Rhea herself hadn’t expected her body to move faster than her thoughts.
Ize’s unfathomable strength meant he didn’t truly need her concern.
However, the moment that female vampire named Kies locked her greasy, seductive gaze onto Ize and uttered shameless words like “keep as a pet” and “pleasure,” an anonymous fury surged like magma, instantly demolishing her rationality.
That anger came so swiftly and fiercely that it even felt a bit foreign to her.
She simply couldn’t stand it—couldn’t stand that woman looking at him with such explicit eyes, couldn’t stand her viewing him as a plaything to be “kept” at her whim.
“Leave this woman to me!” Rhea’s voice was colder than a polar wind, decisive and leaving no room for negotiation.
She could even feel the part of the vampire power within her body stirring faintly due to this intense emotion.
These words made Sarah’s heart skip a beat.
She hurriedly tried to dissuade her in an urgent whisper:
“Rhea! Don’t be impulsive! The male vampire with her easily shattered my [Wind-Rock Barrier] with just a few kicks! These guys calling themselves the Blood Clan have strength far exceeding any monsters we’ve encountered before, including that Lord-class Goblin! Their level is likely far above ours. I don’t recommend a direct confrontation; we should find a way to retreat!”
However, even as Sarah tried to stop her, she keenly captured an unusual flame in Rhea’s eyes. It wasn’t just a will to fight a strong enemy; it was mixed with a kind of… resentment and rejection, as if her territory had been violated?
Sarah’s gaze subconsciously flickered between Rhea and Ize, who was being protected behind her.
An absurd yet seemingly explanatory thought flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning:
‘Could Rhea… be this angry because that female vampire flirted with Junior Ize? This reaction… it’s almost like… she’s jealous?’
The thought surprised Sarah herself.
The famously unmeltable iceberg of Liyue Academy was actually harboring an extraordinary level of concern—perhaps even… affection—for this seemingly unremarkable junior?
Thinking back to Rhea’s unprecedented act of handing him water during their previous meal, and those overly frequent glances she cast toward Ize along the way…
Sarah didn’t dare think further.
If that was the case, then Rhea’s almost reckless behavior now had a logical explanation rooted in emotional impulse.
Sarah’s analysis was rational and correct, but Rhea, currently dominated by intense emotion, seemed stone-deaf to it.
All of her attention was locked firmly onto Kies, frost congealing in her eyes.
Looking at Rhea standing in front of Ize—especially meeting those cold eyes hidden with raging fury—Kies felt that inexplicable palpitation again. There was even a hint of… irritation at being provoked?
She suppressed that strange feeling and giggled. “Hehe, little handsome guy, are you that eager to protect your food? Big sister is actually very gentle…”
“Shut up!”
Rhea’s sharp bark cut off her sickening tone.
There was no chanting, no flashy magical radiance—only a pure explosion of extreme speed and power!
Her figure left a faint silver afterimage where she stood. In the next instant, she was already closing in on Kies, throwing a simple, unadorned, but lightning-fast straight punch directly at the other woman’s face!
A piercing sonic boom even rang out in the air!
So fast!
Kies’s pupils shrank, and alarm bells rang in her mind.
This speed was definitely not something an ordinary human mage should possess!
She hurriedly raised her arms to block.
*Bang!*
Fist met arm, producing a dull, heavy thud.
Kies felt a massive force, far exceeding her expectations, transfer from Rhea’s arm. It sent her blood churning, and she involuntarily stumbled back three steps before barely steadying herself!
The frivolous smile on her face froze instantly, replaced by unbelievable shock.
How was this possible?
How could a human’s strength and speed reach such a level?
Their Blood Clan’s physical toughness was among the very top tier of monsters. Without giving her any room to breathe, Rhea’s attacks followed one after another like a violent storm!
Fists, palms, elbows, knees… she perfectly combined her exquisite martial arts skills with the terrifying physical traits brought about by her vampire transformation. Her assault was incredibly fierce, and her speed grew faster and faster, tracing dazzling trajectories in the air.
That ruthless momentum looked as if she wanted to completely tear apart this woman who dared to “lay a hand” on Ize.
Sarah watched from the side with a trembling heart, her suspicions further confirmed.
This wasn’t just Rhea fighting an enemy; she was clearly venting her anger.
Sarah even noticed that in the gaps between attacks, Rhea’s peripheral vision would subconsciously sweep toward Ize’s direction, as if confirming his safety, or perhaps asserting a kind of sovereignty.
‘But when did Rhea’s physical fitness become so good?’
‘This speed… it’s so fast she can barely track it.’
‘If Rhea hadn’t forfeited during the magic evaluation back then, with the strength she’s showing now, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be her match…’
On Kies’s side, the more she fought, the more frustrated and horrified she became.
She discovered that the vampire energy within her body seemed to encounter some kind of invisible suppression when facing Rhea. Not only could she not transform, but she could only exert fifty to sixty percent of her full power at most!
