My Disciples Grind, I Get 100x Their Progress

Adelle raised her hand, a flash of dark green light flickering in her eyes, and the moment she extended her arm, rings of dark green lightning materialized in the air.

They spun like tops, causing the air around them to churn violently. The next second, those lightning rings shot forward, tearing through the wind.

"S-save yourselves!"

Several figures in dark robes, some distance away, fled in desperation. They tried to dodge, but no matter where they went, no matter how they weaved, the Lightning Rings simply kept chasing them down.

And once caught, the rings coiled around their bodies, clamping down tight, and the next instant, green lightning exploded outward in a violent, crackling surge.

Crackle—!!

Bzztt—!

"Aargh!?"

The captured figures in dark robes screamed in agony, saliva spilling from their mouths, their pale faces twisted into something genuinely pitiful.

Meanwhile, other robed figures who’d managed to escape felt a brief flicker of relief. They dashed through the corridor of the abandoned building fast, before a powerful gust of wind suddenly seized their bodies.

"H-huh!?"

Startled, they tried to break free, thrashing about in panic, but the wind only grew stronger, fiercer, and then—

Crack—! Crack—!

Both their arms bent at unnatural angles, followed by their legs. The sound of snapping bones rang out, and piercing screams of agony filled the entire corridor.

Lurker appeared through a window on the building’s exterior, stepping inside with calm, measured strides. His expression remained relaxed as he raised a single finger, and the figure’s body lifted into the air.

It took several hours for them to track down and capture every suspicious individual.

Once finished, Lurker regrouped with Adelle and the others. Professors and a considerable number of other hunters gathered too, each of them dragging along captured operatives from the organization that had been sowing chaos for humanity for so long.

"We’re done here."

"We’re done too."

"The eastern section’s clear as well."

They gathered in the hall of the long-abandoned building, surrounded by countless fragments of long-collapsed, mold-covered structures.

A musty smell and stale, dirty air lingered everywhere, but Lurker ignored it, focusing his attention on scanning the surroundings for a moment.

"...The higher-ups already fled, huh?"

The organization they were hunting called itself the Church of Ascension. An organization hiding beyond the safe zones of humanity, they’d established a kind of hideout within invaded territory, which made them exceptionally difficult to track down.

Just yesterday, intelligence had reported finding the Church of Ascension’s hideout, and given how troublesome they’d become, Lurker had decided to personally join in and lend his support.

The heads of their leadership were worth an enormous amount.

An organization that, somehow, genuinely believed the Invaders, the Aliens, represented the only salvation left in a world that seemed destined to end.

"What do you think? Feels like they already knew we were coming to attack, doesn’t it?"

Hearing that, Adelle couldn’t help but agree. She pursed her lips, taking in what remained here, just a handful of low-level operatives, ranging from Rank-F up to Rank-D at the highest.

"...Do you think we got played? Why are they so damn annoying?"

Adelle let out a rough sigh, thoroughly sick of this endless game of hide-and-seek. Beyond her surface role as an academy headmaster, Adelle also secretly served as a Hunter assigned specifically to hunt this organization down.

A special unit operating behind the scenes.

Meanwhile, Lurker ignored Adelle’s grumbling, his gaze drifting elsewhere.

’Now that I think about it, it really is strange, them being nearly impossible to track down before, and now suddenly this easy to find.’

"...Feels like they wanted us to come here on purpose, don’t you think?"

"Eh? Oh... right," Adelle rubbed her temple, nodding in agreement. "So then, what were they actually targeting? While we’re not in Central?"

Since Central itself still had other units stationed there, they wouldn’t act recklessly. So, at most, they’d target the most vulnerable location, and that place would be...

"Oh... the Academy?"

"Seems that way," Realizing just how serious this was, Lurker’s gaze drifted into the distance. "Even if we push at full speed, whatever they’ve planned there has probably already been set in motion by now."

Lurker cursed inwardly. He’d gotten far too reckless and impatient over this whole matter with the Church of Ascension, never once considering they might actually target the academy.

Besides, this had never happened before, not once.

He glanced at Adelle, trying to gauge her reaction, but all he saw was her beautiful face, relatively calm as she thought it over.

’So, is this what that Master meant? No wonder he asked the students to stay away from the park, that’s probably exactly where the trouble’s going to break out.’

Adelle let out a breath of relief. If her speculation about that man had been right all along, then there was nothing left to worry about.

Feeling Lurker’s gaze on her, she quickly spoke up. "I don’t think we need to worry, since that person’s already there."

"Who exactly are we talking about?"

"Kiena’s Master."

The moment Adelle mentioned Kina’s Master, Lurker went completely still. He sank into his own thoughts, since lately, Kina’s Master had become someone who kept surfacing in his mind, again and again.

He was genuinely curious who this person really was, and out of sheer curiosity, he looked at the others and said:

"Let’s head back, fast."

He hoped he’d make it in time, not for much, he just wanted to catch even a small glimpse of this Master.

***

"Master... what’s actually going on? Why are we forbidden from going into the park?"

Julian looked at Kina, letting out a rough sigh.

"You already knew you weren’t allowed in, so why did you come here?"

Julian stood right in front of the tree. He stood facing the exact spot where the Breach would eventually tear open, which meant Julian was, in fact, already standing in the park right now.

He was thoroughly terrified, his whole body trembling, but here Kina was, only making everything even more complicated for Julian.

Thankfully, Ilunia simply watched from a distance, not following Kina’s stubborn lead.

Quite the stark contrast between the two of them.

Kina blinked a few times and smiled. "Hehe, I was just curious."

"...Go back inside, don’t come back out, and tell your other classmates the same thing."

Even without understanding the reason, Kina understood well enough that something serious must have happened. So she didn’t push back much, turning to leave, but Julian stopped her before she could.

"Wait," Julian said, and Kina turned back, puzzled. Julian’s gaze landed on the training sword Kina carried, and he held out his hand. "Lend me that sword."

At this point, there was no way Julian could fight with just a knife again, right?

Especially since cracks had already started forming in that knife, a clear sign it wouldn’t hold up much longer.

Kina didn’t hesitate, handing over the sword before heading off, waving cheerfully as she went.

Julian then inspected the blade for a moment, cold sweat spreading across his entire body, before letting out another long sigh and glancing over at the academy building.

There, he could see students lined up neatly, watching from a distance. Even at this considerable distance, Julian could still make out the noisy chatter among them.

Every one of them wondering what was going on, why Julian was here, and why they’d been forbidden from entering the park.

’Just stay put, and if something happens to any of you, I really hope you won’t blame me for it.’

The moment that thought finished, a single crack suddenly split open in the empty air.

It had begun.

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