Arin had activated his Fragment’s ability for the first time. An eerie glow suddenly appeared within the very core of this world. Its power was so terrifying that even the four angels couldn’t fight back in any way at all. They were all stuck frozen without any ability to get closer to Arin.

“Now to choose who I’ll take down with me… But what’s even the point…” Arin was on his last legs. After he made his decision, he would die, forever trapped within this Mantle of the Damned for an eternity. Arin still made his decision.

“If only I was talented enough to mimic a Combat Technique it would’ve been… wait…” Arin’s depraved mind was shutting down when an absolutely stupid, something completely nonsensical crept up within his mind.

“Combat Technique, Fluttering Shadow.”

A small black blob appeared from his shadow. It was still as small and useless as ever without any applicable use. Even so, Arin felt this to be his genuine last hope. Everything hinged on this one last thing.

“Combat Technique, Pure Maiden.”

A will of his pure self was inserted within this black blob. It gained semi-sentience as it could finally think and act as Arin had wished. For there to be some sort of will inside, Arin was expending a tremendous amount of mental power.

“Lastly… Combat Technique, Culled Future…”

A directional power of sacrifice resonated with the Mantle of the Damned and surged within himself. Arin forced this sacrificial power towards the black blob that he had created. With his will inside, he was banking on one infinitesimally small chance for survival.

“Mantle of the Damned… take it!”

The eerie glow from within the Mantle of the Damned surged from within his body and started forming crimson branches, reaching out for two things. One of the angels and Arin’s black blob. It had mercilessly pierced both of them, stealing their souls.

Arin’s heart had been beating this entire time, this was his very last gamble. One that banked on having the Mantle of the Damned recognize this dummy target as a viable sacrifice.

And for once… everything that he had worked so hard this past few days finally paid off. He had seen the end of the tunnel.

As the black blob was stolen away by the Mantle of the Damned, Arin felt his mind shatter just a little bit. It felt as if something within him was taken away. Even so, he couldn’t help but show a wild smile. He had succeeded! Everything had paid off!

Creating three more sacrificial blobs, he used the Mantle of the Damned and consumed the other angels.

The screeches of pain and suffering that it gave out left quite the impression on Arin as he had been kept awake by such an unholy screech. The bloody mess left behind as their souls were taken away wasn’t a pretty sight at all.

As the pained howls of the angels finished, turning this empty throne room silent, Arin felt his mind slowly turn silent. He could no longer go on. He could finally rest.

As his consciousness dwindled, just for a brief moment, he could see his father coming up to him. He felt at peace, ending this off with his victory one last time…

“I did it…”

~~~

Time had passed ever since that moment.

Within Seal Academy, Fiona had been struggling and preserving in her own right. After so long, she had also managed to work out everything that had been troubling her. She faced off against a golem that was ten times the size of the previous one, finally finishing and getting what she firmly believed to be her victory.

“We…” Elliot said in a low voice.

“We did it!” Fiona was gleeful, ecstatic, happy, glad, and every other positive emotion that a human being could experience. She had turned over to a new leaf with such progress that she couldn’t help but not believe that this was even possible.

It might not be as impressive as finishing a Sephirah Bind-level Trial but… I’m making progress on my own! Whoever finished that must’ve received an immense reward. Fiona couldn’t help but feel shivers get sent straight down her spine. The difficulty was leagues beyond what any talent could handle.

Oddly enough, Sefi and Noah were there, helping out. Sefi had acted very sane and quiet, contrary to her previously mad self. She turned out to be more restrained yet when Elliot tried to converse with her, she lashed out at him, furious at something.

Noah remained the ever-elusive student. No one knew what happened to them but they just quietly followed along without making any trouble for anyone. For some reason, he was also just as reserved as Sefi, keeping to himself.

Neither of them made any trouble, it was as if they feared the consequences of doing such a thing. Everyone thought that something must’ve happened with Arin since he hadn’t been seen for such a long time but when someone mocked Arin in front of Sefi’s face a dramatic scene unfolded.

Sefi lashed out, ripping and slashing that person apart with such force that even caused everyone concern. She had grown extremely strong, much stronger than she was before. She seemed to have muttered something along the lines that he shouldn’t have said that.

When Fiona questioned Noah, he only responded in a cryptic manner that would unveil itself when everything ended. Despite everyone’s growing confidence in dealing with Arin, only they knew just how terrifying the scene that unfolded was.

This still didn’t bring down Fiona’s mood, however. She awaited the results with a radiant smile on her face. Her beauty seemed to have finally shined through at times like this.

Professor Ferial couldn’t help but also be quite praiseful for the achievement. “Fiona Pierre. Perfect Clear. You did it. Everyone managed to get a Perfect Clear. Even though you aren’t my student, that’s still quite an achievement.”

“You deserve this.” Professor Ferial took out a badge, something Fiona had somewhat expected. “An Insignia of Excellence. Don’t waste it like last time.”

Despite being teased as such, Fiona still gladly accepted it. Everything was working well on her end. She had suffered so much trying to shift her approach in such a drastic way. This was the growing pains of finally taking proper action instead of just speaking out.

Fiona finally had proper support from Dean Alabaster for her shelter. She would also be able to force Arin’s hand, or at the very least try to slowly influence him. Once her mind finally landed on Arin, she couldn’t help but feel both enraged and ashamed to face him.

She had one-sidedly beaten him down, the same way she had abused the Viener, the previous President of the academy. She didn’t want to rule through force as this went against what she had believed.

“Everything’s going well. We might even win the upcoming competition.” Fiona was happy for the future. Everything was going well. Far too well that she couldn’t even believe it.

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Her position had changed for the better, there was actual change now. Her Student Body Committee has become a genuine force that was for the better. She had worked extremely hard to get to this point.

“You deserve it.” Elliot stood by the side. His contribution in aiding Fiona through the complicated etiquette that she struggled with before was in no way small.

“I couldn’t do it without your help.” Fiona held the Insignia of Excellence in her hand and kept it. “There’s still much work to be done. The most pressing matter is Arin. We need to take proper measures. I already have a plan on how we could go about this…”

After interacting with Fiona, she had already learned so much that even Elliot felt that he wasn’t needed anymore. Most of the political struggles she suffered from before no longer bothered her. She acted much more competent than before.

And as much as she hated to admit it, Arin was correct. He served to teach her all about the ways she was lacking. Now Fiona believed it was her turn to help change him. When everyone gets their own Combat Technique, it would be a whole other situation. She needed his help bringing everyone down.

