Seeing the disappearing figure of Alexios, Thalia sighed in relief, as at least she could assure that Zeph was safe,’I should also follow’

She moved towards the hallway leading to the garden while stammering.

.

.

.

.

SWISH!

Alexios swiftly moved in the direction of Zeph, sensing his mana to pinpoint his location.

His mind was filled with thoughts of what his sister had just informed him,’ Hope he is safe or else Thalia’

He didn’t show much concern for Zeph’s well-being, but he was deeply worried about the sadness that would consume his sister if anything were to happen to that boy.

This concern drove him to investigate whether his sister was being deceived or not, and he did so by inquiring about Zeph’s feelings for her.

As in reality, upon reaching the bathroom, he discovered that both Professor Adriannel and Zeph had already left.

’What could have happened?’

He had known from an early age that his sister’s intuition was great.

It was also the reason why Alexios had come to the conclusion that the day’s monster attack had been orchestrated.

That day, if there really was such danger in their way, Thalia should have already sensed it as she always did. But that day, it was as if all her abilities were blocked.

For Alexios, it was not hard to come to the conclusion that someone must have tampered with her abilities, making it impossible to detect upcoming dangers.

Although her ability was not fully awakened at that moment, it should have been enough to detect any danger in her way.

After thinking about all the individuals strong enough to nullify someone’s inborn ability, he found some names, and among them was someone who was more deeply related to him than any other — The Obsidian Order.

He had already noticed that day about those monsters being not normal at all, as if they were stimulated by something.

In the human realm, it was impossible for other realms to interfere without alerting the guardians known as Order.

It became even clearer after noticing a pattern within this whole realm — the sudden deaths of rising individuals.

It was not that obvious until he noticed that all of those people had rejected the offer to join hands with the Obsidian Order, just like his mother, who had rejected the offer to join hands with them.

After some time, she suddenly disappeared. He tried everything, but in the end, he decided to take care of his two-year-old sister rather than drowning himself in his mother’s memories.

It was also a reason for his obsession with Thalia.

Even though he didn’t know about his mother’s whereabouts, he would at least protect his sister

’Don’t tell me those bastards are at it again,’

BANG

Thud

"Ughh!"

Alexios clenched his hand as he felt a strong sideways force throwing him against the nearby wall, while supporting himself his eyes fell on a materializing dome of mana,’Is it an Isolation barrier?’

His eyes quivered at a rapid pace as he tried to find someone nearby, but he found himself alone inside that energy dome, separating the outside world with a strong illusion.

WHOOSH!

Realising something, he condensed his mana, before bursting all of it out of his body, sending a shockwave inside the barrier, making a figure materialize in thin air.

"Oh, is it the Mana Quartz Theory?"

Banzihum’s figure materialized in thin air as his eyes focused on his hands, which were becoming visible.

Mana Quartz were the fundamental particles that created a form by arranging themselves at a minuscule level.

The arrangements caused the formation of a new form of energy with properties that varied based on different characteristics.

For example, when a small structure formed by the arrangement of Mana particles vibrated at a frequent pace, it caused heat to be released. Using the pre-existing Mana Quartz as fuel, they produced fire.

Based on this theory, Alexios, to deactivate the invisible form of that figure, condensed the mana within his body and then released it all of a sudden, causing a disturbance in the flow of mana Quartz inside the field and destroying their structure, revealing the figure.

"Y-you!"

Alexios looked towards the figure with wide eyes as he recognized him.

His emerald eyes reflected the figure of a beautiful elf with long green cascading hair and long pointed ears, revealing his race’s characterstics.

BOOM!

With a sudden crashing sound of the air, Banzihum’s figure vanished and reappeared in front of Alexios’s face.

His claws grabbed Alexios’s face with a tight grip before throwing him once again.

"Ughh!"

Alexios, before he could react, found himself in the air.

In that brief moment, he clenched his teeth before mana burst to his outer body, landing on the floor before launching himself against Banzihum.

BOOM!

"You bastard!"

With a reverberating sound, Alexios shouted and closed the distance between them in the blink of a moment.

"How energetic of you"

Banzihum looked towards the young man moving towards him, covered in his mana, with a calm face and a slight smile forming on Banzihum’s face.

