Chapter 40 Who is the chosen one??

Chapter 40: Chapter 40 Who is the chosen one??

Meanwhile, at the tall buildings located behind the academy where the staff resided, heated voices echoed through the quiet corridors.

The loud argument was coming directly from the dean’s office.

Inside, Mrs. Danielle sat at the head of the long conference table while the teachers exchanged opinions regarding the recent attacks on the school.

Every single one of them had a different suggestion.

"We have powerful students in this academy," one of the teachers argued. "Why don’t we utilize them? Isn’t that the exact reason they were admitted here in the first place?"

Mrs. Danielle immediately shook her head.

"No."

"I can’t do that."

Her voice was firm despite the worry written across her face.

"They’re still teenagers."

"This isn’t another ordinary training exercise."

"What if some of them don’t make it back alive?"

She looked around at everyone seated there.

"This is beyond physical strength. If we adults can barely handle what’s happening, how can we be so certain they’ll survive it?"

Silence briefly settled over the room.

Then a man slowly stood from his chair.

For the past several hours, he had remained completely silent, listening to everyone argue.

The moment he rose to his feet, every voice in the room disappeared.

Even the teachers who had been shouting moments ago fell silent.

"In all honesty," he began calmly, "I think you’re being unreasonable, Mrs. Danielle."

His words made several people exchange nervous glances.

"Why are these students here in the first place?"

"Isn’t this academy meant to train them to fight things beyond ordinary human understanding?"

He folded his arms.

"I understand someone saw a vision."

"But that doesn’t automatically mean we’re the ones meant to solve everything ourselves."

He paused before speaking even more seriously.

"I’m not dying the same way Mrs. Marie did."

"If nothing changes..."

"I quit."

The office instantly became silent again.

Mrs. Danielle swallowed hard.

Out of everything he had said...

Only one sentence caught her attention.

She looked directly at him.

"You mentioned a vision."

"What happened?"

"Who saw it?"

The man didn’t answer.

Instead, everyone slowly turned toward a beautiful blonde woman seated quietly among them.

She was another teacher.

The academy’s seer.

A woman blessed with the rare ability to glimpse the past, present, and fragments of the future.

Mrs. Danielle’s heart skipped.

"Susan..."

"Was it you?"

Susan quietly nodded before standing.

Mrs. Danielle suddenly didn’t feel like hearing whatever she had seen.

For some reason...

She already had a terrible feeling.

Danger.

She had definitely seen more danger.

Still, there was no turning back now.

"Tell us."

Mrs. Danielle slowly sat down again.

The rest of the teachers followed suit.

Even Tabitha, who had remained unusually quiet throughout the meeting, fixed her attention on Susan.

The only person missing was Mr. Warwold.

As stubborn as ever, he had insisted on teaching Battle Magic, claiming that practical combat was far more important than endless meetings.

Susan stepped toward the center of the room.

She took a slow breath before placing a trembling hand over her chest.

"It’s the monsters."

Everyone immediately became alert.

"The reason they’re attacking..."

"They’re searching for someone."

"Their weakness."

Mrs. Danielle frowned before slowly nodding.

If the monsters were after only one person...

Perhaps there was still hope.

"So that’s all?"

"If we identify that person and protect them, wouldn’t our worries be over?"

Susan slowly shook her head.

"No."

"It doesn’t end there."

Her expression turned grim.

"That person isn’t merely the monsters’ weakness."

"He is also capable of ending the reign of darkness across the entire world."

Several teachers gasped.

"The problem..."

Susan continued.

"...is that he is currently inside this academy."

A chill swept through the office.

"And..."

"The one controlling the monsters..."

"...is also inside this academy."

No one spoke.

No one even dared to breathe too loudly.

"If those two finally cross paths..."

"And the chosen one dies..."

Susan’s voice became quieter.

"Then everything ends."

"The empire."

"The kingdoms."

"The world."

"There will be no one left to stop the darkness."

She shut her eyes tightly.

"And in my vision..."

"I saw the evil one win."

"I saw the world burn."

Mrs. Danielle felt her entire body tremble.

No one needed to explain how disastrous that future was.

"How is that even possible?"

One of the female teachers stood.

"If someone that powerful has been in this academy all this time, we should have noticed already."

She frowned.

"And you said the chosen one is a male?"

The room fell silent once again.

Then the same young teacher who had spoken earlier sighed before rubbing his forehead.

His name was Oliver.

At just twenty-one years old, he was the youngest teacher in the academy.

Originally, he had only come looking for a teaching position.

Instead, he had walked straight into a school standing on the edge of disaster.

"Didn’t any of you hear what happened last night?"

His gaze swept across the room.

"Or are we all pretending it never happened?"

No one answered.

"The monsters appeared."

"We all felt the shockwaves."

"We heard the battle."

"But somehow..."

"They disappeared."

