Kassim Sagres was dead.

  Enid heard the news from others early the next morning.

  That day had been Kassim’s turn on patrol. Enid had even exchanged a few words with him the night before.

  Then a staff member found Kassim lying in the corridor of the main building. By the time the medics arrived, he had already lost all vital signs.

  When Enid reached the scene, the area had been sealed off. She didn’t know exactly how Kassim had died. She only heard that it was brutal, like he’d been hacked to death, and there was no trace of magic at all.

  No magical residue, no useful clues.

  Kassim’s death was a blank wall.

  Enid couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all too convenient.

  That night, because of the curse flare, Enid had stayed in her sitting room to stabilize herself. Her normally sharp senses and elemental awareness hadn’t picked up anything happening in the main building.

  Antonio had been running around nonstop because of Rosalie’s attack, calming students, refusing the Holy Church’s request to station people on campus, handling a dozen fires at once. He hadn’t been at the scene either.

  And the academy’s security, those “tin cans.”

  Most of them had been patrolling the academy perimeter. Hardly anyone had remained in the main building.

  In that situation, assassinating a lecturer with no real combat experience would have been effortless.

  Enid thought Mr. Q was more than capable of a clean kill like that.

  But the question was, why Kassim

  Kassim was famously easy to get along with. He could chat with anyone. It didn’t make sense that he’d made an enemy, especially not someone inside the academy.

  There hadn’t been any thefts in the main building that night, either.

  If anything, Kassim’s life or death shouldn’t have mattered to the mysterious people working in the shadows.

  Killing him and leaving the body behind only raised the academy’s alertness. For people trying to operate quietly, it was all risk and no reward.

  And yet Kassim was still dead.

  Did Kassim see Mr. Q, or someone else, and get silenced for it

  Enid believed a careful examination of Kassim’s body and the crime scene could have led to a clearer conclusion.

  But Antonio had already ordered everything handled immediately. The body and the scene were cleaned up so fast Enid couldn’t get a single useful detail.

  Not long after, Antonio made a swift decision.

  He issued an emergency notice and ordered everyone to gather at the main hall of the main building at once.

  When the hall finally filled, Antonio forced down the rising fear and suspicion. He first confirmed the Hero’s birth, but said the Hero was still asleep.

  Then he announced that Kassim, a dream studies lecturer from the Nature school, had been killed, and the murderer was likely still somewhere inside the academy.

  After that, Antonio declared that the Stahill Comprehensive Magic Academy was entering a wartime lockdown.

  Starting today, every exit and entrance would be sealed. Identity checks would be tightened for every person on campus. Student security would be raised to the highest level.

  All communication with the outside world would be suspended. A triple-layer magical barrier would cover the entire academy, and constant monitoring would be activated to detect any spell activity.

  Antonio said the academy had reached its most difficult moment.

  He asked everyone present to follow discipline until the threat was completely eliminated.

  In the end, he tried to steady the students, reminding them the academy had weathered many crises before. When people worked together, they overcame them. He believed this time would be no different.

  He repeated safety rules, and told everyone to contact nearby faculty or security immediately if anything felt abnormal.

  Then he dismissed the crowd and ordered classes to proceed as scheduled.

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  A lockdown didn’t mean students got to skip lessons.

  Class was still class.

  So Enid had no choice but to follow Antonio’s instructions, maintain order in the Nature school, and continue her teaching plan.

  Even with the curse limiting her ability to fight at full strength at all times, she could still protect the Nature students well enough.

  As for students from other schools, Enid had neither the interest nor the energy to look after them.

  Their schools had plenty of staff.

  The Nature school didn’t.

  In the Nature school, the only truly reliable combat strength was Professor Innis.

  For the assistants’ safety, Enid made a blunt decision.

  She had Selena move into her sitting room.

  Her reason was simple. Selena’s constant commute between the officer track and the Nature school was exhausting and unsafe. Staying in the Nature school would make it easier for Selena to assist Enid’s work and receive instruction.

  Selena thought it over, then accepted.

  Just like that, Enid and Selena became roommates, sharing the same sitting room.

  And so Enid’s new routine began, teaching by day, and guarding the Nature school’s perimeter whenever she could.

  Antonio’s headmaster office.

  In the empty meeting hall, Antonio stood alone.

  At some point, a figure hidden in the shadows arrived, blurred and hard to make out.

  Antonio frowned slightly, trying to pierce the darkness with his gaze, and spoke softly toward the shadow.

  "You finally came."

  His voice echoed through the silent room, carrying a fatigue he didn’t bother to hide.

  The person in the shadows didn’t answer.

  Antonio seemed used to that silence and continued.

  "The plan to clear out the roaches can finally enter its last step. We’ve waited a long time for this. We’ve endured a long time too, haven’t we"

  His tone was heavy with weariness. His shoulders sank a fraction, but his voice remained firm, and his face showed the kind of resolve that didn’t bend.

