The surroundings were wind-swept and harsh, with a fierce gale aggressively brushing against the grass of the open field. The sounds of battle escalated, as a series of loud, metallic clangs repeatedly echoed across the plains.

  Carol was frustrated by the turn of the tide. With no other choice left, she's been forced into a defensive stance as the woman with the messy, long violet hair effortlessly threw punch after punch against the flat of Carol’s blade, not breaking a single sweat.

  The woman laughed happily while continuing her assault. "What's wrong? What's wrong? Can't counter at all?"

  Just as she was about to deliver another punch, Saria appeared from behind. She leaped toward the woman, pulling her bastard sword over her shoulder in preparation to strike. As she channelled her holy magic into the blade, she swung with all her might—only to be interrupted as the woman casually gripped the edge of the sword with her bare hand.

  "Ha! You think such lowly ambush can stop me?" the woman said with a smirk, turning her head toward Saria, who struggled to maintain her grip on the hilt.

  Taking the opportunity, Carol manifested another sword of dark ender in her right hand. She attempted a dual-wielding strike while the woman’s focus was momentarily shifted.

  But it was all for naught. The woman hurled Saria and her sword away, then reinforced her left leg with an anomalous spell. She stomped the ground harshly, sending a thick cloud of debris and dust flying into the atmosphere. The impact hurled Carol backward once again, though she managed to stop her momentum by thrusting both of her swords into the earth. Her forehead bleeding slightly from the impact, and she panted heavily from exhaustion.

  "Heh. Good thing I learned one of the anomalous spells from the book I stole. Otherwise, it would be a waste," the woman stated with an arrogant smile as the smoke slowly cleared. "Well, I suppose I should teach that stupid little apprentice of mine about this spell after this. Might be helpful if my anchor can also learn from him as well."

  (Anomalous spell? What does she mean by that?) Carol thought, her expression hardening with annoyance as she watched the woman clench both of her fists with ease.

  At the front gate of the campus, Grey still pointed the tip of his claymore toward Kent and Eliya. The tension escalated further and further, while the flames consuming the campus and the citizens' homes lingered with utmost dread, leaving ashes and dust to swirl through the atmosphere.

  "Hmm. That flame... Are you really just a normal lecturer? Or perhaps, are you even a normal Margia to begin with?" Kent asked in anticipation, curious about Grey.

  Hearing the question, Grey snorted, finding the inquiry ridiculous. "I still have my earth element in addition to fire, you know? Just like any normal Margia."

  Kent chuckled in amusement. "Really? Yet, those flames of yours already say otherwise. They feel... otherworldly divine."

  As soon as he heard that statement, Grey’s eyebrow twitched, and his expression hardened immediately.

  "Haven Spell, an unknown magic related to the origin of each of the seven elements. Each possesses its own unique ability, yet most people around the world don't even know they exist, let alone how to achieve them," Kent explained. He lifted one of his hands, and Grey watched him nervously. "But you... you have achieved something I didn't expect a normal Margia to do, and it truly makes me curious. Who are you, really? And what were the requirements for you to wield such powerful spell?"

  Listening to the speech, Grey let out a deep sigh of annoyance. "Why are you telling me all this info about the Haven Spell? Is that spell actually your goal for coming here and attacking our campus?"

  Despite the questions, Kent offered only silence as an answer, maintaining a calm smile while pulling a small rod from his pocket.

  "Eliya. Fall back for now," Kent said, slowly moving forward. He swung the rod, and a black liquid appeared along the sides of it, taking a form that resembled a sword. "There is something I need to test with this artifact, especially against a Haven Spell."

  "S-sure, I'll wait at the Inferno's Manor," Eliya responded. Her figure dissolved into mid-air along with the magic circles beneath her boots, disappearing moments later.

  With that, Kent charged forward. Grey readied his claymore, their gazes locking as a loud, metallic clang echoed from their weapons clashing.

  "S-sir Grey!" Aria called out his name, slightly panicked as she watched Grey in such a vulnerable state while clashing.

