Thor’s eyes narrowed, blazing with intentness as though she hadn’t been close to tears some moments ago. Glaring at the Villainess, she rose to her feet and walked slowly towards her while Spectra watched with a playful smile.

"Who exactly are you?" Thor asked, standing just a few feet away from her and glaring down at her. "The students speak about you like you are the most feared woman who ever lived. A cursed witch. Or a tyrant empress. So tell me who you are with your own lips."

Spectra looked up at Thor for a while, her smile still playing above her chin. She hummed once then sat back, folding her arms beneath her heavyset breasts and crossing her legs.

"I know you," she said with a roll of her tongue. "You’re Thor. You were one of Servont’s Valkyries. And the blond knightess is Astensia, the Awakener who held the Greatest Gate for seven whole days."

Thor squinted her eyes at her. "I didn’t ask if you knew who we were."

"Tsk. Tsk. Ever so prideful, you Valkyries," Spectra rolled her eyes away. "I did not enjoy my escapades with you lot."

Thor’s breathing froze. "You knew my sisters?" She turned to Lancet, astonished and confused. "Am I not the last Valkyrie?"

Lancet scratched the back of his head. "Not really," he replied. "I mean you’re the last of Servont’s Valkyries, the first Valkyries, but over time the Valkyries were created again. They’re almost extinct now ever since the Terror of Valkyrie Falls, but..."

"The Terror of Valkyrie Falls," Thor turned to face Lancet better. "What is that?"

Lancet’s brows raised, unsure of how to explain the horrific event to her. "Uhm... It’s just—"

Clink. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

The hospital door sang as it was pushed open. Lancet’s head snapped to the entrance where Professor Wolfgar Windviper stepped in with Renan, Frieda, Valeria, and the rest of the vanguard spilling in after him.

Lancet sighed in relief. ’Phew. Saved by the bell.’

Professor Wolfgar walked in with his usual military style gait, his heavy boots thudding against the sterile floor. Behind him, Astensia slipped back into the room, followed closely by Renan, Frieda, Valeria, and some of the vanguard.

The room was suddenly cramped and buzzing with energy as eyes all locked down at Lancet on the bed.

Wolfgar’s eyes drifted to Spectra for a moment. His posture slightly stiffened, his hand twitching ever so slightly toward his side. Before he continued walking towards Lancet, Wolfgar shot the Mother of Gehenna an untrusting glare.

Spectra merely tilted her head, smiling patronizingly at the tense combat instructor.

Deciding to address the elephant in the room later, Wolfgar forced his gaze away and stepped up to Lancet’s bedside. His stern expression softened just a fraction as he looked down at the bandaged boy.

"How are you holding up, Leogardt?" Wolfgar asked, interrupting the students who were congratulating and checking up on the blond-haired Summoner.

Lancet adjusted himself against the pillows, wincing slightly. "It aches, Professor. But I think I’ll live."

"Nurse Hallow tells me the Gloom infection was neutralized," Wolfgar added, "but a direct hit from a Demon Commander usually leaves permanent scarring on the Grace channels."

He raised a brow at him. "Your Grace Retention wasn’t that impressive before. It will only get worse now."

Lancet puckered his lips thoughtfully. After a moment he said, "Nothing I can’t overcome."

"Good to hear," Wolfgar nodded. He crossed his arms over his broad chest. "I hope you are ready? You need your strength for what comes next."

Lancet frowned. "Why? What comes next?"

"Well, celebrations are in order," Wolfgar sighed, "Heh. I am not a man who hands out praise lightly, Lancet. But what you did in Hebthej... you might have gotten yourself in the history books already."

Wolfgar paused, allowing Lancet to reconcile with the words. "What I’m trying to say is well done," the combat Professor finally blurted it out. "You might have been a pain in my ass at the start, but your efforts single-handedly rescued the town and secured the evacuation."

Vernon, standing beside the professor, scowled at those words. He was doing his best to hold back his dissatisfaction.

"We’ve already sent word to the Government. In fact, the mayor of Hebthej was begging to meet you as soon as possible. Even the King of Aethelgard has formally promised a separate reward for your actions in the raid."

Wolfgar stood in attention suddenly, arms behind him. "Congratulations."

Lancet didn’t know what to say. Heck, he had expected and even wanted this, but the whole charade was really overwhelming. Wolfgar who thought of him as an ordinary funnel to channel the true legends he really wanted now treated him like he was the crowned prince.

Even the rest of the vanguard — not that any of them had ever treated him horribly before, they just never gave a shit back then.

But now? They were eating him up, showering him with praises and smiles like he was a messiah.

