Science/Magic

One more XP

...

"… These bastards." Wave furrowed her brows. She focused her senses around Academy City, trying to find the source of the aura that killed the healing mage, however, she failed to find it.

But at the very least, she wanted to see if she could find any other trace of the people that kidnapped the students.

And she did.

She found five healing mages more.

Only that all of them were dead, with their souls snuffed out.

"How ruthless." She muttered to herself.

But she had to admit this method was very effective.

Thanks to it, she was unable to use them to find the organization they belonged to.

"Was it a failure?" Eve asked.

Wave nodded with a sigh and explained the situation.

After Eve finished hearing her, she shook her head.

"You were too rash. You should have let him alone and then followed him until the base of Returning Dusk."

Wave sighed and nodded. She knew Eve was right.

However, you could not blame her. With her powers, she could easily catch an A-Rank practitioner even if he wanted to commit suicide.

After that, she had many methods to find the information she wanted; from torturing him to get a confession, to reading his memory directly.

How could she have expected that a hidden enemy would manage to kill the men she caught in front of her?

And the worst part was that she did not have any idea who the enemy was.

"He should be a demigod. And a very powerful one. At the very least a saint."

Wave did not agree with Eve completely. She did not believe that a Saint (SS-Grade) was strong enough to do something like that.

You must understand that Wave was one of the strongest demigods of the continent. She was at the peak of Apotheosis (SSS-Grade); plus, she was a dragon. Dragons had an innate advantage compared to other races when it came to mana and battle strength.

If she was not mistaken, the enemy that interfered with her was another Apotheosis Demigod.

But even if her guess was true, such information was useless.

After all, according to her knowledge, she and Eve were the only Apotheosis Demigods in Academy City right now.

"Damn it, they have to choose precisely this timing to attack." Wave smiled bitterly. "The five races will make a fuss after they learn about it."

"… If we are talking about Returning Dusk, then perhaps it is also part of their plan."

Wave could not deny it.

After all, they were many people unhappy with her Academy City, and Returning Dusk was definitively at the forefront of that list.

They would be more than happy to cause trouble for her.

Shaking her head, she turned around and faced Bloed's group.

"Saintess Charise, I don't think your goddess can help us to locate the students, right?"

Charise put on a troubled expression.

"You know that many gods are not happy with my goddess's use of fate. Plus, she recently interfered with the mortal world to stop one of Slaughter's plans and many other gods used it as an excuse to pressure her. The help she can give us right now is very limited."

Wave sighed in disappointment.

Actually, perhaps even the goddess's fate would not be enough to find the students.

After all, they had been fighting against Returning Dusk for generations, but Returning Dusk had managed to hide its important information from the goddess's sight until now. They probably were doing something similar right now as well.

However, it was worth the attempt.

But then, Wave gaze fell on a girl.

Honey-colored hair, silver eyes, and a petite body.

"You… Your name is Gina, right?"

"Y-Yes."

"Gina, you should hold abilities over fate, right? Do you think you can use your powers to find the missing students?"

Gina was startled. She hesitated slightly, as though thinking about it.

However, Sara stepped forward before she could reply.

"No."

"S-Sister."

"You are not in conditions to use your powers."

"B-But…" Gina hesitated, and Wave frowned. However, Sara remained firm.

"I will not agree to it. Using Fate recklessly can injure you."

Wave frowned briefly and looked at Bloed. She knew that Bloed was their leader, so if he agreed, the other two girls were going to agree albeit reluctantly.

"Bloed, this is very important. Don't worry, I'll make sure nobody happens to her."

Sara looked at Bloed as well and bit her lips. She seemed like she wanted to say something, but was stopping herself out of her debt and respect towards Bloed.

But to her surprise, Bloed's words were different than she expected.

"I agree with Sara. Gina should not use her powers right now."

Sara and Gina opened their eyes slightly.

But then, Sara's lips curved in a small smile.

'As expected, I did not choose wrong.'

Actually, Bloed also wanted to learn about the location of the students if possible. After all, it was something related to the Devourers.

But when he remembered Gina's state a few minutes ago, he decided against it.

No matter how much he wanted to learn about the Devourers, he did not plan to put Gina's life at risk.

Wave sighed in disappointment. She thought about insisting, but in the end, she decided against it.

She could see Bloed had made up his mind.

"… I understand. I'll respect your choice."

However–

"… Sister, my hero, I want to do it."

"Gina!"

"Sorry sister, but these people are after me as well. Although they have not tried anything recently, we can't guarantee it will be the same in the future… I, I must try to find them now that I have the opportunity."

Sara opened her mouth slightly. But in the end, she just sighed.

"I understand."

"Bloed?"

"... Sigh, well, I respect your choice, little Gina. Do it then."

"Thank you, my hero." Gina smiled bashfully before looking towards the dragon woman with caramel-colored hair and putting on a determined expression. "Headmistress, I'm gonna try it."

"Good." Wave nodded. ���Try to find the location of the students. However, you don't need to force yourself. Stop immediately if you feel anything wrong."

"Understood."

With a firm expression on her face, Gina closed her eyes.

Immediately, her 'sight' activated. Psychic energy surged out, connecting her with the world's information.

Soon, countless images started to flash through her eyes.

And quickly, she found what she was searching for.

Bad people disguised as healing mages, kidnapping the unconscious students to take them to… to… to…

"Agh! No! Noooooo!"

"Gina!"

"Gina!"

Bloed and Sara reacted immediately. They rushed towards the screaming honey-haired girl. At the same time, the expression of the headmistress changed. She waved her hands, casting a spell over Gina without hesitation.

Immediately, Gina stopped screaming before fainting.