The river of time continues to flow no matter the circumstances, whether good or bad. Thus, good times or bad times eventually pass, leaving behind only memories and consequences that cannot be erased.

Around a month has passed since the demons attacked the Starlight Academy. Around a thousand students, staff members, and civilians lost their lives in that single incident.

Even though the professors did their best to protect as many people as possible, pushing themselves far beyond their limits, they were only able to save a few hundred students in the end.

The casualties among the teachers were also severe. Those who were already old, who did not have much lifespan left and had no potential to grow stronger, chose to give up their lives willingly. They fought with everything they had, killing as many demons as possible, using their final moments to protect the younger generation they had taught for years.

The attack itself lasted for only about ten minutes before the Saints finally managed to break the barrier surrounding the academy.

But within those ten minutes, thousands of flying demons roamed freely, killing anyone and everyone in sight without mercy.

Vice Principal Elva fought fiercely against the main perpetrator of the attack, but she was heavily injured in a battle that lasted only a few minutes.

Even so, those minutes were enough to leave a deep scar. The fighting strength of General Yama who was only an S rank existence forced humanity to truly feel the terror of real demons for the first time.

The reputation of the Human Association and the academy took a massive hit after the incident. Parents of the deceased gathered and rallied against the academy, their grief turning into anger, forcing the academy to shut down until further notice.

Even without the public pressure, the loss of so many teachers and students made it nearly impossible for the academy to function as an educational institution.

Although closed, the academy remained an important base of operations. For the time being, it was converted into a military base, as the Human Association urgently needed a place to train soldiers to deal with the rapid increase in dungeon breaks and the growing demon threat.

Many people also began questioning the so called young hero that the academy had previously used to gain the favor of the public. During the attack, Ray Dawson was not present in the academy, and his absence did not go unnoticed.

After receiving the privilege to skip classes, just like Ash, he had also left for an unknown location. Not many knew where he went, and even his master, Nichole, was kept in the dark about his whereabouts.

There was also a rumor spreading across the entire human continent. It was said that the real reason the demons attacked the academy was to kidnap two girls. Although most people refused to believe it, many could not stop themselves from thinking deeply about the possibility.

There was also one thing that no one knew.

There was someone who had witnessed everything from start to end, watching the tragedy unfold with clear eyes, yet was powerless to do anything to stop the demons.

And that person was none other than the Whisperer.

"....I failed in the end. I was not able to protect those childrens," the old man sighed, a hollow and heavy feeling settling deep in his heart as the words left his mouth.

Many students had died, demons had wrecked havoc, and they had even successfully kidnapped Elysia and Aurora, despite the presence of many secret agents tasked with protecting them.

Elysia's protection was mandatory, as she was connected to the Anomaly, and the Whisperer did not want anything to happen to her that might cause Ash to walk down the wrong path.

If he had known that Ash's heart had already steeled and that he had matured, even if only a little, then he might not have looked like someone who was already half a step into the grave.

"I wanted to break free from the chains of fate even if I have to sacrifice my life, but I underestimated the fate and overestimated myself,"

A deep silence filled the conference room, heavy and suffocating, as no one dared to speak.

There was a round table where the top figures of the human continent were sitting with dark and heavy expressions on their faces. Around it were the seven Saints, the Whisperer, Vice Principal Elva, and a few high-ranking military Generals who held great authority within the continent.

No one among the Generals knew who the old man sitting quietly among them truly was, except for the seven Saints and Elva. Even so, from the way the Saints listened to him and from the weight carried by his words, it was clear that he was no ordinary person. It was obvious that he was a hidden big shot, someone whose status went far beyond what could be seen on the surface.

Still, the others could feel that he was holding back. His words sounded cryptic, as if he was choosing them carefully because of their presence. It would take time for them to realize and fully digest that the old man in front of them was speaking about something as real and unavoidable as fate itself.

"Elder, I know you told us about 'him' being the savior and everything related to that," Saint Alice spoke, her teeth clenched as she tried to control the storm of emotions inside her. "But you should also realize that this attack happened because of 'him'."

She had been the last one to arrive at the academy during the attack. That fact weighed heavily on her heart. She could not stop thinking that if she had been even a little faster, many of those students might still be alive. That guilt slowly turned into something bitter, and that bitterness was now becoming anger directed toward Ash.

After all, General Yama had been very clear during the attack. He made sure everyone knew that Ash was the reason behind it. The same was said about the abduction as well.

Although it was only partially true, it was enough to shift the Saints' focus toward Ash, and that small shift gave the demons time to prepare for whatever they were planning next.

