Chapter 151: Political Playground

Adam had never expected his first week at Solaria Beyond Academy to be this chaotic. He’d been sick at home for so long that just making it here felt like a miracle, and now, before he even had time to settle in, he was standing in the middle of a storm.

The moment he heard whispers in the halls, that Charlotte Heavensblade, daughter of the Blade Maiden herself, had gotten into trouble, he couldn’t help but follow. His heart had raced with a mix of awe and curiosity.

He had only heard of the Battle Angels daughters in rumors and fleeting glances, never seen one up close. The idea of stepping into the same room as one felt surreal, like an idol meet-and-greet.

But what he found when he trailed into the crowded lab was nothing like what he’d imagined. Instead of fans admiring Charlotte, there was a mob pushing against her.

The air was hot with anger and accusations, and at the center of it all stood Charlotte and another figure Adam instantly recognized from the rumors, Mika, the "cursed one."

Adam’s eyes widened.

Why? Why are they turning on her?

In his mind, someone like Charlotte should’ve been untouchable, respected, worshipped. Not cornered like this.

A voice beside him broke his train of thought.

"You must be a newcomer." The senior said cooly, smirking at the look of raw confusion plastered on Adam’s face. "It’s written all over you. You’ve got no idea what’s going on here, do you?"

Adam flushed, caught off guard.

"Actually...yeah. I just joined this week. I’m a first-year. I just don’t understand why everyone is ganging up on Charlotte of all people."

Adam glanced at the boy who was demanding they apologise for they had done.

"I mean, she’s a Battle Angel’s daughter. Isn’t this...dangerous? Foolish? This academy is supposed to be where you make connections, not burn them. Why risk offending someone like her?"

The older boy chuckled softly, shaking his head. "Name’s Thomas. And you’re not wrong that it’s dangerous. But you’re very wrong about the way people here see her."

Adam blinked. "What do you mean?"

"Not everyone here admires her, or any of the daughters, for that matter." Thomas said, folding his arms as he leaned lazily against the wall. "In fact, most of the students? They resent them. Oppose them. They’d rather shove them off their pedestal than worship them."

"...In face it’s only the mortal humans that think of them as idols and saviours, while the rest of the blessed think of them as enemies on the opposite side."

Adam frowned, still lost. "Enemies? Why? Shouldn’t they be grateful? Without the battle angels, the war against the other world wouldn’t have been won. Humanity wouldn’t even be here."

"That’s exactly why." The senior tilted his head, his smirk fading into something more serious. "After the war, the battle angels had no enemies left. No demons, no cursed races...Just humanity."

"And what happens when the strongest warriors in existence suddenly have no one to fight?"

He spread his hands.

"They become the most dangerous beings alive. Stronger than any army, stronger than any government. Even back then, just a handful of them could’ve taken on the combined might of the Federation and crushed it...And now?"

"Decades later? They’ve only grown more powerful. Together, they’re unstoppable. No power in the world could bring them down."

Adam’s lips tightened. "You’re saying...the blessed world fears their strength more than it values their sacrifice."

"Exactly." The senior nodded slowly. "Fear breeds suspicion. Suspicion breeds opposition. That’s why many here don’t want to support the daughters. They want to undermine them, weaken them, keep them from gaining too much influence."

Adam still struggled to accept it. "But...I still don’t understand how they can be that powerful. I know they’re strong, but to say even the entire world together couldn’t stop them...how’s that possible?"

Thomas leaned forward, his voice dropping to a whisper. "To answer that, I first have to ask you: Do you know what an SSS-class blessed is? And what those three S’s stand for?"

"No. I’ve heard it being mentioned several times before, but I haven’t really thought about it." Adam shook his head.

"Well, let me explain. The three S’s stand for three different aspects that people use to identify and quantify an individual’s power level."

Thomas explained, holding up three fingers.