An indescribable sense of dread originating from the depths of her bloodline, combined with a weird… reluctance to hurt the opponent, caused her to subconsciously hold back her killing moves against Rhea’s oppressive attacks.
This feeling of being bound hand and foot meant that despite having a stronger foundation, she was being beaten back repeatedly, left to dodge and parry pathetically.
*Thud!* Rhea delivered a sharp sidekick, slamming it hard against Kies’s hurriedly raised arm, sending her staggering back again. The sharp pain from her arm caused Kies to let out a muffled groan.
The rest of the magic academy students on the scene were all staring with wide eyes.
Rogge from Lemon Academy pushed his glasses, his eyes behind the lenses filled with surprise and suspicion.
“Rhea… when did she gain such powerful close-combat abilities?”
The students from Sting Academy were also whispering:
“Is that female vampire actually not that strong? Just looks scary?”
“Maybe. Look, Senior Rhea is completely suppressing her! Maybe that man is the main force and this woman is just eye candy?”
These discussions reached Kies’s ears, making her so angry she nearly coughed up blood!
She was a pure-blood vampire!
To be suppressed and beaten by a… a human(?) who made her feel inexplicably close yet fearful, and to be considered weak by this group of “food”?!
“Bastard!” Kies screamed, forcibly driving the energy in her body. Her nails instantly turned pitch black and sharp, clawing at Rhea’s throat with a whistle that tore through the air, attempting to reverse the tide.
However, a cold light flashed in Rhea’s eyes. Instead of dodging, her right hand shot out like lightning, accurately grabbing Kies’s wrist. Her other hand followed through with a palm strike to the chest!
This palm carried not just power, but a cold fury that even Rhea herself hadn’t fully realized.
*Puff—*
Though Kies managed to condense a layer of dark energy as a shield in time, she was still hit squarely by the palm. A frigid, overbearing force surged through her body, making her throat turn sweet as she nearly sprayed blood.
She used the impact to fly backward, creating distance. The gaze she cast at Rhea was filled with horror, anger, and a hint of grievance that she couldn’t even understand herself.
Why?
Why couldn’t she land a heavy blow on this silver-haired brat?
Why did his power make her soul tremble?
Ize was also stunned. Rhea could suppress this vampire without even using her specific vampire abilities?
Was this woman named Kies too weak, or was Rhea’s bloodline more noble than Kies’s?
Could it be that the vampire loli’s status in the Blood Clan was actually very high?
But that didn’t seem right either. If she really was the Vampire Queen, why didn’t he feel any pressure when he was dealing with her?
Ultimately, Ize concluded that this vampire named Kies was just too weak…
Bart, who had been watching from the side with a playful mindset, now had a darkened expression. He naturally saw that something was wrong with Kies. That hesitant, suppressed state where her power couldn’t be fully unleashed was definitely not normal.
“Kies! What the hell are you doing?!” Bart growled impatiently. “You can’t even take care of a human brat?”
His sinister gaze swept across the field, finally landing on the magic academy students who were watching nervously, some even relaxing their guard slightly because of Rhea’s “advantage.”
“It seems I need to make you ‘food’ face reality first!” Before his voice even faded, Bart’s figure vanished from the spot like a ghost!
“Watch out!” Sarah was the first to react, shouting a warning.
She forcibly suppressed her speculations about Rhea and Ize; the crisis in front of them was the priority!
But it was too late!
Bart’s speed was simply too fast.
*Bang! Bang! Bang!*
Several muffled thuds followed in quick succession, accompanied by groans of pain and cries of alarm.
Bart’s figure was like a tiger entering a flock of sheep. He was incredibly fast, and his attacks were ruthless.
Two third-rank students from Lemon Academy didn’t even see his movements before they were sent flying, spitting blood as they crashed heavily into the ground, losing their ability to fight.
A student from Sting Academy who tried to use a magic tool for defense was kicked away along with the tool, the defensive light screen shattering like paper.
Absolute suppression!
Bart used the most brutal method to instantly destroy the small hope that had risen in everyone’s hearts because Rhea was suppressing Kies.
The desperate gap in their strength was laid bare.
“Damn it!” On this side, Leon was already considering whether to use his Dragonification power.
“Leon! Don’t be impulsive!”
Seeing Leon look as if he intended to step forward, Sarah hurried to stop him.
Simultaneously, her hands hidden behind her back were moving rapidly in an extremely complex and profound trajectory. A faint but exceptionally pure silver glow flowed from her fingertips, and the surrounding space began to produce extremely fine, wave-like ripples.
“There’s no other way… I have to use this!” Sarah thought to herself.
This was the ‘Spatial Magic’ she had comprehended in the Realm of Law.
This magic consumed a massive amount of energy, and she was extremely unskilled at it. Furthermore, she couldn’t be sure of the teleportation destination.
