They were currently processing an immense amount of emotional whiplash from the past hour, primarily stemming from the terrifying display of power and politics they had just witnessed.

Noticing the deadpan, exhausted expressions of his former pupils, Zeke let out a fake cough. "You guys are entirely too boring."

Realizing his behavior was bordering on unseemly, Zeke’s posture shifted. His lazy demeanor vanished, replaced by an uncharacteristic, cold seriousness.

"Look, I have no earthly idea what you guys are trying to scheme right now. It seems like you all believe we need some grand, intricate, evil plan just to survive or navigate what comes next. You’re overthinking this because you aren’t familiar with how the old man and the Emperor operate."

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "But there is absolutely no need for schemes. We owe them, and more importantly, they desperately need us—no matter how aggressively hard-headed they try to act. So, we’re going to play along with their little grand plan. Even if it means I have to personally stay behind and deal with a potentially Roman-esque Emperor."

"A Roman Emperor?" Kenshin asked, blinking in confusion.

The rest of the class collectively thought the same thing: Of course, only Kenshin would have the absurd mental real estate to actually engage with the professor’s weird tangents right now.

"The Romans of old possessed rulers who... let’s just say had incredibly blurry lines regarding the concept of sexuality," Zeke explained with a deeply solemn face.

"Oh!" Kenshin clapped his hands together as realization dawned. "So you’re terrified he might try to rape you."

"A bit crude in wording, but fundamentally, yes. A real man can accept being killed, but he can never accept being disgraced," Zeke declared righteously.

If the Emperor had been present to hear that particular statement, he would have furiously argued that those were his line, he liked women, not we men.

He had sixteen wives for crying out loud.

The dudes and Yeon simultaneously facepalmed.

"Jude is coming with me," Anton suddenly announced, his voice firm.

Jude snapped his head toward him, offering a sharp, questioning glare.

"You’ve learned every single thing you possibly can within the sterile confines of the academy," Anton explained, meeting his gaze evenly. "Now, it is time for you to learn everything you should know from me."

In his past life, a massive portion of Anton’s advanced combat knowledge had actually originated from an older, veteran Jude. Now back in the past, Anton fully intended to utilize this two-year grace period to teach the young Jude absolutely everything he could offer.

Jude stared deeply into Anton’s eyes for a long moment before giving a slow, firm nod. He had promised to give Anton a genuine chance to act like an older brother, after all.

Speaking of the academy, a simultaneous chime echoed in the minds of the trio and Zeke as a series of formal notifications materialized from the Tower.

> [System Notice: Trial Assignment Complete.]

>

The trio’s Fourth Trial and Zeke’s Third Trial were officially marked as accomplished. Almost instantaneously, the system refreshed, delivering their subsequent objectives.

For the trio, their newly minted Fifth Trial was straightforward: Join the imperial military forces. In essence, the Tower was directly endorsing Nox’s strategic blueprint for them.

As for Zeke, his Fourth Trial materialized with a sickeningly familiar prompt: Remain in the company of the Emperor until he explicitly grants your release.

The nature of the prompts served as a brutal, unyielding reminder that Nox was, without a shadow of a doubt, the true governing Administrator of this first world.

Are you fucking kidding me? I literally cannot escape this Emperor? Zeke internally wailed, wanting nothing more than to curl into a ball and weep.

For someone who had spent the entire previous volume loudly proclaiming his desire to violently shatter the chains of fate, here he was, effortlessly dancing to the exact whimsical tunes of Nox and the Emperor.

Granted, he could technically choose to forfeit the Tower’s trials entirely. The system would simply freeze his trial progression permanently at number four.

But Zeke knew himself too well. Deep down, he desperately wanted to see what kind of magnificent chaos this forced partnership would ultimately unleash upon the world.

"My mood is officially ruined," Zeke grunted, pushing himself off the couch and turning toward the hallway, intending to retreat to the sanctuary of his bedroom.

But he froze mid-step.

A sudden, powerful presence manifested right outside the front door. It was an unmistakable, radiating essence. It was pure. It was heavy. It was profoundly holy.

Zeke had never formally stared an angel in the eyes before, but he vividly remembered the unique flavor of their energy from the past encounter of the angels and Micheal.