"You were incredible, Lancet," Valeria told him. She was wearing casual clothes that were fitted to her athletic body. Her armor and weapon, Starsplitter, resting somewhere in her dorm room.

"When that Gloom Domain activated, we were completely paralyzed. If not for Renan we would have certainly died to the hordes of Demons that attacked. And even then, I didn’t know how much longer we could survive it. If you hadn’t taken out the anchor..."

"And cutting a Void-Rank Demon Head completely in half?" Darian surprisingly looked Lancet’s biggest fan all of a sudden. "No one wants to believe it but I’ve been saying that it’s true! It was awesome watching it fall like that. You’re like the Demon Dissector."

Lancet laughed softly, his hair falling over his face. "Is that my nickname now? The Demon Dissector?"

"What?" Darian’s chest puffed out. "I came up with it. It’s not half bad right?"

Lancet looked at him with one blonde brow raised. He was actually being serious. "Yeah," he said with a smile. "I think it’s actually pretty good."

Lancet’s eyes swept through all of them, seeing the smiles on their faces and the glimmer in their eyes. (Except Vernon of course).

’Do these guys really like me now?’

"Lancet."

His eyes moved to Renan who was looking at him with earnest eyes. "We all saw what you did in the cemetery. Sacrificing yourself for Thor."

Renan looked over at Thor, who was still standing in front of the bored Villainess. "Diving in front of a deadly attack like that just to save your Summon... that takes a level of bravery few possess."

Wolfgar cleared his throat, drawing the room’s attention back to him. He looked at Lancet, his expression complex.

"It was a brave act," Wolfgar admitted, sounding analytical. "Though highly irrational by standard doctrine. The Academy teaches that the Summoner’s life is always more important than the Summon’s."

Wolfgar glanced at Thor, then Astensia, and finally threw another suspicious glare at Spectra. "However... I understand that it is considerably more complicated in your case, Leogardt. Given that your Summons are, for all intents and purposes, entirely human and sentient."

Spectra let out a soft amused hum at the word human, but Wolfgar ignored her. He leaned in slightly, his eyes narrowing as he focused entirely on Lancet.

"But more importantly," Wolfgar said, his voice dropping an octave, "when I asked how you knew about the Second Head before anyone else... they told me that you just knew. They said you claimed to have sensed it somehow, just from looking at the map."

The room grew painfully quiet. Thor’s silver-blue eyes were fixed on her master. Astensia waited, jaw tense as she watched Lancet. Spectra uncrossed her legs and leaned in, finally intrigued.

"Is that true, Lancet?" Wolfgar pressed, searching the boy’s face for any sign of deception.

Lancet held the professor’s piercing gaze for a long moment. ’As usual, lying my ass off is the only play here. I can’t tell these people that they’re all characters in a novel I read and that I know everything that is going to happen.’

He laughed in his head. ’Somehow, I think telling the truth is the best lie. Because they won’t even believe it. But... I can’t risk it.’

Lancet kept his heartbeat steady and his expression perfectly neutral. Then, he gave his reply.

"Yes, Professor," Lancet lied smoothly. "Somehow, I just did. When I looked at the spread of the horde and the location of the clocktower, something felt out of place. I can’t explain it. It was just a strange kind of intuition."

Wolfgar stared at him; A boy who had summoned a legendary Ironwill Knight, the strongest of the ancient Valkyries, and the most feared Villainess of the Dark South—all within his first semester.

There was a big chance that Lancet was lying but Wolfgar knew it wasn’t his place to press further. The instructor exhaled a sharp breath and uncrossed his arms.

"Things that are completely out of the ordinary do seem to be your defining style, Leogardt," Wolfgar said dryly. "So, frankly, I am not even surprised anymore."

He turned on his heel, clapping his hands together once. "Alright, that is enough hovering. Everyone out. Back to your dorms, all of you. Let the boy rest."

The students grumbled but immediately began to file out of the room, throwing final waves and smiles toward the bed. Vernon gave Lancet a final glare and Renan gave a playful but respectful two-finger salute before disappearing into the hallway.

Wolfgar waited until the students were gone. He placed his hand on the door handle, then looked back at Lancet. His eyes flicked to Spectra one last time, then returned to Lancet.

"Do rest, Lancet. Get better quickly," Wolfgar said, sounding graver than earlier. "Because once you are cleared from this bed, you have very important meetings to attend. With the Dean..."

Wolfgar’s jaw tightened. "...and the returning Headmistress."

Without waiting for a response, Wolfgar stepped out and pulled the door shut behind him, leaving Lancet alone in the room with his three legendary Summons.