In that blink of a moment, it was as if the world seemed to stop.

Alexios’s eyes fixed on Banzihum widened. It was like the world had become slow, but for Alexios’s brain, it was not hard to register what it was.

It was Time Freeze, a lost ancient magic, only known among ancient Elves and their bloodline.

"Dammit!"

With a shout, a bracelet in Alexios’s hands activated, and an amethyst aura exploded and covered his body.

CRACK!

The air fractured due to Demonic Energy, as the magic used by Banzihum vanished due to the sudden surge of Demonic energy.

Elves, aligned with nature, tend to use pure mana, which is as pure as divine energy, making it weak against its opposite, Demonic energy.

Normally, with the power Banzihum had, a demonic seed’s energy was impossible to destroy his magic, but that bracelet was not any normal demonic seed.

It was a symbol of strength, a fragment of a drop from the enormous ocean of Demonic Energy — Amrantha Tenebri Noctilucis.

A pesky elf’s divine energy was like a stick blocking a mountain, and only at that minuscule level, it showed how strong Amrantha Herself was.

"Kugh!"

Banzihum got thrown three steps back due to impure energy.

Removing his hand from his face, his eyes reflected the figure of a man whose whole body was burning in intense amethyst flames.

The flames started to vanish, revealing the figure of a man with burning eyes and a horn of complete amethyst, just like his eyes, burning with an intense hue.

"Tell me, Twinkletoes, why do you want to harm Zeph?"

Alexios intentionally used a humiliating word to address Banzihum.

For normal humans, it might not sound humiliating at all or even seem normal, but Elves held pride far beyond anyone.

Addressing an elf with names like "Twinkletoes," "Pointy-Ears," "Leaf Licker," and "Shoemaker’s Secret" were far more than just humiliating.

Alexios’s intention in enraging the figure in front of him was simple — he wanted to distract that figure in a fit of anger to flee from here, to a place where he can get help.

He was not a coward to run away from some battle, but right now, he knew that if something happened to him here, no one would know, and neither would he be able to save his sister.

For him, there was a line between bravery and stupidity.

And right now, it was utterly foolish to engage in a battle with a monster like the figure in front of him.

He knew Banzihum didn’t even used one-tenth of his strength. For him, the trees that don’t bow in front of storms get themselves uprooted.

He decided to act calmly and not let his anger take over his senses and calmly waited for the results to show themselves.

"You know how to provoke me."

WHOOSH

With a resounding sound, an ethereal aura sword materialized in Banzihum’s skilled grasp.

The surrounding air seemed to shimmer with a mirage of heat waves as his figure blurred, leaving a faint afterimage.

SWISH

The swift swing of the blade sliced through the air.

In the tense standoff, Alexios swiftly moved his hands in front of his chest.

BOOM!

The demonic energy oozing from his bracelet collided with the radiant aura sword, resulting in a thunderous sound.

Creating an aura sword in thin air without a physical medium was a feat reserved for Sword Masters of exceptional skill.

Banzihum’s mastery over the blade demonstrated his extraordinary swordsmanship, which was no surprise given his position as a professor at Valeria Academy.

As Banzihum’s dense, pure mana clashed with the bracelet’s dark, demonic energy, the bracelet’s strength became evident.

It could repel divine energy, but the aura sword’s sharpness and strength sliced through the dense energy, causing it to break.

CRACK

A small smile graced Alexios’s face, leaving Banzihum puzzled until Alexios uttered, "You bastards shouldn’t have made my sister sad"

WHOOSH

Alexios vanished, leaving Banzihum bewildered.

He stood there, staring at a broken bracelet on the floor, which gradually burned into nothingness, releasing an amethyst smoke.

With clenched teeth, Banzihum realized that, for the first time, a human had outsmarted him.

He narrowed his gaze and turned his attention towards Zeph, who was sitting with Adriannel at a distance. At first glance, Banzihum sensed that something was amiss.

All elves were aware of the hidden truth about a seemingly ordinary human professor from the academy, A cold glint passed through his eyes.

’After we deal with this anomaly you will be next, Adriannel’