"The first S comes from the potency of a blessing, how effective it is in battle. For example, Charlotte’s blessing. It allows her to control minds, create heart demons, enter the dreams of others...It’s an incredibly dangerous ability, so it gets an S-ranking, the highest in that aspect."

He held up a second finger.

"The second S comes from mana storage, the sheer amount of mana a person has inside their body. The higher the mana, the better the ranking...And Charlotte? She probably has the highest mana a mortal body could ever contain, which is why she gets another S."

"Now, if you have an A-class blessing and A-class mana storage, you’d still be an A-class blessed. You only become an S-class blessed if you have an S in at least one aspect."

"But in very rare cases—there are only about 50 in the entire world, you might have an S in both blessing and mana. These individuals are the strongest in the world, aside from the Battle Angels themselves. They’re called SS-class blessed."

Thomas’s smirk returned. "But then, where does the triple S come from?"

He asked, not waiting for Adam to answer.

"It comes from a third, hidden aspect: potential."

Adam’s eyes widened. "Potential?"

"Exactly. Most blessed have limited potential." Thomas said. "After they awaken their blessings and a few years pass, their potential completely stops. They hit a ceiling and can’t get any stronger."

"But the Battle Angels...they’re a different breed. The very reason they became so powerful is that their potential is unlimited. It’s infinite."

"What?!" Adam breathed, a look of awe on his face. "That’s actually crazy to even think about."

"It is." Thomas said, his smile now grim. "Their blessings have only been increasing since the day they were born. As time goes by, they’re only getting stronger."

"While the rest of the world’s most powerful blessed have already reached their limit, the Battle Angels are growing stronger every day. And that’s where the final S comes from, and that why they are considered to be SSS-class blessed, and so are heir daughters."

Adam’s mind reeled. "So they would be so much stronger now than they were 20 years ago, when they stopped the invasion...Immensely stronger, to an absurd level."

"Exactly." Thomas said, his voice serious. "And that’s exactly why the Federation, the governments, and the powerful noble families are scared of them."

"Not because they think the Battle Angels will seize power—the Angels themselves are peace-loving, assertive, and don’t care about political matters. They prefer to keep the peace."

"But those organizations...they’re scared that one day, the Angels might want to take over and push them aside. They’re scared that the common people might get tired of their rule and want the Battle Angels to take the reins."

Adam nodded, the look of confusion on his face finally replaced with a look of understanding.

"I see. It makes sense now. The ruling organizations see them as a threat to their power." He looked back at the mob. "But why are the students fighting them, then? Isn’t it just the organizations who have a problem with them?"

Thomas sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Unfortunately, the politics of the outside world have seeped into the academy. This place has become a political playing ground between the Battle Angels and the other major organizations, the Federation, the royal family, noble houses, and Hunter Agencies."

"95% of the blessed in the world are contracted to them after all in one way or another, and they work under their thumb."

He gestured to the crowd.

"That means most of the students here come from those very families and organizations. And they have similar agendas. Just like their parents, they try to oppose the Battle Angels in any way they can to make them suffer."

"And then you have new students like you, who have just recently awakened a blessing and have no ties to the outside world." He continued. "Even they go against the Battle Angels...Why? Because they want connections."

"Since the Battle Angels daughters aren’t interested in making connections, it’s only natural for the new students to try to become friends with the sons and daughters of those who oppose the Angels."

"They’ll do anything to get in good with them and receive a favor in the future. And that’s exactly what’s happening right now. Most of these people are probably just a bunch of ignorant idiots who just joined the academy."

"They’re trying to appease the noble families and organizations by making it difficult for Charlotte and the others."

Adam’s eyes widened in realization. The academy was far more filled with politics than he could have ever expected. He had just stumbled into a war he never knew existed.

His gaze then went over to Charlotte, standing tall beside Mika, her pink hair gleaming beneath the lab’s crystal lights even as fury and humiliation burned in her expression.