To take everyone away! This required time for precise guiding and would cause her immense magical and mental backlash, but it was the only hope for everyone to survive.
At this moment, there was no other choice; she had to take the risk.
“Everyone! Gather around me! Quickly!!”
Her voice carried an unquestionable urgency and a hint of unavoidable weakness.
Ize, for his part, had no intention of stepping in yet.
Now that the main party was all here, according to the plot’s trajectory…
There definitely wouldn’t be any life-threatening danger, so there was no need to expose his own strength.
At that moment, he immediately sensed the powerful spatial fluctuations around Sarah.
See? As expected, the female lead still has a trump card.
And from Leon’s previous behavior, it seemed he also had a card he hadn’t played.
Without any hesitation, Ize grabbed the dazed Luke and Emma beside him, quickly moving toward Sarah. At the same time, he shouted at the others who were still staring blankly:
“Don’t just stand there! Listen to Senior Sarah! Get over here!”
Rhea also heard Sarah’s call. Without hesitation, she gave up on pursuing the female vampire who had made her so angry and flashed back to Ize’s side.
As she approached, her gaze seemed to inadvertently sweep coldly toward the distant Kies again, carrying a clear warning.
Then she turned to Ize. Although her expression remained cold, that subconscious act of staying close to protect him was seen by Sarah, who had been watching her.
Sarah’s “jealousy” theory seemed to gain even more evidence.
Bart also noticed the increasingly strong spatial fluctuations in Sarah’s hands and the rapidly gathering crowd.
A cruel sneer appeared on his face.
“Thinking of running? Not without my permission!”
His figure surged again, like a bolt of black lightning, charging straight at Sarah, who was guiding the formation and could not move!
Clearly, he saw that Sarah was the key to their escape.
“Don’t you dare!” Leon roared, forcibly suppressing the urge to transform. He poured all his magic into his staff, and a highly condensed lightning spear formed instantly, shooting toward Bart with a piercing crackle, trying to obstruct his movement.
However, Bart merely waved his hand casually, and a dark red shield of blood energy easily crushed the lightning spear. His speed didn’t decrease in the slightest!
Just as Bart’s claws, filled with terrifying power, were about to reach Sarah—
Ize, seeing the spatial magic turbulence everywhere, took advantage of the chaos to kick Bart in the face with extreme speed.
“Holy crap!”
Bart was sent flying backward like a cannonball.
At the same time, the spatial magic successfully activated.
An incredibly complex magic circle composed of pure silver light expanded instantly with Sarah as the center, enveloping all the gathered students—including the severely injured ones on the ground and the group of slum children!
The intense light swallowed all vision. A sensation of violent spatial distortion and folding followed, as if their very souls were being torn and stretched before they completely vanished from the spot.
***
Bart slammed heavily onto the ground, feeling as if his entire body was falling apart.
Kies, clutching her still-aching chest, walked to Bart’s side. Looking at the spot where the group had vanished, her face was filled with resentment and confusion. She murmured:
“Bart, what happened to you?”
Bart’s head was spinning.
“Just before they teleported, I don’t know who kicked me.”
As he spoke, Kies also noticed the large footprint on Bart’s face.
Kies said, “Maybe it was that silver-haired brat. The feeling she gives me is just too strange.”
***
After a period of world-spinning, intense discomfort, the group slammed heavily onto solid ground.
“Cough, cough…” Sarah collapsed on the ground, her face as pale as paper. A trickle of blood leaked from the corner of her mouth; she had clearly suffered a massive backlash.
“Senior Sarah!” Emma ignored her own dizziness and hurriedly crawled over, a soft healing light appearing in her hands.
Ize quickly scanned their surroundings and found that they seemed to have been teleported to a secluded clearing on the outskirts of the Casipe Forest, temporarily out of danger.
He breathed a sigh of relief, only then realizing his arm was being gripped tightly. He looked back and saw it was Rhea.
She didn’t seem to have fully recovered from the dizziness of the spatial teleportation, but the strength with which she gripped his arm didn’t loosen at all, as if it were an unconscious dependence.
Luke sat paralyzed on the ground, panting heavily, the terror of their near-death experience still lingering on his face.
“That… that scared me to death…”
“But at the end, I think I heard someone scream…”
In the entire group, only Rhea had barely seen Ize make a move.
Ize didn’t answer. His gaze briefly met Rhea’s, who had just caught her breath.
As if scorched, Rhea quickly averted her eyes and let go of his arm. Her face instantly returned to its usual cold expression; she even deliberately moved a small step away.
It was as if the person who had just exploded with incredible combat power out of anger and stood firmly in front of him wasn’t her at all.
Sarah, slowly recovering, naturally noticed the small interaction between Ize and Rhea.
She wanted to say something, but ultimately swallowed her words.
“…What kind of monsters were those vampires… That was terrifying…”