The creature’s massive body had begun collapsing inward the moment its heartbeat stopped.

It’s organic walls folding, passages crumbling, the entire factory-structure losing control without the controller’s presence maintaining it.

They’d rushed through deteriorating corridors with their bodies screaming in protest, extreme exhaustion making each step a battle.

Students carried the wounded and dragged their unconscious teammates, leaving the dead behind because there was no other choice.

The creature’s exterior had finally given way, spilling them onto muddy ground outside, and they’d collapsed immediately.

Forty students... that was all that remained.

They were scattered across the ground with their bodies too damaged to do anything except exist in the aftermath.

Ronan had carried Damian’s unconscious form over one shoulder, his massive frame moving through pure stubbornness.

Zavier had held Lysa against his chest, her broken body cradled with desperate gentleness, blood staining his uniform.

Pant...pant...

Now they sat among the others, breathing hard, unable to process that they’d actually survived.

The sky above showed the same grey void it had when they’d entered, eternal twilight that made time seem meaningless.

****

David Evergreen knelt beside Lysa, his green healing Aura flowing through trembling hands.

His reserves were nearly empty, his body running on nothing but will and training, but he pushed anyway.

"Hold still," he murmured, more to himself than to the unconscious girl.

His fingers moved with practiced precision, checking broken ribs, internal bleeding, damage that would have killed her without immediate intervention.

The healing Aura knitted bones slowly, repaired organs with delicate control, and brought her back from the edge piece by piece.

Zavier sat beside them, his hands clenched into fists on his knees, watching David work with eyes that showed too much red.

His breathing came shallow and fast, panic barely contained, the kind that came from nearly losing something before understanding it mattered.

Minutes passed.

David’s hands finally stilled, pulling back, his Aura dissipating.

"She’s stable now. The internal damage is repaired enough that she won’t die. She needs proper medical treatment back home, but..." He paused, exhaustion making speech difficult. "She’ll make it."

Zavier’s voice emerged as barely a whisper, rough with emotion he couldn’t hide.

"...Thank you."

David stood slowly with his legs shaking, and nodded once.

"No problem."

The exchange was quiet, almost private despite being surrounded by others, two people from completely different worlds acknowledging debt and payment in the simplest terms possible.

David turned toward where Damian lay a few meters away, his medical instincts driving him to check the person who’d saved them all despite everything.

He took three steps.

Then Edrin’s voice cut through the space between them.

"His body is fine... He just passed out from exhaustion. I already checked."

The words were polite enough, but the tone carried weight.

David stopped, looking at Edrin, who stood near Damian with his cracked glasses reflecting what little light existed in this place.

Edrin’s expression was carefully neutral, but his eyes showed calculation mixed with something protective.

’He doesn’t want me examining Damian.’

David understood immediately.

Right now Damian was vulnerable, unconscious and unable to defend himself.

And Edrin didn’t trust anyone – not even someone who’d helped save Damian’s life – to have unrestricted access to their leader’s body.

Smart...

David’s own family had taught similar lessons about when to allow vulnerability and when to maintain distance.

He held Edrin’s gaze for a moment, acknowledging the unspoken message, then turned and walked back toward where the Imperial heirs sat together.

****

Then Cassius spoke quietly, his voice carrying weight.

"A commoner shouldn’t be that strong... Especially considering he is just sixteen and in his first-year."

The statement hung in the air, undeniable truth backed by everything they’d witnessed.

Jonathan leaned back against a rock, his exhaustion evident.

"Did you see how he fought? That wasn’t Academy training. That level of killing intent, that brutality... where does a student even learn to fight like that?"

Ben’s analytical mind was working through implications.

"He killed Nobles in here... Multiple Nobles from other Academies. He didn’t even hesitate and didn’t care about consequences or family retaliation."

Sophia’s voice carried something between admiration and concern.

"And the way he manipulated everyone... those speeches weren’t just inspiring, they were calculated. He made people throw their lives away for him willingly and that kind of charisma is dangerous."

Alexander nodded slowly.

"Everything we were taught about social construct, about the natural hierarchy... he challenges all of it just by existing. A commoner commanding Nobles, making them follow his orders and making them believe in him."

Raymond’s expression showed the conflict playing across all their faces.

"So what do we do? Report this to our families? Tell them there’s a commoner who can unite people across class lines, who kills without political consideration, who’s already this powerful at sixteen?"

Silence fell as they all considered the question.

David spoke carefully, his voice thoughtful.

"If we report him as a threat, our families will move against him. They’ll see him as someone who needs to be eliminated before he becomes truly dangerous."

"Which might be the smart play," Ben added. "Remove the threat while he’s still developing, before he reaches his full potential."

But Cassius shook his head, his strategic mind seeing further.

"You’re all thinking too small. Yes, he’s dangerous. Yes, he’s powerful for his age. But compared to SS rank powerhouses? Compared to our family heads?"

He looked around at them, making sure they understood.

"He’s nothing... Talented? absolutely. A future threat? possibly. But right now, he’s a sixteen-year-old C+ rank who just exhausted himself fighting creatures. Any of our seniors could kill him without breaking a sweat."

Jonathan’s expression showed understanding.

"So we’re not dealing with an immediate threat to Imperial power. We’re dealing with... what? A talented commoner who might become important later?"

"Exactly," Cassius said. "And unlike those stupid Nobles with their superiority complex, we should be smart about this."

Alexander leaned forward, interested.

"What are you suggesting?"

"Neutrality," Cassius stated simply. "He saved our lives. He never targeted us specifically and never showed hatred for Imperials as a group. It’s clear that he only cares about his own people."

He gestured toward where Damian lay unconscious.

"So we extend the same courtesy. We don’t cross him, and as long as he doesn’t harm Imperial interests, we don’t move against him. Let nature take its course."

Sophia nodded slowly.

"He could become a threat, or he could become an ally. We don’t know yet. So we wait and observe."

"And if he does become hostile to Imperial families?" Ben asked.

Cassius’s expression hardened.

"Then our families deal with him. But that’s their decision to make, not ours. We’re not going to start a conflict based on what ’might’ happen."

David spoke quietly.

"He had the capability to kill us in here and multiple times at that. But he chose not to. That should count for something."

Alexander nodded firmly.

"I agree with neutrality. He saved my life. I won’t repay that by reporting him as a threat when he’s done nothing to harm Imperial interests."

Jonathan added his agreement.

"Same. Let the families make their own assessments when they see the official reports. We don’t need to add our influence."

Sophia smiled slightly.

"Besides, it would be a shame to eliminate someone that interesting. I want to see what he becomes."