The Saboteur of the Visitation
“They say Orknodi’s just sitting there, camped out in the visitation room.”
“Why hasn’t her guardian shown up?”
“They’re from the Weihimhai Foundation, aren’t they? If they know what they did to Orknodi got exposed, of course they wouldn’t come—if only to avoid getting beaten half to death.”
Passing through the hallway, Zhuang listened to the murmurs brushing past her ears and thought what a foolish child Orknodi truly was.
Why would an assassin ever meet someone out in the open like that? Even if they promised, there’s no way they’d show up. And even if asked to come, they shouldn’t.
Even accounting for the fact that Orknodi was still young, it was reckless beyond measure.
Surely today’s ordeal would serve as a bitter lesson. She would learn not to attach meaning to empty promises that only brought misery to both sides, and she would stop trying to make them altogether. That was how one grew strong.
Zhuang was fond of Orknodi’s bright innocence, yet she prayed with all her heart that the phase where such innocence wounded the girl would come to an end as swiftly as possible. She had no desire to watch her hard-won fellow assassin friend suffer and ache in solitude.
Rumble.
“…!”
Still… maybe I should go take a look at her face.
The moment she turned into the corridor with that thought, an ominous Boundary expanded outward.
It was the signature art of the truly powerful—a localized domain warping internal reality to forge a personal world. A freshman? Not in a million years could someone of that caliber wield such power. A teaching assistant? Utterly impossible for second- or third-year students. An instructor? Even an instructor would fall short.
A professor.
It was a Boundary unleashed by an elite powerhouse of at least professor rank.
I don’t know what this is, but I’ve stepped into territory where I don’t belong.
The aura pulsing from the domain radiated cognitive distortion and sensory disruption, engineered specifically to subtly expel intruders back out of the corridor.
“Huh? Where was I heading again…?”
A student caught nearby in the domain turned around with a blank, dazed expression and drifted out of the hallway. Watching them wander toward the stairs above, Zhuang knew that even after reaching their destination, they would only assume they had briefly lost their train of thought. They would never realize they had stepped into a Boundary.
Advanced Stealth
Domain Deception — Undivided Whole
Having caught on in the nick of time, Zhuang narrowly evaded the domain’s lifeform detection and masked her presence. Creeping forward with painstaking care to avoid disturbing the barrier, she suddenly sensed another layer folded beneath it.
It was a double Boundary.
Unlike the outer layer designed to ward off wandering students, the space beyond the dividing line possessed an entirely different nature. Plucking a tiny thread from her clothing, Zhuang placed it onto her palm and blew gently.
Fuu.
The floating thread crossed the threshold and plummeted straight down like a stone.
The gravity is completely warped.
Crushing pressure reigned supreme over that space. Finally, the structure of the double Boundary made sense. The outer barrier served as a safety latch to keep innocent students from getting swept away, while the inner domain was pure combat mode, deployed to crush an adversary. Inside, someone was locked in combat with a professor.
Who could it be? Who is trying to stop whom?
If this had been the Zhuang from before she enrolled at the academy, she never would have spared such curiosity. In her world, human bonds were doomed to conclude in betrayal and agony, disappointment and detachment, or cold, unfeeling vengeance. She had harbored zero expectations for connection, nor had she ever wished to forge one.
Yet meeting Orknodi had changed everything.
There existed another child in this world like herself. A child born to the exact same cursed fate of an assassin, yet who lived—and strove to live—an entirely different kind of life. And seeing how much that child resembled her, perhaps she too could learn to resemble that child. She had ended up fostering that foolish, dangerous hope.
She knew it well. The current version of herself was far weaker than she had once been. Knowledge, techniques, and friendships acquired at an academy could never hold a candle to the cold, singular mindset of a true assassin.
Never step into danger.
Live solely for yourself.
Never entangle yourself in personal grudges.
The countless admonitions carved into her by her master wrapped tightly around her ankles, commanding her to halt. Yet a single gnawing suspicion refused to let her turn back.
What if the clash raging beyond had everything to do with Orknodi? What if it involved Orknodi’s guardian? Could she truly turn around and walk away, pretending it had nothing to do with her?
Crack.
