Eternal Freedom's Ascension-Chapter 70: Gate Closure (5)

"Haap!"

Logan tightened his locked arms around the head of the last Abyssal Crawler, then forcefully separated it from the rest of its body.

Ignoring the blood that splashed on him, he had a proud look on his face.

"They’re finally... done?"

Someone asked, exhaustion vivid in their voice.

All around, body parts of the Abyssal Crawlers littered the ground, and blood had already formed a puddle beneath their feet.

Liam covered a gash on his arm, a pained smile on his lips. "I think so. We can rest... for now."

Ysabella wiped the blood that had stained her cheek, smiling wearily. "Ah, I wish the evaluation would just end. This is really tiring, isn’t it?"

No one disagreed, as they were already exhausted—physically and mentally.

"We can’t stop. We’re very close to the main tunnel already. Right, Anya?"

Hazel turned to the girl who nodded quietly. She understood their exhaustion, but wanted to prevent the idea of giving up from sinking into their minds.

"So what? We can’t just fight the final boss like this, no?" Jose said dejectedly.

They barely had any strength to implement the second part of the Winning Formation. Only odd ones like Sebastian or Ariel, who remained standing like logs of wood seemed to have strength.

Hazel took a deep breath, then shook her weapon. "We can’t give up at this moment. Whether we gain momentum in the class competition depends entirely on our performance in this evaluation."

"Hazel is right." Liam nodded. "If we perform poorly here, I doubt it’d be easy to catch up with the others anymore."

His words resonated with them, but they were just too tired at the moment. Understanding this, he sighed.

"You don’t have to worry—"

"He’s right." Ysabella interrupted him. "I... think I can help!"

Seeing the determination in her green eyes, Hazel grew interested.

"What is it you have for us?"

Ysabella nodded, then raised her hands as if about to channel something.

"My ability—Magic Enchantment, allows me to cast basic mspells on a large scale with stacked effects."

Ariel’s eyes widened subtly, surprised.

"Although I’ve never tried it that way, I’m sure I can do it."

Her palms lit with a soft glow, and some runes appeared beneath her palms. Closing her eyes to receive maximum concentration, she spoke.

"Recuperation."

"Fatigue Dispel."

"Heal."

Three different runes formed on each student, then washed over them like a mild wind. The process occured three times before it stopped.

Gasps of surprise and disbelief rang out as many felt their exhaustion and wounds heal up quickly. It was practically like a miracle, the spell returning them back to peak condition.

Ysabella’s steps grew unsteady, but she was caught by Astron before she could fall. With his help, she sat on a rock, resting her back against the wall.

Words of appreciation and concern washed over her, and she replied with a frail smile. "It’s all I can do guys. I might not be strong in combat, but I’ll support the class as much as I can."

Inwardly though, her thoughts were different. ’Damnit. This actually drained my entire essence. Well, my plan worked—now everyone feels sympathy and trust towards me.’

She glanced at Hazel, who was looking at her with a complicated gaze, then offered a light smile.

The brown-eyed girl nodded, then turned away.

’Hehe... don’t worry, Hazel. Soon enough, you’ll fall for it too.’

Keeping her expression tired, she closed her eyes to have some rest.

’I must have misunderstood her. She’s really wanting to make friends with everyone.’ Hazel thought, feeling conflicted. ’And this ability, it’s very important in a squad. It’s basically a cheat.’

She understood the underlying meaning of having such a potential student in the class, and was very delighted.

’This class is moving forward.’

"You’re smiling—faintly."

Ariel chipped in from behind her, making the smile vanish.

"Stop popping out of nowhere like that." She glared at him threateningly.

"I understand." He raised his hands in surrender. "Ysabella has now become a valuable tool to the class hasn’t she?"

"Tool?" Hazel frowned. "What do you mean tool, Ariel?"

The silver-haired boy spared her a glance. "Do you want an honest answer?"

Not expecting this to suddenly become serious, Hazel raised a brow. Still, if it meant understanding this guy a little bit more, then she was willing to listen.

"I’m listening."

