Path of the Extra

Solomon and Ranni might have tried to hide it, but Azriel was no fool.

In fact, they weren't even trying to hide it—not really—with their expressions practically screaming the truth.

...Someone had deliberately tampered with the mana collar.

Someone had tried to kill Azriel, knowing Solomon would throw the grade-three demon at him. They'd messed with the collar to the point that, if it sustained a certain amount of damage, it would break.

In short, it was a miserable assassination attempt.

Though "miserable" didn't mean it wasn't serious.

Especially now, with Azriel already being hunted by the underground world, he doubted this was just a coincidence.

The fact that it happened within the walls of the Hero Academy made his mood even darker.

The Hero Academy was no joke.

Anyone would have to be incredibly stupid, absurdly bold, or terrifyingly strong—maybe all three at once—to attempt something like this. The academy was backed by the strongest humans in the world.

He had no idea who could have done this. Not yet. But he had to find out quickly. If his fears came true—if someone was truly coming for his life—things could spiral out of control fast.

So, it didn't help when Azriel returned to his team only to find perhaps the last person he wanted to encounter in his current mood.

Standing inches away from Anastasia, Azriel gritted his teeth. Those deep blue eyes of hers, trembling for a fleeting moment, only to harden as she glared back at him, did little to soften his frustration.

'What am I doing? Threatening her…'

It was because of Jasmine. She was about to insult Jasmine, and he'd snapped.

He was venting his anger on her.

But Anastasia...

Azriel knew all about her.

Daughter of Sylius Gale—the strongest grade-one Saint.

A girl who would join Lumine's harem in The Path of Heroes book.

Blessed by one of the Ten Gods—the God of War.

...The Apostle of War.

The Daughter of War.

A girl who absolutely loathed the four great clans with every fiber of her being.

Anastasia was no fool.

Her father was currently missing. Though she likely didn't know the full story, she was smart enough to connect the dots. She knew the four great clans were somehow responsible.

The same clans that had always been the reason her father was unable to spend time with her.

Now?

He'd been gone for over a year.

And not long after his disappearance, an unreasonable amount of money had been deposited into her account. She knew exactly where it came from. The four great clans. As if they were compensating her for something.

'She must think Sylius is dead.'

But that wasn't the case.

Sylius Gale was alive. Somewhere. Fighting the horrors of the Void Realm to become stronger.

As all these thoughts raced through Azriel's mind, the cold glint in his eyes dulled significantly.

He could feel everyone staring at him. Their gazes were heavy with shock after hearing his threat to Anastasia. Even the instructors were tense, visibly on edge.

Azriel clicked his tongue inwardly.

'Cowards.'

The instructors didn't want to intervene with cadets, which was normal for the Hero Academy. But now? Because of who Anastasia and Celestina were, they hesitated.

If something happened to either of them, the four great clans wouldn't stay quiet.

Especially not after the recent Neo Genesis attack in CASC. The academy was already walking on a razor's edge.

Anastasia was about to open her mouth, but before she could, Azriel took a few steps back, sighing as he looked at the others.

"Enough of this. We're not little kids anymore. Start behaving accordingly."

His voice wasn't cold, but it carried no warmth either.

It was indifferent—tinged with exhaustion and resignation.

The words made everyone purse their lips, their words dying before they could surface.

Anastasia kept glaring at Azriel, her eyes blazing with anger, but oddly enough, she stayed quiet.

Then, without warning, the four instructors—who had been watching silently from the treetops—landed on the ground. Azriel turned to face them, confusion flickering across his face.

One of the instructors, a blond-haired, middle-aged man with tired brown eyes, stepped forward to address the two teams.

"We've just received word that the test has been canceled for your safety. We'll escort you out of the forest since Instructor Solomon is currently unavailable."

Azriel furrowed his brows at the man's words.

'Did something else happen?'

He'd met Solomon just moments ago, and there had been no mention of canceling the test. Solomon hadn't seemed to have any intention of doing so either.

...Something must have occurred.

The others glanced at each other, their confusion clear, but no one spoke. They simply nodded in acknowledgment, their expressions subdued. The atmosphere felt heavy, oppressive, as if even breathing had become a burden.

"Why is the test canceled so suddenly? Did something else happen?"

The middle-aged instructor looked at him, hesitation clear on his face. There was a flicker of something complicated in his eyes before he finally opened his mouth.

"...Like the grade-three demon whose mana collar broke down and you defeated, there were similar devices placed on other void creatures deeper in the inner layer. They've begun malfunctioning as well. The void creatures are going into a frenzy. Continuing the test would be too dangerous."

Azriel narrowed his eyes at the instructor, ignoring the shocked gazes that turned toward him.

'I defeated it, huh?'

Were they trying to buy his silence by crediting him with the kill of the Ebonclimber?

Hearing the explanation, Azriel's gaze darkened even further.

'This is too suspicious.'

With this explanation, the incident could be shrugged off as a coincidence. After all, it wasn't just the Ebonclimber's mana collar that broke—other void creatures wearing similar devices had started acting up as well, right after the Ebonclimber's defeat.

But... was this really an assassination attempt?

Up until now, he'd simply assumed—just like Solomon and Ranni—that someone had tried to harm him. That this was done with the intent to kill.

But was killing Azriel really the goal here?

Surely, whoever was behind this knew the instructors would step in if Azriel's life was in danger. Especially with Solomon present.

Unless...

Azriel's face darkened considerably.

It's not an assassination attempt.

'It's an attempt to gauge my strength.'

*****

Ranni walked toward Solomon, who was leaning against a tree with his arms crossed, staring off into the distance.

When she reached him, she extended her hand, holding a broken piece of a mana collar.

They were deep within the inner layer of the forest.

Some of the void creatures in this area were used for experiments, including the testing of mana collars.

Now, Ranni held one of those damaged collars in her hand.

"It's just as you thought," she said. "These mana collars are remote-controlled. Just like when Prince Azriel fought—someone deactivated the collar. Now the same thing has happened all at once with the void creatures here."

Solomon glanced at her, then shifted his gaze to the piece of metal in her hand. He took it from her without a word, inspecting it closely.

"You said it yourself: the ones who invented and made this device were a group of kids and young adults. But... I doubt geniuses who can create something like this are also responsible for their own invention failing."

Ranni looked at his hand holding the device and narrowed her eyes.

"So, an assassination attempt on the prince, huh?"

Solomon nodded, his lips curving up into a smirk.

"Either that, or there was another meaning behind this. It looks like Freya, Juliet, and Salvator failed to eliminate all the pests in the academy... or is this a new one? I wonder who is bold enough to challenge us like this without fear."

Ranni rubbed her temples, a sigh escaping her lips.

"Either way, we'll have to interrogate the entire engineering department. I've already canceled the test and instructed the instructors to escort everyone out of the forest."

Solomon frowned.

"Why? It's not like the void creatures here will leave the inner layer."

Ranni shook her head.

"We need to search the entire forest thoroughly. There might be some sort of evidence we can find."

At her words, Solomon's face fell.

"You know, for someone who's always sleep-deprived, you sure have a talent for staying that way."

Ranni shot him a cold glance.

"Don't try to get out of this. Go teleport those kids back to the academy, inform Freya, and help me with the other instructors afterward."

A sour look appeared on Solomon's face as he clicked his tongue, then walked off, dropping the mana collar onto the ground as he grumbled,

"I should've just called in sick today and gamed at home."