"Prepare yourself." The same staff from the magical tower who had handed me the magic stone said as he touched the runes beneath my feet. Soft, blue mana flowed from his hands, and the runes below glowed like tiny stars. The man nodded and stood up, looking at me for a few seconds. "Remember, if you find yourself in danger or feel your life is at risk, activate the regression stone. There is no glory in death," he said with a small smile. "Good luck."


    Those were thest words I heard before everything went ck. In seconds, I was in another ce, in the middle of a forest with towering trees over 15 meters high. The sky was gray, covered with clouds, as if it was about to rain—a dark and oppressive ce.


    Breathing deeply... "This is shit," I muttered to myself. This ispletely different in more ways than one. Leaning against one of the trees, I sighed. "Aplete mess, and I can''t do anything about it. It''s just like what happened in the main storyline, except that I won''t be able to do the same thing." In the first event, Leslie made the first contact with a Seraphim but failed. In the second event, it was Evelyn''s turn, but... being the kind of test it is, she fails and loses control. She kills the demon but also loses herself... That''s why the second event mission never appeared, because it''s a lost mission, impossible toplete. The Seraphim within Evelyn takes control of her body... Of course, all of this happened in secret from the other students, but not from Professor Emilia, the council president, the academy''s director, and the saint of the church herself. You could count on one hand the people who know about the existence of Seraphim, besides the Seraphim themselves, of course.


    "Stay calm..." was the only thing I managed to say to Evelyn.


    [Mission: Kill it]


    [Description: The host is on a hunting mission in which their life is in danger. Survive and kill it!]


    [Reward: Level up by 5!]


    [Failure: Death!]


    "There''s no mission about the Seraphim of the End, but there is one about the event... And the punishment seems too harsh, in my opinion... ''Death'' is literally sentencing me to die…" With a slight chuckle, I shook my head. I have nothing better to do than toplete my mission for now... As for Evelyn... I''ll see what I can do.


    Standing up, I looked around. Moving my hands, a 10-meter-long chain appeared. At its end was an angr knife, something like the weapon of the Grim Reaper. This addition was Leslie''s idea, and I have to say it turned out well. With blue mes around it, this makeshift weapon will work for me, for now.


    ****


    "What do you think...?" Elizabeth asked, looking at the screen in front of her. She kept her gaze fixed on a young woman with red hair. "Do you think it was a good idea?" she asked again, ncing over at a beautiful woman with white hair who was sitting with poise and elegance. Her hands rested in herp, and her icy gaze was also fixed on the same screen Elizabeth was watching. Emilia turned her gaze to her niece. "I don''t know. I can''t see the future, I don''t know what will happen, but..." Her eyes turned cold. "It''s necessary. You know what her problem is, don''t you?" she asked her niece.


    Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, but... I don''t know, I think it''s too... how to put it... harsh? I think, or maybe... crossing the line, and what if she loses control?" she asked with a smallugh escaping her lips. She briefly nced at a woman with pure golden hair, who sat in silence with her eyes closed.


    Emilia also looked at the church''s saint. "There''s no need to worry. The saint will handle it," she said simply.


    "The Seraphim... of Death is also participating, isn''t she?" The saint''s melodious voice echoed in the room as she turned her head and slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes were a pure golden color,cking pupils... The saint... was blind, a seer—that was who the saint was.


    "Yes, Miss Azrael is also participating, but her test is somewhat different..." Emilia hesitated a bit. Enjoy new chapters from empire


    The saint smiled softly. "Just her?"


    "You can''t deceive her, aunt! Hehe, no, not really. Some changes were made for certain students... let''s say the difficulty was just increased a bit, you know, Saint Seraphine, it''s necessary," Elizabeth said with a radiant smile. She got up and sat beside the saint. "Tell me, Saint Seraphine, what did you see back then?" she asked curiously.


    The saint ced a hand under her eyes. "One like us... just like us, with eight wings around them, all ck... red eyes like blood, and hair as dark as the abyss. Someone as beautiful as we are, so full of light and darkness at the same time, covered and bound by ck chains..." The saint''s smile grew bright. "Didn''t I tell you, little Elizabeth? She''s like us, like you or me, a being of light... a captive being... but unlike us, she is corrupted... broken and cursed..." said the saint.


    "I see..." Elizabeth said, frowning as she crossed her arms, deep in thought. After a moment, she raised her head. "Very boring... everything is so boring..." shemented quietly.


    "And what do you think about him?" Professor Emilia asked... Elizabeth''s frown deepened. "Don''t talk to me about him, aunt! I don''t want my mood to grow even darker..." she sighed.


    "Ariel...?" The saint joined the conversation. She stayed silent for a moment. "The representative of ss One... the prince of the Lunar Empire." The saint smiled mysteriously and shifted her gaze... a young man with ck hair and eyes, holding two swords in his hands, appeared. "Don''t you like him, little Elizabeth?"


    "It''s not that... it''s just strange! I''ve spoken with him, but... I don''t know, I feel something weird every time I see him or sense his presence..." the princess said, a bit frustrated.


    "He is a peculiar man... yes, let''s leave it at that... someone intriguing," the saint finally said.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om