~~~

Within the personal office of Dean Alabaster, a man clad in black was currently enjoying his time speaking with someone much more competent than anyone else that he had encountered so far. Even though Fiona had won her bet, it didn’t affect those with real power.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you…” Dean Alabaster wanted to set the tone. He was letting the man clad in black finally introduce himself formally.

“I’ve had a title from before but it’s been far too long. You can call me Jackson, Jackson Pierre.” Jackson took a sip from the brewed tea in front of him. “Good tea.”

“You flatter me, Sir Jackson.” Dean Alabaster continued on with the small talk, conversing about small matters such as Fiona’s performance and the current bet. After the warm-up had finished, they finally spoke of what truly mattered.

“You are a hard man to find, Sir Jackson. It’s even harder to believe that you would actually steal a Labyrinth-level Trial that the Federation had worked so hard to retrieve. What are your current thoughts about this?” Dean Alabaster casually spoke of matters that would even cause Seal Solvers to be executed.

“I have my own reasons. The only thing you need to know is that the Federation is going about this all wrong. They don’t know what they are in for… They don’t know how terrifying The Cleansing really is.”

“Hoh… You stole the Labyrinth-level Trial that could stop The Cleansing yet you are saying that it is also the cause of The Cleansing. Quite contradictory, isn’t it?” Dean Alabaster may not be able to be as strong as Jackson but he could put up on his own. He had his own trump cards he could play. He didn’t need to be afraid of him at all.

“So, what did you want from me?” Jackson ignored Dean Alabaster’s question, placing more importance on a more relevant topic.

Dean Alabaster took another sip of his tea. The temperature was still as perfect as always, resulting in a proper infusion. He savored it as he wanted to focus on the upcoming conversation.

“The second layer.” Dean Alabaster said all he needed to say. “I want to go up. The first layer’s about to be wiped out. I know this for a fact. What do I need to do to get in?”

Jackson crossed his arms and shook his head, “It’s not as easy as you think.”

