Freya rejoined Class S while the rune sat pressed against her palm, feeling heavier than it was.

She had just watched Ronan disappear into the trees without explanation, without further instruction, and without anything that resembled reassurance of any kind. The word ’no’ still echoed in her mind.

Not Ronan.

Then who?

She forced the thought aside.

There was no time to process it properly. For all she knew he was just trying to mess with her.

Class S was already moving toward the final statue, and if she hesitated even slightly, someone would notice.

Freya slipped back into formation near the middle of the group, her expression controlled and warm as it always was. Her fingers stayed loose around the rune despite the instinct to grip it tighter. She kept her breathing even. She did not look back.

Grace glanced at her.

It was only a moment. A flicker of attention that passed before Freya could fully register it. But it was enough to make her pulse spike.

Grace had been watching.

She remembered what Ronan said.

Freya smiled gently at the student beside her, making a quiet comment about the terrain ahead, and the student responded with easy agreement. Nothing suspicious.

But Grace’s gaze lingered just long enough to remind Freya that she could not afford even the smallest mistake.

The final statue rose ahead of them, far more imposing than the earlier objectives.

It was larger. Older-looking. Twin spirals of runes converged around two empty sockets at its base, glowing faintly in patterns that Freya didn’t understand fully. The surrounding mana felt dense and unstable, even though no one had touched it yet.

Grace stopped the group twenty meters from the statue and began organizing immediately. Her voice carried authority without force, and Class S responded without hesitation. Luca was assigned to outer battlefield control because his strength was too valuable to waste on stationary defense. Irene was placed near the node team as protection and emergency response.

Then Grace turned toward Iris.

"We’ll need someone to stabilize the dual-node flow," Grace said calmly. "The statue’s configuration will require precise regulation under battlefield conditions."

Iris met her gaze without hesitation. "I can handle it."

Freya stepped forward before anyone else could speak.

"If anyone can stabilize a two-node flow under battlefield conditions, it would be Iris."

Her tone was respectful and uplifting. She was Freya Lockhart, of course she would believe in her dear cousin.

But the words boxed Iris in, and that was the real objective.

Refusing now would make her look less capable than Freya claimed she was. Accepting would tie her to the role publicly, with everyone watching.

Iris’s gaze flicked toward Freya for just a second, but her expression didn’t show any distrust. Freya knew Iris was an intelligent woman, but that didn’t mean she knew everything.

Iris accepted with a nod.

"I’ll regulate the flow."

Freya smiled gently, inclining her head in false deference.

"I’m sure you’ll do wonderfully."

Grace watched the exchange carefully. Her expression remained neutral, but Freya could feel the weight of her attention. Grace could tell something was off between them. She likely suspected Freya was maneuvering.

Or maybe she didn’t suspect anything and Freya was overthinking. Either way, the action was innocent enough, and more importantly, it was tactically sound.

Iris really was one of the best choices for the role.

So Grace accepted it. And Freya wondered if Grace really would have chosen Iris regardless for the task. It seemed likely.

"Iris will handle synchronization. Irene, stay close. Freya, coordinate communication routes and watch for blind spots."

Freya nodded.

Perfect.

The moment Class S reached the statue, movement became busy.

Students began marking positions, checking angles, and doing busywork that secured their position. They were here far earlier than anyone else, and it didn’t look like anyone was close.

Grace directed everything with precision, but the noise and motion created exactly what Freya needed. Distraction.

Freya moved closer to the base under the excuse of checking blind spots.

She circled naturally, stopping once or twice to speak to nearby students so her movement looked purposeful. She gestured toward the tree line. Pointed out potential approach routes. Natural things.

The rune remained hidden against her palm, ready to unfold into a thin sheet once mana touched it.

She was careful not to head directly for it.

Instead, she circled.

"Freya."

Grace’s voice cut through the noise.

Freya turned, her expression gentle and kind. "Yes?"

Grace stood near the map, arms crossed. "Where did you disappear to earlier?"

It was not an accusation.

But it sure did sound like it.

"I was checking for followers," Freya said smoothly. "Watching for Class B’s approach from the rear path."

Grace studied her for a moment longer than necessary.

Then she nodded.

"Good. Stay alert."

Freya smiled and turned back toward the statue.

Grace had not caught her.

But she had not dismissed her as harmless either.

A scout announced movement from the southern and western routes.

Class B was approaching. Class A was not far behind.

The news drew everyone’s attention outward. Grace turned to the map and began adjusting formations. Luca shifted forward. Iris prepared near the node socket.

In that narrow window, Freya kneeled near the base as if checking the ground for rune interference.

She channeled a thin thread of mana into the obsidian rune. It expanded into a flat sheet. She pressed it beneath a ridge of carved stone where the statue’s natural runes overlapped.

The rune blended in almost perfectly.

For one terrifying half-second, the statue’s mana changed.

But no one reacted.

Freya stood, brushed dirt from her hands, and walked away.

She sighed and stepped away from the statue and naturally walked away. She glanced at Grace, and she looked to be talking to Luca about something, unbothered by anything else.

Freya asked a student how everything was going, and continued to make small talk as she stepped further and further away from the statue.

She knew that she should be feeling bad about this, maybe anxious.

But for some reason, Freya felt that this was going to go smoothly.

Elara pushed Class B forward through the forest, boots pounding dirt, mana circulating to suppress exhaustion. The pace was fast but controlled. No panic or recklessness in their actions. It was deliberate, and Elara made sure of that.

