Hand Over My Student
The moment he appeared, Cassian unleashed his brainwashing magic. He stepped toward Selene, eager to claim his new prey.
Now, you are mine.
With that thought, Cassian placed his hand on Selene's head.
He concentrated his entire pool of mana into his right hand, activating his ability. Through physical contact, he injected the brainwashing magic once more—this time, pushing his mana to its absolute limit.
Endure it. And become mine.
It was a crushing density of mana, enough to stop a normal human's breathing and freeze their heart. But Cassian didn't care about her safety. If she was too weak to survive this, she wasn't worth collecting in the first place.
No matter what, his victory was guaranteed. Confident in his success, Cassian infused his word-soul into the brainwashing magic. He prepared to snap his fingers to seal the spell.
However—
"What?!"
In that split second, their eyes met.
Selene was looking directly at him.
A being who should have been utterly paralyzed turned her head. She stared back at him with perfect clarity and asked:
"Rubelia. Where?"
Snap!
Cassian snapped his fingers instantly. He realized he couldn't afford to give this unfathomable opponent another second.
But—
"Ugh?!"
A familiar yet horrifying sensation jolted through his fingertips. Cassian realized something had gone terribly wrong.
A backflow?!
His mana was reversing. The spell had lost its direction. It began to surge backward along his palm, rushing straight toward his dantian.
T-This is...?!
At the same time...
No way!
A voice began to echo endlessly inside his head.
Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia?
"Argh?!"
Cassian desperately tried to pull his hand away. But it was too late. His body wouldn't obey. The word-soul embedded in the magic was paralyzing him.
My own ability is turning on me!
Cassian immediately severed his mana flow. He regulated the energy pouring from his three dantians, cutting off the supply to his brainwashing spell. He blocked his own backflowing magic.
Yet—
It's... not stopping?!
Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia?
The word-soul didn't end. Mana continued to flood into him. But how? He glared at Selene. It wasn't her mana. This sensation was undeniably his own.
How was this possible? He had cut off all his mana. There was no fuel left for the brainwashing spell. Yet, the magic kept pouring in through his right hand.
There shouldn't be a dantian there...
But the mana kept flowing. Why?
At this rate...
Cassian's consciousness began to fade. Before he blacked out, he had to think. He had to figure it out!
Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia? Where is Rubelia?
Only three seconds had passed since Cassian snapped his fingers to activate the spell. In those three seconds, his reason—no, his survival instinct—raced at lightning speed.
...This is!
And finally, as those three seconds ticked away...
...Could it be?!
Just before he was completely brainwashed, his instinct reached a terrifying conclusion.
A dantian has formed in my right hand?!
The culprit was his own right hand...
"Hah!"
The moment he realized, Cassian moved. He whipped a dagger from his breast pocket, and—
Slash!
Blood sprayed. His right arm was cleanly severed.
"Gah?!"
Finally, he was free. The brainwashing spell snapped.
"Sprouting a dantian in my right hand... and in someone else's body?!"
Having severed his own arm, Cassian immediately leaped backward.
"Unbelievable!"
Whoosh!
He swung his dagger, channeling his remaining mana. Selene lightly ducked to evade. Cassian's severed right hand dangled from Selene's head, then slipped off.
Thud!
Selene immediately reached down and pressed her hand against the ground. She plunged her hand straight into the brick-paved floor. A brick was pulled out smoothly, crumbling like grains of sand in her grip.
Crunch!
Selene squeezed. The brick shattered effortlessly, and the broken fragments reshaped into a stone hand-axe.
Whoosh!
A second attack came. Selene moved as if she had predicted the trajectory of the dagger beforehand. It looked as if the dagger was actively avoiding her.
"Ugh?!"
Selene kept advancing. The edge of her stone hand-axe aimed for Cassian's vital point. An attack there would instantly paralyze him.
"Damn it?!"
There was no way to dodge. Unless she stopped.
Maybe...?
Cassian's survival instinct kicked in again.
"!!!!"
Selene's hand hesitated. Her stone axe stopped.
Cassian used his last ounce of strength to pull up a shield.
"......"
It was Seria, who had been lying unconscious on the floor.
"Our meeting ends here!"
Cassian didn't miss the brief hesitation. Holding Seria with his remaining hand, he immediately bolted from the warehouse.
Crackle!
As Selene turned to pursue, Cassian fired a bolt of lightning behind him. The lightning struck the warehouse, and flames erupted.
"Ah?!"
The two people who had just broken free from their hypnosis were now trapped in the fire. Selene immediately turned back to save them. In that brief window, Cassian vanished.
