15. Hero Academy (1)

**|The capital city of Argenta has been in an uproar. Locals state they spotted hundreds of church heroes gathering around a popular hotel in the city.

Citizens in the building state that they were looking for a person who has a stolen item in his custody.

Now the question is, who is this criminal to go against the church? The very ones protecting Elarion from the rampage of demons...

Analysis suggests a move from the Black Lotus, as they have been enemies with the church for a decade...|**

"You paying any attention to that?" Veyra said, looking at Santiaga across the red-covered rectangular table.

Santiaga took a glance at the screen across from them and shrugged.

Because he was occupied with something else...

~Ugh, stingy bastard!~

~I have to make him empty his pockets.~

~I'll sleep with his girlfriend and tell him in the face later!~

~Useless piece of shit...~

He flinched, hearing the sounds of fingers snapping. He looked up, only to notice that he had brought his head down on reflex.

Seeing the confused look on Veyra's face, Santiaga waved his hands at her to tell her not to worry.

"It's the negatives again, isn't it?" Veyra asked, dropping her Coke bottle.

The both of them were currently inside a café close to where they bought new clothes.

After the knight in a cave, they left very early. Today was the day the hero academy started accepting students. He had to be the first one in line.

From the corner of his eye, Santiaga caught a lot of glances in their direction once in a while.

But they weren't directed at him; they were all looking at the beauty in front of him.

Veyra's wavy hair was tied in a ponytail, short strands forming bangs in front. Her subtle red eyes and long lashes looked hypnotic, and her lips... were currently black.

"I still don't understand why you chose black lipstick over red or pink," Santiaga mumbled, taking the last sip of his Coke.

"Well, it resembles my true form. In my true form it's like this," she said, looking around.

"Don't wonder. It's an aura that I have. It makes people want to follow me, especially men. Don't know why though." She chuckled, making Santiaga shake his head.

'I thought her true form was some sort of animal. Also, that aura that drags people to her, we'll have to test out how strong it is later. I remember its effect clearly from the hotel, the first time I saw her,' he reminisced.

Veyra looked around, noticing a group of guys discussing while staring in their direction.

She waved toward them with a smile and they all waved back excitedly. Suddenly, their faces turned grim when they looked next to her and they all sat back down and looked out of the window instead.

"Huh?" Veyra looked back to see Santiaga frowning at her deeply.

He was almost at his patience limit.

"Don't make a face like that, you're scaring all the males," she said in a low voice, poking his nose with a finger.

"Okay, alright. That does it, I'm leaving." Santiaga stood up, walking toward the entrance of the café.

His full outfit was now in view. He wore a black jacket and a pair of grey jeans. His hair was still rough because he had to bathe at the stream inside the danger zone before coming out.

The miracle of his license...

Since all his money was inside, it was easy to go pick some clothes to wear for today.

Veyra quickly followed behind, looking more like a goddess than a lady.

"Hey, wait for me," she called him, walking faster.

She wore a cropped black jacket which matched the one Santiaga was wearing, with a bra top inside, making her flat stomach and slim waist show.

Her perfect white skin glistened under the rays of the sun and Santiaga had to admit, she looked good.

Too good.

*Honk honk!!*

The sounds of honking cars passing them distracted them. Veyra walked in front of Santiaga, facing him and walking backwards.

Suddenly, Santiaga's lips began to curl as he kept staring at her.

"...I knew the charm would wor–"

"Move before I slap you."

"...Eh?"

*Pa!*

...

In the middle of Argenta Prime was a tall, tower of a building shaped like a pyramid. It was a literal 'long' pyramid, having over 400 floors.

Mechanical drones flew around, scanning the dome as they passed.

On the surface of the ground, however, there was another absurd scene. There were over five hundred people gathered already for the hero academy application.

Now, you might wonder why. After awakening a talent under your brand, do you need to go to a school to learn about it?

An awakened skill is inherent—when you unlock it, you just automatically know how to use it.

...The reason is, ascension.

The chattering of the crowd grew, and so did their thoughts. Santiaga kept his cool, letting it all be background noise.

"You talked about ascension before!" Veyra shouted, looking up at him.

"Well..." Santiaga groaned.

It wasn't a thing he wanted to talk about now as it's a very long topic.

"We'll talk about it later," Santiaga said, his cyan eyes glaring at the tall monolith of a building.

All around him, a popular topic caught his ears.

"What I'm most excited about is The White Fairy of Dusk."

"Evelyn Vale? But she doesn't teach at the academy."

"It was on the announcements. She's going to take part in instructing this year's heroes."

"I'm so excited!"

Hearing all of this, Veyra couldn't tell what the big deal about this person was. However, she felt a pain in her chest.

She looked at Santiaga to see his eyes a little down and she nudged him with her elbow.

"You know this Evelyn lady?" she asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah. She's an SS-ranked hero. And she's achieved a lot and has contributed a lot for the world," he said, letting out a tired sigh.

He suddenly had a murderous gaze, looking at Veyra.

"I hope she doesn't get in my way."

"Ahh, it's always a nice thing to see heroes coming together to protect the world," a voice responded in everyone's heads.

Santiaga glanced around and saw a man floating in the sky, right in front of the building.

"No way, Kudell..." Santiaga frowned, seeing who the person was.

His long white hair danced in the wind and his silver eyes pierced through the crowd. It felt like he was looking at everyone at the same time.

His white robes and calm demeanor made him look like a god looking down on his subjects.

Kudell, the overseer of the hero academy.

'He once cleared an entire horde of S rank demons by himself. Hard to believe, I only had a glimpse of what a C rank could do back then.' Santiaga thought, crossing his arms.

"It seems like we've got a lot of talented heroes in this generation. Some of you have SSS-level abilities as a starting ability. I'll be calling them now," Kudell said, coming closer to the ground slowly.

"Hm... Well, looks like I'll go without you. Don't forget the plan," Santiaga said, looking at Veyra.

His target was just inside the walls of the large monumental building.

The journey just started.

Just as Santiaga stepped forward, a name echoed across the plaza.

"Tiaga Veil."

Everything around him seemed to fall silent as his name resounded.

Well, not his name, his alias. The one he was going to use while being at the academy.

The crowd split as a mechanical drone hovered beside him, scanning his face before a soft voice played through it.

"You've been selected for private evaluation. Please follow the drone."

Veyra gave him a sharp glance, but he simply nodded.

Each step toward the towering building made his heart beat louder—not with nerves, but with fury.

He was led through hidden elevators and silent halls. The inside of the academy building wasn't what he expected.

The exquisite design and choice of colours were immaculate. But something was off, there were too few people here, which... Was not supposed to be, considering the number of accepted students every year.

The drone finally stopped at a steel door. With a beep, It slid open with a hiss.

Waiting inside... was a man.

Santiaga stepped forward, but then he froze as he saw a familiar face staring back at him.

Older now. His blonde hair slicked back and his smile was still arrogant.

"Welcome. I'm Jefferson Hall," the man said, extending a hand. "I'll be conducting your private assessment."

Santiaga stood frozen for a heartbeat, his eyes narrowing.

The voice. The face.

He remembered it even as he bled out on a wall a week ago.

The man who killed him.

The reason he was reborn.

But now... he wore a different name. A different appearance. And it seemed Jefferson didn't recognize Santiaga, the one he murdered.

Santiaga's lips curled slowly into a cold, calm smile.

"I'll be in your care."

'You don't know me... but I've come back to bury you. Bastard.'