The monkey-faced man, Bauer, was escorting Lidon when Karien didn't immediately pursue them.

He deliberately let them get a head start to lower their guard.

Though Lidon’s shield had been shattered by White Star’s kick and Lidon was badly injured, Karien couldn't be sure whether Lidon still had other defenses in place.

But more importantly, it was Bauer, the monkey-faced man, who was the real troublesome enemy.

If Karien rushed after them without thinking, it would only alert them to the fact that he could track them down at any moment.

So, Karien deliberately allowed them to escape a distance, waiting for them to completely relax before suddenly teleporting and striking.

To drive the sword deep into Lidon’s heart, Karien maximized the thrusting power of both his arms.

In the moment after teleporting, he struck with all his strength, aiming at Lidon’s back.

Although Lidon was a 7th-tier Archmage, his physical body was far stronger than an ordinary person’s, he was severely injured and unprepared.

Facing an unexpected attack, he was defenseless and the sword pierced his heart.

When the sword pierced Lidon’s body, part of the blade’s tip also struck Bauer, the monkey-faced man, in the back. Realizing he’d been ambushed, Bauer immediately released magic.

A massive burst of light shot out from the center of Lidon and Bauer, spreading in all directions.

Just as Karien was preparing to teleport away, the dense light beams hit him.

Though the K8 metallic exoskeleton suit blocked most of the light, the K8 was still a prototype, and there were gaps between its components.

One of Bauer’s light beams slipped through the gap in Karien’s abdomen, piercing through him.

After teleporting several kilometers to a pre-marked spot, Karien stumbled as he landed, collapsing to the ground.

He clutched his abdomen, blood seeping out from between the metal components.

Karien hadn’t expected that in less than two seconds, the enemy would release such powerful magic, almost costing him his life.

This also made Karien realize just how vast the gap between him and powerful Archmages was.

No matter how strong his weapons were, he was still just an ordinary person—extremely fragile. Even a common spell could end his life.

At least, Karien had accomplished his goal. After teleporting away, he had already delivered all the equivalent bombs into Lidon’s body.

Several kilometers away, after the sword pierced Lidon’s heart, his injuries worsened.

Before he could even catch his breath, his back suddenly swelled with several fist-sized lumps.

“What’s happening? I—”

“Boom!”

Before Lidon could finish his words, an earth-shattering explosion erupted from within his body.

Five equivalent bombs detonated simultaneously inside him.

Because Karien had marked the sword with multiple signals, and it was now embedded in Lidon’s body, he could use the sword to teleport the bombs directly into Lidon’s interior.

The explosion occurred in an instant, and Lidon was reduced to ashes, with nothing left of him.

The violent blast also engulfed Bauer, who was closest to Lidon.

From a hilltop, Karien watched the distant explosion in the sky, murmuring softly:

“Fallen faction, this is just the beginning!”

Afterward, Karien held the orb hanging around his neck, now fully recharged, and teleported back to Palos Magic School.

After removing the K8 suit, Karien staggered toward the training field, still clutching his injured abdomen.

“Teacher!”

Mia and Jack, along with others, had just exited the protective barrier. They rushed to him when they saw him covered in blood.

“Teacher, are you alright?” Mia supported Karien while shouting in the distance, “Healer! Healer!”

Sweat beaded on Karien’s forehead, his face pale and bloodless. He leaned against the training field wall and managed a weak smile, saying,

“I’m fine... I’m not dead yet!”

As he spoke, a student from the Violet Academy ran over and used magic to treat his wounds.

After thanking the student, Karien turned his head and saw White Star flying toward him.

“Are you alright?” White Star asked, eyeing the wound on Karien’s abdomen. “What happened?”

“I’m fine,” Karien took a few breaths and then gave a thumbs-up. “Don’t worry... it’s taken care of!”

White Star’s eyes widened slightly at the words. After a moment, she slowly closed them, a faint smile appearing.

She then turned her gaze toward the body of Elder Ellison, not far away, murmuring,

“That’s good... that’s good…”

After confirming that there were no other enemies in the main campus area, White Star led her group to inspect the various academies.

Her main concern was that other campuses, apart from the main one, might have been attacked as well.

Fortunately, the other academies were not affected, except for Nightfall Academy.

Upon inspection and tallying the losses, White Star discovered that at least sixty percent of the faculty and thirty percent of the students from Nightfall Academy had gone missing.

Given Lidon’s identity, this outcome wasn’t hard to deduce.