She checked formation without slowing, making sure everything was running smoothly.

"Sapphire in the center. Mira on left flank. Steady spacing."

The class adjusted well. A few days ago, half of them would have ignored her or questioned the order. Now they obeyed without hesitation.

Elara hated how much that pleased her. Or maybe she didn’t. She honestly didn’t know exactly how she felt about it. She never thought herself a leader before this. That role belonged to her sister.

But this exam – war – had changed that... and she wasn’t sure she disliked it.

She glanced back toward the rear of the group, searching for Ronan.

He walked near the back, posture relaxed, expression unreadable. Passive. Almost bored.

That should have annoyed her. Ronan always had something to say during planning, always saw angles she missed, always redirected the group when she hesitated.

Now he was silent.

She frowned, then forced herself to look forward again.

It didn’t matter. Ronan had helped them reach this point. Helped her more times than she could count, and that went for the rest of the class too. Without him, Class B would have collapsed after Darius was captured. Without him, they never would have retrieved the node, never survived Class A’s attack, never taken Class D’s territory.

She didn’t know what Ronan’s loyalty looked like, but she knew it existed. He was loyal to the class, and he had their best interests at heart.

And, although it embarrassed her to admit it, Elara believed he was loyal to her as well.

There had once been a time where she had believed Ronan to be annoying, a pest almost. Someone who was getting in her business when she didn’t ask. But those thoughts had quickly faded.

And that was enough.

The trees thinned ahead. Light broke through the canopy, and Elara almost closed her eyes at the sudden glare.

She raised her fist.

Class B stopped in their tracks, the cohesion surprising.

She moved forward and crouched low at the forest edge, eyes narrowing as she studied the open land beyond.

The final statue rose from the center of a wide clearing. It was tall, heavy, and older-looking than the others with runes that pulsed faintly even from this distance. She couldn’t understand them, but she knew what they meant.

And she understood something else too.

Class S was already there.

They surrounded the statue in a loose perimeter, weapons drawn, formations tight. Organized and prepared, ready for anything.

But they hadn’t started synchronization yet.

Elara recognized the distinct setup. Two minor nodes resting near the base, students positioned for mana channeling, adjustments still being made. The scene was very familiar.

Sapphire had explained the process once. Starting dual-node synchronization required precise calibration, careful alignment, and at least several minutes of preparation before the actual attempt.

Class S hadn’t begun.

That meant Class B still had time.

Movement came from the west. Class A emerged from the opposite tree line, their formation larger than expected but looser than it should have been.

Armani stepped forward first, chin raised, voice carrying across the clearing with unusual confidence. He led his class into the open, and she saw class S immediately tense, but they didn’t attack surprisingly. Perhaps orders from the Saintess?

"Class S. You’ve had a good run, but this statue requires more than ambition."

Elara frowned. Armani didn’t usually sound so boastful. His words felt wrong, like armor worn over something brittle that could shatter at any moment’s notice.

But then she noticed.

Class A’s numbers were off. Smaller than before. Students missing from their usual structure.

Armani was compensating.

Trying to appear stronger than he was.

She didn’t usually notice things like this, but maybe that meant she was changing.

Class S didn’t respond immediately. Grace stood near the statue, calm and still, watching Armani without visible concern.

Then Adam arrived.

Class C moved into position beside Class A, their students spreading across the clearing’s southern edge. Elara spotted a few Class D students mixed into their ranks – students who had stayed with Class C after the alliance fractured.

She didn’t understand it. Remaining with Class C meant Class D students would lose rank, lose placement, lose everything when the war ended. At least from how she understood it.

But they were here anyway.

Not that it mattered. Elara paid close attention to Adam.

Adam raised his sword, tilting it toward Class S.

Class A mirrored the gesture.

A silent alliance formed at that moment. Not formal, not permanent either, but something born from a practical thought.

Class S is the enemy right now. Class S has to be defeated. After that, anything goes.

Elara inhaled slowly, then gave the signal.

Class B stepped from the shadows.

No one reacted with surprise. Every group had expected this. Four classes converging on one statue, or maybe they expected 5, but class D was nowhere to be seen.

Elara moved forward until she stood beside Class C and Class A, mana gathering in her palm, heat building as she pointed it toward Class S.

"Looks like everyone arrived," Adam said quietly.

Armani nodded. "Then let’s finish this."

Then a figure showed itself.

Grace Light.

For a second, she stood silent, watching as the three classes allied themselves against her and class S. But despite that, she didn’t seem to be surprised by the matter. Instead she seemed a little amused. No, amused was the wrong word. Excited?

Grace finally spoke, her voice soft but clear enough to carry across the clearing.

"Can you really trust each other?"

The question hung in the air.

Elara hesitated. The words felt wrong. There was something odd about the way she said that.

The words themselves wouldn’t have done much, because of course they didn’t trust each other. While they were temporarily allied against class S, they didn’t hold it against the other classes to stab them in the backs. There was no trust at all, just acknowledgement of a common enemy.

Adam’s expression didn’t shift, but his grip on his sword tightened slightly.

Armani frowned, not answering either.

No one answered. They all seemed as confused as she was.

But that quickly changed.

Grace snapped her fingers.

And the ground beneath Elara’s feet shifted.

Her eyes widened.

Without hesitation, Elara willed all the mana in her body and focused it into defense, augmenting it to the furthest degree.

BOOM!