  "Don't worry about me! Go and evacuate with the others!" Grey exclaimed, struggling to hold back the force with only one hand gripping the hilt of his claymore.

  However, Kent easily broke the clash. He swung his sword heavily against the edge of Grey's claymore, pushing him far back.

  "You don't need to do what he says, darling. She's waiting for you, you know?" Kent stated in a calm voice, before charging forward to follow Grey.

  "Huh? What are you—" As soon as Aria turned her head, her eyes widened in horror. Before her lay a vault, covered in scratches and dirt as if it had been weathered away by time itself.

  Back at the front gate of Verlyn’s territory, the tension between the two groups increased by the second. Rein, Revir, Mary, and Mira gripped their weapons tightly, prepared for the opponents' next move, while the man with the calm expression and the girl filled with thrill readied their own weapons for another clash.

  However, the situation shifted. The sound of slow, loud clapping echoed from behind, revealing the man with slightly long, grey hair who had caught their attention.

  Noticing their gazes fixed on him, the man stopped clapping. "Seems like your performance is getting better, Helia. I know I wasn't wrong to cast you in the role of a maniacal warrior," the man stated with a proud smile, looking toward the girl, namely as Helia.

  As soon as she heard those words, Helia surprisingly gave an elegant bow of respect to the man. "Of course, Sir Ven. As your apprentice, I need to step up my game as well," she stated, raising her head once more.

  "Well said," the man called Ven shifted his focus toward the man standing in front of Mary. "And I suppose you're an apprentice of that brute woman. Mind telling me why you weren't with her?"

  "Nothing in particular, Sir Ven. I'm just performing my duty, as any apprentice would," the man replied with a calm expression.

  "Oh? I guess in that woman's case, you're an exact textbook for Elinira to learn from, huh?" Ven stated casually, noticing a slight flicker of anger draw across the apprentice's face.

  Ven snorted in pure amusement at the reaction, then shifted his attention back toward Rein, Revir, Mary, and Mira, whose tension still lingered.

  Taking the opportunity, Mary questioned Ven in hoping for an answer. "Who exactly are you? And why are you attacking this campus?"

  "Just a humble, Witcher of Art, one of the four Inferno's Witchers," Ven answered casually, not bothered by her questioning tone. "We came here because we want to meet our long-lost daughter and send back her gift. Is that wrong?"

  "Then, what about the students and the citizens here? Do they also look wrong to you?" Mary countered, doing her best to suppress her rising anger.

  Ven chuckled, finding Mary's behavior laughable. "You really have a funny way of speaking, young lady. Or should I say, the Zarikh who betrayed her own current Leviathan," Ven responded, casting a menacing glare at Mary. Her anger escalated instantly as her expression hardened.

  As the situation unfolded, Aria’s grip on her broadsword began to tremble—a sign that she could not control the fear rising within her at the sight of the vault. In response to her unstable emotions, the blade of her broadsword began to crack.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Despite the fear, she forced herself to move. She tightened her grip on the hilt once more, using the weapon as a crutch to pull herself to her feet.

  However, before she could take a step, the sound of approaching footsteps froze her in place. Her eyes widened in shock as a familiar figure emerged, standing as an obstacle between Aria and the vault. It was the woman in the red kimono.

  "Its been a long time... Aria," the woman in the red kimono said with sympathy. Her voice stuttered slightly with sadness, yet her elegance remained unshaken.

  "You... I thought you already dead. No, You're suppose to dead by now!" Aria shouted, her response sharp and full of animosity.

  Hearing the tone of pure hatred, the woman in the red kimono looked devastated. "... You don't even remember me?"

  "Oh, yes I do! Even to the deep, rotten memories I spending my life with you!" Aria’s emotions boiled over; she could no longer hold back her rage. "And I'm so goddamn feeling awful that I have your blood, Mother!"