Zhuang heard the sound of something shattering. It was the sound of fractures spiderwebbing across the shackles her master had clamped onto her soul for years.
Orknodi isn’t just some stranger.
Hadn’t she always boasted to Hestia and Titocoga? That an assassin never makes friends lightly, and that anyone who betrays a friend must be prepared to have that agony returned to them in kind.
I shouldn’t be doing this. I really shouldn’t…
Even as reason screamed that she was inviting catastrophe, her foot stepped forward. Suffocating pressure battered her, heavy enough to snap her neck. Her thighs strained as if ready to burst from the strain, and pure stubborn pride forced her spine straight against the crushing gravitational force. Channeling more absolute earnestness than she had even during the entrance exams, the hidden scene concealed within the double Boundary finally came into view.
There stood a long-haired man with his back turned, arms crossed haughtily, his dark mantle billowing behind him. And facing him, bathed in his crushing pressure, was another man in a formal tailcoat, soaked in his own blood as he forced his boots forward one agonizing step at a time.
If she had to describe the two men standing before her…
A rogue… and a butler?
An utterly baffling pair glared at each other across the shattered hall.
Jona Waihiemhai.
He had counted down the days for this very moment: Guardian Observation Day.
“The Young Lady has caused quite an extraordinary amount of mischief,” Leaf had remarked before his departure. “I ask that you deliver a stern reprimand on my behalf as well.”
“My apologies, Leaf,” Jona had answered. “I shall be sure to convey your sentiments to the Young Lady.”
“Delivering the candy basket safely will suffice. Her tolerances have surely developed by now, meaning it is time she be introduced to an assortment of carefully curated poison candies.”
Though she lamented being unable to gaze upon the Young Lady’s face in person, Leaf understood the grim necessity. Recently, the scrutinizing gazes and covert movements of the academy’s investigators surrounding the Weihimhai Foundation had grown far too sharp. Word had reached them that an artifact had even been plundered from one of the core strongholds established across the continent by their Central Headquarters; the academy’s intentions could not be clearer.
“Breaking through the academy’s interference to reclaim the Young Lady from their grasp would be impossible without a diversion,” Leaf had stated coldly. “Please entrust this matter to our assassination maid corps.”
Behind Leaf, elite assassins cloaked in traditional maid uniforms had emerged from the shadows. No sooner had they dispersed than coordinated detonations tore through the reception venue. Dense smoke billowed into the skies as alarms shrieked incessantly to announce a state of emergency. More than half of those operatives would likely not escape alive, yet the upper echelons deemed such casualties an acceptable investment for the Foundation’s cherished ‘special scholarship student.’
Survive, Leaf. I have no wish to see the Young Lady weep over your demise.
Neither Jona nor Leaf had wished to resort to such extreme measures from the start. However, the moment the pre-visitation banquet commenced—a masquerade designed explicitly to weed out powerless guardians—they had no choice but to strike.
“As you all well know, the visitation time granted per ticket is strictly limited,” a wretched voice had sneered across the banquet hall. “Wouldn’t it be a tragedy to part so swiftly from the children who have waited so anxiously for their guardians?”
Through the malicious ploys of an influential figure, wagers wagering visitation tickets had broken out. On the surface, it posed as a polite game of chance, but in truth, it was a ruthless shakedown meant to strip weaker guardians of their rights. Had Jona lingered to become a target of those high-born power brokers, defending his ticket peacefully might have proved impossible.
A terror attack brought upon yourselves.
With the banquet abruptly canceled in the wake of the assassination maids’ bombings, the remaining ticket holders were hastily ushered toward the teleportation magic circle. With illustrious dignitaries from across the realm gathered to visit their heirs, academy officials could neither postpone the itinerary nor subject them to drawn-out, suffocating screening procedures.
“We shall expedite the transit to Gift Island at once! All attendees in possession of a valid visitation ticket, please assemble before the teleportation circle without delay!”
Slips through the chaos, Jona arrived naturally upon Gift Island, feeling his marrow hum against the immense, roaring mana blanketing its soil. It had been years since he last set foot here, yet the island remained as monstrously vibrant as ever.