Ariel exhaled, and the surroundings blurred into silence. "In this world, every single thing is a tool. Humans are tools to each other, used for their own desires. You use me for the growth of the class. I allow this because I want to remain unnoticed. The school uses the students to promote their reputation. The students use the school to train themselves. We use the System and Nirad Realm to grow stronger. The Nirad Realm uses us to regulate the balance of life on it. While the System... it’s used by beings unknown to groom us for some unknown purpose."

Hazel stared at him unblinking, his words continuously ringing in her ears. Tools to be used by each other...

Those words struck true, and Hazel realized his perspective was quite correct. "So you view everyone apart from you as a tool?"

He nodded. "The only difference between tools is how easy it is to use them. I think I’ve said enough for today. I should prepare for the boss room—it won’t be easy."

He left her side to do some things, while she remained silent, thinking about his words.

’How easy it is to use them...? That’s very logical.’

She looked around, gazing at each student. The three idiots were easy to control and convince using the right methods. Others like Kiera or Astron needed firmer reasons and trust to be controlled, while some like Sebastian, Mordica, and Kaiser were very difficult to control. Personally, Hazel felt like the latter couldn’t be controlled at all.

’Mordica has been pretty much blending with the background. She barely does anything special in class, making everyone unconsciously ignore her.’

Hazel glanced at the purple-haired girl who was resting with her eyes closed, her thoughts unknown.

’Wait. Where’s Kaiser?’

Her eyes widened, and she looked around hastily. She checked through everyone standing around, but failed to find a hint of blue hair.

"You noticed too?" A cold voice whispered beside her, "He seems to have been gone for a while."

Mordica stood beside Hazel, looking around like a casual observer. The same proud, haughty look remained in her eyes, making others who made eye contact quickly cower.

’Wha-?’

She was a bit startled, but didn’t overreact. "So you’ve been paying attention to him. That’s intriguing."

Speaking with composure, she shot a glance at Mordica’s purple stockings, wondering why they made legs become attractive.

"That’s not surprising. Kaiser is a very interesting person. If possible, I’d like to know him more."

Hazel raised a brow. "Know him more? Your words might be misinterpreted."

Mordica shrugged with a haughty scoff. "Do you think I care? I wouldn’t give a fuck about the opinion of someone else."

The black-haired girl exhaled, already expecting this. Mordica was just someone who had no concern about public sentiment towards her... just like Kaiser.

"Still, do not disclose his absence for now, it’d cause panic within our ranks.." Mordica said, "Also, be careful of that guy Ariel. He’s not as simple as he seems."

After leaving a warning behind, she returned to her former position.

Hazel didn’t take the warning seriously, but she didn’t dismiss it entirely.

"We should start moving now. Ysabella has already helped us and we can’t let the help go to waste."

Liam announced, a determined expression on his face.

No one argued, and they all began moving. Astron was responsible for carrying Ysabella, making Jose and Eric green with envy.

The young man kept a stoic face as he carried her on his back, though the sweat lining his face was a testimony of his internal conflict. No one could be pressed by those soft balls and remain indifferent.

"I smell blood." Hazel scrunched up in disgust, feeling the nauseating stench of blood wafting into her nostrils.

"Blood? Could it be that the beasts fought amongst themselves?" Kiera asked, confused.

Liam gripped his lance tighter, preparing for any unexpected surprises.

"We keep moving." He said calmly, still composed and determined. The deeper they moved, the scent of blood became more prominent, creating a form of pressure. Under this strange silence and pressure, the students moved towards the location directed to then by Anya.

After about half an hour, they arrived at the place suspected to be the final boss chamber.

The entrance was wide—wider than any they had seen. Here, the scent of blood was so thick that Hazel almost retched because of her hypersensitive nose.

"What... the...?"

Liam stepped forward and looked into the chamber. His eyes widened to the extreme, shocked extremely.

Everywhere he looked, he only saw the carcasses of the Abyssal Crawlers, up to a thousand of them. They looked like the had been torn apart without being unable to resist, creating a grotesque sight for the students.

Finally, Liam’s eyes saw the person who was seated atop a grotesque flower, the head of a special Abyssal Crawler dangling from their right hand.

’Is that...?’

Slowly, that person raised their head, and a pair of emotionless blue eyes locked on the students.