Chapter 728: Goodbye, Noah

Lian noticed this change.

’So even he knows it himself.’

Noah was not anyone special to Victoria, he was one of many agents trained within a hidden organization.

A pawn that would be easily thrown away if he failed, and now, his mission had failed.

’Those poor children...’

For a short while, neither of them said anything.

The sound of a healer’s footsteps came from the hallway.

Noah instinctively turned his head toward the door, but the footsteps passed by the room and moved away.

The young Frenchman looked at Lian again.

"So... are you going to kill me?"

Lian remained silent for a moment and then answered.

"You already tried to kill me."

Noah lowered his gaze.

"I know why you did it, but understanding the reason doesn’t change anything."

He stood up from his chair and looked at the young Frenchman’s face for a moment.

The same person who had eaten with them a few days ago, joked with them, and tried to help others in dangerous situations.

"I really wish it hadn’t ended this way."

Noah said nothing.

Lian raised his right hand slightly.

The extremely thin thread of Eclipse Energy he had previously left inside Noah reacted to his command.

This time, the goal was not to cause immediate pain.

A slow process of breaking down the vital structures of Noah’s brain began; a process that would gradually continue using the energy remaining inside his body.

He did not want Noah to die at that very moment, it was not going to be violent or painful, in fact, he would not feel anything at all, but death would not happen now, it would take several days.

At first, Noah only felt a strange heaviness in his head, his eyelids trembled for a moment, and then his gaze remained fixed on Lian.

"Lian..."

Young Vorhelm stopped at the doorway.

"What?"

Noah tried to complete his sentence for several seconds and finally said in a weak voice.

"I... really enjoyed spending time with you."

He remained motionless for a moment, and several short memories from the journey passed through his mind.

Noah’s smiles.

His calm behavior.

And the moment the dagger had entered his body from behind.

Young Vorhelm took a calm breath but did not turn around.

"So did I."

Then he left the room.

[ Abyss Veil ] hid Lian’s presence once again.

He passed through the medical section without attracting attention and checked Rindo and Alicia’s conditions one last time.

Both were still under medical care.

Healers were standing beside their beds, and the signs of spiritual damage were slowly decreasing.

Lian looked at them for a moment and then headed toward the complex’s exit.

In the room he had left behind, Noah was still lying on the bed.

His gaze remained fixed on the ceiling.

He still did not know that the process of destruction that had begun inside him would slowly bring his life to an end.

And Lian did not return to see that moment, after moving away from the Federation headquarters, he stopped in a quiet place.

He looked at the sky for a moment.

The events of the Land of the First Dawn had finally ended, but now, several new matters were on his mind.

Victoria Vorhelm.

Lady’s Grace Orphanage.

And the suspicious similarities between that organization’s methods and the Black Vultures.

’Apparently, my dear stepmother is much busier than I thought.’

The corner of his mouth rose slightly.

If there had been a possibility of leaving that woman alone in the past, that possibility no longer existed, she had crossed a line that could no longer be ignored.

He activated the ability to travel between Earth and the Ruined Realm and began his return to the academy.

A moment later, his surroundings changed, and when he looked around again, he was in his own dormitory room.

Everything was as usual, calm and quiet.

Even so, he did not immediately begin his Second Evolution.

At the end of their meeting, Colonel Nathaniel had asked him to deliver a report about the events of the Land of the First Dawn to the academy officials as well.

After all, the National Academy had hosted the selected students from other academies, and the fate of those ten people was directly connected to its responsibilities.

’I’d better finish this first.’

He preferred that no one disturb him while he was going through his Second Evolution.

Lian looked at the clock and then left his room.

The academy was quiet, and his destination was the office of one of the academy’s senior professors.

Silas.

The same man who had designed the Trial of the Broken Crown and had shown a strange talent for putting students in unpleasant situations from their very first meeting.

