When a Genius Strategized

Still confounded at the unanticipated twist of events, Eli sat on the floor, looking as if her soul had just been sucked out of her body.

"I-I thought they're gonna save me...?" she mentally cried out as her friends left her behind.

Then, out of nowhere, a dark haze descended, perplexing her and the others.

What followed was a blinding surge of light, rivaling the shining golden orb in the middle, which then washed over the place and engulfed the entire fortress. Everyone was too bewildered to react at the cascading chain of events.

Eli could only shield her eyes at this, bracing herself when it became overwhelmingly bright. Contrary to her expectation of being pounced on all of the sudden, what she felt were a warm pair of hands instead. They suddenly took her from the ground as a flash of whiteness hurdled her vision.

"Ugh..."

Eli felt the world spin.

Stirring awake, she then opened her eyes, only to find red-orange patches of sunlight on the marbled floor of an empty hallway. It appeared that she had finally returned at the academy. She also seemed to have fallen asleep after being devoured by that mysterious light.

"You got heavier, Eli."

Surprised, she instantly swiveled her head around that she almost broke her neck. Peering down at her with a smile was none other than the young Aristian Emperor. What really confused her, however, was the fact that he's now holding her bridal style.

"H-Hal...?"

"We just got out. Our plan somehow worked. Thanks for cooperating."

With that, Hal slowly lowered her to the ground. Eli's head was filled with lots of questions she wanted to ask, but the sounds of footsteps beat her to it. Turning around, she saw Zeke and Allen coming their way. The young heir looked lightheaded while the red head only beamed at her as soon as their eyes met.

"I'm glad it worked," Allen started with a relieved smile.

"Ms. Claes, it's great to see you fine!" Zeke blurted out, pacing towards them with a huge grin.

Eli only stared at the three, stupefied.

For the next minutes to come, the three boys explained the entire situation to her. Though she's grateful for the save, she still felt a bit wronged.

Right after returning from the Realm, she was bombarded with revelations, starting from Hal and the others' escapade in searching for the way in to them executing a well-plotted rescue mission. Despite being befuddled at some parts, Eli still managed to get the gist of it. Apparently, she was already dancing on the palm of Noah's hands since the beginning.

"The whole thing between you and Noah was indeed planned out. It's impressive that you saw right through it," Allen commended, which made her feel a bit bashful.

"Well, Venus also proposed a similar idea when we got there. She told me that I needed to act like a villainess for my own survival. Now that I think about it, those two are really alike."

At this, Hal and Allen only glanced at each other knowingly, an enigmatic look on their faces. Without her noticing, that particular passing comment of hers had surprised them for some reason.

"I'm also sorry for earlier, Ms. Claes. You know, when we're about to leave you there... I still remember the look of betrayal on your face and I think it'll haunt my dreams every night," Zeke apologized with a remorseful expression to which Eli only shook her head with an understanding smile.

"It's fine, Ezekiel. I don't really feel betrayed. Also, Allen already explained that it's part of the fake fight, though I did feel shocked for how real it seemed."

Eli learned that the reason why Hal turned invisible in the middle of the battle was so he could grab onto her once they've been let out of the Realm. Since it's possible that the Realm's master would spare her there, Hal had to make sure she's coming along with them. However, in order to keep up with the whole fake fight, they had to make it appear like they escaped by themselves while Eli saved her own.

Then, there was the golden orb at the end.

The light was actually coming from Hal's revolver, but since he's invisible that time, Eli thought it just appeared out of nowhere. She found out that it was Hal's skill-related magic, similar to Allen's Savage Blade of Judgement and Noah's Slash Storm. Surprisingly, it's well-known among summoned creatures for being a catastrophic finishing blow that could wipe out an entire Realm, especially when aimed at what they called a 'core'.

After inspecting the area with Zeke before the ambush, Noah was able to pick up some clues that this core was just around that fortress somewhere. Considering how guarded it was and the fact that even the Realm's guardians resided in there, it's very plausible. They had surmised that the glowing orbs of the guardians were the 'core', but unfortunately, nothing happened to the Realm when Allen took them down.

Even if it wasn't there, however, Noah speculated that once Hal threatened them with a wide-ranged attack using this spell, the Realm's master would have no choice but to kick them out of there.

"Yet, to be able to destroy that big of a place... Is Hal secretly a monster or something? That also explains the guardian's terror-stricken reactions earlier," Eli thought, suddenly fearing her classmate.

"Your Majesty, General..."

At this, everyone turned to look at Noah who had already changed back into his school uniform.

Eli can't help but feel a rush of mixed emotions upon seeing him. For one, she felt bad for talking back to him earlier, albeit it's only pretense. Then, there's the swelling admiration in her chest as she recalled that it was Noah who had meticulously planned everything back there. What's more, he thought about everything in just a matter of minutes, including speculating the enemies' moves as well as the proper time phase for each part of the plan.

With that, Eli wholeheartedly admitted that he's truly a genius.

"I just took the upperclassman to the infirmary. She's still unconscious," Noah voiced out, approaching them with a solemn expression.

"Thank you, Noah. I'll deal with her once she woke up," Allen replied.

That's when Eli remembered about the upperclassman. She forgot how much she troubled Cosette today. She also figured that Noah must be really upset that the person he cared about was accidentally involved.

Out of guilt, Eli then approached him and decided push aside their previous squabble for a moment.