Chapter 214: Explaining the Plan to Alice And Emily

The upper half of the N’theris was gone.

Eleanor’s ears rang as if someone had screamed into them.

Dust flooded her vision.

Around her, people groaned and struggled to get up.

Some of the weaker awakeners clutched their heads, blood trickling from their ears.

Eleanor coughed as she stood, brushing off chunks of gravel from her arms.

Her heart was racing, but her focus was clear.

Something had pierced the serpent.

She stepped around a chunk of rubble and saw a tiny metal spear embedded in the base of the creature’s tail.

It wasn’t just embedded.

It was lodged so deep it had stopped the serpent from thrashing in its death throes.

Then she noticed the flames.

Flickers of golden fire burned around the serpent’s wounds, searing through its flesh and halting its regeneration.

She could feel the warm and overwhelming mana.

"That’s Alice’s flame. Only she can use this type of mana," Eleanor muttered.

She turned, eyes tracing the line from the embedded spear to the long path that the spear had created.

"But Alice can’t throw a spear with that much force."

Her expression turned serious.

"So who did it?"

...

Isaac POV

The explosion still echoed faintly in Isaac’s ears as he stumbled back, landing hard on his side.

A groan escaped him as he sat up and looked around.

"Alright," he muttered, flexing his aching shoulder. "That did the job."

The watchtower he had stood on was gone.

It shattered from the force of his throw, and he hadn’t exactly stuck the landing.

His clothes were ripped, and his arms were scratched up, but it was nothing serious.

In the distance, he could hear fast and panicked footsteps. Aeternum University’s people were running toward the source of explosion—him.

Of course they would be.

He hadn’t told anyone he was going to throw the spear.

For all they knew, the stronghold had just been attacked.

"Things are going to get busy," he said under his breath, rubbing the back of his neck as he stood.

The destruction was worse than he expected.

Several buildings had been cored out clean through, the concrete around the holes bubbling and dripping like melted wax.

One of the towers tilted, groaning, before crumbling sideways in slow motion.

Isaac winced, seeing the path the spear he threw had created.

"Maybe I overdid it."

Well, he had not been in a situation to hold back.

Before he could do anything else, a dark mist gathered beside him.

Celia stepped out of it, followed closely by Alice and Emily.

"Isaac!" Emily flew and threw her arms around him.

He caught her.

Alice’s eyes went to his torn clothes, then the still-crumbling ruins behind him.

"Who attacked you?" she asked.

"No one attacked me. The building fell due to me," he clarified.

Celia didn’t speak.

Her eyes scanned him carefully, as if asking him of the outcome.

He met her gaze and smiled. "It’s done."

Celia let out a soft breath.

Her shoulders finally relaxed.

She looked like she was about to say something, but stopped.

Instead, she lowered her head, and covered her face with her hands. Quiet sobs left her lips. Relief hit her with so much force that she couldn’t stop her tears.

"Thank you," she said eventually, voice shaking. "Thank you, Isaac."

He gave her a small nod and turned back to Emily, who was sniffling into his shirt.

"What’s wrong?" he asked gently.

"I missed you," she mumbled.

"...?" He blinked, confused.

"I missed you," she repeated.

Her voice cracked a little this time.

She must’ve gone through something out there in the wilderness.

He held her tighter, rubbing her back.

Alice was watching them, her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

"Who injured you?" she asked, again.

"No one."

His words made him realize that everything was finally over.

The serpent was dead. The worst was over.

Now they had to deal with the aftermath: sorting out what to say about how Isaac defeated the serpent, apprehending nagas, and using this opportunity to spread Isaac faction’s fame.

"Where’s Professor Catherine?" he asked, glancing around.

"She disappeared while we were returning. We were moving through the forest when suddenly her clone faded," Alice clarified.

Isaac nodded.

From what he knew, Professor Catherine was fighting the Sentinel.

The battle must be growing dangerous if her clones suddenly disappeared.

’She was exhausted before she went to fight the Sentinel. I can see why her clones vanished.’

He turned to them again.

"Did anything happen after she disappeared?"

"No," Alice said. "She gave us a few defensive items just in case, so we were fine."

"What about Tyr?"

"He’s resting inside the Soulbind Pendant," Emily said, calming down now that she finally met him.

Isaac nodded.

There were a dozen things he wanted to talk about, but the crowd from the stronghold was getting closer.

They were keeping their distance for now, but they would approach them soon.

And questions would follow.

He used his skill.

Giant roots burst out of the ground.

Their sheer size turned them into a tall barrier, cutting off line of sight of people from stronghold.

Once he was sure they had privacy, he turned to Alice.

"You gave me Flames of Judgment Spear after wrapping it around Hell-Iron Myre spear that Tyr had created."

"What...?

"I used that to defeat N’theris Serpent. This is the story we are going to tell everyone."

"....!" Alice stiffened.

Emily was alarmed. "The serpent woke up?"

"You fought it!?" Alice’s voice was rising.

"Isaac, were you hurt?" Emily started checking his body, panic returning to her face.

Alice glared at him. "You promised not to do reckless things anymore! Do you even know how strong that thing was? Even the Professor said she couldn’t defeat it"

They had been briefed about the serpent by Professor Catherine. They knew it was a dangerous monster that no Champion rank awakener had a chance against.

