Ethan stood over him, his eyes full of anger. "Tell me, Why did you do it?!"
The boy, still sitting on the ground with dirt on his uniform, looked up and tried to act tough.
"You! How dare you hit me? Do you even know what kind of trouble you'll get into for this?" he sneered, trying to hide his fear behind fake confidence.
BAM!
Another solid punch landed right on the boy's face.
"I don't care!" Ethan shouted. "You're going to talk, or do you need more of this?"
Blood dripped from the boy's nose and the corner of his lips. The fight in his eyes disappeared instantly. All the pride and arrogance he had melted away like ice under the sun.
"I-I'll talk! Please, I'll talk!" he cried out, holding up both hands.
Ethan backed away slightly, letting the boy catch his breath. He gave the boy a quick look—he had brown hair, blue eyes, and an ordinary face. Ethan didn't even recognize him. He couldn't remember ever talking to or seeing him before.
So why would someone like this go after Violet?
"I know someone must have told you to do it," Ethan said firmly. "Just give me a name. I won't hurt you anymore. And I'll make sure whoever it is doesn't come after you later."
The boy's eyes widened—Ethan had guessed right. He looked shocked for a moment, then sighed deeply and sat down with his knees pulled up slightly.
"My name is Henson," he finally said, his voice weak. "I was paid to do it. A guy named Mirael gave me money and told me to bully Violet… to make her life hard."
"Mirael?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "We don't know anyone named Mirael."
Henson looked up and explained slowly, "Mirael is a second-year student. He's known for bullying the weaker students, especially the new ones with low backgrounds or no noble status. He and his gang take money from them and do whatever they want. Their main place is the volleyball courtyard. They make freshmen do stupid things for their entertainment."
Yes—he was the same guy from the first arc. The same one who tried to have Esdeath dragged to the volleyball court to bully her with some students.
But that didn't go as he planned.
Esdeath, as always, had turned the situation on its head. She had used her boldness, and sharp thinking to trap Mirael instead. She took a photo that made it look like Mirael was touching her in the wrong way—as if he was squeezing her chest. That photo could have ruined him.
Panicked and afraid, Mirael ended up giving Esdeath hush money… and even agreed to keep paying her every month just to keep her quiet.
Of course, Esdeath didn't bother collecting the payments after that. She already had plenty of money and didn't care about him anymore.
"I was one of the students he used to bully," Henson admitted with a deep sigh, lowering his head in shame. "But then he offered me money… He said if I bullied someone else for him, he'd stop bothering me. I was scared and didn't want to be bullied anymore, so I took the offer right away."
Ethan stared at him in silence for a moment.
"So, he's also a victim…" Ethan thought, rubbing his back molars with frustration. "Still, this Mirael guy... I've never met him, but if he's doing things like this, then someone needs to teach him a lesson!"
He let Henson go and stood up.
"Get out of here. Don't let me catch you doing this again," Ethan warned.
After that, he left the rooftop and went straight to the nurse's office. Violet was sitting on the bed with a fresh change of clothes, her long hair still a bit damp. Emma stood beside her, looking both relieved and annoyed.
As soon as Ethan entered, they looked up.
"What happened?" Violet asked, her voice low.
Ethan quickly told them everything about Henson and Mirael—the money, the bullying, and the second-year student's so-called game of targeting the weak.
Both Violet and Emma were shocked.
"A second-year student… Is it okay to go against someone like that?" Emma asked with a worried tone. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she imagined all the possible consequences.
"It doesn't matter!" Violet suddenly said, her voice sharp. Her fists clenched tightly as her eyes filled with fire. "I don't care if he's in second year or third year! I'll beat him myself and ask him why he did it!"
Her anger was real. She wasn't just upset about herself—she hated that others were suffering too.
"You're right," Ethan said, nodding. "But we need to wait for now. Let's focus on tomorrow's illusory inheritance trial. After that… we'll deal with Mirael."
---------
Meanwhile…
In the forest behind the academy, birds flew away in panic as loud crashing sounds echoed through the trees. A giant monster, twice the size of the average tree, stomped across the ground.
It had rough, reddish-brown skin and a huge round belly. Its single vertical eye in the middle of its forehead looked terrifying. In one hand, it held a massive wooden club—like a giant baseball bat.
But in front of him, flying like a blur, was a girl with shining white wings.
Selene.
She flapped her dragon wings swiftly and moved through the air like a feather in the wind.
WHOOSH!
The monster swung its huge club with full force, trying to knock Selene down.
But she was faster.
She twisted her body in the air, flying in a perfect arc, dodging the attack, and quickly moving behind the monster.
"Nice job! Go for the blind spot! Aim for the eye!" Esdeath called out from where she was sitting on a large boulder, watching calmly.
Selene nodded with a grin, twisted her body, and kicked out her leg with all her power.
"Dragon Kick!"
BAM!
A thunderous sound filled the air. But instead of just hurting the monster's eye, Selene's kick blew up the entire head of the creature.
The huge monster froze.
Then…
THUD!
Its heavy body crashed to the ground, shaking the earth. The fight was over.
Selene floated down gracefully, landing gently near Esdeath.
