Ronan glanced at the charred remains scattered on the soil.

"It shouldn’t be."

Aura crossed her arms and approached the ash without hesitation, kneeling near the blackened ground where Reddy’s body had been burning.

She studied the area for several seconds, then turned her head toward him with visible irritation.

"You are an idiot." She grumbled. "Burning the body removed the shape," Aura said, gesturing toward the ash. "But it did not remove the demonic residue. If anything, you spread traces into the ash, soil, and surrounding mana."

Ronan nodded immediately, realizing his mistake. He wouldn’t repeat it again, but there wasn’t much he could do with the limited knowledge he had, so he simply did what he was used to doing.

He had handled a demonic crime scene like a normal human one, which was admittedly careless in hindsight.

Aura stood and began channeling demonic energy through her fingertips, letting the faint purple-black threads sink into the ground and ash. The traces began dissolving, dissipating.

After a moment, she stopped.

"I can clean most of it," she said. "But I will not fully erase it."

"Why?"

"Because doing so would leave too much of my own signature behind," Aura replied coldly. "If someone investigates this area thoroughly, they will find something strange. But they will not immediately know what it was or who left it."

"Will there be any traces of myself?"

"No, but there will be traces of demonic energy. There will be an investigation. Although, I do not sense the Academy figures over here that I sensed throughout this exam watching us."

Ronan nodded, already knowing that.

"Fine," he said. "Now the suppression."

Aura turned toward him and gestured for him to sit.

Ronan complied, leaning his back against the tree while Aura knelt in front of him. She placed one hand against his chest, directly over his core, and began channeling her demonic energy inward.

The process hurt.

Not sharply, but in an uncomfortable way, like something inside him was being folded against itself in a way that did not belong. Ronan kept his expression controlled, but his breathing became shallow as the pressure built.

Aura’s focus remained steady until her energy brushed closer to his core.

Then her expression changed.

She froze.

Her hand pressed harder against his chest, and her eyes widened briefly before narrowing into something between shock and understanding.

"You have a second heart."

Ronan did not answer immediately.

Looks like it wasn’t going to be much of a secret anymore.

Aura pulled her hand back and stared at him.

"When did it form?"

"I noticed it after I woke," he admitted easily. "Know anything?"

Aura’s gaze flicked toward the burned remains of Reddy, then back to Ronan.

"The Leech harvested him," she said quietly. "It used his mana, flesh, and core to build a demonic organ inside you. Likely what it’s going to use to take over."

Ronan had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed still made the situation feel heavier.

"Is that normal?" The question felt silly considering the situation, but he asked the expert anyway.

"No," Aura said flatly. "This is different. The parasite has already begun replacing your body, not merely corrupting your mana. It goes to show how powerful it is."

Ronan considered that for a moment. Then he asked his next question.

"Can the heart be useful?"

Aura’s expression turned dangerous.

"That is the wrong question."

"But it is the question I’m asking."

"You are not listening," Aura snapped. "The second heart is not a gift. It is not a tool. It is the first stage of host override. The more you rely on it, the faster assimilation progresses. If you circulate demonic mana through it, if you experiment with it, if you treat it like some forbidden power you can control, you will shorten the timer."

Ronan held her gaze and did not argue.

Aura continued, her tone colder now.

"I will give you rules. Follow them exactly."

"Go ahead."

"Do not circulate demonic mana," Aura said. "Avoid holy detection. Avoid healers unless absolutely necessary, because their magic may trigger a reaction. Avoid Grace if possible, since her saintess sensitivity is stronger than most. And do not experiment with the second heart unless you want to die faster."

Ronan nodded once, taking the advice humbly. He wasn’t educated on this matter, as it was never mentioned in the novel, so having Aura here to explain it was very helpful.

Aura studied him, clearly unconvinced that he would obey, but she did not press further.

Instead, she resumed the suppression.

The folding sensation returned, more forceful now, as Aura forced the demonic energy inward and compressed it beneath the surface of his normal mana flow. When she finished, she pulled her hand back and stood.

"It is done," she said. "The suppression will hold unless you deliberately break it."

"How long do I have before someone notices anyway?"

"That depends on who examines you and how closely," Aura replied. "But casual proximity should be fine. Just do not let anyone use detection magic on you."

Ronan stood as well, brushing ash from his sleeve.

Before he could speak, the Academy’s voice echoed across the battlefield through amplified mana projection.

"All students are to return to their designated extraction zones immediately. The Inter-Class War has concluded."

Aura turned toward the clearing without waiting for Ronan to respond.

"We should separate," she said. "Being seen together would create questions for both of us."

Ronan agreed. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Aura walked back toward Class S’s position first, her artifact concealing her demonic presence as always.

Ronan waited several moments, steadied his expression, and began walking back toward Class B.

The battlefield had already begun emptying. Students moved in scattered groups toward their respective extraction zones, some exhausted, some celebrating, others silent and injured.

Ronan found Class B gathered near the riverbank where their temporary base had been. The camp was mostly dismantled now.

Elara stood near the center of the group, surrounded by classmates.

Several students were calling her leader openly now, not just acknowledging her temporary authority but treating her as though the role had become permanent.

Ronan had not expected that sentiment to persist after the final battle.

But it did not matter much.

The class rankings would shift after this exam, and whatever Elara’s authority looked like now, the Academy’s evaluation would reset parts of it.

Elara noticed him approaching and walked over immediately, her expression tired but confronting.

"Where were you?"

Ronan gave a simple lie.

"Grace’s trap threw me toward the treeline," he said. "Took me a while to circle back."

Elara studied him for a moment, clearly skeptical, but she did not push.

"You missed the ending," she said.

"I heard the announcement."

Elara’s expression tightened briefly, but she did not look defeated.

"We did what we could."

Ronan nodded.

The second heart beat once inside him.

He smiled calmly, pretending nothing had changed as he fed Elara a lie about what happened to him.