In the forest.
Lorabel gripped the Holy Sword tightly, her eyes scanning the surroundings warily.
Around her was already a scene of devastation—cracks like gaping wounds marred the ground, golden and blue magic still slowly dissipating within them. Not a single flower, grass, or tree remained unscathed within a hundred meters.
Suddenly, an unusual sound came from the sky. A blue rift appeared directly above Lorabel.
The moment the rift opened, sharp claws shot out first, swiping toward Lorabel.
She had seen this move several times before; without hesitation, her body reacted instinctively.
With a slight sidestep, the claws missed, leaving several blue magical cracks on the ground.
Albert’s massive dragon tail followed the momentum, slicing another rift along the direction of her fall.
Before Lorabel could seize her, Albert had already slipped into the rift.
“Is all you can do just scratch me like that and run away?”
So far, none of her attacks had caused any real harm.
The moves Albert used were all simple attacks like this—she hadn’t unleashed any large-scale magical assault.
Lorabel guessed that Albert didn’t want to cause too much destruction inside the academy, so she was holding back.
But such a fight was only wasting time. Lorabel, experienced in combat, knew she was destined not to lose. So what was the purpose of dragging things out like this?
A suspicion rose in her mind…
Albert was stalling for time, hoping to accomplish something while Lorabel wasn’t paying attention.
When someone deliberately hides something from you, and you discover it, the first thing you think of is what’s most important and dear to you right now.
Lorabel’s mind immediately went to her sister.
Even though she knew this matter was related to the Hero and shouldn’t involve her sister at all, she couldn’t help but worry.
What if Albert wanted to use her sister as leverage? What if that Hero had set his sights on her sister and wanted to abduct her?
She shook her head hard, dismissing these baseless thoughts, tightened her grip on the sword, and prepared to end the fight quickly.
When the sound of another rift opening came from behind, her eyes sharpened. She didn’t intend to dodge Albert’s attack this time.
The dozen-centimeter-long claws pierced through her armor and embedded themselves into her flesh.
Albert seemed to realize what Lorabel was trying to do, but when she tried to pull out the claws, it was already too late.
“Got you.”
Lorabel yanked Albert’s arm hard, preventing her escape. Behind her, the dragon tail slashed the ground again, trying to open another rift to the Illusory Sea.
But this time, there was no way Lorabel would let her slip away. She held tightly onto Albert’s arm and plunged into the rift together.
The two of them fell through the clear blue sky, the vast blue sea stretching endlessly beneath them.
“There’s no need for this to be a fight to the death. I’m the Holy Knight—I won’t kill you. That would only bring greater trouble to the academy…”
“Just stay here in my Illusory Sea for now. When the time is right, I’ll let you out.”
“You want to trap me here?”
Lorabel gripped her tighter, because if she gave Albert the chance, she would use her dragon tail to return to the real world, and Lorabel might be left trapped in the Illusory Sea forever.
Albert, trapped in the Illusory Sea, had no more concerns.
She deliberately broke off the dragon claw embedded in Lorabel’s body.
Her form began to grow larger, blue dragon scales spreading all over her body, her human limbs reshaping…
Finally, a massive blue dragon loomed before Lorabel’s eyes.
Lorabel couldn’t possibly hold onto a giant dragon with bare hands. She spread her pure white wings, stood firmly on the dragon’s shoulder, and raised her sword, ready to chop off one of Albert’s wings to temporarily disable her.
Albert, now a giant dragon, seemed to guess her intention. She violently shook her body, trying to throw Lorabel off.
But to the battle-hardened Lorabel, it was like a breeze passing by; her posture didn’t budge, and the sword she held high came crashing down.
With a painful roar, the dragon’s huge blue wing fell, blue blood spraying into the air.
Without its wing, the dragon lost balance, tilting midair before plummeting downward.
Lorabel was thrown off during the dragon’s midair tumble, falling from its shoulder.
The instant she lost her grip, Albert seized the chance. Her form swiftly shifted back to human, and her dragon tail slashed open a rift beneath her feet.
“Damn it…”
Seeing her attempt to flee, Lorabel beat her huge wings and dived after her.
The moment her hand touched Albert’s dragon scales, the scales transformed into fair skin as Albert’s form continuously shifted, causing Lorabel’s hand to grasp empty air.
Lorabel cursed inwardly. By the time she tried to grab her again, it was too late.
“Albert!”
Lorabel shouted angrily, but all she could do was watch as Albert plunged into the blue rift. Once her form disappeared completely, the rift snapped shut instantly.
Lorabel flapped her wings hard, soaring into the sky just before she would have fallen into the ocean below.
Silence surrounded her, broken only by the sound of the ocean waves.
The Illusory Sea—she had read about a place like this in books before.
It was a world parallel to the real one, but how to open its entrance was unknown.
Albert’s body was like the key to opening the Illusory Sea’s entrance. To use an analogy: if two parallel lines represent the two worlds, then Albert was the vertical line crossing between them, traveling back and forth.
But how could Lorabel open this “vertical line” herself?
As she pondered this, her gaze caught sight of a blue wing floating on the ocean’s surface…
*****
Elsewhere.
A rift opened in the sky, and Albert fell through, crashing heavily onto the ground.
One blue wing still remained on her back, while the other had been severed by Lorabel—if it ever grew back, it would take at least a hundred years.
“Damn it…”
She clutched her wound and slowly stood up, glancing at the time. It was already past 4 a.m.
According to the plan, it was time to meet up with her…
*****
In Aurora’s bedroom.
“Aurora… Aurora, wake up!”
Aurora, deep in sleep, suddenly heard someone calling her.
She slowly opened her drowsy eyes. Her vision was blurry, and since it was still dark, it took a moment before she realized it was a girl calling her.
At first, she thought it was Zoya, who was still asleep beside her.
But after a moment’s thought, she recalled Zoya couldn’t speak human language yet—so who was this?
She rubbed her eyes hard and finally made out the girl’s face.
“Edron? What are you doing in my bed?!”
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