Academy's Pervert in the D Class

Chapter 300: Chase

The night air in the noble quarter hung heavy and cool.

A faint mist clung to the narrow streets, muffling sounds and turning lantern light into hazy golden pools. Eren moved through the darkness with purposeful strides.

His boots made only the softest scrape against the worn cobblestones. His breath came steady and controlled.

He was not running blindly. He was reading the trail.

He had picked up the first traces earlier that evening near the exposed safe house.

Faint wisps of pink mana residue still lingered in the air, invisible to most but unmistakable to someone who had spent years learning exactly what to look for. The color was delicate, almost ethereal, yet it carried a sharp, aggressive undertone.

The same signature he had seen at Xenge’s murder scene.

The witch was close. She had passed through here not long ago.

Ahead, she moved well. She slipped through the maze of alleys like someone who knew every shadow.

She changed direction suddenly, darting left then right. Behind her she left confusion magic. Bursts of thick fog rolled across the path, cold and cloying against his skin. Sound decoys echoed fake footsteps in wrong directions, bouncing off stone walls.

A sudden bright flash of light erupted, trying to blind him and break his focus. Eren pushed through each obstacle with calm precision. His layered shields hummed softly around his body, absorbing the interference.

His mana suppression gear kept his own presence low and hard to detect. He conserved his strength while she spent hers freely.

Every spell she cast carried a cost. He could feel her growing tired. The pink trail was becoming slightly erratic now.

He turned another corner, following the fresh shimmer of pink energy that still clung to the damp stone. His heart beat with steady anticipation.

This was the work he had left behind years ago.

The High Mage’s men had been right to drag him back. This was what he was made for.

The witch realized he was too close. She had no choice but to turn and fight.

Pink magic flared violently in the narrow alley. Bright bursts of aggressive energy lashed toward him like living whips of light.

The air crackled with raw power. Eren raised his shield instantly. The first impact jolted through his arms and shoulders, forcing him to brace his stance.

He absorbed the blow and pushed forward. Another shield came up as she hurled a second wave at him. The pink signature burned brightly in the darkness.

It matched exactly. Same as Xenge’s murder. Same witch. Same stolen power. Satisfaction settled in his chest. He was on the right track.

He drove her backward step by step. She threw everything she had left. Bolts of pink magic cracked against his defenses, each one brighter and more desperate than the last.

The alley walls lit up with flashes of violent rose light. Debris scattered across the ground from the force of the clashes. Eren took every hit and kept advancing. His face remained calm beneath the hood. His shields held firm. freeweɓnovel.cøm

Years away had not dulled his edge. If anything, the time had made him more patient. More dangerous.

She rounded a final corner and stopped abruptly. A high, unbroken stone wall blocked the way ahead.

Tall buildings pressed close on both sides, their windows dark and shuttered. No exit. No escape. She turned slowly to face him.

Eren landed in front of her with controlled precision. He was not winded. His shield stayed raised and glowing faintly. He studied her through the shadows.

Witch robes clung to her frame. The hood was pulled low, hiding her face in darkness. He could not see who she was yet. He did not need to.

Not yet.

"It is over," he said. His voice was short, direct, and calm. It carried easily in the sudden quiet of the dead-end alley. "Drop the magic and Surrender yourself."

She did not.

A circle glowed beneath his feet. It flared to life a half second before it detonated.

A trap.

The explosion slammed into his shield with tremendous force. A deafening roar filled the alley. Dust and stone debris exploded outward in a choking cloud.

The pressure shoved him backward hard. His vision vanished completely for several long seconds. Heat and raw mana washed over him.

He held the shield with gritted teeth, every muscle in his body straining to maintain the barrier.

When the dust finally began to settle, the alley was empty.

Eren stood in the settling debris. His breathing remained controlled and even. His shield faded slowly around him, revealing the damaged stone and scattered rubble. freewebnovёl.ƈom

He scanned the high wall, the rooftops above, and the ground at his feet. Nothing. No movement. No lingering pink residue he could follow.

The witch was simply gone.

He stood there for a long moment. His eyes narrowed. The night wind stirred loose bits of dust across the cobblestones.

Far away, a dog barked once. The distant sounds of the city drifted in faintly.

Eren exhaled slowly through his nose.

The hunt was far from finished. It had only grown more interesting.

His eyes swept the rough stone wall one final time.

Then something caught the faint moonlight — a single, fine strand of hair caught on a jagged edge of stone at shoulder height.

White. Impossibly white.

He crouched slowly.

His knees protested the motion after the chase, but he ignored it.

For a long moment he simply looked at the strand without touching it.

He reached out with careful fingers, plucked it free, and held it up to the weak light filtering between the buildings. The hair gleamed like fresh snow.

White hair. Pink magic. The safe house in the east quarter.

A thin thread, but a thread nonetheless.

Eren wrapped the strand carefully in a small square of cloth from his coat pocket.

He tucked it away securely. Then he straightened, rolling his shoulders once. He gave the empty dead end one last measured look.

The silence pressed in around him.

He turned and began walking back the way he had come. His steps were unhurried now. The hunt had a new scent.