OLD-WORLD EXTRA-Chapter 488: Defeated But Victorious

By now, all the surviving students had gathered near the crumbling exit of the ruin. They were injured and exhausted, yet not a single one had let go of their weapon.

Elijah stood in the lead, while Junior, Sofia, Aria, and Ava flanked him.

These five demonstrated exactly why they were ranked so highly, proving the Academy's evaluation to be accurate and well-deserved.

But there was an anomaly among them: Quinn.

She was proof that even the best could err.

No doubt after today, her rank would rise, perhaps even nearing the top thirty.

Her extreme efforts had finally borne fruit.

In a metaphorical contrast stood Max.

If judged by his current performance, he wouldn't even place in the top fifty.

He trailed near the back of their makeshift platoon, moving mechanically, his eyes distant, lost somewhere beyond the ruin.

The boy barely reacted when constructs appeared; he'd only move with the others, more like a shadow than a person.

Arthur was the same, walking nearby, his face pale and drawn.

He followed the group, but unlike Max, his steps were unsteady, and his head hung low.

There was nothing in his eyes but shame, one that grew more apparent with each stumbling step.

They took no part in the fighting, merely drifted forward whenever the group advanced, and retreated when explosions echoed.

Occasionally, smaller constructs would appear in their vicinity, but even then, they showed no reaction to it.

Though, in spite of that, they surprisingly didn't get injured.

Arthur's Blessing wasn't at play here; instead, it was a rather beautiful and unexpected scene. Max's goons were protecting them both, perhaps as thanks for Max saving them from certain death, or as a final act that acknowledged the end of their 'friendship.'

Either way, it was highly likely that Arthur wasn't even on their mental radar; he survived merely by being in the same area.

Beyond them, whether intentionally or not, none of the platoon acted as if they existed, ignoring them completely, and focusing on something way more important.

Survival.

As a collective, they pressed on through the ruin, surrounded by debris, craters, and broken machinery.

Every few moments, multiple new threats would emerge-sphere-like constructs crawling out from Aether-knows-where, joining the ever-growing army of enemies.

But even then, the students kept up, dismantling them one by one.

And eventually, despite the seemingly unending danger, the students made it through without even a single casualty.

This was, in large part, all thanks to the professors.

With their augmented suits in ghost mode, they kept watch from afar, alert for anyone nearing the brink.

They had strict orders from their principal to not interfere unless someone's life was truly on the line.

After the original test had fallen apart, this was the best form of training they could offer-a lesson in survival, in grit, in facing the merciless side of the world.

Amon didn't like putting them through this, forcing them to experience such things.

But even he couldn't deny that, brutal as it was, this fight had been necessary.

The students needed to see what awaited them beyond the Academy's sheltered grounds.

He knew, as did everyone, that this was only the beginning of the trials they would face. Today, they had learned defeat, but tomorrow, they'd be victorious.

***

Meanwhile, still deep in the ruin was Emir.

He stood in place, eyes locked on an approaching figure with hair of white.

She had red jewels for eyes and the most beautiful face he had ever seen, one of perfect symmetry.

There was no mistaking her.

It was Lyra.

The closer she got, the brighter his smile became.

Seeing that, she couldn't hold it any longer, Shadow Stepping into his embrace.

"I'm back."

Emir hugged her tightly, much tighter than usual.

"Welcome back."

Though he didn't show it, he was afraid of losing her.

A fear that he had kept locked deep within himself.

Neither of them knew what exactly happened, or why, only that Lyra had lost functionality for

a while.

But the logical side of their minds wouldn't still with that as a conclusion.

They repeatedly attempted to find a reason for why that happened, cycling through endless possibilities.

The only explanation they could settle on was that she had somehow entered an area of highly condensed radiation, which immediately shut down her systems, locking everything up so

that nothing within could be at risk.

When it passed or lessened, that was when her systems extracted her out of there without any manual input, ensuring no computing power would be wasted.

That scenario was the only one that explained how or why Lyra was spotted in the middle of nowhere, stumbling near a pile of debris.

The other, far more unlikely possibility was that an Archon-ranked Technomancer had scrambled her network, ceasing her functionality at once.

But that seemed nearly impossible; as far as they knew, no Technomancer of that rank existed

on Earth.

For now though, none of it mattered to them.

All they could see, feel, and hear was each other, and that was enough to relax their minds.

While Emir relaxed for a different reason, as it leaned more towards the professional and her

face, Lyra didn't mind.

The fact that he allowed this closeness was all she needed.

"Kuhm."

Interrupting their intimate moment was Kiera.

She awkwardly fidgeted, covering her mouth with her fist.

In response, Lyra instantly released him but not before naturally covering his missing hand

with his cloak, and then stepping back to a more "professional" distance.

But it was too late.

They had all seen them hugging.

And yes, all of them-because it wasn't just Kiera.

Jake, Emma, Jamal, Logan, Jack, Sarah, Hiro, Evan, and Leo were there, too.

"Wooohhhhh~!"

"Damn, bossman, didn't know you had it in you!"

"Ahahaha! Congrats!"

"I knew you two were lovebirds!"

Most of their reactions danced between surprise, joy, and satisfaction-confirming a lot of

their past speculations.

Only two showed something different.

The first of them was Emma.

Her face was shadowed by a bittersweet smile, like something she'd expected but dreaded to

see.

The second was Jake, who looked at his "partner" with sad eyes, seemingly understanding a

lot more than he let on.

"Was I the only one who didn't have a single clue about this?"

Oh, apparently there was a third.

Leo, who was always lost to anything non-mechanical, looked around in confusion.

"And you're right. There were no clues in the first place because there's no such relationship." Emir confirmed it, leaving Lyra to look crestfallen as the blush drained from her face. Noticing the atmosphere shift, Kiera quickly took out a small device with a radar and a trigger.

"You heard the boss. Now let's move out!"

Before she could press it, Jamal snatched the charge from her hands and held it high.

"For their relationship! Hahahaha!"

Bombs that had been placed by the Shadow Squad lit up all at once.

They were near the entrances to the Behemoth's lair, on top of the marked spots.

And as Jamal's laughter echoed, deafening explosions erupted, engulfing the ruin in a blaze.

The earth shook, tunnels collapsed, railways were destroyed, rooms crumbled, and platforms

no longer appeared as such.

Mortally uncountable amounts of rubble and debris descended upon the Behemoth.

It formed a grave fit for a monster of its caliber, worthy of its size and terror.