Vol 9. Chapter 85: The Missing Two Seconds

Leon and Rosvisser arrived at Saint Heath Academy half an hour later.

Inside the infirmary, the couple stood on either side of the hospital bed, holding Noa’s hands as they bombarded her with questions and conducted a thorough inspection from head to toe.

It was no wonder they were so anxious. They had only stepped out briefly, and when they returned, their eldest daughter had nearly lost her life. Any parents would react the same way.

Fortunately, aside from excessive mana consumption and a certain degree of damage to her legs caused by the Dragon of Ascension, Noa had no other serious injuries.

Everything would heal with rest.

Only then did Leon and Rosvisser finally relax a little.

Moon and her sisters crowded closer as well, pressing in beside their parents.

Watching the warm family scene, Claudia let out a quiet breath of relief. She then tilted her head toward her assistant, Samantha, and gave her a look.

Samantha immediately understood. She turned to the teachers and students who had come to visit Noa and said,

“Let’s step outside first. We shouldn’t disturb them.”

With that, Samantha led the others out one by one.

Soon, only Leon’s family, Claudia and her daughter, and Principal Wilson remained in the infirmary.

And, of course, Um, who was still glued to Claudia’s side.

“Noa, everyone here is aware of matters concerning the primordial gods and the Void Rift, so you can safely tell us the details of the battle now,” Claudia said.

Propped up against the hospital bed, Noa nodded.

“Okay.”

She then recounted the entire battle, as well as everything she had seen and experienced after entering the Hall of Valor.

After hearing it all, Leon could not help but look surprised.

“Noa, so that means… you’ve inherited the Dragon God’s power now?”

“Mm.”

After a pause, the workaholic princess added:

“More precisely, Noah and I inherited it together. According to the Dragon God, my body is responsible for bearing the divine power, while Noah’s soul is responsible for condensing the primordial aspect. When the two forces merge, it returns to the Dragon God’s peak power. When we unleashed the Dragon of Ascension in the final strike, we accidentally fulfilled that condition. Combined with what the Dragon God called a ‘pure heart,’ that’s what allowed us to enter the Hall of Valor.”

Leon nodded thoughtfully, then asked:

“So can you use the Dragon God’s power now?”

Noa shook her head.

“The Dragon God said that properly inherited divine power is like a seed. It has to be nurtured constantly before it can grow. Simply put, I can’t directly wield the Dragon God’s original power yet. I’ll need long-term cultivation. It’s exactly the same as Aurora and Constantine.”

Both of them had inherited divine power in the orthodox way as well, and neither had displayed anything extraordinary in the early stages after inheriting it.

It hadn’t been long for Constantine, so Leon did not know the details. But Aurora had spent many years reaching her current level.

As for someone like Safina, a master of loopholes, and Leon himself, a half-measure inheritor—though they could unleash relatively strong divine power, there were always limitations.

Safina entered an extremely long cooldown after using high-level time power.

And Leon’s endurance issues were practically a historical defect at this point.

If the duration of the Five Spirit Saint Shadow state had not been so short back then, Leon might have single-handedly driven Atos back.

Rosvisser gently stroked Noa’s hair and said softly:

“Cultivation can wait. The most important thing right now is for you to recover.”

Noa nodded firmly with a smile.

“I know, Mom.”

The workaholic princess looked obedient for once—but that was only because her bones had not healed yet.

“Truly the model family I personally raised.”

Principal Wilson’s voice drifted over from the side, his tone brimming with pride and smug satisfaction.

Leon and the others all turned to look at him. Claudia asked:

“And what do you mean by that, Principal Wilson?”

“One family with two and a half inheritors of divine power—now that’s exemplary among exemplars!”

Claudia covered her face helplessly and smiled.

“If you say so…”

After a brief pause, she seemed to remember something and added,

“Right, there’s still one thing we haven’t figured out—the Magic Eye. How exactly did it die?”

