William?" Mark's voice snapped him out of his daze.

The blond boy turned back toward the ground, only to find that Mark had already slaughtered every last devil. And currently, he was staring at him with a frown.

"What happened to you?" he asked. "You looked like you were about to finish them off, but then you just… stopped."

William let out a slow breath and stared at his hand, still unable to believe he had hesitated—stopped—just because Emma's thoughts had crossed his mind.

He didn't tell Mark that.

Landing back on the surface, William simply said, "Thanks. You handled it well."

Mark blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the unexpected praise. Clearing his throat, he shifted the topic.

"So," he asked, "what are you going to do now?"

William looked off into the distance before muttering, "There are several more survivors out there. I'll go bring them here as well."

Turning to Mark, he asked, "Can you accommodate all of them?"

Mark let out a tired sigh. "That's our duty—to keep them protected until the Hall members deal with the Sink."

William frowned and turned forward, his gaze hardening.

"Then what exactly are they doing," he asked, "that so many devils are breaking through their defenses?"

Mark wore a frown of concern as well. "It was said to be just a Class IV threat… and yet they're taking this long."

The two of them stood in silence for a few moments before William spoke.

"Well," he said, "let's do what we're told."

As he spoke, his figure began to levitate once more.

Mark took a few steps back and watched William fly off toward the central region of the village.

Once he was gone, one of Mark's team members approached and asked, "Never knew you were so close to Delimore, Mark."

Mark chuckled inwardly. Neither did I.

…

As William returned to the central lane leading to the plaza, he found that Mia and Angelica had already gathered more than ten survivors in one place and were rushing toward more houses.

They're quite dedicated. That was good for the mission—once the rescuing was done, he could finally leave.

Looking down, he could see the civilians panicking, for obvious reasons.

That was why William addressed them all through telepathy.

[Don't worry. You made the right decision to leave your houses—those devils could have easily cornered you in a closed space.]

His voice made everyone jolt. The civilians looked around in confusion, whispering among themselves as they realized they had all heard the same voice inside their heads.

William continued,

[Stay where you are. You will be escorted to safety shortly. Keep your loved ones close and do not make noise, no matter what you see or hear.]

Devils were drawn to weak humans who radiated barely any aether. To them, the townspeople were nothing more than appetizers, desperately needed to replenish their strength.

Aether corrupted by nyx was the perfect remedy, allowing those devils to grow stronger and regenerate faster.

That was precisely why the central administration never allowed towns like these to exist in isolation.

Yet this sudden influx of Death Sinks did not spare the town, even though it lay so close to the headquarters of the Great Hall.

The citizens thankfully heeded his advice and quieted down.

William knew Angelica and Mia would need some time to gather more people before escorting them away.

That was why he decided to go and take a look at the Death Sink.

He was curious to know what exactly had caused such a prolonged battle, when something as small as a Grade IV should have been dealt with long ago.

As his figure advanced toward the battle zone, a voice reached him from below, "Where are you going?!"

It was Angelica.

Ignoring her, William continued his march toward the plaza.

The sounds of battle grew clearer and more violent. Explosions cracked the air as thunder rolled overhead, while pillars of flame tore through shattered streets.

Negative energy saturated the surroundings, thick and oppressive, yet William felt no difficulty inhaling it.

As he drew closer, he saw it.

A jagged crimson crack split the central plaza open, pulsing like an open wound. From it, devils poured out relentlessly, claws scraping against stone as they clawed their way free.

They were so desperate to enter the mortal plane that they kicked, trampled, and shoved aside their own brethren, screeches overlapping in a frenzy.

Buildings lay fractured, debris littered the ground, and the air rang with roars, spell detonations, and the screams of dying creatures.

Such a vision of inhumane beings forcing their way into the living world was something no normal human should ever witness, or they might never again close their eyes to sleep in peace.

William finally turned toward the people who were supposed to deal with the danger and contain the devils within the plaza.

"What…?" His eyes widened in shock as he saw them, the ones fighting the devils with clenched teeth and bleeding bodies.

They were not members of the Great Hall, but students.

They were no older than William, and he recognized a few of them from his time at the contest.

'What in the seven worlds are they doing here?'

He could not understand why there was not a single official present at the site.

Weren't they responsible for evacuating civilians and ensuring their protection? Wasn't the defense supposed to be in their hands?

How could they be so absurd, or did they simply not regard public safety as their concern?

'This is so fucked up.'

….

Back at the island headquarters, an emergency meeting was called.

"What?!" Guinevere slammed her hand on the table and shot to her feet.

The reaction was expected. The news itself was absurd.

Kiera lowered her head, fists clenched tightly in her lap. "How can they be so irresponsible?"

The one who brought the news, a young man with short black hair, spoke nervously, "It was a miscalculation on our part, ma'am."

Guinevere growled, "What miscalculation? You sent a bunch of kids to rescue hundreds of civilians. Just admit that."

Domella sighed and said, "Calm down, Guinevere. Let the man speak first."

The black-haired lady scoffed. "What will he say now?"

The messenger swallowed hard. This was his first time standing before a seated member, and he had already earned the woman's clear animosity.

Even so, he continued, "The other two bases failed to communicate with headquarters and were unaware that the others would be sending their new recruits for this mission."

Domella leaned back in her seat. "So, each base assumed another would dispatch officials to oversee the operation, and instead, everyone sent teenagers to rescue those people. That is something I have never seen happen before."

The only man in the room added, "There were a few officers at the site, ma'am, since they had sensed the awakening."

Kiera frowned. "Then why is it taking so long to take down a fourth-grade Sink?"

The messenger's arrival had been meant to signal an emergency, yet Kiera could not understand what the emergency was if officers were already present at the site.

The messenger delivered the final blow. "In that town… a dual fracture has taken place."

Everyone in the room froze at his words.

A dual fracture, or double spawning, meant that two Death Sinks had appeared on the surface, either at the same time or within a few seconds of each other.

The man continued, "However, their energy was suppressed so efficiently that our officers failed to sense it at first and therefore did not inform the base."

"…Are they dead?" Kiera asked, her heart already weighing heavy.

The messenger lowered his head and nodded.

Guinevere gritted her teeth in frustration. This had never happened before. A dual fracture released such overwhelming energy that even without visual confirmation, one could sense its malice from miles away.

"So…" Domella began, "You received the intel and rushed to us because the headquarters was the closest. Well, good job."

Both Kiera and the messenger were shocked by the calmness in her voice, despite how grim the situation had become.

Guinevere glared at the brunette. "You don't have a heart, do you? How can you remain so calm after hearing such a severe news."

"Mourning can wait, Guinevere. And when you join the Great Hall, you must be prepared to surrender your life for public safety. They simply did their duty."

Aether burst from Guinevere, flooding the entire room.

The messenger nearly fell backward in fear, while Kiera instantly rose, ready to stop Guinevere if she took even one more step toward Domella.

In a low voice, Kiera said, "Please, Miss Guinevere. We should focus on saving those students and civilians for now."

Domella seemed unaffected by the hostility and said calmly, "Take Brutus, Emma, and a few more students with you. They will be helpful."

There was so much Guinevere wanted to say, but for now, she chose to prioritize something else and rushed out of the room.

'Don't die on me, you brats.'

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