Arza had been training in her private hall when her senses suddenly started feeling strange.

Something was wrong.

A strange and instinctive discomfort began spreading through her soul.

She didn't know why.

So she did what she always did and kept pushing her body, hoping the feeling would fade but it didn't instead it only grew stronger with every passing second.

"…What is happening?"

She finally stopped and that was when she noticed it.

The ring on the ring finger of her left hand was glowing red.

The ring was the Eternal Vow, the artifact that bound her to the boy.

Rael.

After the engagement, Arza had deliberately kept her distance from him for several days even though she herself had asked him to teach her about emotions.

There was only one reason.

Every time she was near him, a strange gentle and deeply unsettling warmth spread through her chest.

She didn't understand it and because of that, she avoided him except, of course, when she went to collect her daily share of chocolate from him.

What puzzled her even more was that, despite all the sweet words he had spoken, Rael didn't seem to mind the distance at all.

That, somehow, made it worse.

So Arza did the only thing that made sense to her and kept training because the ring only made her feel that strange warmth and not some emotions.

And now, that same ring was blinking red which meant, Rael's life was in danger. At least, that was how she understood it.

Yet not a single flicker of emotion crossed her face as she didn't care about his life or his death.

But… from what she knew about the artifact, the Eternal Vow bound the two of them until death and if the boy died, that would mean her own death as well.

Arza stared at the glowing ring in silence.

…That's inconvenient.

With those thoughts she moved.

—

After several minutes of sprinting, Arza arrived near Rael's dorm as her eyes immediately caught the scene.

A senior student was attacking Rael with a greatsword.

She didn't interfere and only watched.

She saw how Rael was still smiling even under such conditions but she didn't think he could win… as the difference between the strength was too wide.

And yet… he somehow froze the senior before stepping closer as if to end his life… but then an arrow came flying and pierced Rael's shoulder.

Arza saw the arrow clearly and how it twisted through the air. It was wrapped in destructive wind mana and crossed the distance in mere seconds.

Her gaze followed its path and then she saw a boy perched on a tree branch, already drawing another arrow, his focus entirely on Rael.

And she moved without hesitation.

Her steps were light and almost unreal as she appeared behind the boy in a matter of a few seconds. The cold edge of her scythe brushed against his neck.

The archer was D-Rank as well but his mana was nearly depleted and he was a long-range fighter.

"Found you." She muttered coldly.

He barely had time to react before she moved and her blade sliced across his neck cleanly.

A crimson arc burst from his severed neck as his eyes widened in disbelief, his body collapsing lifelessly from the branch with a low thud.

Arza didn't spare him another glance.

Threat removed.

Then her eyes shifted back toward where Rael was but something felt off. Mist had completely swallowed his surroundings, and she couldn't see through it normally.

Her serpentine crimson eyes glowed faintly as she focused, finally piercing through the veil.

What she saw next would have looked like pure insanity to anyone else but Arza was different.

She only kept watching as if witnessing some art.

He took attack after attack, his body breaking further each time, yet every response he gave was brutal and unforgiving.

He was more injured than his opponent, far closer to collapse but he never knelt.

In the end, even the one stronger than him gave up. Not because he was weaker but because he couldn't match the madness Rael displayed.

Arza didn't know why, but watching that insanity and cruelty made her feel something strange stir within her.

Still, she controlled herself and moved toward the boy.

—

[Rael's POV]

My body was in immense pain and my laughter had mostly faded but instead of agony, all I felt was boredom.

My opponent had given up right when it was starting to get fun.

Still, I forced myself to control it.

This insanity was strange. It was consuming me and if I didn't stop it now… I had a feeling I would end up doing something I would regret.

It wasn't making me berserk but it was making me ignore pain which would definitely bite my ass later once this whole effect was over.

That didn't mean I was going to forgive the ones who attacked me.

The archer hadn't attacked again after his interference. That was enough for me to know he was either completely out of mana or had run away after seeing his partner lose.

Or maybe he was lying in wait.

Either way, it didn't matter anymore.

Even with my body broken like this and my massive mana pool near empty, if I activated the Mana Heart effect of <<Draconic Resilience>>, I could deal with him easily… and then collapse in peace.

But before that, I had this guy to take care of.

I looked down at the bastard who had put me to this condition and raised my hand. A single card appeared because that was all I could muster with my remaining mana.

"What are you doing?" An ominous feeling probably crept in the poor guy's heart but well, I wasn't one to care.

"I am just repaying what you did to me tenfold." I replied with a smile. "Hopw you don't mind what happens next."

With that thought, I unleashed my card on him as the silent area echoed with the screams of the man whose name I didn't even know.

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