"I never expected that our school harbored a stronghold of the Fallen Faction," White Star murmured, turning to look at the golden-haired Wills standing beside her.

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When Wills saw her gaze, he froze for a moment, then quickly waved his hands in denial.

"Elder, I’m not one of the Fallen Faction."

White Star patted his shoulder reassuringly, saying, "Don’t worry, I know you’re not."

She then continued, "But it seems that all the senior faculty members at Nightfall Academy must have been agents of the Fallen Faction.

They likely seized the opportunity during the graduation assessment to secretly relocate from Nightfall Academy.

This is probably why Lidon appointed you, a mid-tier Mage, to be the lead of the graduation assessment team."

Wills paused, reflecting on what she said, and it made sense to him.

Normally, the graduation assessments were led by senior faculty, but two months ago, Lidon, who had been acting as the dean of Nightfall Academy, broke tradition by assigning Wills, a mid-tier Mage, to lead the team.

This meant that ever since Lidon’s return to the academy two months ago, they had been preparing for this attack.

It was even possible that some of the high-ranking faculty from Nightfall Academy had been part of the Fallen Faction members who had painted their faces like monkeys.

“This happened so suddenly. The senior Elders aren’t here, and now Nightfall Academy is in a state of panic,” White Star said.

“Wills, you need to stabilize the situation at Nightfall Academy first. As for the rest, we’ll discuss it after I contact the Church.”

Wills nodded grimly. “Understood.”

Once White Star had confirmed the situation at the various academies, she immediately returned to the main campus.

By then, the surviving faculty members had already settled the students and accounted for the casualties.

"This disaster... Elder Ellison, Dean Shoti, Dean Orlando, and Dean Veena, all sacrificed their lives," the faculty member reporting to White Star said, his voice breaking slightly.

He continued, "Twenty-one faculty members from the main campus have died, and six are in critical condition. As for the students, forty-two have died, and twelve are severely injured."

Upon hearing this, White Star clenched her fists, taking a deep breath to suppress her emotions before replying, "I understand.

Tell everyone to remain on high alert. We must be prepared in case the enemy tries to attack again."

"Understood!"

The reporting faculty member nodded and went back to his duties.

White Star stood there for a moment, lost in thought.

At this moment, she felt completely uncertain. With the president and the senior Elders gone, by order of succession, she, as the acting Elder, was supposed to oversee the affairs of Palos Magic School. But White Star had no experience in such matters.

She had no idea what to do next.

Just as she was deep in thought, a crow suddenly flew into the air and landed on a low wall nearby.

It opened its mouth and croaked in a raspy voice, "The Dark Sanctum has been taken over by the Fallen Faction!"

"The Holy Land has been taken by the Fallen faction?"

The Holy Land of the Dark Church was located in the northwest of the Durant Kingdom, 200 kilometers away from the royal capital.

It was the very core of the Dark Church, where the Pope and the Archbishops, who communicated directly with the Dark God, resided.

Upon hearing that the Holy Land had been occupied, White Star's expression changed drastically, disbelief spreading across her face.

She stared at the crow transmitting the message, recognizing from the black-and-white spots on its legs that it was the personal medium of a certain steward in the Holy Land.

Before she was transferred to Palos Magic Academy, White Star had worked with this steward in the Holy Land.

Reaching out, White Star cast a spell on the crow, then asked, "Luther, what happened in the Holy Land?"

The crow didn’t respond immediately, instead, it looked around, occasionally using its sharp beak to clean its feathers. After a long pause, the crow suddenly raised its head and spoke:

"Ahem... Is this White Star? Is Elder Ellison by your side?"

The crow was panting as it spoke, and midway through its words, it was struck by a violent coughing fit.

White Star paused for a moment before answering, "Elder Ellison... sacrificed himself..."

"He... sacrificed himself?" The crow flapped its wings and shouted, "But Ellison had the 'Hands of Annihilation'! How could he...?"

Understanding the crow's shock, White Star told it everything that had happened today, especially the betrayal by Lidon.

"So there were Fallen faction infiltrators on your side too."

After a brief silence, the crow spoke again, "The situation in the Holy Land is the same. It fell because of infiltrators.

"For over twenty years, the Fallen faction has been lurking among us.

"A few months ago, they began to stir, planning a plot to overthrow the church's power.

"However, during this period, the church's focus has been on the ancient ruins in the Northern County, and we were unaware of the Fallen faction's covert actions.

