She placed her hands gently on Fiora’s wounded side, activating [Blood Siphon]. The familiar warmth of her magic flowed through her fingers, carrying with it an echo of the raw power she had just absorbed from the Boss.

“Come on, Fiora,” Talia murmured, her voice barely above a whisper as she channeled the residual energy into healing magic. “Stay with me. Please.”

Gradually, the angry red gash in Fiora’s side began to close, the torn flesh knitting itself back together under Talia’s trembling hands. Color returned to Fiora’s pale cheeks, and her shallow, ragged breathing steadied. After what felt like an eternity, Fiora’s eyes fluttered open, unfocused at first but slowly clearing.

“Talia?” she croaked, her voice weak and confused. “What... what happened? Did we...?”

“We won,” Talia said simply, relief flooding through her as she helped Fiora sit up. The blonde girl winced, her hand instinctively moving to her newly healed side. “But we’re not done yet. Can you stand?”

“Can I have a moment?” Fiora asked.

“Sure.”

Talia let herself fall beside Fiora, exhausted.

The cascade of notifications that had gone through her mind, however, made the corners of her mouth rise up.

This ordeal had almost killed them both, but both would come out of it with more levels.

Talia, specifically, had gotten more than that.

Her Primary Mana Channel, somewhat ironically, had finally reached the threshold needed to enter the Academy.

She slowly sat up, groaning in pain.

Not even [Ravenous Wounds] had managed to fully heal her up—or perhaps, the Skill itself had left quite the mark on her.

What Talia found very interesting, however, was the notification for [Ravenous Wounds], [Recall], and [Skill Enhance].

[You have fed Star Glaive excess Vitality!]

Lilo and Nami had said that to level up a Soul Weapon’s Skills, Talia would have had to pour her own Vitality into it. Which she had done and had unlocked [Ravenous Wounds] because of it.

However, it appeared that [Ravenous Wounds] was able to absorb Vitality not only for herself but for the Star Glaive as well.

Talia felt her body adjusting to the new abilities and increased attributes, a strange tingling sensation coursing through her veins.

It was exhilarating.

“Fiora,” Talia croaked.

“Let’s go,” Fiora said, slowly moving her body.

With Talia’s support, Fiora managed to get to her feet, testing her weight gingerly.

“Are you good?” Talia asked.

“I think so,” she said, her voice growing stronger. “Where are we going?”

Talia pointed towards the cave entrance, partially hidden behind a rocky outcropping.

The dark maw of the cavern seemed to yawn before them.

“In there. Whatever’s causing all this trouble in Placid City, I bet we’ll find answers inside.”

As they made their way towards the cave, Talia marveled at the increased agility.

Every movement felt more fluid, more precise.

She briefly activated [Tailwind], generating just a small chunk of the same aura that the Slashing Cruster Boss had possessed.

The [Tailwind] skill hummed just above her skin, making her lighter.

“Is this the Boss’s Skill?” Fiora asked.

“Yeah,” Talia said, almost embarrassed.

“Of course you would get it,” Fiora sighed. “Is it good?”

“It is, but it’s still weak.”

The two girls entered the dark passage, both exhausted and on edge.

The air grew cooler as they ventured deeper, carrying with it the musty scent of damp stone and something else, something alien and vaguely unsettling.

Fiora summoned a small globe of golden Sunwater to provide light.

The narrow tunnel gradually widened, opening into a vast chamber that took their breath away.

What they found there made them both gasp in shock.

Hundreds of gelatinous membranes hung from the ceiling and walls like grotesque decorations, most of them empty and deflated.

But a few still pulsed with unnatural life, their translucent surfaces revealing the shadowy forms of partially evolved Torpedo Snappers within.

The faint, rhythmic pulsing of the occupied membranes filled the chamber with a disgusting vibration.

“By the Deep,” Fiora breathed, her eyes wide with horror. “What is this place?”

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Talia moved closer to one of the intact membranes, studying the creature inside.

It was larger than a normal Torpedo Snapper, its form twisted and elongated in a way that made her skin crawl.

She could see vestigial limbs beginning to form.

The sight filled her with a deep, instinctive dread.

“This is how the Catastrophe went down twenty years ago,” Talia realized, her voice barely above a whisper as the full implications hit her. “They made Torpedo Snappers into Drakes.”

“Who?” Fiora frowned.

“Not Professor Iakopo,” Talia replied. “Cultists, if I had to guess.”

As they ventured further into the chamber, carefully picking their way around fallen membranes and suspicious puddles, the true scale of their discovery began to sink in.

Someone had been deliberately breeding and evolving these Abyssal Creatures on a massive scale, probably waiting to release them onto Placid City once again.

But to what end? And how did it all tie into Professor Iakopo’s arrest?

Talia tried to connect the dots between this hidden hatchery, the Cultists, and the recent events in Placid City.

One thing was certain - she hadn’t foreseen this.

“We need to call for reinforcements,” Fiora said strongly. She was scanning the room, her eyes sharp despite her earlier ordeal. “We need proof to show the Academy, to clear Professor Iakopo’s name. Maybe if we—”

Fiora’s words cut off abruptly as a noise echoed from deeper in the cave.

Footsteps, growing closer.

Then, a clapping sound suddenly came from the entrance of the corridor that led to the entrance of the cave.

Both Talia and Fiora whirled on the spot and found a tall woman staring at her with an irritated smile.

“I can’t believe that two useless commoners killed that Slashing Cruster Boss. I was worried the Professor would stumble on this area before we had finished taking care of our business—or maybe some senior student. But no, my uncle had received tips to check for Torpedo Snappers, not for this. Instead, you two…”

Mira shook her head.

“You two, pathetic girls, managed to get here. And you found the descending tunnel, too.”

