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The once lively Zerion Academy had quieted down after the students left for the Spring Demon Dungeon.

While a few first-year students remained, most of the assistants and faculty were stationed in front of the palace, awaiting further orders.

And in this moment of stillness—

Someone moved silently down the corridor, unnoticed by anyone.

That person was me.

Just then, clouds obscured the moon, casting a veil of darkness over the hallway.

It was eerily quiet.

There couldn’t have been a better time to sneak in.

Tonight, I planned to investigate Arcadium, the Chief Court Mage of the palace.

To gather even the smallest clue about him, I intended to infiltrate two locations:

His faculty dormitory,

and his private office at Zerion Academy.

Through these places, I hoped to uncover his true intentions for coming to Zerion Academy.

But an unexpected problem occurred.

I wasn’t the only one who had come here tonight.

My eyes turned behind me.

Two girls stood there.

One of them—my younger sister, who I’m honestly tired of introducing by now.

Xenia Niflheim.

The other—a rising prodigy in the first-year Department of Magic, using the alias Sekita.

In truth, she was Nikita Cynthia.

I had vaguely hinted to both of them that I wouldn't be heading to the palace.

But I hadn’t expected them to follow me all the way here.

“Senior, you know things will go much more smoothly with our help, right?”

Nikita noticed what I was thinking and smiled playfully.

She was right—both Xenia and Nikita’s magic skills would be a huge help for a stealth mission.

Unlike me, who could only manipulate magic inscriptions, they could wield actual magic with skill and understanding.

Our target was the Chief Court Mage.

Who knew what kinds of magical traps he had set up?

Their help would definitely be valuable.

“Hannon-oppa, I’ll do my best to help!”

Xenia clenched her fists, full of determination.

“And I’m also really curious whether Professor Arcadium truly has some hidden agenda for coming to Zerion Academy.”

Xenia had consistently tried to gather information on Arcadium for my sake.

But each time, all signs pointed to him being genuinely devoted to his role as an educator.

No matter how she looked at it, she couldn’t sense any hidden motives.

“Yeah. That’s what I came here to confirm.”

At last, we arrived in front of Arcadium’s private office.

The door was closed, and everything was quiet.

Since the first-years were still on campus, their professors hadn’t gone to the palace.

Instead, they were gathered in the faculty lodging for emergency standby.

Which meant the faculty office area was completely deserted.

Arcadium’s office was no exception.

Click—

As expected, the door was locked.

If we tried to force it open, security magic would activate.

At that moment, Nikita grabbed my hand.

“Senior, step aside.”

Was she going to use magic?

I moved back, and Nikita stood before the door.

She took a deep breath and reached into her pocket.

What she pulled out was a key.

I blinked in surprise.

Nikita smiled mischievously.

“The student council room keeps a master key to all faculty offices in case of emergencies.”

Of course she’d know that—she was the former vice president, after all.

“When did you get that?”

“As soon as you mentioned this plan. We’re technically not supposed to use it, but this counts as an emergency, right?”

Honestly, I could never bring myself to dislike her.

Thanks to her, we didn’t have to worry about any security spells.

Nikita inserted the key and opened the door.

Arcadium’s private office was revealed.

Stacks of documents and piles of magic books were scattered around.

It was clear he had been extremely busy even in his private office.

Then again, the beginning of the school year is always chaotic.

With the original first-year professor gone in a hurry, there probably hadn’t been a proper handover.

He must have been overwhelmed handling the classes by himself.

“Let’s search through everything, carefully—without leaving any traces.”

We needed to find any clue we could.

At my words, Xenia and Nikita began searching through the office.

I joined them, checking every corner and document.

After some time of thorough searching, a clear pattern emerged.

Arcadium was genuinely committed to his role as a professor at Zerion Academy.

That much was obvious from the materials he had gathered.

He had identified each magic student’s weaknesses and collected books and research to help them improve.

There were worn-out teaching manuals and guidance books that had clearly been read multiple times.

Historical records spanning hundreds of years related to the Demon Dungeon.

Everything in the room had been used for the benefit of the first-year students at Zerion Academy.

“…Senior, this isn’t something you could fake, even if you tried.”

As a former vice president who worked tirelessly for the academy, Nikita knew better than anyone.

She could tell this wasn’t staged.

No one could fake preparations this thorough for each individual student.

“Oppa, maybe you really misunderstood.”

Xenia murmured as she looked at the materials prepared for her.

Among them were research documents on Celestial Magic.

Compared to the others, it was vastly more extensive.

Celestial Magic was a lost art, requiring immense study.

These materials had been gathered solely for Xenia.

The entire room was filled with traces of Arcadium’s efforts.

There was even research on Dragon Magic.

