Free Web NovelChapter 181: A Convergence [300 Ps Bonus Chapter]
Adrian calmly turned toward Marion as he finished dealing with the last of the beasts that had rushed him.
Marion might have been an unstable man inhabiting a body that wasn’t his own, but one thing was undeniable: he was strong.
The sheer amount of fire-elemental beasts that lay dead around him was enough proof of that, and he hadn’t even been trying.
"That was quite the warm-up," he said as he looked around and added, "speaking of which,"
They were now fully out of the forest and in what could only be described as scorched earth, with cracks in the ground and molten magma flowing between them.
It felt like an entirely different world when compared to the forest.
And a distance away from the four, was what seemed to be a large mountain...or at least that’s how one would’ve described it as if not for the smoke rising from its peak.
"That’s where we’re headed?" Marion asked as he looked at the volcano ahead of them.
"That’s where the beast is," Adrian answered, but before they could take a step forward,
BOOM!
Something landed behind them, kicking up a dust cloud and pulling their attention towards it.
"And that’s ninety," a familiar voice came from within the dust cloud, "I win."
"We’re not competing with each other, you idiot," another voice was heard, this one much calmer than the first, "besides, I took down a hundred and five."
"N-no way."
The dust cleared to reveal the two Lionheart brothers, Darius and Orion, one with a grin on his face, while the other looked at him in disbelief.
"You must’ve cheated or something," Darius said, "there’s no way you killed that many."
"Want to count the amount of cores I gathered?" Orion asked simply.
Darius nodded and watched him take out an inventory-type magic tool before tossing it to him.
He immediately poured mana to have a glance at the contents within, and that’s when he started counting with a serious expression on his face.
It was during this count that his eyes drifted upward and landed on Adrian standing a short distance away.
A grin immediately appeared on his face.
"Adrian! You’re here too?" He called out, as he started walking forward, "I knew you’d also head towards—"
He suddenly stopped speaking as his eyes moved past Adrian and landed on another familiar face.
Cassian.
"Why are you with him?" he asked, speaking directly to Cassian... Or rather, Marion.
Not that he knew that.
But if there was one thing he knew for certain, it was the fact that Cassian didn’t like Adrian in the least bit.
Darius never understood why, but the third year had made it clear that he didn’t like the butler.
Even going as far as trying to stop the search for Adrian in the dungeon.
Darius stared at him for a moment.
Something was off.
He couldn’t quite place it, but the person before him felt nothing like the Cassian he remembered from their training in the corrupt lands and the dungeon.
He had the same face, but something about him felt completely off, so much so that Darius couldn’t help but ask.
"Who are you?"
Orion, who had been surveying the volcanic terrain ahead, turned towards them at his little brother’s question.
Marion placed a hand on his chin as he muttered, "Perhaps I should figure out a way to retain the memories of the bodies I possess."
But he didn’t bother answering Darius’s question.
"Ah, the Butler’s also here," Another voice came from behind them, interrupting the tense mood.
The group turned around and spotted another pair of siblings, Cedric and Renelle, calmly walking towards them.
[You’re here for that?] Renelle mentally asked as she looked at Adrian.
[Yes, my Lady] Adrian nodded, realizing that she’d soon figure out the secret. freēwēbnovel.com
[So this was the deal you had with father?] She asked again, a small smile appearing on her face.
[Hmm,] Adrian nodded, [though it was meant to be a surprise.]
[I see,] Renelle also nodded, [then I’ll pretend as if I had no idea.]
That got a chuckle out of Adrian.
"Do you sometimes think they can communicate with their minds?" Darius suddenly leaned towards Conan and whispered while looking at the two.
"Maybe," Conan whispered back, "but I don’t think there’s a magic tool for that."
Darius nodded in agreement, but that didn’t change the fact that he still suspected that they were communicating with their minds.
"And you must be Cassian," Cedric said, turning toward the third-year student. "We haven’t officially met, but I’m Cedric Ardent, one of your seniors at the Academy."
"It’s a pleasure to meet you, Senior." Marion did the best Cassian impression he could, and it seemed it wasn’t convincing enough because a frown suddenly appeared on Cedric’s face.
"It’s Lady Renelle and her butler," another voice interrupted again and again. The group turned towards it.
Walking towards them were the two representatives of the West, one of whom was Linda.
"It’s a pleasure to see classmates again," she said, stopping a short distance away from Renelle.
Renelle nodded at her words before replying, "It’s a pleasure to see you again as well, Lady Linda."
"Ah, you can just call me Linda," Linda muttered, awkwardly adjusting her glasses, "the formal address is still a bit... awkward."
"Alright," Renelle nodded.
She hadn’t quite interacted with this classmate of hers, save for their fight during the combat class.
But Linda seemed to have developed an interest in her ever since then, though she had never approached.
"Are we all heading towards the Volcano?" Darius asked as the group had gone silent, "After all, I’m pretty certain there’s an S-rank beast there."
"We are," Marion nodded with a smile on his face.
The group then looked towards the direction of the forest again, wondering if the final group would show up.
And they soon did.
Lucian was somewhat surprised to find everyone gathered together, but he maintained a calm expression as he walked toward them with the Saintess at his side.
With that, all the representatives, save for the church’s, had gathered in one spot, and as if on cue, the volcano suddenly started rumbling.
Adrian looked towards it before muttering, "It’s coming."
And the next second,
ROAR!!!!
