"We've searched all over Area Two and haven't found anything. Don't you think that's enough?"
Alex, one of the strongest students at the Royal Academy and an important member of the Student Council, spoke in an annoyed tone.
His blood-red hair fell over his shoulders and his hazel eyes glowed like a hawk. He wore a loose-fitting white shirt with black sweatpants, but that didn't hide his trained body.
He was currently walking with two other girls, Naira , the Student Council President, and Victoria, the Law Hall President. Like Alex, they were two of the strongest students at the Royal Academy.
"We're on a special mission, you idiot. The youngest son of the Darwin family, along with Professor Rose, disappeared a month ago, and there's no information about them other than the last signal sent out by Professor Rose's communicator in this place."
Victoria explained patiently to Alex, who seemed completely uninterested in the explanation. Seeing him uninterested in her explanation, Victoria felt anger boiling inside her. Victoria was a beautiful girl in her twenties, with closely cropped white hair that fell down her back and sky-blue eyes that glowed with a cold, energetic glow. She was dressed in all black, concealing almost all of her skin behind the dark garment except for her clear-skinned face.
"I bet they went on a date in Silver Moon City while we're here wasting our precious time," Alex replied, annoyed at being one of the people chosen for this mission a month ago.
"Why do we have to go too? All the guilds and members of the noble families in Star City are already searching..." he stated, grumbling before continuing.
"He's just a spoiled, arrogant son who isn't worth the effort. As for Master Rose, she's one of the most powerful people not only in Star City, but the entire continent, and her domineering behavior makes her enemies think a thousand times before even approaching her. Who would dare harm her now?"
Alex was disgusted by the fact that he had to go looking for a noble son just because he had disappeared, as if he were some kind of treasure. It wasn't that he hated Teacher Rose, but rather that he admired her strength and her domineering demeanor, which made it difficult for the nobles to trifle with her. Especially since she, like him, came from a humble family, not a spoiled child. Therefore, he doubted anyone would dare to trifle with her. Unfortunately, in the end, he was forced to submit to the academy and accept the assignment so as not to lose their relationship with the Darwin family, considered one of the most powerful families, if not the most powerful. Their fame is not only in Star City, but even the Demon Continent is well known for their strength. "You're wrong. Asher Darwin isn't spoiled or arrogant. Quite the opposite. He's the most mysterious and incomprehensible person I've ever seen. His calm, indifferent demeanor and silence make me wonder if he's really like other children his age."
"Furthermore, he's extremely talented. He inherited his spear skills from his father and his military intelligence from his mother, which makes him truly superior to most noble children his age."
This time, Naira answered him with her calm tone and indifferent expression.
Naira had short, dark black hair and deep blue eyes as serene as the depths of the ocean. She wore royal black clothing with blue fur that hugged her back, making her look even more like an ice queen from another world.
After she said these words, the other two, Alex and Victoria, were shocked. This was the first time Naira had spoken like that to someone, not to mention that she rarely spoke except when absolutely necessary, otherwise her voice would never be heard.
"What's this? Do you really like this Asher so much that you know everything about him, or something?" Alex asked mockingly at Naira, but Naira's expression didn't change, and she didn't even stare at him.
"I met him a while ago at an event. He fought my brother in a friendly duel, and he seemed interesting, from the way he fought, his actions, and the way he spoke. Even his brother expected to outsmart him in the future," she said calmly as she walked forward into the vast forest.
But Alex and Victoria's expressions turned a little serious at the mention of Asher's brother.
"Brother, you mean that monster, Damon?" Alex spoke seriously for the first time.
"Who else? The eldest son of the Darwin family, the youngest human to reach the sixth rank. They call him the Demon Slayer because he entered the war at a young age and killed the largest number of demons, including one of their generals. Not only that, but he liberated the border city of Martell from demonic colonization..." This time, Victoria spoke with a respectful tone, awe in her voice when she mentioned Damon.
"Unfortunately, he refused to be humanity's champion and rule Martell City, contenting himself with fighting demons and monsters from the gates and towers as a member of the Darwin family." She spoke with regret, for she truly looked up to him, but at the same time, she wasn't impressed by the way he and his family acted. They were true tyrants, with a cruel and bloody way of dealing with others, which made them somewhat isolated from the other families.
However, that didn't change the fact that they had a significant influence on humanity and a strong reputation within Star City itself.
"Just because he's powerful doesn't mean they have the right to force the entire city to shut down in search of him," Alex said indignantly as he continued forward.
"If he hears you—" Before Victoria could finish, the three of them stopped moving, their expressions changing to more serious and cautious.
"Where does this powerful aura come from?" Victoria asked as calmly as possible, staring straight ahead, where the source of the powerful aura they had just sensed was located.
"That's a powerful aura, it should be at least Rank 5..." Alex's eyes glowed with a sharp gleam as he stared ahead. "We should retreat. If it's a Rank 5 monster, we'll all perish."
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on his side, because even at this moment he would be forced to advance forward into danger, especially since Naira advanced, ignoring the aura or Alex's warnings.
"Oi, wait, Naira. It's dangerous to go there now," Alex shouted, warning her, but she never stopped advancing.
"There's no reason a monster like a Rank 5 guy exits a portal without anyone in the city noticing him. Even if he had just exited, he would be in the Fifth Zone, not the Second Zone, where the mana density is too weak to produce a portal of his rank."
She stated calmly and confidently as she stepped forward. After a while, Victoria followed suit.
"Well, I guess she has a point."
"Damn you two." In the end, he resigned himself to his fate and followed her to the unknown source of the Rank 5 aura.
......................................................
Several kilometers away from where the three were.
Rose was kneeling on the ground, her clothes torn, cuts and bruises on every inch of her body, and sticky blood covering most of her body, dripping onto the grassy ground beneath her.
In front of her stood a mysterious, unidentified figure, wearing a dark purple robe, but that didn't hide his massive, muscular body.
He had spiky blue hair cascading down his back and monstrous, ferocious yellow eyes that wanted to devour the world. What was interesting was the purple horn growing on the left side of his forehead, which fired A mysterious and powerful aura.
The two men stood in front of a cave entrance. From the marks on the grass and nearby trees, it appeared they had engaged in a fierce fight a short while ago. However, judging by the physical condition of the unidentified person, it seemed to be a one-sided fight.
"I'm sure that if I were at your full strength, I wouldn't have been able to defeat you like that, even though our levels are close. But I won't let that happen. I have more important things to do than fight someone like you." The unidentified person mocked Rose with his rough, hoarse voice.
"..." Rose remained silent, unable to speak.
"If you're worried about that little idiot who challenged someone much bigger than him, then I didn't really kill him, but the place I sent him to will kill him, and that won't be easy at all, as he'll slowly suffer to death," the unknown person said in a sarcastic tone.
"Even though it was a special request from the ruler due to a dispute between them, I truly felt sorry for him because he'll experience true despair in that place and will ask if he could have died at my hands."
"...."
"Anyway, I think we should end this now before things get worse, right?" the unknown person said before raising his hand up, a purple ball gathering in his hand, emitting the aura of dark emptiness and death surrounding it.
"Goodbye, beautiful young lady. Seeing you so miserable has made me---"