In the student lounge of the cradle.
As students took a moment to relax and chat, a female student with bleached hair entered, struggling to carry a bundle of newspapers.
She quickly approached her friend, who was sitting at the table, rolling a cigarette.
Thud!
“Ugh… ugh…”
Sera crashed the pile of newspapers onto the table and gasped for air.
The buttons of her shirt were precariously close to popping off.
“…?”
Sitting there was a girl with mid-length hair, Summer, who raised an eyebrow in confusion at Sera’s arrival.
After taking a last drag of her rolled cigarette and flicking the ash into an ashtray, she began rummaging through the newspaper pile Sera had brought.
– The return of the dormant dragon… the Heukryeon’s Four Legendary Dragons chairperson returns after 15 years… pressure to revoke 25 trillion regulation…
– In the spirit of the ‘cut off the flesh to save the patient’ mentality, Jeokhwa’s Yeon Minha cleared of all charges… announces intention to return to the cradle…
– South West no-man’s land extermination operation imminent… will Haewolhwa demonstrate her strength…
– Emergency measures activated after 63 years… exclusive interview with Baek Seoyeon of Paecheon, the one who prevented a cataclysm.
“What’s going on?”
“So, like… all of this happened in just the past few days…?”
“…”
Summer gave a puzzled look at Sera’s statement.
“Is that really something worth saying right now? Sera, are you a demon spy? All this has been the hot topic for days…”
While reprimanding Sera, Summer continued to sift through the newspapers.
She then found something and pulled it out.
– Who is the hidden groom of Paecheon? A special feature on Baek Seoyeon’s male candidate…
“Wait! I haven’t seen this before. I’m curious about Baek Seoyeon’s fiancé… what is this? ‘Due to our circumstances, we regret to inform you that it has been canceled…’ Ugh.”
However, after flipping through the newspaper a few times, she quickly lost interest and tossed it aside.
Sera, unfazed by the reprimand, sat beside her and started flipping through the papers as well.
Moments later, she found something that made her eyes go wide and buried her head in the newspaper.
“‘B-143 area, complete disinfection of Hogyung Industries Research Institute… 2nd class demon disguised as the director was eliminated on site… 57 Security Bureau personnel died in the extermination process…’ Wait…! That’s the guy from back then…!”
Sera shouted in shock, creating quite the commotion.
The newspaper had a huge photo of a thin man wearing glasses plastered onto it.
Sera had once shaken hands with him during an external commission.
She was caught in a moment’s thought on whether to feel relieved for coming back unscathed after shaking hands with a demon.
“Ugh… I knew it! It felt odd that mutations kept popping up in well-to-do sectors! No wonder… with illegal human experimentation going on…”
“You didn’t think that at all… you just thought it was nice being close…”
“Oh my! Look at this! The article I saw earlier is this one!”
Ignoring Summer’s words, Sera continued talking.
She pulled out a rolled-up newspaper and waved it around.
“‘The new heir of Heukryeon removes the veil… disguises himself with a mask and enrolls in the cradle…’ This is, this is…!”
“So everyone knew except for you… even the kids sitting next to you are talking about it…”
Summer shook her head in disbelief.
Sera’s voice was still filled with excitement as she read out loud from the article.
“The Four Legendary Dragons chairperson interview… ‘Disguising my identity was an unavoidable decision to avoid chaos,’ ‘Even if my existence is acknowledged, nothing will change’… Wow… wow…”
After reading the article, Sera couldn’t help but gasp in admiration.
“Is there a strong candidate for a Category 1 male wizard after 18 years…?”
Even if a wizard was extraordinarily talented, it was known that a single person couldn’t change the tide of battle. However, every now and then, some individuals defied that common sense.
Category 1 was a special classification for such extraordinary wizards, and there were several names they recognized on that list.
Haewolhwa, the current principal of the cradle.
Baek Seoyeon of Paecheon, the first wizard in magical history to be measured with over 10,000 rubins of particle count.
Yeon Minha of Jeokhwa, who skillfully handled almost every attribute of magic by commanding dozens of spirits.
Due to the innate difference in particle responsiveness, over 80% of Category 1 wizards were female, but on rare occasions, male wizards made it onto that list.
The most recent addition was Sa Jaehyeok, the former heir of Heukryeon.
And now, 18 years later, Heukryeon was producing another Category 1 wizard.
“No wonder he stood out from practice right from the start… When is Hyun coming back? I’m itching to talk to him…”
In the midst of whispers from those thinking about making connections, Sera didn’t particularly care.
They had maintained a good relationship with the masked male student for a while now, ever since he was treated as an oddball due to his unique looks.
With a pleasant voice, Sera hummed, thinking she had quite the insight.