Talia and Fiora frowned, looking over their shoulders at an entrance that went deep into the ground, illuminated by a few sparse torches.

“You’re a Cultist,” Talia said, feeling a spike of anxiety in her heart.

Neither she nor Fiora had any chance against a fifth-year student.

Mira was infinitely stronger than either of them.

Talia knew that even if, by some miracle, she managed to activate the weird power that was dormant in her wrist marks or even access Dark Water, she would never be able to take on Mira.

This was the end of the road.

“Cultist?” Mira smiled and shook her head. “I am no such thing. I dealt with the scum to get rid of my Family’sFamily’s greatest stain, that useless uncle of mine.”

“You conspired against Professor Iakopo alongside Cultists?” Talia frowned.

Mira sighed, nodding and summoning a spark of Mana in her hands.

“He’s useless. He’s a disgrace to my entire Family. He’s going to be killed later today, but I’m afraid neither of you will be still alive to witness that.”

Even knowing that they stood no chance in front of Mira, Talia took a protective step in front of Fiora, her hand moving to grasp her glaive.

Fiora didn’t have any points in physical Attributes, while she herself had enhanced regeneration and a sturdier constitution.

Perhaps Talia would be able to take at least one blow from Mira.

“Why?” Talia demanded, her voice steady despite the fear coursing through her. “Why go to such lengths to frame your own uncle?”

Mira’s smile turned cold, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of contempt and ambition. “You wouldn’t understand. The Kane family has a legacy to uphold and a reputation to maintain. Uncle Iakopo has been nothing but a disappointment.”

She began to pace, the sparks of Mana in her hands growing brighter and starting to crackle with an azure light.

“Do you know what it’s like to live in the shadow of a failure? To have your family name tarnished by someone who should have been our greatest pride?”

“So you allied with Cultists? Created Abyssal Creatures to attack innocent people? All for your family’sFamily's reputation?”

Mira’s laugh was harsh, echoing off the cavern walls.

“Cultists are tools, nothing more. Useful idiots who think they’re working towards some grand purpose. We just happened to share one mutual goal.”

Talia’s grip on her glaive tightened.

“And now? What happens now?”

“Now?” Mira’s eyes narrowed the Mana in her hands coalescing into crackling licks of Azure Lightning Water that crawled all over her arm. “Now, I’m afraid, your little adventure comes to an end.”

Talia felt her eyes water with fear, but she couldn’t let go like this.

“As soon as she attacks, run,” she told Fiora. “Please, run as fast as you can. Hide. I might be able to take a few blows.”

“Talia—” Fiora said, feeling her face erupt with blazing heat at the shame of having doubted her friend for what she had done. “I—”

“Please,” Talia whispered with a pleading voice. “Please, don’t throw your life away. Takai should have managed his part. If he did, you just have to hide long enough to wait for these people to be brought to justice.”

Fiora quickly wiped the tears out of her eyes and nodded, feeling so little because of her previous petty feelings that she could have disappeared into a tiny crack in the close wall.

Mira’s body became completely enveloped in Azure Lightning Water, the crackling energy forming a terrifying aura around her.

The air itself seemed to vibrate with power, making it hard for Talia and Fiora to breathe.

“Any last words?” Mira said, her voice distorted by the energy surrounding her. “I had orders not to kill you, blue-eyed freak. But I don’t really give a damn about what the scum wants me to do.”

Talia activated [Eyes of the Abyss], desperately trying to gauge their opponent’s strength.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

The sheer magnitude of Mana radiating from Mira was overwhelming, far beyond anything Talia had ever encountered.

She knew, with crushing certainty, that they stood no chance.

Talia wouldn’t be able to give Fiora an opening to escape.

This…

This was the end.

Mira raised her hands, the Azure Lightning Water coalescing into a massive, serpentine form.

A drake made of crackling azure energy materialized, its maw open wide and ready to swallow both Talia and Fiora whole.

Talia closed her eyes, knowing it was her time to die.

She silently apologized to Fiora, to Keanu, to everyone she was leaving behind.

The roar of the lightning drake filled her ears, growing louder as it approached.

Suddenly, a deafening impact shook the cave.

Talia braced herself for pain, for oblivion, but nothing happened.

Confused, she slowly opened her eyes.

Before she stood a crystalline barrier of silvery-looking water, similar in color to Takai’s Silver Water but much denser and sparkly.

The azure lightning drake had dissipated against its surface, leaving not even a scratch.

Talia felt a knot form in her throat as she realized what this was.

Mira’s expression shifted from shock to anger, turning towards the cave entrance.

“Why don’t you take this up with someone at your level?” the figure calmly said.

Talia followed Mira’s gaze, her heart leaping into her throat at what she saw.

A figure stood there, white hair fluttering in the wind that seemed to emanate from their very being.

For a moment, Talia thought it was her mother, somehow magically materialized to save them.

But as the figure stepped into the chamber, the silvery barrier shimmering around them, Talia recognized who it truly was.

“Riala,” Talia breathed.

Riala stood tall and proud, her eyes glowing with barely contained power.

Her eyes swept over the membranes in the cave, the two tired girls, and then Mira.

“I got your message,” Riala said laconically to Talia.

“It seems I’ll get to kill yet another person involved in my family’s history. I’ll kill you on behalf of that whore mother of yours,” Mira said, her Mana erupting even more violently than before. “Let’s see if Elder Kahua’s Champion is that good.”

A gentle aura swept across Riala’s form, silvery and ethereal.

“I couldn’t have imagined that I would have ever gotten my hands on a chance to exterminate a rat from Elder Kawena’s School. Their champion, no less,” Riala said with a cold face. “Once you’re dead, I’ll sacrifice your dead remains to my mother’s name.”

Then, Mira pounced on Riala, her power making the entire cave tremble.