The cold moonlight shone down, illuminating the trees outside as they swayed gently in the breeze, casting ghostly shadows on the ground.
Outside the quiet classroom of the Ancient Magic Potion Society, a graceful figure suddenly appeared.
Anna.
She seemed to be in a hurry, barely taking the time to pull out her keys, as she forcefully slammed the classroom door open with her delicate body.
She stumbled into the classroom, feeling her way along the wall, and finally pressed down on a movable stone brick close to the inner side.
The sound of a mechanism activating echoed as the wall shifted, revealing a small compartment.
Inside the compartment were various kinds of magic potions.
Quickly scanning her surroundings, Anna took out a bottle of green magic potion and a bottle of blue magic potion that were positioned towards the inner side.
She ripped open the sleeve of her garment, torn by the High Priest’s blade, exposing her left arm.
However, the exposed left arm did not possess the fair and tender skin of a young girl; instead, it sent a chill down one’s spine at first glance.
Because it was covered in scales.
Dense, overlapping, jet-black scales.
Snake scales.
Looking at those scales, Anna’s eyes revealed intense disgust and hatred.
She took a deep breath, as if preparing herself mentally.
Finally, she made her decision.
She picked up the green magic potion, opened the cap, and suddenly poured its liquid over her left arm.
Sizzle!
In an instant.
It was as if strong acid had been splashed.
Even the black scales, which could withstand a blade, were quickly corroded, hissing and emitting white smoke.
“Hiss—”
At the same time, excruciating pain instantly made Anna’s beautiful face turn pale, and beads of cold sweat broke out all over her body.
She bit down hard, her ample chest rising and falling rapidly, and without realizing it, her right hand crushed the potion bottle.
“Why… why did it suddenly worsen so much?”
“Could it be that…”
Anna slammed her fist on the table, raising her head.
The bright moonlight poured in, bringing with it an endless silence and coldness.
It wasn’t over yet.
With her trembling hand, she took out a sharp dagger.
Slowly, she positioned it above the scales on her left arm.
Pausing for a moment.
Then the dagger swung down suddenly, scraping away the scales from her arm.
Blood flowed profusely.
As the scales were scraped off, the skin followed, making the scene look horrendous.
But Anna remained meticulous, as if she had done this countless times, scraping each scale off her arm bit by bit.
Until her arm was free of any scales, she swiftly poured the blue magic potion over her arm.
Her wounds began to heal at a visibly rapid pace, and her fair skin started to regrow.
Before long, her left arm became indistinguishable from that of an ordinary girl, even appearing more tender and fair.
Only then did she let out a long sigh of relief.
Not only because the agonizing pain had dissipated but also because the overwhelming desire that had been rising alongside the snake scales had finally receded.
That desire to consume something.
She leaned against the wall, slowly collapsing as if all her strength had been drained.
Her unfocused eyes revealed a different kind of confusion.
“I have to speed up, I must…”
In the Ancient Magic Potion classroom, where only she resided, Anna murmured softly.
……
……
The Bell Tower.
Thirteenth Underground Floor.
The Mercury Well.
“Wow, is this the core area of St. Maria Academy?”
A man with a grotesque scar on his face looked around at the solemn and grand structures, astonished as if a country bumpkin had entered the city.
“Tsk tsk, these things seem to be made of rare metals. Such large pieces, they must weigh tons, can I scrap a little back? It feels like if I could just scrape some scrap, I won’t have to worry about my next life.”
“Shut up!”
In front of the scar-faced man, a skinny shadow cloaked in black robes hissed:
“And don’t touch anything if you don’t want the security system here to turn you into dust.”
“Okay, okay, I won’t move.”
The scar-faced man shrugged, looking quite innocent. “I’m not a mischievous child from a relative’s family, why are you so nervous?”
“……”
The skinny shadow walked silently ahead, a rickety lamp swaying in his hand, emitting a dim blue light that enveloped the two.
The blue light was filled with a deadening aura, yet after being enveloped by it, the surrounding security measures from numerous intricate devices seemed to lose effectiveness, overlooking the two intruders.
The long hallway was eerily quiet.
Feeling the journey too dull, with nothing new to see around, the scar-faced man leaned closer to the skinny shadow and asked:
“By the way, are your companions alright? Leading away those professors and teachers, and holding up that imperial princess seems like very dangerous work.”
“They’re fine, they have their own escape plan.”
The skinny shadow snorted:
“Instead of worrying about them, you should worry about yourself.”
“Worry about myself?”
The scar-faced man was taken aback. “Why? With everyone drawn away, this should be the safest place, right?”
“Entering is naturally safe, but isn’t the most dangerous time when escaping? After all, what we have to do is—”
“What?” The scar-faced man was stunned again.
“……”
The skinny shadow fell silent for a moment after hearing this.
“You don’t know?”
“I don’t know what?”
“You don’t know why you are here?!”
The skinny shadow was shocked.
“The High Priest sent me here.”
The scar-faced man scratched his head, asking innocently.
“He sent you here and you don’t ask him what you should do?”
“Well… As an excellent subordinate, isn’t it a quality to ask less and do more?”
“……”
The skinny shadow suddenly felt reluctant to speak.
He began to regret why he had allowed these mentally unstable guys to send someone to help him.
Though indeed there was a shortage of manpower here, it felt like bringing this guy along was a mistake.
But oh well.
It was too late now; even if this guy couldn’t be of much help, he could still be tossed out as bait at a critical moment.
“Since you don’t know, then don’t ask.”
The skinny shadow turned around. “Time is tight; if you don’t want to die, keep up.”
“Oh, oh.”
The scar-faced man nodded repeatedly, hastily following along.
But as they walked, he suddenly remembered something and moved closer to the skinny shadow, asking with a serious expression:
“By the way, since it’s so dangerous, you must have an escape plan, right? Like at a critical moment, suddenly having reinforcements blow up the ceiling and drop down to take us away or something.”
“……”
“If there’s no Plan A, I think Plan B is feasible too, like pulling out a teleportation magic scroll to send us away after we finish the bad stuff. Although I get sick every time I teleport and have to vomit, I think it’s still doable at a critical moment.”
“……”
“If Plan B doesn’t work, there must be a Plan C!”
The scar-faced man’s tone was somewhat anxious. “For example, calling down your big boss, that what’s-his-name of the moon to come down and kill everything, that should work, right?”
“……”
“No way, how can you do anything without a plan? If Plan C doesn’t work, then Plan…”
“Shut up!”
Unable to endure the man’s incessant chatter, the skinny shadow snapped:
“The protection of the moonlight has its limits. If you keep talking this loudly, what if someone hears us?”
