Extra Demon: Sacred Academy of Light

—It's too risky, as you said. Considering this might be the last day, it's not such a crazy plan. But... if the team leader of another class finds out Arthur is alone, a group could come to eliminate him. I don't think it will work. I don't want to be the second one to be eliminated —Adrian objected instantly.

—That's the problem —Daniela already knew her plan had flaws—. The next thing I had in mind is: "Do the same as last time, take Evelyn with us and leave Leslie with Arthur. This is the best we can do, but we'll also be leaving a great ally behind…" Daniela pressed her lips together. "But as I said, in my opinion, it's the best option." She nodded her head.

"Hmmm... yes, it seems much more reliable... I don't want to be the second one disqualified either," Olivia nodded as well.

"Anyone disagree?" Daniela asked the group. Evelyn was about to raise her hand, but Arthur quickly stopped her.

"So, now it's time to come up with a strategy... any opinions?" Daniela asked openly.

"I don't think any plan will work. In the end, won't that guy be watching our movements?" Beatrice frowned. "I think the best thing we can do is improvise," she shrugged.

"Very risky, but also very effective," Adrian adjusted his glasses. "But whatever can go wrong will go worse... in the end, the best thing we have is Evelyn. She can go all out; offense is our best card..." Adrian's eyes gleamed mysteriously.

"An open field attack?" Olivia's eyes widened. Adrian looked at her and nodded: "Our goal is to destroy Class 5. There's a good chance all the other classes will gather in one spot, probably around an open field. Of course, they'll be hidden and scattered at specific points."

"Basically, we'll do the same thing they did to us on the first day at the mall. But we're going to attack blindly, and with some luck, a few attacks will hit. And even if they don't, the rest will be effective —after all, we're in the middle of a forest, and flames are their worst enemy," Daniela agreed with Adrian's line of thought.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

She glanced at Evelyn, who was softly smiling, her head resting on Arthur's lap.

"Evelyn, what's your most destructive attack?" Daniela asked. Evelyn squinted her eyes. "Flame Rain," she said weakly, and the next second, she closed her eyes again.

"I guess we have a way to move forward… now we need to decide each of our roles," Daniela looked hopefully at her friends, though her mind was elsewhere. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Arthur's hand stroking Evelyn's head... she really wished she were in Evelyn's place.

"I can destroy things too, after all, I'm a mage as well," Olivia raised her hand. "I can create a small tsunami or set a trap field with my vine-related magic."

"I can find the strongest people and take care of them quietly," Beatrice raised her hand too.

"Me… well, I know how to use a sword, more or less, but my strength lies in moving us within a 50-meter radius," Adrian adjusted his glasses again.

"I can kill them all…" Leslie muttered to herself. She raised her gaze and looked at everyone. Daniela, seeing the emptiness in Leslie's eyes, shuddered slightly. Her eyes glinted. "Abyssal Darkness..." she thought to herself. She quickly glanced at Arthur, who nodded.

He stood up in silence, leaving a pillow in his place as he approached Leslie, taking her hands. "Let's go for a little walk…" Leslie nodded and stood up, the two of them leaving the place with the sound of their footsteps.

"What happened?" Elias was genuinely confused. Weren't they supposed to be coming up with a plan?

"Those two will stay here; they'll have to come up with their own plan in case they're attacked. Besides, it doesn't concern us. We have other things to worry about," Daniela acted as casually as possible, though she was worried. It was the first time she'd seen Leslie like that...

"Let's keep coming up with a plan that benefits us!" she clapped to get everyone's attention again.

"Then, what I can do is support you, protect your back," Elias shook his head and stopped thinking about the other two, turning his attention to Daniela. "I can also be at the front, shielding all of you."

****

The nights here are eerily quiet, the only sounds being the occasional whistle of the wind or the faint noises of insects coming from the darkness of the forest... Taking a deep breath, I looked down at the ground. Leslie's shadow was cast on the earth. She was strangely silent, as I mentioned earlier.

She'd been acting oddly since the afternoon, like she was lost in her thoughts or talking to herself. I'm not sure, but this definitely isn't normal! She doesn't act like this...

[Leslie Violet Rose (The Fourth Seraphim)] Experience tales at empire

[Status: Sealed]

[Corruption Level: 10%]

[Fourth Seraphim: Sealed (7%)]

"Ugh…" I let out a mental sigh as I looked at the system notifications... "7%." Seeing how much the percentage had increased—it was only 3% last time I checked... Why did it go up? As far as I know, nothing significant has happened, nor has anything upset Leslie. Just 3% more and it'll reach 10, and I'll fail the mission...

Gripping her small hand even tighter, I put on a smile.

"System, activate [Persuasion] ability."

[Persuasion ability activated]

"You've been acting very strange… are you okay?" I went straight to the point; I can't waste time on long conversations, I need to suppress the seal.

Leslie looked at me, then up at the sky. "I feel very strange… like I'm not myself," she remained silent for a few seconds. "Let's sit down."

With those words, we walked a little further, never leaving the ruins where we were... we sat down in silence.

She lowered her head a little. "She says you're going to leave me... are you going to leave me?" She squeezed my hand tighter... a faint light began to emanate from her body. "She also says you don't love me..."