"Quiet the mess they created."

Lumina said, gazing at the sight.

Butchered and burnt chimeras, and all those headless Lesser Demons, were not something she was expecting to see.

Lumina thought that Leon would use [Hoshigami Style] even after she told her not to use it. But instead she was stunned to see he had successfully able to replicated her [Jinsoku Style].

She only told him once how it really worked. And even by that, Leon was able to pull it off.

"It's as if he knows what skill I combined my sword art with…" She muttered.

His technique was flawless just now, even much more faster than Shin's technique.

'It's almost frightening… for him to learn so fast,' her eyes softened.

"Leon… you truly are worthy of carrying that sword. Even more than me…"

Saying that, she walked towards the remaining hurdle of Chimeras ahead.

The two of them did their task, and now it's Lumina's turn to do hers.

— — —

Progress: [|||||||||||||||84%---]

Leon's eyes scanned the bold text written on the transparent window.

'Eighty-four percent…' Leon read it.

"That's insane."

If he remembered correctly, Ethan never reached this level of progress in such a short period of time.

Thinking back, Ethan had managed to earn rank -1, and he even became an active member of the Disciplinary Committee.

'Wait…'

That reminded him.

'If Alice and I are the top students now, that means she has her eyes set on me.'

And by 'she,' he meant Seena, the President of the Disciplinary Committee, the one who maintained law and order in Eclipse Institute, working directly under Headmaster Raizen.

"..."

To Leon, she was one of the few people he never wanted to cross paths with. But now, it was too late.

'I will just have to come up with an excuse,' Leon decided. There was no way he would accept that position.

He would be busy with the Twilight Order once he returned, so the Disciplinary Committee was a no-go for him.

He looked around. 'Eula must be watching me right now. Well… I did use her Command of Grace. Now her consciousness must be glued to the resonator.'

Leon chuckled lightly. Except for a few minor deviations, everything was unfolding exactly as he had planned.

"What do you think our rank will be?" Alice asked, her eyes flicking to the progress indicator. She must have noticed it too.

Leon didn't hesitate, huffing, he answered. "Rank one."

"Hoho," Alice's grin widened, and she muttered something under her breath, which Leon didn't hear.

His focus shifted forward. A white figure was moving toward the next hurdle.

"Oh, she's coming…" he muttered, just loud enough for Alice to hear.

"Hm?" Alice followed his gaze. "Ah, looks like we'll be hitting 100% soon. Haaah… I just want to go to my dorm room and sleep. Two whole days of this stupid class allotment exam are enough."

Leon didn't respond. He only gave her a slight glance, devising his next part of the strategy in motion.

"Alice," Leon asked, forcing his body with the support of the Moonblade to stay up.

Alice scowled, crossing her arms. "What?"

Leon, still gripping the Moonblade for support, turned his golden eyes toward her, glinting faintly. "You go down, Miss Lumina and I will take care of the rest."

Alice blinked, then narrowed her eyes, lips curling in disbelief.

"Why only me? Miss Lumina clearly said not to bother her, not to get in her way. You and I, we both go down. We do this together."

Leon's grin was faint, tired, but sharp. "Well, yeah. I'm not going to interrupt her. I'll just stand faaaar from her and watch."

"Huh?" Alice's jaw dropped slightly. She stepped closer, lowering her voice, a mix of irritation and suspicion cutting through her tone.

"You can watch from down too, you know. Or… don't tell me you plan to ditch me outside and go inside with her all alone?! Have you really fallen for her?!"

"Don't say senseless stuff." Leon looked away, letting the tension stretch for a moment.

Alice's fists clenched, her scythe tapping against the stone with impatience.

"Ah! So you really do, you motherfucker! I am not leaving her either!"

Leon opened his mouth, hesitating. "Hey now—"

"Fuck you!" Alice shouted, stomping a foot.

Her eyes were fiery, her voice was unyielding, it sounded annoying to his ears.

Leon threw his hands up in surrender, chuckling under his breath.

"Fine, fine. You sure are stubborn."

Alice blinked, incredulous. "Excuse me? You got some nerve calling me that."

Leon ignored Alice the entire time.

