I… I actually missed?
Talo stared at his own hands in utter disbelief.
As an esper, he couldn't comprehend how a mere ordinary student had managed to evade his attack. But there was no time to dwell on it.
Melina had already charged toward him, her longsword drawn!
There was no denying it—Melina was powerful. With swift precision, she struck Talo down effortlessly.
When her blade was finally resting against Talo's neck, every student watching exhaled in collective relief.
But to everyone's shock…
Talo, despite being restrained by the Dark Watchers, showed no trace of fear or despair.
Instead, a wild and crazed gleam lit up in his eyes.
"It worked… It finally worked!"
"You Dark Watchers are nothing but fools!"
"You really think I exposed myself by mistake? Let me tell you the truth—if I didn't want to be found, you could have sent a hundred thousand of your agents and still failed to catch me."
Melina's eyelid twitched.
Her instincts told her the guy was bluffing.
But in the crowd of students, a flicker of horror flashed across Link's face.
He knew something the others didn't.
Link possessed the exact same talent—Veil of the Impostor.
And he remembered one specific line from the talent's description:
"You can conceal your presence so completely that no one can detect you."
Which meant this guy from the Moon Worship Sect wasn't just boasting.
He was telling the truth.
If he truly wanted to, he could have vanished from the Grave of Heroes without anyone even noticing.
He'd exposed himself on purpose!
Just as Link opened his mouth to warn everyone—
He was too late.
Explosions erupted from all directions within the Grave of Heroes.
Immense waves of spiritual power swept through the area, so intense that even the Dark Watchers turned pale with dread.
T4… T5… No, there were even T6-level espers among them!?
Had the Moon Worship Sect completely lost their minds?
This was a school! The students inside were barely trained!
Why launch a full-scale attack like this?
Melina's face darkened.
Everything unfolding before her was beyond what she could comprehend.
She instinctively turned to ask her squad captain for instructions.
But the moment she lifted her gaze—
A charred corpse flew through the air, landing brutally in front of her!
Melina's pupils contracted, and cold sweat soaked through her combat suit.
"Captain Blinken… he's been killed!"
Before she could even process the shock, she noticed something strange—the flow of spiritual power around them had begun to shift ominously.
The oppressive, suffocating aura in the air was overwhelming.
Even as a T3 esper, Melina couldn't stop the tremors running through her body.
She felt like a lone boat caught in a raging sea, moments away from being swallowed by the abyss.
"Damn it… the Moon Worship Sect has gone completely insane!"
Melina gritted her teeth. Her heart was a whirlwind of fear and fury.
Strategically, the Dark Watchers had the upper hand in the rear zones of human territory.
That's why the Moon Worship Sect—and their twisted cousins, the Demonworship Sect—rarely dared to go on the offensive so blatantly.
An assault like this, involving T6 espers?
That hadn't happened in decades.
The last time was when a student with an SSS-grade talent emerged. The Moon Worship Sect had thrown everything they had at killing him.
They paid a steep price for that attempt.
Two T6 espers—one dead, one heavily injured.
As for the rank-and-file members? Massacred.
Could it be… there was another top-tier talent hiding among these students?
Melina frowned. Something didn't add up.
Ever since that last incident, records of newly awakened talents had been systematically erased. Only the individual themselves would know their true power.
Theoretically, unless someone deliberately leaked it, no one—not even the Moon Worship Sect—should be able to find out.
So how did they know?
"Look at the sky!"
A scream broke out among the students, and instinctively, heads turned upward.
Above them, crimson clouds had gathered in a terrifying display, each one pulsing with devastating spiritual power.
At their center, flames blazed—roaring fire burning in mid-air, as if the end of the world had descended upon them.
Melina's heart sank.
It was over.
Everything was over.
She recognized this phenomenon.
It was the Moonfolk's Scorchborn, using the T6-level skill known as—
Skyburn Flame.
Once triggered, it would engulf the entire Grave of Heroes in a sea of fire.
They weren't trying to win.
They were trying to erase everyone.
Melina clenched her fists, trying to convince herself—surely the military will arrive soon…
But just as that thought crossed her mind, a dark figure materialized in the sky.
A man in a black cloak and hood, face hidden behind a mask shaped like a black crescent moon.
His voice was hoarse and reeked of bloodlust as he spoke:
"Human genius elixirist… we know you're here."
"If you don't want these people to die alongside you, hand over the potion formulas."
"Our patience has limits. You have two minutes."
Link's heart skipped a beat.
Was he… the one they were talking about?
There was no other explanation.
He'd recently submitted three incredibly potent potion formulas for auction at the Goldrolyn Auction House.
And those potions—yes, they were game-changers.
Miraculous creations that could tilt the balance of power for humanity.
The Moon Worship Sect had found out.
Which meant this entire operation… was targeting him!
What should I do?
Link's mind spun in panic. He scanned his surroundings instinctively.
Beneath the blood-red sky, Dark Watchers lay dead or dying at the hands of the Moon Worship fanatics.
Blood flowed like rivers.
The air was thick with the screams of students, their cries filled with agony and terror.
Link even saw three Moon Worship Sect members dragging a female classmate into the shadows, where they—
He looked away. His hands trembled.
All of this… because of me?
A crushing sense of helplessness smothered him.
Then—
A flash of lightning streaked across the sky!
A brilliant bolt of light split the crimson clouds apart.
A booming voice echoed through the battlefield:
"Moon Worship scum—did you really think you could act with impunity?"
"I'm here to tell you—today marks your end."
"You're surrounded. Surrender now, and you might live. Resist, and death is certain!"
As if to prove those words weren't empty, several more powerful presences exploded around the perimeter of the Grave of Heroes.
The reinforcements had arrived.
The tides of battle were about to turn.