Chapter 23: Livia’s base was raided again

“What?!”

“How could Crown Prince Pedro be involved with the Abyssal Order?!”

“When did the forces of the Abyssal Order infiltrate us?!”

As the live scene from the examination hall suddenly appeared on the screen, every face revealed uncontrollable horror.

Wherever the Abyssal Order went, a bloody storm always followed.

Everyone was afraid of becoming a soul slain by the Order’s blade.

At the same time, the Assessment Office erupted into chaos.

Dean Emil, always the model of an old gentleman, was now so furious that even his mustache seemed twisted.

How could so many outrageous things just happen to land on his lap?

He took several deep breaths, barely managing to calm himself, and then swiftly began to issue orders.

“Hurry, halt the assessment! All teachers of Fifth Rank Mage or above, assemble at once and prepare for immediate rescue!”

“We can’t do it, Dean. The next portal recharge won’t be finished for at least half an hour. Before that, we cannot enter the test area.”

The teacher in charge wore a bitter expression.

Who could have guessed that the Abyssal Order would manage to seduce the Crown Prince of the Northern Kingdom?

Even more unimaginable was that the Order’s influence had reached all the way into the Central Royal City!

So for this assessment, they hadn’t made any emergency contingency plans.

Dean Emil was so anxious he nearly jumped up and down.

“Then hurry and think of something for me!”

If even a few students came to harm, how was he supposed to explain it to their parents?

What would he say to the subsequent accident investigation committee?

What about his own position as dean?!

“Damn it…”

He gnashed his teeth and glared at Pedro, now in his demonized state on the screen, wishing he could leap through the screen and tear him apart with his own hands.

Beside him, Lucy’s beautiful eyes were full of unconcealable worry as she watched Lynn.

Lynn, you must find a way to hold on…

…

“I see.”

Pedro nodded, as if deep in thought.

According to Pedro’s original plan, after finding Lynn, he would briefly enter his demonized state to finish him off.

Pedro was confident he could compress this process to mere seconds, minimizing any risk of being discovered.

But that little brat Lynn had exposed his use of the Abyssal Order’s secret arts in front of everyone.

As soon as the assessment ended, Pedro would be dragged before the Tribunal and executed on charges of treason, no matter what.

“Good, very good.”

Pedro’s expression was cold and showed no hint of emotion.

He had been driven numb with rage.

All that filled his mind now was the urge to tear Lynn—the thorn in his side—into pieces and scatter his ashes!

A suffocating magical power surged along the markings on his body, gathering in his palm.

With Pedro’s low chant, countless micro magic arrays instantly formed at his side, sealing off all avenues of escape for the two before him.

The sky suddenly darkened, and wild winds nearly blew Lynn off his feet.

Pedro slowly raised his hand.

As soon as he brought it down, Lynn and that detestable Second Rank Warrior would be erased from the world forever.

Just as he was about to swing his hand down.

A crisp “tick-tock” rang out abruptly.

At once, it was as if Pedro had been switched to slow motion.

Thankfully, his thoughts remained clear.

He stared at his own arm in disbelief.

It was as if he’d lost control of it—his arm hovered in midair, but he simply couldn’t bring it down immediately.

Impossible!

No one here but me can use magic!

His gaze shifted gradually to Lynn.

He saw that Lynn was gripping a black pawn tightly in his hand.

The pawn was faintly emitting a pale blue glow.

Chess Move.

The term flashed through Pedro’s mind.

No matter—Chess Move is incredibly expensive.

There’s no way he can use a second one!

And indeed, as he expected, a few seconds later, the effect wore off.

Pedro calmly let his hand fall.

Several streams of terrifying energy shot straight toward Lynn.

A flash of white light; a violent explosion followed immediately.

“……”

Watching this brutal scene, everyone’s heart sank.

Clearly, with such an attack, Lynn could not possibly have survived.

However, when the smoke and dust cleared…

People were astonished to see Lynn’s figure reappear in their field of vision.

And standing in front of him…

Was a colossal black dragon that blotted out the sky.

“That’s…”

Dean Emil adjusted his monocle, his pupils narrowing sharply.

“That’s Lynn’s Legendary Chess Move!”

