haze.


    Alvara''s eyes never left mine as she waited. She wasn''t going to give me much longer to talk. I needed to improvise—and fast.


    "Could it be... that you like me?" I blurted out, the words tumbling from my mouth before I could stop them.


    "..."


    "Ahaha, I mean—look at how you''re taking care of me!" I let out a dumbugh ignoring the murderous eyes boring holes on my face. "Even though you hate Halves... maybe my confession back then really struck a chord with you? I mean, you''re a girl, and I''m... well, I''m really handsome, you know?" I kept rambling nonsense that I''d forget the next few seconds.


    I could almost see Cleenah pping her forehead at my idiotic attempt to divert the conversation. "H–Hey!" I stuttered, as her vines suddenly contracted even tighter around my body, the sharp thorns digging into my skin painfully.


    She seemed really pissed off.


    "I–It hurts… Princess Freydis."


    "Die then."