"Cough, cough."
The two of them coughed violently from inhaling the smoke.
"P-Professor Selene!"
Hum.
Viera caught her breath and immediately cast a spell. Selene recognized it instantly. A tracking spell.
"T-That way!"
Viera pointed in a direction. Her tracking magic had picked up Cassian's lingering mana.
"Let's move!"
Leonia immediately hoists Viera onto her back and leaped forward. Selene followed them, chasing Cassian's trail.
"Pant, pant..."
Viera's breathing grew ragged on Leonia's back.
"Is it too much?"
"He's... too far... The search area is too wide."
The concentration of Viera's tracking mana began to disperse.
"Will help."
"What?"
Hum.
A massive surge of mana erupted.
"W-What is this power?"
Viera felt an astronomical amount of mana pouring into her.
"Dantian. Floated it."
"P-Pardon?"
"Mana control. More efficient..."
"T-This is all my mana?"
The tracking spell, normally used to track a target at close range, suddenly expanded to swallow several city blocks where hundreds of people were bustling. The spell, which used to be a thin line tracing a single target, became a massive plane, blanketing a portion of the city.
"Ah! Over there! Northeast!"
The chase resumed. Having pinpointed the exact location, the three of them pivoted and charged. At the same time, Viera's dense magic began to narrow down again, far clearer than before.
"We're almost there."
"H-He seems to have stopped moving!"
Having found the target, Viera's magic narrowed from a plane back into a sharp line.
"It's that building!"
At that exact moment—
Crash!
Selene smashed through the building's wall with her bare hands.
"This is...?"
She paused.
"He is definitely inside."
"But the air is thick with mana."
Broken stones littered the floor inside the building.
"Mana stones."
"Tracking him further will be difficult."
The mana leaking from the shattered mana stones masked his trace. But no one despairs.
"It's fine. We're basically there."
The enemy was undoubtedly inside this building.
"Then we breach. Find Rubelia!"
Thud.
A loud noise echoed through the building.
"What was that?"
Rubelia wondered briefly, but she had no time to waste.
"Whatever it is, I have to get out of here quickly..."
The cold air brushed against her bare skin.
"How dare he..."
As a noble lady, she had never stood before anyone in such a state. Stripped of her clothes, Rubelia had been bound and left in her underwear. But she had finally found a sharp piece of metal and was sawing through the ropes.
"Got it!"
The ropes finally gave way. Her hands and feet were numb, but she could walk. Rubelia wandered through the pitch-black building, searching for an exit.
"How dare he leave me here and look away..."
Since she's a noble lady, stripping her of her clothes will keep her from running outside. Mocking her with those words, Cassian had tied her up in a corner of the building and abandoned her.
"I won't let you get away with this."
Rubelia muttered confidently, swearing to exact her revenge. But...
It's cold...
No matter how strong she tried to act, she could not hide her inner anxiety.
What... what do I do now?
Because of Cassian's brainwashing, even her Nanny had failed to recognize her. It was none other than her Nanny who had forcibly stripped her of her academy uniform to dress the imposter.
"Ugh..."
As anxiety washed over her, Rubelia forced herself to swallow her tears.
"Just you wait. I will make you pay..."
She desperately tried to channel her fear into rage. At that moment—
"Huh?"
Someone appeared in the supposedly empty hallway.
"Ah!"
Startled, Rubelia hid herself, peering through a gap to see who it was.
"Cassian..."
It was definitely Cassian. He was looking around frantically.
If only he weren't here...
Seeing him so unguarded, Rubelia tightly gripped the sharp metal piece in her hand. Everyone was brainwashed and could not recognize her. Even her father might have fallen victim. If so, this fight would only end when Cassian was dead. And she was the only one who could do it.
I'll kill him!
The perfect opportunity was right before her eyes.
Stab!
She channeled her mana into the blade and thrust it deep into Cassian.
"Wait... a dagger? This isn't a crude piece of metal. Since when... was I holding a dagger?"
Thud.
Cassian collapsed powerlessly. No, the person in front of her collapsed powerlessly from the dagger strike.
"Ah..."
The fallen figure's body slowly trembled. A familiar face. A terribly familiar face.
"Ah..."
The dagger slipped from Rubelia's hand.
"Na... nny?"
Thinking about it, it was obvious. There was no way Cassian would give up his life so easily. Things could never go this smoothly.
"N-No... No! Nanny! Wake up!"
And so, Rubelia had stabbed her most precious person with her own hands.