  The moment the word 'Mother' left her lips, Aria’s memories resurfaced. A brief, flickering vision showed Aria, before her time at Verlyn, thrusting with a strange, reddish sword against the heart of Red Kimono Woman.

  As the memory faded, the woman in the red kimono looked down at the ground, her hand resting on the hilt of her katana. "It seems... that flame is still burning your memories, big sis," she mumbled to herself, before drawing her blade and charging toward Aria with terrifying speed.

  Despite her shock at the sudden assault, Aria managed to react. Her broadsword clashed against the red katana, the metallic clang echoing through the ruins.

  "You still use that old wand as your weapon?" the woman in the red kimono asked, appearing surprised by Aria's choice. "Despite that things... holding your power back?"

  "Don't you try to insult her gift, bastard!" Aria shouted directly into the woman's face, her annoyance flaring at what she perceived as an insult to the person who gave her the wand. "Weaker or not, this is the only things that keep me moving, and none of the Witchers like you would never did the same things as she did!"

  "Is... that so?" The woman in the red kimono allowed a slight grin to appear before her expression hardened. "Then, how about this?"

  She broke the clash, catching Aria with her guard down. In a blur of movement, she swept past Aria, her katana already swung where a deep, visible slash wound opened across Aria’s shoulder.

  Without pausing, the woman spun back toward Aria, charging again. This time, Aria held her ground, her broadsword erupting in a coating of fierce flames to intercept the strike.

  As the pressure of Aria's fire intensified, catching the woman off-guard with its sheer energy, Aria took the advantage. She swung her sword with a heavy arc, breaking the woman's stance and hurling her into the air. As the swing completed, a devastating wave of fire surged through the ruined campus.

  Despite the magnitude of the attack, the woman in the red kimono gripped her katana and delivered several mid-air slashes. Dozens of glitching, flaming waves manifested, descending upon Aria like a storm.

  Aria dodged most of the waves, but as they hit the earth, they kicked up a thick shroud of ash and dust. She continued to weave through the assault, repelling the remaining waves with her own fire.

  The projectile attack was merely a distraction, however. The woman descended back to the ground and charged at Aria with blinding speed, her katana poised to strike.

  Frustrated by the stalemate, Aria funneled all her remaining fire and ender into her blade. The weapon grew, becoming an embodiment of giant, fiery sword of flame.

  Hoping this final strike would be enough, Aria gripped the hilt with both hands and screamed her incantation. "Purga... torio!"

  She swung the massive blade down heavily.

  But in the end, it wasn't enough. The attack failed to stop the woman. She reappeared instantly in front of Aria, showing no bruises or even a burn on her clothes from the hissing flames. In that moment, she swept past Aria once more. As the woman slowly stood and returned her katana to its sheath, a dozen reddish, glitching slashes erupted across Aria’s body.

  Aria was left in a vulnerable state, blood pooling beneath her and washing over the ground. She collapsed to her knees, eventually lying completely on the blood-soaked earth, struggling against the pain and the crushing weight of her frustration.

  With the battle now concluded, silence took over, broken only by the hissing sound of fire consuming the structures and the campus nearby. However, the silence did not last long before Aria began to speak.

  "I-Illya... my little sister..." Aria whispered, her voice stuttering as the pain became too much to bear. She tried to reach out, her hand extending toward the vault. "D-don't worry... your big sis is here... i'll going to save you... I'll going to bring you out from that manor... from that witchers..."

  Hearing those words, the kimono woman's hand twitched. She raised her head, watching the birds flying through the atmosphere through her red veil with a profound sadness.

  In that moment, a clock began to toll, signaling that evening had arrived. Its deep, resonant chimes echoed across Verlyn Territory, a direct signal to every combatant in the area.

  "Heh. You got lucky this time, brat. I'm just in the mood to bashed you onto the ground, you know?" the woman with the messy violet hair said with a smirk, finally halting her punches.

  Carol, now kneeling with her violet sword serving as a crutch to hold her ground, panted heavily as blood dripped from her forehead. Nearby, Saria tried to stand but failed, clenching the deep wound in her stomach.

