Marcus slowly turned around to face him.

Cassian’s gaze shifted past Marcus, landing on the three battered students bleeding on the ground. With a subtle flick of his chin, he signaled them to run.

Marcus’s face cast in dark shadows as a thick, greasy chuckle bubbled up from his throat. Then, he burst into full-blown, hysterical laughter, clutching his stomach as he stood there.

After laughing for a few seconds, he wiped a tear from his eye with his finger and leveled the tip of his sword directly at Cassian.

"Oi, hero... Cassian Brightmore..."

"You think you’re so damn righteous, don’t you? Look up there — all those people watching probably think you’re some shining hero who only walks the path of truth and virtue. But nah, nah... I know the truth. I know what a massive bastard you actually are. How about I expose your true colors right here, right now, in front of everyone? What do you say?"

Cassian didn’t react at all.

Seeing this utter lack of response, the veins bulged tightly against Marcus’s jaw.

"You little shit, that look on your face..." He spat onto the muddy ground. "That damn face of yours has been pissing me off ever since you first showed up. Let’s settle the score right here, right now."

Cassian still didn’t react. His expression remained completely neutral, carved out of stone... save for a faint red glint flickering within his eyes.

He just let Marcus keep blabbering, acting as if he truly couldn’t care less about his own reputation.

However, the reality was quite different.

Up in the academy stadium, all the streaming familiars suddenly began glitching and throwing static errors again. But this time, there was no violent storm destroying them; it was as if someone—or something — had completely hijacked and brainwashed their systems.

"What exactly is happening now?" the King snarled lazily, clearly annoyed by the constant interruptions to the broadcast.

The Headmaster merely smiled at him.

"It seems our students this year are a bit more... exceptional than usual."

Back in the forest...

Cassian nonchalantly dug his pinky finger into his ear to clean it out, letting out a bored, exhausted sigh.

"Come on, make your move already. How much longer are you gonna bore me, you dumbass?"

Marcus’s face violently twitched, flushing a deep crimson with rage. He bit his lip hard, swallowing the bitter pill of the insult.

However, he didn’t charge forward. Despite his anger, Marcus wasn’t a complete fool; he knew better than to underestimate the "Hero." Besides, he had an ulterior motive for this match. It seemed as though he was deliberately conserving his strength for someone else entirely.

"Tch... I’ll deal with you later," he scoffed, turning on his heel to walk away.

Though Cassian had absolutely no intention of letting him walk away so easily. A twisted, nasty smile spread across his face.

"Hey, motherfucker... if you’re gonna dish it out, you better learn how to take it."

Marcus barely had a second to glance back before shadows loomed over him. His three battered cronies were suddenly lunging at him from behind, their swords raised high.

Their faces were completely devoid of emotion, their eyes dead and vacant. They moved rigidly, like mindless puppets on invisible strings.

Clang! >

Gritting his teeth, Marcus hastily swung his sword around, parrying their synchronized strike. He barely managed to block the attack, narrowly avoiding a lethal gash to his chest.

"You fucking bastards! Do you want me to kill you for real Huh?!" he roared.

Still, there wasn’t a single flinch or reaction on their puppet-like faces. Struggling under the weight of their combined blades, Marcus shot a frantic side-glance toward Cassian.

"You piece of shit... what the hell did you do to them?!"

Cassian only responded with a manic, unhinged sneer, thoroughly enjoying the show.

"Answer me, motherfucker!" Marcus yelled. With a burst of strength, he violently shoved his three brainwashed cronies back. He quickly shifted into a proper combat stance, his face completely consumed by raw, unadulterated rage.

Just then, the rustling of leaves broke the tension. From the bushes nearby, two figures finally stepped out into the clearing.

Lucian and Iris had arrived.

As soon as Cassian’s eyes landed on the two of them, his gaze turned highly smug and totally cold.

That unsettling look made Iris instinctively grab Lucian’s sleeve.

"Lucian... something’s off. I think Cassian did something..."

Lucian was already on edge too. While watching Marcus fight his own cronies everything suddenly clicked.

Brainwash? "Something isn’t right," he muttered, activating his skill.

[Target: Cassian Brightmore]

[Combat Power: 27,890]

[Mana: Force]

[Status: Special skill ’Hypnotism’ is currently active on the streaming familiars and the three students engaging Marcus.]

Lucian realized that Cassian was the one pulling the strings behind Elira and Sera.

looking at Cassian’s grinning face, his mind instantly spinning into action.

’System, does his skill only work within a certain radius?’

[Bingo. 87% probability his ’Hypnotism’ is restricted by an Area of Effect. So yeah, just stay out of his bubble if you want to keep your free will.]

’Tch...’

He glanced over shoulder at Iris, keeping his voice low.

"Iris, Cassian is manipulating all the streaming familiars. If I want to expose him to the whole academy, I need those flying objects running... But if he brainwashes you too, it’ll cause massive problems for me.

"Where did you put the memory crystals?"

Iris couldn’t suppress a proud smirk.

"Do not worry yourself, I hid them in the nearby bushes. Everything will still be recorded on my crystals. Besides, Cassian’s guard will be down if we let him think he’s in control..."

She spoke so sharply that even Lucian felt a little creeped out.

"Well, well! Look at this, all my mortal enemies gathered in one place today." Cassian spread his arms, taking a step toward Lucian.

Lucian instantly opened a portal and moved Iris a safe distance away.

"What’s the matter, you sly crow? Scared I’ll make your little toy dance to my tunes?"

He laughed, smoothly sliding his drawn blade back into its sheath.

Lucian remained stone-faced.

"Listen here, bastard... How about you hand over all those flags to me, and I promise I’ll let you go with just a few bruise."

Without a second thought, Lucian tossed his entire bundle of flags over to Cassian’s side. Then, he let out a low chuckle.

Hmm interesting..