When Lian reached his office, he discovered that he was not there, and after asking a few questions, he learned that the professor was in the administration building.

The principal’s office?

He raised an eyebrow for a moment.

’I hope I don’t have to argue with that old man again.’

Even so, he changed his direction and headed toward the main building.

On the upper floor of the administration building, two men were sitting behind a large desk.

Several files, images of the golden curtain, and reports about the situation in the Land of the First Dawn were scattered across the desk.

Silas pushed his thin glasses up slightly and turned a page of the report.

His neatly arranged gray hair, with a few white strands among it, still had the same familiar appearance as before.

But the faint smile that could usually be seen at the corner of his mouth was not there today.

Across from him, Arius, the academy’s principal, was examining a list of names.

A man around sixty years old, with neatly arranged white hair and a clean-shaven face, who carried a strong sense of dignity even while sitting.

The past nine days had not been peaceful for either of them.

All communication with the people inside the curtain had been cut off, and even the teams sent by the Federation had been unable to enter the area.

During this time, all they could do was wait and examine incomplete reports.

Only a short while ago, the Federation had contacted them and said that several people had come out of that land, and they had received a short report.

Someone was also supposed to bring them a complete report soon.

A knock was heard at the door.

"Come in." Arius answered without looking away from the file.

The door opened.

And Lian entered the room.

Silas stopped moving for a moment and then pushed his glasses up slightly.

"Lian Vorhelm."

His gaze moved from the young man’s face to his physical condition.

"Apparently, one of the selected students has finally decided to return."

Lian gave a short smile.

"I’m glad to be back too, Professor."

Silas looked at him for several seconds.

"It seems the Federation’s report about your return was correct."

"I guess you haven’t received the full report yet."

"We’ve received parts of it, but I’d prefer to hear what happened from someone who was actually there."

Arius raised his head, and his gaze remained on Lian for a moment, the same usual coldness was still visible on his face.

"Sit down, Vorhelm."

Lian sat in the chair across from the desk and handed them the document he had been given.

Silas glanced at it.

"Start from the beginning, what happened?"

Young Vorhelm took a short breath.

Then he explained how Hollow Sun’s huge eye had appeared in the sky and the Judgments had begun, the ground had split open without any warning, and lava had risen from its depths.

After that, the Withered had appeared, corrupted creatures that attacked every living being, and their numbers increased over time.

He explained the restrictions on the safe areas, the conditions of the survivors, and the emergency base, then described the attacks that eventually caused a large part of the base’s defenses to collapse.

He also spoke about an unknown creature that seemed to be the source of the Withered’s corruption and the main cause of the events.

Of course, just like in his previous report, he did not reveal White Oblivion’s real name or the events that had led to the Calamity being devoured.

Silas had listened without interrupting him until that moment, but when the two Unholy creatures were mentioned, his finger stopped on the report.

"Two Unholy?"

"Yeah, one was Level 35 and the other was Level 28."

The professor looked at him for several seconds and then glanced at Arius.

The academy’s principal also remained silent for a moment, but unlike what Lian had seen from the Federation officials, neither of them began asking questions one after another.

The report had been detailed enough to answer their questions.

Even so, alongside all the worries they already had, they now realized that it seemed a monster was sitting right in front of them.

They looked at each other, no matter how much they wanted to follow up on this matter and how happy they were to have such a genius, they were currently facing a problem that could damage the international relations of both the academy and the country.

After a few moments, Silas asked.

"And are you sure the other selected students...are dead?"

Lian turned his gaze toward the list on the desk.

Ten names were written on it.

The same ten people who had received permission to enter the Land of the First Dawn.

"Four of us returned, me, Rindo, Alicia, and Noah, and as for the others, I can say with certainty that they won’t be coming back."

There was silence for several seconds.

The professor looked through the list.

Six people had still not returned, and then his finger stopped beside one of the names.

Roderick Ashen.

"What about Roderick?"

"Also Dead."