"Even worse, the Fallen faction had already discovered the ancient ruins years ago and set many traps there.

"It wasn’t until about a year ago that a newly appointed Archbishop, Muzan, who had infiltrated the Holy Land, 'coincidentally' discovered one of the ancient ruins and brought back records of ancient magic.

"This drove the church to send many members to explore these ruins, and Archbishop Muzan pushed this matter vigorously.

"Your Palos Magic Academy's principal and elders were likely transferred to the Holy Land and then sent to the Northern County under the joint influence of Muzan and Lidon.

"Muzan claimed that the church had discovered a perfectly preserved area in the ancient ruins, filled with ancient magic that required many highly knowledgeable high-ranking magi to study and decipher.

"So, besides Palos Magic Academy, other magic schools and research institutes, including the Holy Land itself, sent many high-ranking magi.

"Furthermore, the king mobilized a large number of noble armies to assist with the exploration of the ruins in the Northern County.

"However, the Fallen faction had already allied with the Church of Light and set an ambush at the ruins.

"Meanwhile, infiltrators from the Fallen faction, scattered across various regions, seemed to have coordinated their attack to strike while the rear was empty. This included your Palos Magic Academy."

Only then did White Star realize how severe the situation had become.

For over twenty years, the Fallen faction had not only survived but secretly flourished to such an extent, with spies planted in many places.

"The Fallen faction must have obtained terrifying ancient magic from the ruins," the crow continued.

"The Holy Land is now under their control, and all the Fallen relics sealed over twenty years ago have been released.

"The cities around the Holy Land have turned into ghost towns, just like they did over twenty years ago."

Hearing this, White Star's face turned ashen. She had witnessed the hellish reality the Fallen faction had caused when she was very young.

She had once believed these nightmares were a thing of the past, but now they had returned.

Regaining her composure, White Star asked, "Luther, where are you now? What happened to the Pope and the other Archbishops?"

Luther’s voice came from the other side of the crow.

"I’m currently hiding in the Andes Mountains to the east of the Holy Land. Last night, the Holy Land was attacked, and an unfamiliar domain immediately covered the entire area.

"I had been ordered by the Pope to head to the Eastern County for a festival ceremony.

"I never expected that as soon as I left the Holy Land, this strange domain would cover the entire Holy Land and the surrounding cities.

"Even the Pope, a Holy Sorcerer, couldn’t break through this peculiar domain.

"Before the domain completely isolated us, the Pope used a communication spell to warn us all. He told us that Archbishop Muzan was a spy, and the Fallen faction had returned.

"He instructed us to warn the loyalists in each region to be cautious of Fallen attacks and to hold their ground. We must not let the entire Durant Kingdom fall under their control.

"However, when it came to you at Palos Magic Academy, I was too late."

Luther paused and then added, "Although the Holy Land has been taken by the Fallen faction, we still don’t know the fate of the Pope and the other Archbishops. Perhaps there’s still hope.

"White Star, I know you don’t have much allegiance to the church, but since you were once trained by Ellison, you are considered a half-loyalist.

"Under the Pope’s command, do not act rashly. Prepare for defense at all times. If there’s any news from the Pope, I will contact you later.

"In the meantime, please protect Palos Magic Academy on behalf of Elder Ellison!"

White Star felt the weight of her responsibilities growing heavier. But no matter what, she had no choice but to shoulder this burden.

"I understand."

Red Leaf Academy

After treatment from the healing mage, Karien's injuries were no longer severe, though he still needed some rest.

Once he had gathered everyone from Red Leaf Academy and confirmed that Mrs. Fienes and all the students were safe, Karien finally relaxed a little.

He explained that they would need to stay safe and rest for a while. Just then, a notification from her communication orb echoed in her mind.

The two markers had merged into a single coordinate, signaling that someone had sent a message using a communication device.

Karien quickly pulled out the device, snapped his fingers, and used its teleportation ability to transfer a recorded message into the orb.

Pressing the play button, the voice of the unmovable Simon echoed:

"Mr. Sixteen, something’s happened in the royal capital."

"This is Simon’s voice," Karien murmured, his brow furrowing.

"The king and the church are at odds now. The church wants to depose King Priel VIII and install the Duke of Northern County as the new king.

"King Priel VIII issued a decree to strip the Dark Church of its state religion status and sealed their church in the royal capital.

"Now, the Duke of Northern County, with the support of the church, has prepared an army to march south."