"That was easier than I thought," she said, brushing some dust off her clothes.
"That's because, even though he looked scary, he was only a D+ rank monster," Esdeath explained with a smile. "His strength is just a little higher than a C-rank. Nothing special."
Then she stood up and spread her arms.
"Come here."
Selene's face lit up. She ran at full speed and hugged Esdeath tightly.
"You did great," Esdeath whispered as she gently ran her fingers through Selene's hair. "Let's end our training here for today."
Selene closed her eyes and smiled in her arms.
It was a good day.
----------
After returning home, Esdeath made dinner for both of them. Since Lortell wasn't coming back that night, she had the whole place to herself.
That also meant she could finally do something she had been putting off. She took out a Rank B essence stone.
It was a rare Five Elemental King Essence Stone — a Rank B item that granted the user affinity with five elements: fire, wind, water, earth, and wood.
Esdeath already had fire and wind affinity, so by using it, she could gain control over water, earth, and wood as well.
She had found the stone in Trynne's treasure, but back then she couldn't refine a Rank B item. Now, with the help of her system, she activated it in a single instant.
The essence flowed into her body like a burning current. Mana drained rapidly from her core. For a moment, it felt like it was pulling everything out of her — like her life itself was being consumed.
But then, just as suddenly, it stopped. It had taken about two third of her total mana, but no more.
A strange sensation passed through her veins — like warm liquid swirling deep inside. It was uncomfortable, but only for a few seconds.
The good part was that this stone had no negative effects. Soon, her body adjusted, and everything felt normal again.
"I'll ask Lortell to purify my blood later," Esdeath thought calmly, flexing her fingers, "That will boost my power even more."
She tested her new elements. A sphere of water floated in front of her, followed by a sharp rock cone that spun like a drill. The stone hovered smoothly in the air.
She skipped testing the wood element. The last thing she needed was trees growing out of her floor.
"I need to find a way to get dark element affinity too," she murmured, her eyes narrowing, "My death aura matches with it greatly, The I might have higher potential into becoming more strong;",
---
At the same time, just a building away from Esdeath's apartment, a woman with long blue hair and soft blue eyes was carrying several large boxes in her arms.
She had a gentle look and a naturally graceful body, but none of that was visible now — her figure completely hidden behind the tall stack of boxes.
It was Brenna, Ethan's mother.
She struggled as she walked slowly through the path. The boxes were too heavy, and she could barely see anything in front of her.
Then suddenly, her foot caught on a stone block on the ground.
Her balance broke in an instant.
"No—!" she gasped, feeling herself fall forward.
But before she hit the ground, a hand shot out and caught all the boxes in one smooth motion, holding them with ease as if they weighed nothing.
A large shadow hovered over her.
She looked up in surprise.
"Maruti? You're here too?" Brenna blinked, recognizing the familiar face.
"Yeah. I live in the third room on the second floor," Maruti replied, casually balancing the boxes.
"Really? Ethan and I are moving into the second room on the same floor… We're basically neighbors now!"Brenna said with a huge innocent smile on her face.
"I'll place these boxes inside your house," Maruti said casually.
"What?" Brenna blinked in surprise, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks.
"You don't want me to?" Maruti asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"No, no… it would be a big help!" Brenna quickly replied, smiling nervously. "Also, could you help me with arranging the stuff inside and maybe a little cleaning too?" she added, her voice filled with hope and eyes sparkling with quiet expectation.
Maruti sighed and rolled her eyes lightly, but nodded. "Okay, let's go."
They started walking toward Brenna's house together. Maruti, however, quietly made a bit of distance between them with each step.
"I need to stay away from her a little," Maruti thought to herself, keeping her expression neutral. "If I get too close, because of my Halo of Happiness, she might start laughing like a lunatic without even knowing why!"
As they climbed the stairs, Maruti turned to her and asked, "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you went back already."
"Of course not," Brenna said, letting out a small sigh. "Since we were granted the title of Baron and are going to receive land soon… but, you know how government stuff works—it'll take years to actually get everything."
"So, I thought, why not stay here with Ethan for now? I can keep an eye on him. That boy's been acting a bit too much like a playboy lately," she added, narrowing her eyes with a teasing smile.
Maruti smirked at that. "Yeah, I think you should give him a tight beating. Knock some sense into him."
Brenna laughed out loud, her voice echoing lightly through the staircase. "You're really good at making jokes! But he's a big boy now… I can't really beat him anymore. Soon, he'll marry some woman and move out. He'll be busy with his new life, and I'll be left behind again…"
Her smile faded just a little, replaced by a quiet loneliness in her voice.
Maruti noticed the change and said, half-jokingly, "Then why don't you marry someone too? You're still young and pretty."
"Pretty?", Brenna's cheeks turned slightly red but then Brenna gave a gentle sigh, then smiled tiredly "I've gotten used to living alone…", She said in low voice but then it turned into a smirk as she added "but I wouldn't mind if a lady like you proposed to me."
She said half joking, Half serious.
Maruti burst into laughter, her grip slipping slightly on the boxes she was holding. "Haha! You are quite good at making jokes yourself!",