"I agree with her words, Elder," Saint Lucan said in a low and solemn voice. "I trust Elder with my life, and I followed everything you said earlier without hesitation. But placing the fate of the entire world on a sixteen year old child does not feel right to me. After this incident, many others have started thinking the same way."

They addressed him as Elder because of the presence of the Generals. Normally, such discussions would never include outsiders. But the situation had become far too serious to hide behind secrecy anymore.

Resources were stretched thin, and the number of dungeon breaks kept increasing without any sign of slowing down. The wild areas of the human continent were slowly but surely becoming crowded with more and more beasts and monsters with each passing moment.

If nothing was done, monster stampedes would soon break out across the continent. And they simply did not have enough manpower to deal with such large-scale disasters.

Awakened people were rare. Nearly eighty to ninety percent of the population were still normal humans. Only around ten percent were Awakened, creating a massive gap between those who could fight and those who could not.

The old man sighed once again.

It was a sigh filled with helplessness and quiet exhaustion.

He did not immediately respond to the words of the two Saints. Instead, his thoughts drifted to Amelia.

His granddaughter.

She had told him earlier that she dreamed about the demons attacking the academy once again. But before he could act on that information, the attack had already begun.

He had taken her away to protect her. Amelia had an extremely high affinity for fate, higher than anyone he had ever seen. Because of that, when he saved her, he was not restricted by fate itself.

I don't know what the future holds. Everything that is happening is so different from what I know. Only Amelia is seeing the future clearly, but even her vision is still limited. Her powers are not strong enough yet to see far ahead…

If only there was more time. If only she was allowed to grow stronger a little more. Then he might have had some clue about what was happening right now, or at least a direction to follow.

I expected Ash to change the future, but this change is far too great. This feels like a completely different timeline from the one I knew. I don't know what the demons are planning, but I have a strong feeling that it is connected to their Moon and Star blessings…

After all, if this was only about Ash, the demons only needed to abduct Elysia. There was no need to take Aurora as well.

I don't even know where that brat Ash is anymore, or where Ray has gone. I placed shadows to follow Ray, but he managed to shake them off and vanished without a trace…

He knew fate was playing its dirty games again. Everyone was moving in unknown directions, drifting away from what he could see or control. He wanted to know what the main players of this game were doing, to at least estimate what might happen next. But nothing was working, no matter how hard he tried.

"Elder."

"Elder."

"ELDER!!!"

The old man snapped out of his thoughts and slowly looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him, their expressions tense and filled with expectation.

"I am sorry. I was lost in thought," he said quietly.

Hearing his response, several people let out tired sighs, as if releasing some of the pressure building inside them.

Saint Mark then spoke, his voice steady and firm, making everyone turn their attention toward him.

"This meeting was called to find solutions to our problems, not to sit in silence like this," he said. "Let me list them one by one."

"There are many problems. The first is the growing number of monsters and beasts in the wild regions of the continent. We do not have enough manpower to slow down their increase. If we do nothing, we may soon face a beast tide."

"The second problem is closely connected to the first. Our researchers have found that the space barrier of our world is weakening. It is forming unstable connections with other worlds that contain huge numbers of monsters and beasts. This is the reason behind the frequent dungeon breaks. We need to find the source of this issue and eliminate it, or the dungeon breaks will never stop."

"The third problem is the demons. The Dwarf Continent has already fallen into their hands, although only the high-ranking figures of each continent know this. The demons are clearly planning something big. We must find out what it is and stop them before they succeed. However, we have no leads. We do not know the location of their base, and every person we sent to the Dwarf Continent has never returned, even after careful preparation."

"The fourth problem is the most urgent one. The public is becoming restless due to the demon attacks. After the deaths of so many students, emotions are running high. The families of the deceased are supporting the public anger, and we cannot simply suppress them. Among the dead are students from powerful families, and with our manpower already limited, forcing them would only make things worse."

"Ethan Nightshade died in the academy during the demon attack," Saint Mark continued, his tone growing heavier. "This caused the Nightshade family to lose all reason. They are now openly opposing our commands. With their support, along with several small and medium-ranked families backing the public, the pressure from all sides has become overwhelming. We cannot use force this time, unlike before."

"Lastly," he said, pausing briefly before continuing. "Our spies in the Neutral Continent reported that someone stole the entire black market treasury and left without suffering any losses."

He stopped and looked directly at the Whisperer.

"I am telling you this because Ash was seen for a brief moment in the Neutral Continent black market. Our secret agents recognized him, as we previously used them to search for Ash when he left to find a cure for Elysia. I believe you understand what this implies."

Silence filled the room once again, heavy and suffocating.

***

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