The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

Lord Mantis had once heard the previous headmistress say that even a barrier that could resist the push of a hundred beasts… could not stand the gnawing of a billion ants.     

And as he lay defeated on the ground today, he finally realized what it meant.     

When he had first seen Donna sneaking around and stealing a 'low level' beast's egg, his curiosity got the best of him, and he of course interrogated the flustered woman.     

Under the pressure of a pillar, she had no choice but to spill the beans after being caught red-handed.     

Of course, the woman expected expulsion, or worse, but much to her surprise, Mantis hadn't punished her at all. Instead, he even wanted to support her.  After all… if it goes against Aurora, it's all good fun. And getting her student killed… super fun!     

It is possible that the little brat won't care for her student dying in the forest accidentally, but she would definitely be supremely annoyed. Moreover, he could always tease her later about how pathetic her choice of a student had been.     

However, he never expected that Aurora would protect the girl so fiercely. Even stalking her while on an expedition! This was clearly absurd, but Mantis no longer had the mood to make fun of Aurora, nor did he dare to take matters lightly at that point.     

Evelyn… was too much of a threat.     

Mantis had too many secrets, and letting go of someone who could hide so perfectly and sneak around the academy right under his nose… impossible! She definitely had to die!     

As for Aurora, despite his words… Mantis never intended to kill her. But to reveal that little girl, he first had to defeat Aurora and pretend that he was going to kill her, only then would the little girl come out of hiding.     

And if she didn't… wouldn't that prove to the dumb little brat that the pink-haired girl wasn't worth nurturing or protecting?     

Once that was done, he could kill the little girl at any time.     

Unfortunately… he lost.     

Currently, his body was in tatters, with not a single strip of cloth left to preserve his dignity. Even his treasures and artifacts that had been inside his spatial artifact were all gone, as it had been shattered by Aurora's attack.     

When a spatial artifact broke, generally its contents would be spilled through the pocket dimension, and could appear anywhere in the universe. Perhaps a few things would drop right where it broke, while the rest were scattered billions of light-years away.     

However, with the mega-formation over the wonderland of doom… Mantis knew that all of his artifacts and treasures would only be scattered within this zone.     

As long as he could get out of this situation and recover quickly… he wouldn't lose too much!     

The dark-haired man wheezed, trying his best to remain calm as he fixed his gaze on the little girl not far from him. "A-Aurora… you've really grown, huh…"     

Aurora frowned. "Why were you scheming against my student? I don't understand… Even if you saw her technique as a threat, you couldn't have known about it before… Even I didn't know about it."     

Mantis laughed, though it turned into coughs halfway through. "I was j-just… having fun… t-that woman… has n-nothing to do with me…"     

Of course, the platinum-blonde didn't believe him at all. Unfortunately, the junior professor had long since vanished from her senses.      

It was impossible for her to have gone so far so quickly, so the only other possibility was that she used some artifact that hide herself. In that case, it would be difficult to search for her in this forest, especially in her current condition.     

Mantis thought he knew Aurora well, after thousands of years observing her. The girl may appear quite ruthless, but she generally spared those she considered even moderately talented. Be it Professor Dane or Madam Augury, neither of the two had been killed despite clearly getting on her bad side.     

Perhaps only once she was certain of the threat their continued existence could bring, such as those of an enemy faction, would she use lethal attacks.     

It was impossible for her to kill him, a pillar, an integral part of the ancient academy's strength!     

Or so he thought, but he could feel that there was a foreign energy slowly condensing further and further inside his head, as if ready to…     

Mantis couldn't help but panic. "Wh-what's this? What's this thing… in my head…?"      

Even though he tried to expel it with what little strength he had left, it was like a child trying to move a mountain. There was no effect at all.     

Aurora watched calmly as the dark-haired man's expression changed, turning uglier and uglier with every passing second.      

"I-It feels like… it's going to e-explode?!" Mantis gritted his teeth, pointing his mangled arm in Aurora's direction. "H-Hey… you won't kill me, right? H-Hey, get rid of this thing."     

Seeing her remain silent, the dark-haired man's eyes turned red. "I-I'm a pillar you know. Y-You can't kill me. Won't the academy get weaker without me? D-Don't you care? And why?! For the little girl? She's not showing up even now. See how easily she abandoned you and ran away?! Can't you see?!"     

In the end, Aurora sighed. "I won't kill you… you're… already dead."     

"Huh?"     

"Evelyn? If you're still here, come out. He's not a threat anymore."     

The pink-haired girl had of course been overcautious, and didn't dare come out of hiding before Aurora called her out.     

After all, if she revealed herself believing that the battle was already over, and got caught by the opponent instead, turning the tides against her own teacher… that would be such a joke! Evelyn refused to be so foolish.     

Only once Aurora assured her that everything was fine did she cancel her skill, and appear right where she had been when the mountain rhino had first charged at her.     

"Teacher."     

Aurora smiled. "So you were right here, huh? Amazing…"     

Evelyn chuckled, feeling slightly embarrassed.     

Meanwhile, Mantis had already started beating his mangled fist on the ground in rage. "Stop this nonsense! Listen to me! I… am your father."     

The dark-haired man had expected Aurora's expression to immediately morph into rage or disbelief, but the platinum-blonde girl just tilted her head curiously, making his already erratic heart clench painfully in his chest. "A-Aurora!"     

Hadn't she been curious at all who her other parent had been, all these thousands of years? It was true that the headmistress had never married, but with her strength, Aurora should have been easily able to tell that her spirit egg had more than one parental signature! Did she not care at all?!     

Mantis couldn't believe it, and in his despair, he couldn't help but start sobbing. "Y-You can't kill me! YOU CAN'T! I'm your father! Aurora! You bitch! Unfilial whore! Stop this at once—!"     

The platinum-blonde shook her head, and Evelyn couldn't tell whether her teacher was regretful… or didn't care at all. "In this condition, there is only one person in this world who can save you… and I'm not her."     

And as if that was the final nail in his coffin, Lord Mantis, an ancient powerhouse and a pillar of the academy… exploded into bits and pieces, which further kept exploding until there was nothing but a thin mist. And that, too, vanished shortly.      

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Even Evelyn had been shocked by the abrupt explosion of the man's body, and if not for Aurora shielding her, she might have been momentarily covered in gore.     

Of course, with Aurora's personality, she immediately wanted to leave, and given that her teacher didn't appear to be in a good condition, Evelyn also didn't want to dally any longer.     

However, before she left, she didn't forget to grab the black spirit sphere that Mantis had taken out to deal the last blow to Aurora.     

Aurora felt her eyebrow twitch as her greedy little student returned to her side with a sheepish smile.     

"Y-You're poisoned. L-Let's go get my aunt."     

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At first, her teacher had insisted that the poison would be cleared from her system naturally within a few days, though it would have been lethal for many.      

However, once Evelyn also understood a little about Aurora's position in the academy by now, and once she reminded her of the possible repercussions of a pillar's death, her teacher could only agree to the treatment.     

And despite Aurora's heavily bruised and poisoned appearance, she was still able to fly them all the way back to the White Lily Mansion swiftly. Of course, Evelyn gave her one of the hundreds of dresses she had lying in her cluttered inventory, as her teacher might otherwise be embarrassed to show up in front of her friends practically naked.     

Given that Aurora was about the same size as her… the little red frock fit her perfectly.     

But even in new clothes, when Cecilia and the Gilmore sisters saw Evelyn return with Aurora covered in bluish-purple bruises, they of course immediately panicked.     

"Kyaa!"     

"Aurora?!"     

"W-What happened?!"     

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