The New Queen of the Academy: Purple Shadow
“Aaaaargh!!!” Whether from pain or the loss of something precious, the man dropped to his knees with a bewildered scream. Still unable to believe what had happened, he groped at his groin, then clawed at the ground, repeating the motion before glaring up at Alicia with eyes full of rage.
“You fucking bitch!”
Alicia’s expression remained serene. If anything, she looked relieved.
“Thank goodness. It really was there.”
“What the hell do you mean, ‘there’?! It’s gone!”
He wailed, pointing at his lower half. “You crazy slut, you’re finished. Attacking a student inside the exam grounds? My father is the Imperial Judge! Once we’re back, you’re going straight to prison!”
“Haha…”
“You’re laughing? You think this is funny? Does everything I say sound like nonsense to you? Let’s see if you can still laugh like that in front of the judge.”
As the man’s eyes bulged with fury, Alicia casually waved her staff. No incantation. Just a few indifferent flicks. Invisible forces wrapped around the man’s arms and legs, yanking him off his feet. He crashed to the ground and tried to scream, but—
“Mmph…!!”
His mouth was sealed shut as if zipped closed; not a single sound escaped.
Watching him fall, the man standing behind him collapsed onto the ground, his face drained of color as though he had seen a ghost.
Silent casting…!
She had cast magic without chanting—and three spells at once.
How is that even possible?
Silent casting was the dream of every mage. The fundamental principle of magic required channeling mana through an incantation and releasing it through a staff. Silent casting was like drawing a bow and hitting the target without aiming. What Alicia had just demonstrated was that level of mastery. At minimum, a 6-Circle mage. And she had done it three times simultaneously.
“I-I’m sorry! I was wrong—mmph!!”
The chubby man, finally grasping the situation, tried to prostrate himself, but it was too late. Alicia’s magic had already bound his limbs.
She approached the two naked, restrained men.
“Pathetic…”
She spat out the disgust that welled up from deep in her chest.
“Your father’s a judge? So what? Can a judge bring back the dead?”
Alicia crouched in front of the fallen men and murmured, “Of course not.”
“Mmph!!”
“There are only the two girls, me, and you two here. The girls won’t report anything out of pity, and if you die, no one will know. They’ll just think monsters got you—as long as we keep quiet.”
“Mmmph!!!”
Both men shook their heads violently.
“You’ll tell your father? Is that what you want?”
“Mmph!!”
Their heads shook even faster.
“If you report this, I’ll cut off one finger and one toe each. Go ahead and tell your precious father.”
“I won’t! I swear I won’t! I’ll stake my family’s name on it!”
One of them, his mouth suddenly freed, shouted desperately. He would agree to anything to survive this moment.
“Still, you did something wrong, so you have to pay the price.”
“……”
“People like you only learn after getting hit. Should I teach you a lesson myself?”
Alicia turned to the two half-naked female students. They flinched and covered themselves with trembling hands.
“Ah, right…”
She picked up the scattered clothes from the ground and helped them dress. The sky-blue collars marking them as first-years caught her eye.
“Do whatever you want with those two. Just be careful on your way back…”
Alicia hesitated, searching for the right words.
“You did nothing wrong. It’s better that they die than for you to suffer.”
Those were the words Eden had once said to her. The words she had longed to hear. The words that had given her courage.
Perhaps she saw her own reflection from two years ago in the two girls. With that thought, she turned and walked away. Eden had told her to help as many as possible, so every second counted.
Just as she was about to leave, a young voice called out from behind.
“Th-thank you!”
“Thank you so much.”
Alicia glanced back in surprise and offered a small smile.
“Stay strong.”
Episode 2. The New Queen of the Academy — Jayoung (Purple Shadow).
Born and raised as an assassin from the very beginning. A member of the Violet family’s elite assassination unit known as the Ten Shadows, she sprinted through the forest at full speed.
—Kill him. Kill him and bring him to me.
She had survived five years in the Ten Shadows, where even a single mistake was unforgivable. She was a true master of assassination. A specialist who had never once failed a mission. Behind that flawless record lay her cautious nature. Unlike other assassins who seized every small opening, she only struck when she could guarantee the kill. Like a leopard waiting for the perfect moment to sink its teeth into a gazelle’s neck—hidden in the grass until the prey let its guard down completely.