Lucy breathed a sigh of relief, her tone unable to conceal her excitement.

Her guess had been right—Lynn truly was a once-in-a-millennium genius!

“Legendary Chess Move?”

Dean Emil’s eye twitched violently.

He had toiled his whole life, waking early and working late, painstakingly crafting chess pieces, and only upon reaching his fifties had inspiration finally struck, granting him his very first Legendary Chess Move.

But this Lynn fellow… it seemed like his starting point was Emil’s whole lifetime.

“This boy really knows how to surprise me.”

Dean Emil shook his head, pressing his hand to his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

Though he was reluctant to admit it—

This youth named Lynn had a future even brighter than his own once was.

If he could survive…

He might have the honor of teaching a legend.

In the examination hall.

Lynn had no idea that the crafty old Dean Emil was already eyeing him.

His own state, truth be told, was far from good.

Though Ayan had blocked most of the damage for him, the remaining aftershocks were more than enough to leave Lynn reeling.

A Third Rank Mage, with the Abyssal Order’s secret arts in hand.

All buffs stacked to the max.

“It’s up to you now, Ayan.”

Lynn forced a smile.

According to his memory, Pedro could enter the “demonized” state, granting him temporary access to the Order’s secret arts.

But “demonization” didn’t last forever—the time was measured in seconds, not minutes.

The strength it offered also decreased the longer it was maintained.

Lynn had avoided Pedro’s peak period and used [Stasis] to buy precious time.

Now, it was time.

To use [Dragon’s Heart] to end this farce once and for all.

The dragon glanced at Lynn and snorted disdainfully.

“Humans are such fragile creatures.”

Pedro stared at the dragon before him, a chilling pressure washing over him, freezing his blood and suffocating him.

“No… Impossible…”

His eyes were vacant as he shook his head.

“An Outerworld Dragon… How can this be…”

“Fake. It must be fake!!”

At that thought, Pedro suddenly lashed out, pouring everything he had into generating several more small arrays around himself just before his demonization ended.

Ayan only gave a cold, mocking laugh.

“You pitiful ants, do you dare defy a dragon?”

In the next instant, flames shimmered across Ayan’s body like a river of light, and the temperature around them soared.

Then, Ayan spread his wings and soared high above.

The might of an ancient dragon was revealed in full.

And then—

Blistering dragonfire rained down from the heavens.

In the blink of an eye, Pedro was reduced to ashes.

He didn’t even have time to scream.

Perhaps, for him, that was a mercy.

Once he was certain Pedro was dead, Lynn could hold on no longer.

Maintaining Ayan’s presence in the world consumed massive amounts of Lynn’s magic.

Before, he could only let Ayan show up for a few seconds before retreating.

His condition was already poor, and with such a huge drain of magic—

Lynn felt everything spinning. In the next moment, darkness claimed his sight and he lost consciousness.

“Lynn!”

Sophie hurried over to Lynn’s side, anxious.

She patted his face, but he didn’t respond at all.

She could barely feel a pulse or breath.

Sophie’s mind went blank.

Panic truly set in.

In her distress, she suddenly remembered the artificial respiration technique her master had once taught her.

At the thought, Sophie’s heart raced and her fair cheeks turned scarlet.

“No… It’s all right. Lynn has saved me so many times, so this time… it’s my turn to repay him.”

With that, Sophie pinched Lynn’s nose, closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and pressed her lips to his.

…

“Whew—”

After almost half an hour of hard work, Master Livia wiped the sweat from her brow.

This broadcast job was tougher than she’d expected. In less than half an hour, she’d nearly used up all her magic.

“I bet Mr. Lynn will praise me plenty for this, hmph~”

Livia skipped lightly back to the waiting area.

“They really are a perfect couple—talented man, beautiful woman.”

“Yes, yes! Not a bit jealous that this kid’s won the beauty’s heart.”

“……”

Praises and chatter buzzed in Livia’s ears.

“How strange—someone’s actually showing off their romance in the test hall?”

Livia muttered to herself in confusion.

Then, she looked up at the magical screen.

Frozen on it was the last image: Sophie’s lips pressed to Lynn’s.

She stared for a moment, then her right eyelid twitched wildly.

She clenched her fists tight.

“Sophie….!!!!”