“Perfect. When our group gets an external commission, I should ask if he can take it on. Distribution usually gets half from protection…”
Bang!
A sudden nervous noise cut off Sera’s words.
A girl with blonde hair and green eyes entered through the lounge door.
Wearing only a snug gray training outfit, her well-toned figure and flat stomach were clearly visible.
“Haah…”
She was panting lightly, her body drenched in sweat and humidity.
“…”
With Jin Yeseo’s appearance, the previously lively lounge fell silent.
But the blonde girl only picked up an ice-water bottle from the fridge and quickly left the lounge.
Not long after her figure vanished, Summer cautiously spoke up again.
“…I guess it’s true.”
“What’s true?”
“Didn’t she lose to Hyun in the ranking battles and end up in the infirmary? I heard that after being discharged, she’s been living in the sparring grounds almost all day long. She’s been so fierce that no one can approach her.”
Then Sera dramatically clutched her shoulders and started shaking in fright.
“Then won’t she throw her duel application the moment she arrives?”
Jin Yeseo was also being evaluated as a holder of potential who could soon reach Category 1, but right now, there was a considerable gap between her and the masked male student.
“Well… she might end up losing again… huh?”
While chatting, Summer suddenly pulled a magazine that had slipped out from the pile and read something on it.
“A male died after trespassing into a pig farm and engaging in a naked relationship with pigs…? Cause: ruptured intestines…? Ugh. You’re not into that, are you…?”
“Wha-what?! That’s just an unfortunate mix-up…! I’m someone who maintains virtue…”
Sera’s bleached hair and the skirt of her school uniform fluttered in an unconvincing manner.
As they continued to bicker, they looked around.
“By the way, Yena said she would come soon, but where is she…?”
*
In an empty women’s restroom of the cradle.
A female student with brown hair and brown eyes was engaged in an eye battle with the mirror.
With tears welling in her eyes, she glared at herself with all her might.
But the girl in the mirror only wore a cold sneer.
The girl in the mirror spoke to her real self.
“Spica. It’s time to give up.”
“No way.”
She shook her head fiercely.
The girl in the mirror let out a deep sigh.
“You know it. You can’t refuse my words no matter what happens. That’s the nature of Alpha’s command.”
“Ugh…!”
With all her strength, the glancing girl suddenly swung her arm towards her temple.
In her fingers was a small, sharply sharpened knife.
But it stopped dead just before piercing her skin.
Despite her trembling and trying with all her might, for some reason, her arm was refusing its owner’s command.
Finally, when the exhausted girl gave up her will, her arm relaxed and fell towards the ground.
The real girl looked into the mirror and let out a voice full of resentment.
“Aldebaran…!”
“Spica. Our dear and pathetic sister.”
The girl in the mirror twisted her lips in pleasure at the sight.
“No one can confide in you, and you can’t even end your own life.”
“Stop it…!”
“Drawing in monsters and putting your friends in danger, extracting information from captivated professors and students. What a traitor you are…”
“No…!”
She covered her ears and shook her head vigorously as if she couldn’t bear to hear.
“No! I didn’t do anything wrong! You moved my body recklessly…!”
With tears streaming down, the droplets finally plopped onto the floor.
The girl in the mirror sighed again as she watched the sobbing girl.
“Spica. Antares is taming over-evolved strains from the north. Sadalmelik is infiltrating the south among the inferior breed’s leftovers.”
“…”
“Deneb is designing traps for opponents from the east. It won’t be long before he falls into our grasp.”
Even without a response, the girl in the mirror continued speaking.
“Three of the five calamities’ monsters are already in our hands. And our sisters, who have infiltrated the inferior species’ habitat, are moving steadily.”
“That means…”
“Yes. Soon, the second great endeavor will begin. I’ve meticulously prepared, reflecting on our sisters’ work. I will not fail.”
The girl in the mirror nodded with conviction.
“And when that happens… the inferior beings you love will be reduced to ash.”
“You…!”
“Spica. It’s time to stop refusing the sacred mission. I don’t want to force orders on our sisters. But if you keep resisting like this… I will have no choice but to make a decision.”
“Don’t… call me a sister…!”
The real girl bit her teeth and glared at the mirror.
“I’m not you… I’m human…!”
“No. You are us.”
But her final resistance was swallowed by something forcibly resonating with her soul.
“We are you.”
It squeezed her body tightly, making it hard to breathe.
The force wrapped around her several times before finally releasing its hold.
“It’s… time. I’ll return, Spica. Never forget our mission.”
Suddenly, a sticky and heavy mist swept over the girl’s body, and she lifted her head again.
The girl in the mirror was now crying thick drops just like her reality self.
“Ugh…”
With a clatter, the knife that she had been gripping fell helplessly to the ground.
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