ALL NOVEL Chapter 29: Betrayal (1)
"The students are doing well. I mean, only forty percent of them have been eliminated," Darvis remarked, watching different fights between the students and Volkoid. He sat on a chair, throwing pieces of snacks into his mouth.
"There's a lot of talent, but it's not well-polished. The Volkoid here are still weak compared to the ones outside Calonia," Williams added, his expression showing how bored he was by this, as he rested his head on the table and yawned.
"I know what you mean," Darvis chuckled. "But we have to take it step by step if we don't want to regret it."
Bronze, Silver, and Gold Rank should be solo-fought, not as a team of five. The students have poor command of their abilities and aren't in sync with them, making them use only the superficial parts of their abilities. If not, they wouldn't last a second against a Platinum Rank Volkoid.
"I sure miss Ivy," Darvis chuckled, crossing his legs on the table. "She would have scattered everything."
Williams, whose eyes were a bit sleepy, suddenly perked up with interest. "It's been a long time since I've seen that ice devil. I wonder where she went."
After the awakening, they found that they couldn't locate Ivy. When they complained to the academy, they learned that she had gone on a top-secret mission, with the academy withholding all information about it.
Darvis shook his head, as he noticed Williams's inquisitive gaze. "You could ask Alya; she has some connections inside."
"I heard she went on an extremely dangerous mission, an SS-Ranked mission," Alya chimed in, quenching their curiosity while watching the students' performance.
"Then I hope she never comes back," Williams snorted.
Everyone knew about the feud between Ivy and Williams. Back when he had just awakened and entered Luminari Academy, he pursued Ivy, known as the academy's top beauty, only to be rejected.
But Williams didn't give up, continuing to pester her because he thought, with his background and good looks, no one would dare reject him, even if they were highly talented.
Ivy, however, proved him wrong by freezing his manhood, which only regained low functionality after being unfrozen. This humiliation turned to hatred, and he vowed to subdue her someday.
Alas, talent makes a great difference. With his B Grade Ability, Williams knew the vast difference between S and SS Grade Abilities, especially Ivy's ability, which made her unkillable.
"What if she comes back?" Darvis teased.
"Then I would show her how strong I am," Williams blurted out angrily, snorting as he grabbed some chips.
"Show me then." The voice that spoke was like the voice of a devil to Williams, who took a quick peek to see his nemesis.
"Cough! Cough!" In shock, he started coughing up the chips he had just eaten.
"Take it easy! I know you're excited for this," Ivy said, handing him a bottle of water from the table to help him calm down.
As for Darvis, he tried to suppress his laughter at Williams's smile, which looked uglier than if he were crying. Even Alya couldn't stop herself from giggling.
"Sis Ivy, when did you get back?" He forced a smile, standing up to offer her a seat. He was already defeated.
"Not long ago," Ivy replied nonchalantly. "I heard someone say he wanted to show me how strong he was."
Williams quickly waved his hands, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "Did anyone say that?" he asked in confusion, crying inside at his bad luck. He had just been trying to show a bit of bravery and confidence in front of Alya and Darvis, not to provoke this devil.
"So you're saying this young lady is deaf?" Ivy shouted, slamming her hand on the table and standing up in anger.
"Uh... I..." He was at a loss for words, his legs shaking, with tears almost coming to his eyes.
"Hmph! Scaredy-cat." She waved her hand, turning Williams into a beautiful ice sculpture, as she sat back down.
"Don't you think you're bullying him a bit too much?" Darvis tried to plead for Williams.
"Oh, it looks like you want to join him." Her eyebrows arched up, glaring at Darvis.
"Just kidding." He waved his hands in defense, whistling and minding his own business.
Ivy just snorted, seeing Darvis's scared expression.
"But he is right. No need to disgrace your fellow teacher," Alya butted in, unable to watch the scene any longer.
Darvis was giving her a thumbs-up in his mind—only a devil can deal with a devil.
"And who gave this prostitute the guts to interrupt me?" Ivy scoffed, beginning the tug of war.
"Who are you calling a prostitute, you wretched fool?" Alya yelled, standing up in anger.
"You called me a fool?" Ivy stood up in anger too.
One was called the Charm Devil, the other the Ice Devil. But they always fought whenever they saw each other, even to the point where the academy was tired of their quarrels. As for Darvis, he just watched the show as the two devils glared at each other with killing intent, ready to eliminate each other.
Turning his attention back to the students, he muttered, "Oh, shit..."
"Alya, Ivy!" He called out their names in panic.
"What?" Both ladies shouted at him, irritated by his interruption of their argument.
"I think we have a big problem over here." He pointed to the screens that had blacked out.
Both ladies turned pale. "Why didn't you say this earlier?" they shouted at the same time. Darvis screamed in his mind that this wasn't his fault.
They all moved at extreme speed, entering one of the buses. Machinery and equipment filled the space, with three people sitting as they operated the system.
"What happened?" Darvis asked, noticing that the screens here were also blank.
"There's something blocking the signal from the cams, preventing us from getting any feedback on the students." One of them removed his headphones, his voice solemn.
"What do you mean?" Ivy butted in sharply.
"There are only two possible reasons for this. First, someone has breached the Drymin Forest, using unknown means to disrupt the cam system's function.
"Second, if a level 20 beast appeared, the shockwave energy might weaken the cam system, causing it to lose signal," he explained to them for better understanding.
But they all knew that the second option was unlikely because all the Volkoid had been checked, and the highest level was 15. This meant that the first option was likely the issue.
But the question here was how someone managed to enter and breach Drymin Forest, which was protected with barriers.
"Teacher Attorn, can you hear me?" Darvis tried to communicate with the other teachers. "Teacher Nell, Teacher Banda… can you all hear me?"
Their expressions turned grim when they received no response.
"Can you open the barrier to send us in?" Alya asked.
"Not for now. The enemy has breached our server, blocking our access to the barrier," the person explained in panic, trying to open the barrier but finding all ways cut off. "I'm sure I'll be able to regain access in the next ten minutes."
Alya, Ivy, and Darvis's faces turned grim and pale. They couldn't wait a whole ten minutes, or else all of the academy's talented students might die. And everything would fall on their heads, as they were expected to ensure the students' safety.
They also wondered who would dare to breach the forest and challenge Luminari Academy. Even though it was ranked last among popular academies in Calonia, its strength and foundation were more than enough to eliminate an entire district.
"Then we'll use force to break through it," Ivy said, waving her fist. The others agreed with her idea, heading out of the bus toward Drymin Forest at great speed. Ivy didn't forget to unfreeze Williams because his strength was needed too.