“I’m all ears.”

~~~

Arin had finally regained consciousness after so long. The very first thing he saw welcoming him was his ever-so-familiar bedroom ceiling. The binds had already been opened, causing the artificial sun’s light to slightly blind him.

Checking down, there weren’t any bandages or any signs that he had been injured. Jumping off his bed, he rushed to the bathroom where he saw himself in pristine condition. All of his injuries had been healed, there wasn’t any current danger to his life as of now.

Arin examined his body even further and felt something odd.

“Where’s my Secret Fragment?” Arin had looked around, only to fail to find it. He rushed to his bedroom yet the reward he was given didn’t show up.

Rushing downstairs, Kian had been preparing his favorite, Lamb Roast. When he heard Arin run, practically ignoring all forms of decorum, he merely smiled.

“Dad, where’s my-” Arin’s mouth was immediately shushed by Kian who pointed at the seat that was ready for him. He sat down and immediately dug in. He had been starving this entire time.

“If you want to know where your Fragment is, the answer is I don’t know.” Kian shrugged his shoulders and joined breakfast. They ate their fill first before Arin focused on what he was denied.

As he was about to finish his meal, he noticed an odd tattoo on his right wrist, this was a clean line with a skull surrounded by branches. This looked extremely odd as he had never carved anything in his body at all. Using Malum, he filled in this tattoo as it turned into the ever-familiar Fragment he had worn from before.

“This…” Arin didn’t know how he should feel. On one hand, he had felt that this was an extremely terrifying Fragment that would result in certain demise for his enemy, on the other, this was a suicidal Fragment that killed both the user and the enemy.

Kian had already noticed this tattoo on his son’s arm yet he couldn’t forcibly know what it contained. He knew that this was Arin’s Fragment but that was all. The exact details were still hidden from him.

“I’ve already returned the Trials. If you want to get them back then either strike another deal with Fiona or become the President yourself.” Kian informed Arin of the other bits of information that he had missed out on. About important matters related to Fiona and the academy.

Arin carefully examined this Secret Fragment in his hands and nervously breathed out. This was both the worst and best possible Fragment for him. With his mindset, using this wasn’t a moral dilemma at all. At the same time, his mindset was very self-destructive.

“Personalized Secret Fragment? This?” Arin grabbed this mantle. “I guess the only people who could finish that Sephirah Bind-level Trial are the people who could use this. The ones crazy enough and lucky enough to arrive at the perfect way to use this.”

All of a sudden, Arin felt as if his brain had been stabbed by a knife, twisting and turning as it continued to pierce his mind. He grabbed his head to try and alleviate some of the pain but to no avail.

Kian looked on with a cautious expression but didn’t act out at all.

“A side-effect. For this to be the side-effect means that what you’ve got is pretty decent. Isn’t it?” Kian stared at the creepy aesthetic of the mantle. It had skulls plastered all over the place with crimson branches connecting everything. This was an absurdly dangerous Secret Fragment.

The pain subsided as time went on. The price for cheating death seemed far too cheap for only that much. Arin didn’t know just how terrifying this Secret Fragment was but there was one thing that it didn’t tell him.

Sacrificing both the user and opponent isn’t the only thing it can do. There’s no way a Secret Fragment could forcibly make even multiple grotesque angels stop in their tracks to be slaughtered like lambs. Sephirah Trials are genuinely terrifying.

Arin returned the Mantle of the Damned back into a tattoo and quickly left his home. He wanted to check out just how much he had missed.

“Back to school, huh?” Arin casually used Malum to force his surroundings to shift and change. It was still as basic as it could be yet adding Malum to each of his movements, it exponentially increased in power.

He was curious as to what was awaiting him when he returned. Losing the bet and learning an actual Combat Technique. Everything’s going to increase in intensity from now on. Arin took the train to the academy.

~~~

Virtule came to meet a certain family of the Western District. He was the prized child of the Federation, he was what Fiona was to the Western District. Right behind him, a blind swordsman carefully ensured that his safety would be secured.

“Leonard, I have to warn you, just in case you don’t know. Kian’s not the only reason why the Western District has survived up to now. The Moile Family might not be the most prestigious but it definitely is the most sadistic. If need be, leave me and relay the information to the Federation.”

“I understand.” Leonard kept his blade close. Although he was about to enter the den of monsters he might not be able to return from, his mind still wandered to the man clad in black.

~~~

On the fourth layer, a place ruined by chaos and decay, war and conflict. A girl with an undescribable face took a step forward. Her very motion of walking forward caused the very world to quake and tremble. Her very existence was currently the only deterrence…

“Void Walker! You can’t protect your kind forever!” An otherworldly creature appeared and roared. They had multiple limbs and numerous mouths, their bodies were structured in a way that made them difficult to kill. Within its hands was also something odd… it was similar to what humanity has referred to as a Fragment yet it was much more… ancient.

The girl snapped her fingers, causing casualties in the millions. Her every movement was enough to reap the lives of countless beings. Within this battlefield, she was akin to a god.

“A general just died! A Cryptic Deviant just died! Run!” The other creatures ran away for fear of their lives.

The Void Walker merely sighed, she was also losing hope, everything she had worked on for countless years had been wasted. She was about to leave as she no longer wished to continue escalating this conflict when a sudden flaw within the world cracked through. The sensation of hope poured through… from the lower layers.

“Is it alive…?” The Void Walker’s voice was eerie and chaotic, even causing the very creatures that heard her to turn into a mist of flesh. Her very entity was the meaning of destruction. Each word, each step, and each mumble caused numerous casualties. “The traitor is alive…”

~~~

As Jackson was chatting with Dean Alabaster, his very being shuddered. He firmly looked above him, seemingly having gone crazy. “You found me.”

“You said you wanted to get to the second layer, right? Then listen very carefully…” Jackson knew that he didn’t have enough time. It was about time before the other monsters of his caliber found him.

His past ghosts were finally here to claim their vengeance.