  A voice from the darkness said, "…No matter how many times I hear it, I still think you’re too extreme, too ruthless, Antonio. You’re going to expose the entire academy to danger and pay for it with student safety, just to wipe out those roaches hiding in the dark, aren’t you"

  Antonio let out a long breath and rubbed his temples. The exhaustion felt like it rose from deep inside him and seeped into every inch of his body.

  "…It’s all for the empire’s survival and security. If that requires some sacrifice, then it’s worth it. I’m willing to be the one everyone blames afterward."

  The shadow finally shifted.

  A sound came, half laugh and half sigh, like comfort and mockery tangled together.

  "Heh. Yes, I understand you. I do. But this is still far too uncontrollable. Only the bravest gambler would dare use a method like this."

  Antonio listened quietly. His eyes grew emptier as he replied, "If I win the wager, I can uproot the cultists completely."

  "If I lose, I can still purge every traitor we already know about. For me, that isn’t unacceptable."

  He paused, and his voice softened.

  "But all of this is exhausting, my friend."

  Antonio didn’t know where the conversation would end, or how long he could keep standing under this kind of weight.

  The fatigue ran down to the bone.

  For a moment, he wanted nothing more than to lie down somewhere and sleep, and never wake up to face any of it again.

  Still, Antonio forced himself upright.

  "I know Howard has betrayed us. I know he’s the one driving this plot. But I don’t know how deeply the cult has infiltrated, what methods they used, how they recruit, how large the network really is."

  "Simply eliminating Howard and a handful of minor pawns won’t deal a decisive blow to the cultists hiding inside the academy."

  "I need to create an opening for them, a chance for them to gather. I need them to cluster together."

  Antonio’s gaze sharpened slightly.

  "That’s why I need your help. And that’s why you came, isn’t it, Mr. Q"

  The figure stepped out from the shadows.

  The signature comedy mask, half laughing and half crying, made it unmistakable.

  Mr. Q, the attacker who went after Rosalie, and the killer suspected in Kassim’s death.

  But here, under Antonio’s roof, Mr. Q had another identity.

  Antonio’s mole inside the cult.

  "Heh heh…" Mr. Q said. "Just like my previous report, Howard and the demon race behind him are cautious. Even I, as a so-called ‘lead,’ can’t get every name and face."

  Mr. Q began circling Antonio, grinning as he spoke, as if they were on a stage.

  "So you decided to make Howard desperate."

  "You wiped out his people, nudged the Hero toward awakening, then sealed the academy tight, forcing Howard to reach for the cutest, most innocent students as offerings."

  Mr. Q’s voice turned syrupy with mock admiration.

  "How cruel. How magnificent. So this is the famous Headmaster Antonio, the man who supposedly treats every student like his own child."

  Mr. Q clutched his chest dramatically.

  "It’s hilarious. Ah, ha. Ahahaha… sorry. It’s just… cough. Heh heh heh… ahahahaha!"

  Mr. Q dropped to the floor, laughing hard enough to shake.

  Antonio’s face didn’t move at all.

  "Regardless," Antonio said evenly, "I need you to remember the task ahead. Your role will decide whether this plan succeeds."

  Mr. Q sprang up in an instant, sharp as a whip, and cut Antonio off.

  "Got it, got it. I need to push the cult into advancing the resurrection ritual as early as possible while minimizing student casualties, so they gather in one place."

  "Before that, I also have to get the Hero there, and Professor Innis too, right"

  Antonio nodded.

  Mr. Q groaned theatrically.

  "Heh. You old guys at the top are all the same. You treat me like one person equals ten."

  "The Hero is one thing, but you want me to deal with Professor Innis, or should I say… Enid, the legendary nature mage."

  Mr. Q spread his hands.

  "Buddy, do you honestly think I can beat her. You could give me ten lives and it still wouldn’t be enough."

  "And she doesn’t seem like the type you can ‘pull into a dream,’ either."

  Antonio gave a small shrug.

  "But you’ve always liked high-difficulty tasks, haven’t you"

  Mr. Q’s mood flipped again in an instant.

  He started doing strange, exaggerated dance steps as he spoke, voice bright and theatrical.

  "Heh heh heh. True. A challenge like this is the stage I’ve always dreamed of."

  "Since the great and ruthless Headmaster Antonio trusts me so much, I can’t very well disappoint you."

  With a flourish, Mr. Q performed an overly formal curtain-call bow.

  "One last thing before I go. If I accidentally hurt Enid, you won’t hold it against me, right. You won’t, right"

  Antonio replied blandly, "Don’t worry. You can’t hurt her."

  "The curse does limit her strength, but that doesn’t mean you’re a threat to her."

  Mr. Q slipped back into the shadows with a chuckle.

  "Heh heh… I can’t tell if that should reassure me or terrify me."

  "The final act is about to begin, Headmaster Antonio. As the author of this script, you’d better keep a tight grip on the pacing."

  Antonio answered in the same calm tone.

  "Don’t worry. I know exactly what I’m doing."