The persona Nikita played—Sekita—was a Dragon Magic user.

Arcadium had clearly been studying ways to help her use it more effectively.

The amount of data on that subject was immense.

And, surprisingly, there were documents about Sharin as well.

Sharin—the top second-year student in the Department of Magic.

The documents detailed how she came to be the department’s top student.

“…Did he prepare this for me?”

Xenia muttered as she looked at Sharin’s materials.

My own mind grew clouded with confusion.

Had the Blue Tower Master's warning been a misunderstanding?

Or was there something else between them?

This room alone couldn’t answer that.

In the end, we had no choice but to leave the office without gaining any solid evidence.

But I had a feeling—

That even if we searched Arcadium’s dorm room, we’d find nothing new.

“Hannon-oppa?”

At that moment, Xenia suddenly called out to me.

As I looked toward her, she was gazing out the window.

Outside, several figures were quietly moving through the night.

A sense of doubt rose in my eyes as well.

During the height of the Demon Dungeon Festival, there was no reason for anyone to be roaming around the academy at night like that.

Fwoosh!

At that moment, the flame of ash flared up.

It was a reaction based on the instinct embedded within the flame of ash.

As the sudden flame surged, my eyes widened.

Without hesitation, I wrapped my arms around Nikita and Xenia.

KABOOOOOOM!

A tremendous explosion followed, sending us tumbling across the ground.

The professor’s building tilted, and the entire Zerion Academy shook.

My ears were ringing fiercely from the blast.

But regardless of that, I immediately checked Nikita and Xenia’s condition.

"Xenia, Nikita!"

"Senior, I’m okay."

"M-Me too."

Through the ringing in my ears, their replies came through.

Both of them had quickly cast defensive magic the moment I shielded them, realizing something had happened.

I finally felt relieved seeing that.

"Senior, what just happened?"

Nikita pushed aside the debris of the collapsed building, trying to assess the situation.

"The Flame of Ash suddenly reacted."

The Flame of Ash I inherited from Vulcan.

There was only one reason for it to react like this.

"They used a mystery related to flame."

Just moments ago, a number of figures had quickly exited the building.

Those people had used a flame-related mystery.

What does that mean?

"Mysticism."

The mystics we had previously subdued.

This was an act of terrorism carried out by their remnants.

They hadn't just targeted us during the distraction caused by the Demon Dungeon Festival when students and professors were away.

There had to be a purpose behind this.

Nikita swept back her veil and rose to her feet.

At the same time, a magically conjured sword appeared in her hand.

"Then it’s settled."

A dragon stirred in her eyes, filled with murderous intent — Nikita, who loved the academy as much as I did.

"We’ll catch them all."

I agreed.

These were the ones who had attacked Zerion Academy.

We had to make them pay for what they had done.

But before that, I pulled the bandages of the shroud, shifting my form anew.

"Xenia, Nikita."

At my call, the two turned to look at me.

Xenia’s eyes soon widened in surprise.

"Both of you, cast your spells on me."

The purpose behind the mystics’ terror attack—

I think I know what it is.

And maybe, just maybe, all of this is leading to a single point.

* * *

The collapsed professor’s building.

Amidst the fallen debris, someone was quietly walking.

A man cloaked in a robe.

He stopped in front of a hidden underground door beneath the professor’s building, known to no one.

A flame bloomed in his hand and melted the entire door.

Just as he was about to descend underground—

His steps suddenly halted.

Footprints had already been left on the underground stairs.

At that sight, a hint of confusion seeped from under the robe.

A clear sign that something had gone wrong.

"Looking for this?"

At that moment, a young girl’s voice echoed.

The man slowly turned his head.

There stood a girl with snow-white hair.

A small figure, as if not fully grown, with doll-like features.

She quietly gazed at the man.

In her arms—

She held a book.

A hidden grimoire left behind by Zerion.

A book containing knowledge about celestial magic.

A secret spellbook, unknown to the public.

It should have originally been located deep beneath this ground.

Xenia Niflheim.

The one known as Zerion’s descendant now stood holding the book.

Upon seeing this, a crackling sound of flame echoed from within the man’s robe.

By the time Xenia noticed, flames were already flying toward her.

BOOM!

The blazing fire engulfed Xenia.

Just as the man lowered his hand, thinking his mission was complete—

A fierce bolt of lightning surged through the flames.

The man quickly retreated, drawing his sword to deflect it.

The flame-infused sword barely repelled the lightning, but the explosion blew back his robe.

Scarlet-blonde hair fluttered in the night breeze.

At the same time, Xenia bit her lip slightly.

The man’s identity revealed from under the robe—

She knew him very well.

Lucas Fernando.

The protagonist of Flame Butterfly, presumed dead in Act 2, now stood here.