“As expected of an island coursing with ancient dragon veins, the aura of mana is truly magnificent. Is it not?”
“Heh heh. Well worth the small fortune spent on our child’s admission. If they hone their craft in a cradle like this, seeing the first Sword Master in our family’s lineage is hardly a fantasy.”
The continent’s wealthiest merchant princes, warlords expanding their martial houses, high nobles, and elite imperial ministers—a sea of distinguished guardians filed into the academy. Their prepared credentials were verified via the enchanted Mana Boards, granting them clearance to proceed toward the Visitation Building one by one.
This will require quite a wait.
Because priority processing was granted to those wielding immense political weight, Jona was relegated to the back of the line, forced to wait for hours. Even so, not a single sigh escaped his lips, nor did his flawless posture waver in the slightest. Every movement he made reflected directly upon the prestige of the Weihimhai Foundation and the honor of his Young Lady.
“……”
Eventually, the hall emptied. Jona stood entirely alone inside the inspection chamber, greeted only by chilled disdain.
“As no other patrons remain, might we proceed with my inspection?”
“My deepest apologies,” the clerk replied with a saccharine smile. “Due to an unforeseen malfunction with the Mana Board, screenings are temporarily suspended.”
“The board appears entirely undamaged to my eyes.”
The clerk chuckled, his fingers clenching tight over the enchanted slab. With a harsh crackle of discharging lightning, the internal circuits of the Mana Board flared and charred black.
“Now it is broken.”
“……”
“Do not fret,” the clerk continued smoothly. “Academy regulations dictate that all entry screenings must conclude no later than six o’clock in the evening. We shall certainly do everything in our power to repair it before then.”
Such transparent, childish antics.
Murderous intent surged in Jona’s sharp eyes, yet the clerk simply held his gaze, his curled lips practically daring the butler to strike. Indeed, that was precisely the trap they had laid. Unlike Leaf, Jona had officially registered his credentials under the Foundation’s banner. If he instigated an incident, expulsion would follow instantly. If he wished to see Orknodi, he could not afford to dirty his hands, no matter how foul or petty their provocations became.
“……”
Gradually, the sun dipped beneath the horizon, bathing the stone walls in early evening dusk.
“Identity verified. Have a pleasant visit.”
Leaving behind the clerk’s insolent smirk, Jona stepped into the corridor. The moment his boot crossed the threshold, the air shifted drastically, pulling a dry, hollow laugh from his throat.
They truly left no stone unturned. To think they would unfold a Boundary designed to amplify physical agony with every step taken forward.
“A pleasure to meet you, guardian of Orknodi.”
“And who might this distinguished guest be?”
“A professor playing teacher to young Orknodi,” the man replied smoothly. “People generally refer to me as Destroyer.”
“Destroyer… The supreme rogue of the former Hero Party?”
“I must apologize, but I will have to ask you to turn back. A localized barrier has been deployed across this corridor due to unique circumstances, you see. None may pass through until the visitation period has concluded.”
“According to the academy’s own codified statutes, an individual possessing a verified visitation ticket is entitled to immediate entry upon completion of their identity check.”
“What can one do in the face of an unfortunate accident? We should simply consider ourselves fortunate that the anomaly manifested only after the other guardians had passed through safely.”
Faced with an attitude that transcended mere insolence into open mockery, Jona did not feel rage; instead, a faint, humorless smile touched his lips.
“Resorting to such measures will not make our Young Lady yours.”
“Isn’t this precisely what your kind has always done?” Destroyer countered, his tone solemn and unforgiving. “Gathering gifted children under the guise of mentorship, only to hold their very lives hostage as collateral?”
Destroyer’s eyes narrowed like whetted blades.
“It is merely that our roles have been reversed today.”
The instructor presiding over Tales of Adventure from a Retired Former Hero. The loyal comrade to the Hero anointed by the Supreme God, Sophemia of the Sun. The living legend of the former Hero Party, Destroyer. Standing squarely at the epicenter of the double Boundary, he blocked Jona’s advance.
“Turn back,” Destroyer commanded. “If you wish to preserve that miserable life of yours.”
Without a single heartbeat of hesitation, Jona took his next step forward.