Oliver leaned slightly against the table.

"So what happened?"

"What if..."

"The boy capable of saving us..."

"...was the one who stopped them?"

The room immediately became restless.

"Hasn’t anyone considered that possibility?"

He looked directly at Mrs. Danielle.

"Dean."

"Call every student who was at the cemetery."

"Question them one after another."

"The sooner we identify this boy, the sooner we can protect him."

"The seer has already warned us about what happens if he dies."

"The future of the empire depends on what we do next."

Mrs. Danielle slowly rose from her chair.

She began pacing around the office.

Her mind was racing.

Every possibility felt worse than the last.

Finally, she stopped.

"Who do all of you think it is?"

"The eight students who were at the cemetery..."

"Which one fits Susan’s vision?"

Immediately, several answers filled the room.

"I think it’s Slyvia."

"Her Radiance of Light can purify darkness."

"She’s always been the obvious choice."

Mrs. Danielle nodded slightly.

"Normally, I’d agree."

"But Susan clearly said the chosen one is male."

"Then perhaps..."

"One of the Moonlight Alphas?"

The debate continued.

Different names were thrown around one after another.

Oliver simply stared at them before slowly shaking his head.

"Do any of you actually know what’s happening inside this academy?"

The room became quiet.

"What do you mean?" one teacher asked.

"If you have something to say, Oliver..."

"Stop speaking in riddles."

"Then I’ll say it."

He looked every one of them in the eye.

"The person I suspect..."

"...is Ashton Lane."

The office froze.

"According to the Alphas..."

"He was the one who saved them from the monsters."

A deafening silence followed.

One of the female teachers immediately stood.

"That’s impossible!"

"Ashton is practically useless."

"Isn’t that exactly what we all witnessed when he first enrolled?"

No one replied.

Not even Oliver.

Mrs. Danielle’s fingers slowly curled into trembling fists.

Could it really be him?

Was Ashton Lane truly the one destined to save them all?

Outside the office...

Another person had heard everything.

Eugene.

He had originally come to speak with Mrs. Danielle about canceling Battle Magic class for Ashton birthday.

Instead, he found himself standing silently outside the door as every word of the meeting reached his ears.

His face gradually lost its color.

Ashton...

The school’s savior?

And somewhere inside this academy...

Someone had already been sent to kill him.

Who could it possibly be?

Unable to process everything, Eugene quietly turned around.

As he walked away, he noticed Noah hurrying toward class.

He instinctively stopped to watch him.

"So..."

"He really is the one..."

Just then, Eugene noticed another figure.

Philip.

Noah’s roommate.

The boy was quietly following Noah from a distance.

Not once did he take his eyes off him.

Eugene frowned.

"Isn’t that his roommate?"

"Why is he acting so strangely?"

Curiosity immediately took over.

He decided to follow Philip instead.

However...

After only a few steps...

Philip suddenly disappeared.

It was as though he had vanished into thin air.

Eugene stopped walking.

The hallway had become completely empty.

"...Where did he go?"

Just as he turned around to search elsewhere, the restroom door suddenly opened.

Noah stepped outside while drying his hands.

The moment he spotted Eugene standing there, he tilted his head.

"Eugene?"

"What are you doing here?"

Eugene stiffened.

He had been caught completely off guard.

For a moment, he had no idea what to say.

In the end...

He simply fell back into his usual cold personality.

"Why are you asking?"

"I didn’t know you owned this hallway."

Noah scoffed.

"It was just a simple question."

"You don’t have to be rude about it."

He shrugged before turning to leave.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

"Hmm..."

He glanced back.

"About what happened at the cemetery..."

"I hope you weren’t seriously injured."

"I never got the chance to ask."

Eugene blinked.

Of all the things he expected...

Concern wasn’t one of them.

"N-No..."

He nodded almost too quickly.

"I’m fine."

"Thanks for asking."

Noah quietly observed him for a moment.

His thoughts wandered back to everything Eugene had suffered.

Being manipulated.

Used.

Abused.

Even if Eugene didn’t deserve complete forgiveness...

He certainly hadn’t deserved that.

"Alright."

"I’ll see you in Mr. Warwold’s class."

Noah took another step before turning around again.

"Aren’t you coming?"

Eugene stared at him in surprise.

Especially after the way he had treated Noah before.

Noah sighed.

"Don’t misunderstand."

"I’m only returning the favor."

Eugene gave a small nod.

"Of course."

A faint smile secretly appeared on his face.

As the two of them walked toward class together, Eugene quietly kept scanning their surroundings.

After everything he had overheard...

He couldn’t help searching every shadow for danger.

The moment both boys disappeared down the hallway...

Philip silently stepped out from around a nearby corner.

His eyes never left Noah’s retreating figure.

Slowly...

He began tapping his fingers together.

A strange smile spread across his face.

One that carried nothing but hidden intentions.