Then towards the boy in glasses, smug, arrogant, reveling in his moment, who was demanding that Charlotte and her entire team kneel to apologize.

And seeing this, Adam felt his fists tighten at his sides. He then leaned toward Thomas, whispering.

"But isn’t this...sad? I mean, look at her. Look at them. The world outside already pushes the Battle Angels and their daughters away, and here in the academy, even the students are ganging up on them. They’re not doing anything wrong, and still everyone treats them like enemies."

"Isn’t this bullying? Doesn’t it make them...pitiful?"

Hearing this, Thomas turned and stared at him in silence for a beat. Then, without warning, he burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha!~"

It was sharp, booming, and full of disbelief, loud enough that a few students at the edge of the mob turned their heads in confusion.

Adam flushed red, shrinking a little. "W-What’s so funny?"

Thomas clapped him on the shoulder and pulled him closer, still chuckling. "You really are new here. You think they’re the ones being bullied? You think the organizations, the students, even this entire mob, are the ones on the winning side?"

Adam blinked nervously.

"Isn’t that right? The entire world is against them. Even if they’re strong, even if they’re ten individuals, they can’t take on the weight of the whole world, right?"

"And here, in the academy...they’re just five girls. They haven’t awakened their full potential yet. And the students..." He gestured helplessly to the jeering mob. "...they’re piling on, bullying them, laughing at them."

"Isn’t that too much, even for them?"

"That’s where you’re wrong, buddy. Very wrong." Thomas leaned in closer, his voice lowering to a secretive tone, though his grin was sharp as a knife. "Whether it’s out there in the world or right here in this academy, the ones who hold the absolute power aren’t the Federation, the nobles, or the mob."

"...It’s the Battle Angels. And their daughters."

Adam froze, watching Thomas’s eyes glint with something between admiration and fear.

"Listen carefully." Thomas continued. "Numbers? Influence? Politics?...All that is noise."

"What actually matters is True Power—true, raw, absolute power, thats what wins at the end of the day. And when it comes to power, there isn’t a soul alive who could stand against the Battle Angels if they chose to fight."

"I mean just think about it, if they wanted, in a single day, they could take the world. Rule as queens. No government, no army, no god could stop them...That’s the reality."

Adam’s throat went dry, goosebumps prickling along his arms. "That’s...insane."

Thomas nodded, eyes narrowing on Charlotte and Mika.

"And don’t think their daughters are any different. They inherited that same boundless potential. Even here, in this academy, no one can truly ’bully’ them. They’re lions pretending to be lambs."

"What you’re seeing right now? It isn’t the daughters being hunted...It’s the other way around. Every time someone thinks they’ve cornered them, they’re the ones who end up bleeding."

Adam blinked rapidly, trying to process. "But...But look at her. They’re mocking her, demanding she kneel—"

"Watch." Thomas interrupted, his tone almost amused. "Watch carefully. Especially with him here." His chin tilted toward Mika.

Adam’s brows furrowed. "Mika?"

Thomas smirked, lips curling into a half-sneer.

"The mad dog. The watchdog that never lets even a shadow fall on the daughters. Whenever he’s involved, things get messy. He doesn’t care about politics. Doesn’t care about consequences."

"...He’ll just tear apart anyone who tries to lay a finger on them like that rabid dog he is."

Adam swallowed hard, glancing nervously at Mika, whose expression was shifting—gone was the calm smile, replaced by a look that made the hairs on Adam’s neck stand up.

"What do you mean?" Adam asked, his voice tight. "What’s going to happen right now?"

Thomas simply shook his head, smirk widening as he folded his arms. "Just sit back and watch as every single one of those faces, so smug, so sure they’ve cornered her, turn pale with regret. Watch their confidence curdle into fear. The ones laughing now will be begging to escape before this is over."

Adam’s breath caught.

This isn’t bullying, Adam realized, shivering. This is a lion’s den. And the fools are laughing as they walk straight into it.