Therefore, Jayoung kept her distance and continued tailing Eden Rofas.
……
If she followed long enough, an opportunity would come. That was what she believed—until five hours later, when doubt crept in.
Eden Rofas… who exactly is this man?
Four unknown figures were following him while concealing their presence. So stealthily that an ordinary person would never notice.
At the very least, they’re not amateurs.
Even without being told, she knew they were assassins. And highly skilled ones at that.
Jayoung continued pursuing Eden while hiding within the shadows. Gradually… darkness began to fall across the sky.
Jayoung. Purple Shadow. As her name implied, the hour when twilight faded and violet shadows stretched across the land was her optimal time.
…No matter how skilled an assassin may be, they cannot stop me.
Beyond the distant mountains, the sun was swallowed. Violet shadows spread.
Jayoung, who had been concealed within the shadows, merged her body into the violet darkness.
***
Night had fallen. While night was generally unsuitable for combat, the forest at night was even worse. The uniform terrain, tangled with tree stumps and vines, made it nearly impossible to secure a clear line of sight. Most students, upon nightfall, quietly set up base camps.
I, too, began searching for Alicia around sunset and prepared our camp. I gathered branches, lit a fire, and tossed the rations I had brought along with some edible plants I found in the forest into a pot, letting it boil vigorously.
“You can cook too, huh.”
“It just happened.”
As I added ingredients to the pot and started making stew, Alicia tilted her head in surprise.
“When I was expelled from the academy. At first I had no money, nothing, so I dug through restaurant trash. Even there, you could sometimes find something decent.”
“……”
“I lived like that for about a month. Sleeping on the streets every night, getting pickpocketed… Once I managed to scrape together some money, I wanted something tasty.”
“…You went through a lot, Eden.”
Before I knew it, Alicia was looking at me with pity, as if I were an abandoned kitten.
“Let’s stop talking about the past. You had your own hardships too. We’re the same.”
“Yeah.”
Alicia answered while eating the stew I had served her.
“Wow, it’s delicious.”
Of course it was. It was an ordinary stew with chunks of beef, carrots, potatoes, onions, tomato sauce, and spices—but it contained one special ingredient: the blue mushrooms that only grew in the Blue Forest. Mushrooms brimming with the forest’s mana. For academy students who could handle magic, there was no greater delicacy.
“Eat a lot.”
I said as I took a bite myself. Mm… it really was good. Not only did it taste great, but it also had a mana-recovery effect. After a good night’s sleep, we would wake up full of energy.
Once we finished the stew, I asked her, “So, how many people did you help?”
“Ah, roughly forty?”
“Must’ve been tiring, running around like that.”
“I did well, right?”
Alicia grinned, her cheeks flushed from the campfire’s glow. Looking at her like that, for some reason…
“…I’ll tell you. What it really means for me to make you the queen of the academy.”
On a whim, I spoke while gazing at her face. She was nothing more than a tool, yet when I saw that innocent expression, she looked like someone who would never betray me.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Really really?”
“Yeah, really. Stop now, I have to explain.”
Alicia sat cross-legged and placed her hands neatly on her lap.
“……Wait a second.”
Just as I was about to speak, a chill swept over me. It was the instinct of someone who had survived the underworld—where carelessness meant death. A sharp sensation that warned when death was approaching.
Shing—!!
At the same time, I drew my sword and focused my vision. Five daggers were flying toward us from different directions. Once I located them, I swung my blade in rapid succession. The daggers clattered to the ground.
Poison…
A purple liquid coated the tips. The grass where it had touched withered as if burned.
“Alicia, don’t look back. Run.”
“What…?”
“Go, now!”
When I shouted, Alicia finally snapped out of it and pulled out her staff. Her hopelessly righteous personality. I told her to leave because she would only get in the way, yet she wanted to stay and fight.
“I can’t just leave you behind.”
“Listen to me.”
When I glared at her with killing intent, she hesitated for a moment before nodding and disappearing into the darkness.
An assassin has been sent after me.
But why? Only then did I notice that the assassins who had been guarding me had vanished.
They were ambushed.
Assassins specialized in offense were vulnerable to surprise attacks—especially at night. The enemy was likely the type whose combat ability increased after dark.
“This is bad.”
I muttered while biting my lower lip. The situation was dire, but there was no helping it now. I had no choice but to fight.
I tightened my grip on the sword.