The Rebirth of Evelyn Knox

The atmosphere in the Ancient Academy seemed to get more and more oppressive by the day, and even the students soon became affected by the depression, despite most of them being cut off from the outer world.     

The most that they could hear were rumors that were being circulated in the forbidden cities, but what little they did hear was still enough to send chills up their spine.     

The war between the superpowers had already made many of them anxious, especially the students of Gwyntere and the Lavinian Empire, but they hadn't completely lost hope.     

After all, it wasn't the first time these two superpowers were fighting, and it likely wouldn't be the last. The situation was dire, but certainly not apocalyptic.     

With some luck, their families should be able to survive, or so most of them thought. With the lack of communication and isolation from the outer world, they could only convince themselves so.     

However, the matter of one of the strongest powers in the world expanding their influence while using the Terrazyme Kingdom as their spearhead was something else entirely.     

Even the Aquans, who had mostly maintained a neutral stance, for the most part, couldn't help but be alarmed.     

Their world only had three major continents, and the last one that faced the Temple of Shinra's rapid expansion was already 'united as one' under their 'guidance'. Would their fate be the same?     

Even if the commoners didn't care so much, the elites immediately lost all their sleep.     

As Evelyn made her way to the 'cafeteria', ignoring the hundreds of strange looks being thrown her way, she couldn't help but do a double-take at the haggard appearance of Eula. "What happened to you?"     

The green-haired girl shook her head with a sigh. "Nothing much, Evelyn. Don't worry, I was just… worried for my princess."     

The pink-haired girl frowned. "What's wrong with her?"     

Eula seemed to hesitate for a while before she grit her teeth. "It's no secret. But the royal fleet was confiscated by the Temple of Shinra. I don't believe my princess or the empress would agree to give it up, a-and… I haven't heard from her."     

After a moment of silence, she held her head in her hands and groaned. "She didn't even reply to my message earlier!"     

Evelyn had thought that they were only slowly increasing their influence and making preparations, but to be able to seize what was possibly the greatest fleet in the continent, although it was not militaristic in nature… it seemed like whatever they were planning to do wouldn't take long at all.     

'Moreover, if they can just suppress the royal families like that…' Evelyn sighed. 'No, of course they can, what am I thinking? As long as one of the hegemons gives an order, would they dare to disobey?'     

Evelyn didn't know the exact power dynamic between the local superpowers of the continent and the old thrones, but she was sure that the thrones should still be able to suppress them somehow.     

In that case,  there was no telling what happened to the Aquan princess.     

She couldn't help but shake her head. Even if she thought so, saying that while Eula was so distraught would be insensitive at best. "Maybe she's just busy, so—"     

Eula groaned. "My princess won't ignore me!"     

Evelyn didn't know how else to console her, so she could only smile awkwardly. Eula was one of the people she was relying on to obtain the information she otherwise wouldn't be able to know, so she still owed her quite a bit in terms of favors.     

Just as they were about to continue their conversation, however, a palpitation ran through her heart, and her eyes unconsciously turned towards the sky.     

A wave of power seemed to have materialized high up, far above them and in the distance, but even then, Evelyn felt a threat of death just from the vague sensation.     

'T-This is… so much spirit power—?! No, t-that's something else!'     

There was no time for her to prepare at all, and the wave of power flashed like a bolt of lightning, and a tremendous impact rang through the ears of every student and teacher in the academy.     

Evelyn ran out of the cafeteria even as most students collapsed on the ground in shock and fear, and finally saw the white spear in the sky, far in the distance.     

It was right above the tower of solitude.     

A thin layer of protection had halted it in its tracks, but it only seemed to be able to hold the spear back momentarily before it slowly started pushing downwards. An agonizingly painful screeching echoed throughout the academy with every inch of its progress through the barrier, and Evelyn saw its direction change away from the tower, tilting more and more sideways.     

By the time it was close to the ground, it was already dozens of meters away from the Tower of Solitude. The thin film finally gave way, and a shockwave erupted from the spear as it was embedded into the ground.     

It seemed to be harmless, but wherever it passed, the people there heard a peal of scathing and mocking laughter in their ears. 'Don't meddle in the games of the mighty, you powerless fools!'     

Those who hadn't fainted already felt a shock in their hearts, along with uncontrollable fear.     

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By the time Evelyn arrived, Aurora was already standing right in front of the bone spear with a grim look on her face.     

"T-Teacher…"     

The platinum blonde turned to look at her student, and sighed. "Don't worry. Although it looks like this…"     

She paused, as if not sure how to continue.     

Evelyn moved forward and held her hand, her brows furrowed in worry. "Who was that?"     

Aurora looked at the bone spear, her expression indifferent. "An old enemy."     

The pink-haired girl of course didn't believe that was all. After all, the voice had made it clear that whoever it was considered 'them', presumably the academy, as the outsiders.     

Evelyn believed this attack… was a warning.     

She could only grit her teeth and clench the soft palm in her grasp. "Please tell me the truth! You know I'm selfish and greedy. I won't do anything stupid and selfless."     

Aurora gave her a strange look before shaking her head with a smile. "What are you thinking? Have I ever lied to you?"     

Evelyn felt her words get caught in her throat. Since it was true, she really couldn't refute it.     

The platinum blonde sighed. "Don't overthink. He is an old enemy to us, but maybe to him, we're no longer worth mentioning."     

Evelyn frowned, suddenly having a bad feeling in her heart. "I-Is it… the throne in control of the Temple of Shinra?"     

Aurora nodded. "That's right. The Lord of Bones, as he's called, can be considered our enemy dating back to ten thousand years, if not more. Since before I was born, I have known that a day would come that he would wipe us out."     

Evelyn furrowed her brows, feeling a little annoyed in her heart. "That will never happen."     

'I won't let it happen.' Is what she wanted to say, but knowing her own strength, Evelyn knew that such words were meaningless. In fact, if not for Aurora's protection, she would have to resort to a life of running away and hiding continuously to ensure her survival.     

The pink-haired girl sighed. "Forget it, teacher… are you hurt?"     

Aurora shook her head with a smile. "Don't worry, we're… not so weak. Or do you think he would go away like this? I don't know how much strength he used, but this attack couldn't have been effortless."     

Evelyn couldn't help but bite her lip. "B-But—"     

The platinum blonde nodded. "Right, in the end, his attack did get through. We couldn't coordinate the barrier well because of Hyperion's condition. Moreover… even if he was in his prime, we couldn't block that attack completely. But didn't we avoid the destruction of the Tower of Solitude?"     

Evelyn thought the explanation from her teacher made some sense, but the dreadful feeling in her heart only became more intense.      

The more she thought about it, the more something appeared wrong. Especially when Aurora didn't scold her when she used her probe skill, not able to control her anxiety, the feeling only got worse.     

From the moment she had known Aurora, it had always appeared to her as if the platinum blonde didn't have her priorities right. Especially when it came to herself, there was something that just didn't sit well with Evelyn.     

Clearly, she had promised that she would share any worries and troubles that she couldn't handle, but Evelyn had the feeling that she had been foolish to believe in that promise.     

After all, 'couldn't handle' in her mind was probably a lot different from what her teacher thought.     

How far would Aurora allow herself to be hurt before she decided it was something she couldn't handle?     

The pink-haired girl frowned as she squeezed her palm. "Y-You promised you won't hide from me if you needed help, so—"     

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