His gaze was fixed on Lumina, who moved without hesitation toward a cluster of mindless Chimeras, holding Leon's sword loosely in her hand.

He wanted to see it with his own eyes. Could she truly wield all that sword art with just an ordinary blade? The curiosity gnawed at him.

Lumina released the silver blade. In the blink of an eye, she vanished.

WEEEEEeeeee!!

A sharp, whistling roar cut through the air. A gust of wind followed behind her, whipping past the spot where she had just stood. Leon's eyes widened as the remaining Chimeras, over two hundred of them, were torn into pieces, their bodies scattering like broken dolls diced to pieces.

"..."

"..."

Even after witnessing it many times, Leon and Alice had to agree. "Incredible."

'Now where did she go?' Leon's gaze scanned the battlefield again, searching for her through his blurry vision.

Before he could move, a light tap on his shoulder made him tense. The hair on his arms stood on end.

He twisted around, ready to launch an attack, only to find Lumina staring at him.

'What the—?'

He hadn't sensed her approach.

It was as if she had teleported into existence, appearing faster than his eyes could register. Her calm, serene expression contrasted with the carnage around them.

"You overdid it, don't you think?" she said in her usual calm tone.

Leon scratched his cheek, looking away. "Yes, Miss Lumina. You are right. But those monsters are just… so annoying that—"

"Alright, alright."

Alice cut in, turning toward Lumina shamelessly. "Miss Lumina, how did I do?"

Leon rolled his eyes at her.

Lumina chuckled softly at Alice's desperate, curious expression. "You did better than him."

"Hehe," Alice's grin widened, sharp and triumphant. She spun slightly toward Leon, mocking. "Hear that? Better than you, show-off."

Leon muttered under his breath, eyes flicking to her. "Pot calling the kettle black."

"What was that?" Alice narrowed her eyes.

"Nothing," Leon replied quickly, averting his gaze.

Lumina folded her arms.

"You two, wait down there. I will return after a brief five-minute tour inside."

Alice's grin faltered for a moment, but then she tilted her head innocently. "Ummm… about that… is it possible we tag along? With you?"

"No," Lumina said instantly.

Alice blinked, caught off guard by the swift refusal.

She opened her mouth to argue, but Lumina didn't give her a chance with her glare.

"No. We promise we will stay faaar away. I will even hold this idiot for you." She pointed at Leon, her tone was deadpan.

Lumina's eyes narrowed slightly, calm as ever. "Still a no. The Lesser Demons were one thing, but the Arch-ranked, the Abyssal-ranked Demon… those are not something you two could handle."

Leon exhaled slowly, leaning on the Moonblade for support. "It's alright, Miss Lumina. We'll wait here. You go in. I'll hold onto Alice."

Alice's mouth fell open, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Wait, what?! But it was hi—!"

Leon gave Alice a faint, tired grin.

"No, Alice, please don't act so stubborn. Miss Lumina has a reason. We stay here while she goes inside. If you go with her, she will have to keep her eyes on you the entire time."

Alice ground her teeth. Her fist curled tight. For a second she looked like she might scream and chew his head off. Then she raised her hand, jabbed a middle finger at Leon's chest, and spat the line without a second thought.

"I will for real shove a rusty pole up your ass."

Leon blinked. He stared at her a beat too long.

'A rusty pole? Where the hell did she get that from?' he thought. He had to admit, it was original. He almost saluted her creativity.

Alice's face flushed red, then she huffed. "Don't you dare try to trick me. I know your plays."

Leon wiped a smear of dirt from his cheek. "Ok, ok, now don't act all bratty."

He then turned to Miss Lumina, "Miss Lumina, I will hold onto her; we will be standing near the Zone."

Lumina nodded.

Holding Leon's shabby blade, Lumina slipped into the cave to her right. Soon her whole figure got swallowed by the dark.

Now it was just Leon and Alice, the two of them left alone.

Leon glanced around. He felt something prickling at his right side, a heat crawling up from the side like a warning. Lava. Not literal lava, but the hot flare of Alice's anger.

He turned and found her standing a few paces away, face flushed, fists clenched on the long pole of her scythe.

Leon's stomach dropped.

'Nah, she will not. That's not even rusty.'

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