He slowly turned his head back toward the entrance, his entire group silently mimicking his movement.

Anton’s brow furrowed into a deep, aggressive frown. Micheal’s serene smile remained flawlessly intact. The rest of the occupants looked around in sheer confusion—save for Aaron, whose face instantly lit up with a massive, eager grin as he scrambled toward the front door.

Seeing his student’s joyful reaction, Zeke rolled his eyes into the back of his skull.

Even a complete and utter fool could have put one and two together at this point. The angelic entity standing right outside his doorstep was, without a doubt, Eve.

..

A tense, heavy silence blanketed the living room as Eve stood before the gathered group. Her ethereal face was an unreadable mask, completely devoid of human emotion.

Aaron stood awkwardly to the side, shifting his weight from foot to foot. He was incredibly nervous; the group hadn’t uttered a single syllable since he had eagerly ushered the angel inside.

The vast majority of the Class of Weirdos were trapped in a state of profound confusion, but they possessed enough survival instinct to know that speaking right now would be an incredibly terrible idea.

Kenshin scanned Eve with intense curiosity.

She exuded the exact same pristine, foundational essence as the entities he had occasionally glimpsed during the earliest stages of his life.

The Winchester brothers were visibly on guard.

Dean’s eyes narrowed as he analyzed the situation, concluding that since the angel had calmly walked into the professor’s private domain without triggering an immediate magical explosion, she likely wasn’t an active threat.

Sam, conversely, appeared far more relaxed; he had caught fragmented glimpses of her divine silhouette within his precognitive visions. Seeing her standing here in the flesh merely confirmed the puzzle pieces he had been trying to assemble.

Zeke slowly panned his gaze across his students, meticulously filing away each of their unique reactions in his mental database. Finally, his eyes landed on Eve.

Why isn’t she saying anything?

He subtly cut his eyes toward the dudes and Yeon.

Why is nobody saying anything?

They collectively stared back at him, their eyes practically screaming: We are waiting for you to take the lead here.

Me? Zeke blinked.

Of course you, who else?

Zeke immediately shifted his gaze to Aaron.

Aaron?

The entire room’s collective gaze followed Zeke’s eyes, locking entirely onto the young man.

Me? Aaron asked, pointing a panicked finger at his own chest.

Fuck all of you, Zeke thought, letting out a heavy, exhausted sigh. He turned his attention back to the silent angel.

"So..." Zeke started, dragging out the word.

"You’re the bird that Aaron’s been talking about."

Bird?

The dudes and Yeon briefly exchanged looks of utter bewilderment before turning their heads back to Aaron.

Did you talk about a bird?

Then, the linguistic connection clicked in their minds. Wings. Feathers. Bird.

Eve’s left eye visibly twitched. "I am an angel of heaven. Not a bird."

"Little bird, have we met somewhere before? You seem oddly familiar," Zeke mused, tilting his head as he examined her features.

"That is an incredibly ancient, outdated method of attempting to woo a lady," Yeon interjected, her voice deadpan.

"I am absolutely not trying to woo her. And besides, I am not into bestiality," Zeke shot back, waving his hands in a frantic, dismissive motion.

"Hey, hey! I’ll not have you talk about her like that!" Aaron suddenly interjected, standing up straight to defend her honor.

"I’m not a bird, and I don’t know you."

This time, Eve’s voice held a distinct hint of annoyance.

Aaron stared at her, his jaw dropping slightly.

You’re actually showing emotions? Do you know how hard I had to work for you to show even a sliver of emotion?

He immediately whipped his head around to stare at Zeke, a sudden protective surge flaring up in his chest. "Hey, don’t you already have Yeon? What are you doing trying to woo mine?"

"I’m not yours," Eve stated coldly.

"I’m not his," Yeon said deadpan.

The double rejection echoed simultaneously through the living room, sharp enough to cut glass.

Zeke, completely unbothered, threw his hands up defensively. "I’m not into—"

"Why are you here?" Jude cut Zeke off entirely, utterly refusing to let Zeke finish whatever highly inappropriate or unhinged sentence was about to tumble out of his mouth. Jude fixed his piercing, tired gaze directly onto Eve.