Chapter 126 Countdown I



Ember was walking alone throughout the grand hallway of the lecture hall, her footstep didn't leave any sound as if she was floating a few millimeters above the ground. She occasionally looked left and right, checking for any disturbance left in the vicinity.

The hallway, if not for the lighting from LED lighting illuminating the building, was supposed to be darker than the night outside. But, of all things, they had to choose reddish lighting.

Imagine walking alone in an empty hallway which had a horror vibe because of the reddish lighting.

Thankfully, it was Ember we were talking about. This was nothing for her.

In a world where magic existed on Earth, almost all of the ghost stories had vanished, forgotten by everyone. Naturally, with magic and sort, spiritual beings had become a part of the system itself. For example, undead summoning magic was performed by necromancers, and spiritual magic was performed by elves.

Because of that, people didn't believe a ghost was an evil spirit anymore, but a summoned creature.

Ember didn't find any disturbance on the first floor of the lecture hall and immediately went upstairs to the second floor.

As a member of the student council, especially one who decided to stay in the academy during the winter holiday, she was obliged to do a night patrol. Since ever the scandal happened a few days ago, the patrol was tightened further. Dozen of members were patrolling across the campus simultaneously to prevent the same incident from happening.

Not only that, the student council was tasked by the headmaster herself to patrol for safety. If they found any suspicious individuals roaming around the academy, they had the authority to capture the said individual and brought them to be judged.

Patrolling the second floor alone, Ember stopped in her track as she caught a faint sound of something falling coming from a classroom located at the end of the corridor.

Thump—!

Leaning forward, she brought her face closer to the door rectangular window, peeking at whatever was inside the room before entering. Ember scanned the room and her eyes stopped at a dark figure sitting on the back end near the glasses wall.

Their faces were hidden under the hoodie covering the face, and their features were hidden behind the thick coat attire. When the figure lifted their face, they also pulled the hoodie. 

"Zi…"

The moment Ember caught a glance of the figure's jet-black hair and black eyes, she was frozen, stupified. The appearance was very similar to someone she knew but, she was convinced that the person in front of her wasn't him.

"Don't think you can fool me with a cheap trick like this. Who are you?"

With her Eidetic Memory, there was no way she could forget what her friends looked like and what vibe they had given to her. The man in question was disguised as one of her classmates, Zio Varrez. Given how much she had spent and known that guy, she immediately knew that it was not the real Zio Varrez who sat in the classroom.

The aura and vibe the fake Zio gave her were different than usual. Zio, in particular, had a slight positive and carefree aura surrounding him. Sometimes he would exude an indifferent and cold too, but never a bloodshot one like this person exuded.

"What. I was found out already? Girl, you're not fun!"

With a wide grin, the fake Zio got up from his seat. As he was getting up, an astounding performance was showcased by the man. His appearance was transforming smoothly into another form at that moment. 

Jet-black hair and black eyes were no more; they had been replaced by dark crimson hair and eyes. Additionally, a pair of dark horns now protruded from his forehead, fangs grew on his lower teeth, and his claws were sharpened.

"That appearance… I see. A demonic human, it is."

The demonic human suddenly laughed, his deep voice echoed in the air.

"Hahaha! Demonic human?! Don't compare me with those lowly beings who still have a human body as a vessel!"

Ember noticed his pale skin gradually decayed. After a while, his skin changed in color, from pale white to pale crimson, depicting the image of a devil Ember oftentimes found in fantasy illustrations that portrayed the demon's appearance.

Assessing the situation, Ember skillfully notified the other student council members on her Nova Watch without turning her gaze from the demonic human to her Nova Watch.

'A ragged demonic appearance. The right horn which is larger than the left one, has a pale crimson skin color, and a distinct transformation that is different from how the other demonic human has.'

After inspecting his new appearance, Ember recalled something from deep inside her memory about who the demonic human might be. It was information she got from one of the flash dungeon survivors six months ago, Jin.

Jin had told her everything about what happened inside the dungeon — about how they survived and managed to kill a demonic human at the last moment before they were transported back to Earth.

"You're the demonic human who appeared in the flash dungeon a few months ago."

"You know me?"

Ember didn't bother to answer the question.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead? I heard your body was split into two like bread."

The grin on the demonic human face disappeared as soon as he heard that. Memories of his loss back then resurfaced in his head. Frustration and anger fueled inside him.

"Shut up!"

He took the bait Ember had served for him.

With a thin smile slowly painted on her face, Ember continued to provoke the demonic human.

"On top of that, you're apparently losing to a kid whose rank was only <F> back then. What a shame for a demon."

The demonic human's anger was clear, it was written on his face. Unfortunately, her plan to provoke him so he would lower his guard failed because he suddenly stood frozen. A few moments later, the demonic aspect he had was retracted.

"Hmph! You're lucky this time, brat!"

Ember raised her eyebrow.

"Lucky? Me? Don't joke with me. It's clear it's you who are lucky."

Raising a grin, the demonic human threw something at Ember at high speed.

Ember jumped several meters away to the side, avoiding the collateral damage that broke the room's floor.

"Next time, it will be your head."

The demonic human disappeared like a shadow. Whatever was left in the position he had been standing until now was a mark of his shoes that broke the floor.

A few days after that, the student council had a meeting to discuss the demonic human Ember had encountered that night. Only a few seemed to believe the appearance of a demonic human who was on the verge of becoming a full-pledge demon. 

Luckily, Ember had recorded her conversation with the demonic human in a video format through a passing invisible drone flying outside.

After seeing the appearance of a different transformation of the demonic human, the other members started to believe the story. The council discussed this matter seriously they even had to invite some professors who were free.

…

December 31…

It was finally the last day of the year 2030.

Under the night skies, billions of people were waiting for the new year to come. Each of them had brought a wish and resolution for whatever coming in 2031. An innocent thought.

Among billions of people living on Earth, only five of them didn't carry the happiness and celebrate the new year. The reason was that they were aware of what would happen as soon as the year shifted from 2030 to 2031.

The silver-haired girl wearing a black robe attire was standing in the middle of a plain field of the desert. The chill breeze of the desert brushed past her skin, making her shudder in the cold. But, she quickly regained the warmth as she coated her body with mana.

She checked on her watch, it read '10:20 PM'

'An hour and a half remaining before the year changes.'

Burst—!

Descending from the sky was a beautiful woman with red flowing hair cascading down her waist. Her red crimson eyes had a pattern similar to a crosshair you'd find in FPS games. Floating above her head was a halo with angular beautiful wings on the left and right side.

Looking at the beautiful woman, the silver-haired girl greeted her respectfully. She bowed slightly.

"Thank you for coming here, War Goddess."

War Goddess, Nuria Crimson, waved her hand dismissively as a mischievous smile formed on her face.

Coming out of her shadow was another girl with dark green hair and violet cat-like eyes. Judging by her stature, she was around 16 years old. But, her actual age was more than 50 years old.

The silver-haired girl's eyes flashed in recognition upon seeing the girl.

"Ah. That distinctive purple cat-like eyes… Are you perhaps, the Sword Saint, Grace Callaghan?"