Leon’s gaze sharpened slightly.

“Senior, are you certain the Magic Eye is truly dead?”

Claudia nodded firmly.

“I’m certain. All of the Academy’s perception-type mages can no longer sense its aura. Without question, Noa’s Dragon of Ascension completely killed it. Which brings us back to my earlier question—how was a former Void Sovereign, who was said to be immortal, actually killed?”

She turned to Leon.

“Noa said she doesn’t know what happened at that exact moment. So I’d like to hear your thoughts.”

Leon’s eyes shifted slightly. He slowly stood.

“It’s hard to infer purely from description. Senior, was anyone recording the battle with a projection stone?”

Claudia nodded.

“Yes. I had Samantha collect the footage. It should be ready by now. Let’s go to the conference room.”

“Alright.”

Leon responded, then turned back to the bed.

“Noa, Dad will be back in a bit.”

“Got it, Dad.”

After saying that, Leon glanced at Rosvisser. The couple exchanged a knowing look and gave each other a slight nod.

Claudia led Leon to the Academy’s conference room.

Samantha had already prepared the projection from the recording stone.

“Some members of the adult dragon division risked themselves to record it, but they were quite far away, so the image may not be very clear,” Samantha explained.

“That’s fine. Let’s take a look first.”

“Yes.”

She projected the recording onto the wall.

Onscreen, purple smoke filled the air. Demonic flames soared.

After a short wait, a crimson dragon burst in from the far left of the frame, roaring as it charged toward the Magic Eye wrapped in writhing tentacles.

The next instant, the dragon struck head-on.

The entire image shook violently from the shockwave, becoming increasingly distorted.

At the end, the dragon’s shadow dissipated, and the Magic Eye’s core was crushed beneath Noa’s foot.

Leon frowned.

Not because of the poor image quality.

He frowned because his heart ached.

When Noa unleashed the Dragon of Ascension, he could clearly feel her fury and her resolve to stake everything.

It showed just how desperate the battle had been.

And along with the pain came a sharp sense of guilt.

If he had been there… Noa would not have had to fight so desperately.

“Well? Do you see anything?” Claudia’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

Leon shook his head slightly and refocused.

“The image is indeed poor. Can we play it again?”

“Of course.”

Samantha replayed the recording.

This time, Leon focused completely.

He fixed his gaze on every second, despite the severe distortion caused by the energy surge.

And in the end, he found something.

“Stop. Right before the recording is disrupted by the energy wave—the final clear instant. Can you pause it there?”

“Okay.”

Samantha paused the projection.

Leon stepped forward and pointed at the Dragon of Ascension and the Magic Eye.

“Look carefully. In this frame, both Noa and the Magic Eye still exist. Samantha, resume playback and stop immediately.”

“Yes.”

She did as instructed.

When the image moved to the next instant, the projection was heavily distorted. Only blurred outlines of Noa and the Magic Eye remained.

Claudia raised a brow. “What about it? By this point the recording is already compromised. Everything’s too blurry.”

“No. Even if the image is blurry, an attack like the Dragon of Ascension shouldn’t completely vanish from the recording.”

Leon pointed to the very center of the energy impact.

“Here. This is where Noa struck the Magic Eye. In the previous frame, they were locked in a struggle. But in this instant, both of them disappear simultaneously. Samantha, continue playback. Freeze it two seconds later.”

She nodded and followed his instructions.

Two seconds later, she paused the footage again.

Leon pointed to a tiny corner of the projection.

“It’s hard to see, but look here—the crimson afterimage of the Dragon of Ascension reappears.”

Claudia narrowed her eyes.

Indeed, in that barely noticeable corner, there was a faint red magical remnant.

“In other words, after Noa’s Dragon of Ascension struck the Magic Eye, both she and the Magic Eye disappeared from real space for a full two seconds.”

Leon’s voice lowered.

“And it was during those two seconds that Noa killed the Magic Eye.”