Kael leaned back against the couch, still staring at the message from Belle on his watch.
Belle: Guess who's back from Europe
He smirked, then quickly typed back.
Kael: For real? So you're at home right now?
A few seconds passed.
Belle: Nope. I'm not home.
Kael arched an eyebrow, fingers pausing over the next reply.
Kael: Didn't you just say you were back from Europe?
Just as he sent it, something shifted.
It was faint at first, like a change in air pressure. Then, it rolled across the entire academy like a tidal wave powerful, suffocating, regal. A chilling pressure that made even the S-rank teachers pause mid-step, eyes narrowing.
Training swords clattered to the floor. Mana flared unintentionally from a few students. Sylvia Elarquist, who had just stepped into the faculty hallway, instinctively conjured a ward of protection only to realize it wasn't an attack.
It was a presence.
No, it was more than that.
It was dominance.
Jin Eldraven, meditating in the secluded forest training zone behind the academy, opened his eyes sharply.
"What the hell…"
In the dorms, Kael's watch vibrated again.
Belle: I'm right in front of your school.
Kael blinked.
Then stood.
A slow smile spread across his face as he whispered under his breath.
"You dramatic pain in the ass."
Outside the grand gates of Solara Academy stood a single figure. Her silver-white hair flowed like silk in the wind, her sharp, confident eyes gleaming beneath the sun. Clad in a sleek, militaristic coat, half-buttoned and lined with sigils, Belle Vernier the SS+ Rank Beast of the Southhad returned.
And she had made sure the whole school knew it.
"I see our former top student has returned" said the headmaster in his office.