  Watching their miserable state, the woman snorted in pure disappointment. She turned away, conjuring a blue magic circle beneath her feet as she prepared to leave.

  "W-where are you going..? We're not done with you..!" Carol exclaimed as loudly as she could, but pain and exhaustion held her back.

  "Me neither. But since our time here is done, might as well return to our manor by any chance," the woman answered with a shrug. "After all, we're already fulfill our goal here anyway."

  "Goal..?"

  The woman chuckled, amused by Carol's confusion. "Just a good ol parents way; Giving their stuff back to our own children."

  With that, the blue light from the magic circle erupted, blinding both Carol and Saria. When the light faded, the woman was nowhere to be found, leaving Carol in a state of frustrated fury and Saria in great shock.

  "Hmm. It seems our time here is come to an end," Ven stated with a hint of disappointment. "But worry not, our show shall continue once more at another time."

  As he bowed respectfully before Rein, Revir, Mary, and Mira, blue magic circles appeared beneath his boots. Helia and the man with the sharp knuckles had similar circles manifesting beneath them.

  "Until we meet again, dear audience." Ven responded, raising his head to watch the group in anticipation.

  "W-wait!" Before Mary could stop them from leaving, the light from their magic circles blinded the group. As the light vanished, Ven, Helia, and the man were gone, leaving the area unharmed.

  "They're leave... just like that?" Revir said, his frustration lingering as his expression hardened.

  At the same time, Noire, still lying on the ground, slowly regained his conscious as his hand twitching up.

  "I guess our time here is finally over," Kent stated, calmly deforming the black liquid surrounding his rod. He tucked the artifact back into his pocket, leaving Grey, who was still ready to fight, utterly confused.

  "Quite regretful for me to say but let's make our battle as a draw. You don't mind, right?" Kent offered, drawing a calm smile to reduce the tension between them.

  Hearing the offer, Grey let out a heavy sigh, morphing his claymore back into a wand.

  "That's that and this is this, they say. Such duality of life if only the suffering waiting for my darling daughter's life," Kent said, closing his eyes as he fell into deep thought. He opened them again once his reflection was finished. "Yet, that very suffering is the only path she can chose, or maybe, if you, as her lecturers or even her group of friends, could showcase other path for her to see other than Naraka?"

  "The hell you're rambling about?" As Grey snapped at the riddle in annoyance, a blue magic circle appeared beneath Kent's boots.

  "When she's ready to return to Inferno's manor, tell her that other Witchers is waiting for her arrival," Kent said, the light from the circle erupting as the teleportation neared completion. "And also tell her... that we have something she want."

  With that, the light blinded Grey’s sight. When it cleared, Kent was gone.

  "... I shall take my leave here," the kimono woman stated. A blue magic circle appeared beneath her boots, its light slowly escalating. "If you really want to know her condition, you can check in that vault, if you still remember the password, that is."

  The light consumed the woman and then vanished, showing that she had departed as well.

  However, her disappearance was the least of Aria’s concerns. She forced herself to stand despite the agonizing, burning sensation coursing through her body. She kept moving, driven by a desperate curiosity toward the vault.

  Reaching it, she sank to her knees, hissing in pain. She quickly spun the iron wheel, inputting the date of her own birthday as the password. The vault door slowly creaked open, revealing a sight of tremendous horror: the same unfamiliar, reddish sword she had wielded in her past was resting inside.

  "No... No, No No! There's no way, there's no way they know her hiding spot!" Aria exclaimed, searching the vault aggressively in absolute disbelief. "Illya...Illya..!"

  The more energy she spent searching for a clue, the more blood she lost. When fatigue finally took hold, her body collapsed forcefully onto the ground beside the vault. A wave of sorrow and negative emotion washed over her as she stared at the iron box.

  (Why... it have to come to this..? Why... they always take something precious to me..?) Aria thought, leaving only the sound of the burning campus hissing in the air.