"I’m fine," Isaac said, raising his hands. "It’s already done. No one got hurt, and the stronghold’s safe."

They didn’t look entirely reassured, but their worry was starting to settle.

Isaac laughed softly to himself.

They weren’t asking how he used the Flames of Judgment, or how he had managed to take down a creature like the N’theris alone.

They were just worried about whether he was alright.

He let the moment sit for a second before his expression turned serious.

His gaze flicked between Emily and Alice.

"Emily, Alice. Head to where the N’theris Serpent fell. The professor should’ve informed the Vice Principal about Emily’s items.

"She will help Emily turn the corpse into a bond beast," he said, looking at Emily first before turning his focus to Alice. "And you... go heal the people there. It’ll help your reputation, and your healing skill will grow faster that way."

His eyes lingered on Alice just a little longer than necessary.

She caught the look in them.

He didn’t need to say anything. The message was clear.

’Don’t use that skill.’

Alice gave a slow nod.

She understood his signal. He was talking about her resurrection ability.

She knew why he was worried.

That skill could only bring back one person, but the cooldown was one month.

If there were multiple casualties—and there usually were in battles like this—choosing to save just one would bring more grief than gratitude.

The people whose acquaintances and relatives died would curse Alice, and even try to harm her, since their people were not saved by her.

Isaac finally turned to Celia.

"I remember the promise. Let’s do it after we settle the aftermath here. I will come to your house," she said.

"Okay," he replied, "You all should leave now."

Celia raised her palm.

A swirling dark cloud began to take form above her, growing rapidly until it was large enough for all three of them to pass through.

"Alice. Emily," Celia called out as the cloud stabilized.

Alice stepped forward, but before entering the cloud, she turned back toward Isaac. "Don’t do anything reckless while we’re gone."

He gave a faint smile.

Emily simply squeezed his hand briefly and floated up into the cloud.

Celia was the last to step in.

She gave Isaac a firm nod before vanishing inside.

The cloud twisted inward, shrunk, and vanished like smoke pulled into a drain.

Isaac turned back to the stronghold.

With a simple mental command, the thick wall of roots surrounding the stronghold peeled back and slithered into the ground, disappearing without a trace.

The Aeternum University awakeners were still scattered across the area, most of them looking overwhelmed and agitated.

They were looking at Isaac, wondering why he had summoned the roots.

He noticed the general of the stronghold approaching him.

...

Eleanor’s POV

Eleanor exhaled quietly as she walked through the battlefield.

The serpent had fallen, but things were far from over.

There were injured people who needed immediate care.

The stronghold’s structural defenses had to be checked, and they couldn’t ignore the possibility of a backstab from the surviving nagas.

Just because the major threat was down didn’t mean they were safe.

She was also worried about Catherine.

The Sentinel was dangerous. It could fight Champion-rank awakeners of high-rank species.

Catherine should be able to hand it in normal cases.

But currently she was not at full strength.

She’d been pushing herself nonstop before the fight even started.

Eleanor reached into her spatial ring and pulled out a small bracelet.

It was a disguise artifact.

She slipped it on, and her appearance changed completely.

Before she could move again, a familiar dark cloud spun into existence in front of her.

Emily, Celia, and Alice stepped out of it.

"Celia?" Vale called out as he was approaching Eleanor, freshly healed and limping slightly.

Celia turned her head away from him and bit her lips.

Alice approached Eleanor right away and explained what Isaac had instructed.

She kept it brief and factual, skipping unnecessary details.

Eleanor listened quietly.

There were a few obvious holes in the story, but Eleanor didn’t question them.

This wasn’t the place or time for it.

Instead, she pulled out another artifact from her ring and handed it to Emily.

"Use this. It’ll create a dome around the N’theris corpse. No one will be able to see what you’re doing inside."

"Thank you!" Emily said, taking it with both hands, eyes brightening.

While that was happening, Alice gently touched Eleanor’s shoulder and began healing her.

A soothing warmth pulsed through Eleanor’s body.

The minor aches she’d picked up during the earlier skirmish vanished.

As soon as she was done, Alice turned and walked off to help other injured awakeners.

She didn’t even glance at the nagas.

Emily was the same.

She activated the artifact and formed a dark dome over the fallen serpent.

Eleanor made sure no one but Emily went inside before walking after Alice.

"...?"

Alice raised an eyebrow as Eleanor followed close behind.

"I’m acting as your guard," Eleanor said calmly. "We can’t assume no one will use this opportunity to attack you."

"What about the professor?" Alice asked. "Shouldn’t you go help her against the Sentinel?"

That caught Eleanor off guard.

She hadn’t mentioned Catherine’s battle with the Sentinel to anyone. But Alice had already figured it out.

Eleanor sighed. "Catherine would get mad if I interfered. She hates being saved. She’ll be fine. She can handle it, even if she’s exhausted."

Alice didn’t argue, but the concern in her expression didn’t go away.

"So for now," Eleanor added, "my priority is to make sure no one touches you or Emily. Understood?"

Alice gave a short nod.

A few moments later, Vale approached Eleanor again, along with two other senior faculty members.

"What’s the plan moving forward?" Vale asked.