Abandon... or rescue?

The question hung in the air for a fraction of a second.

Abandoning the boy meant safety, but it would make him no different from the family he despised. Besides, his morals wouldn’t allow him to leave an innocent person to die either.

’Hmm...’

Soren took a deep breath, his gaze shifting from the gate to Garin.

"What am I going to do? First, I’m going to save that boy."

He adjusted his grip on the spear, his eyes turning cold as he stared down the red-haired boy. Since they had already decided to cross the line, there was no longer any reason to play the part of a polite observer.

"And then," he continued, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous tone. "I’m going to do my job, kid. I’m going to make sure the academy and bureau get an accurate report of everything that happened here."

Garin’s smile twisted into something uglier.

"Is that so?" He laughed. "Then by all means, follow him to the afterlife!"

Crimson flames erupted around Garin’s fists as he launched himself forward, closing the distance with terrifying speed. His attack was wild, ferocious, fueled by arrogance and rage.

But Soren was faster.

[Quick Step!]

Soren’s form blurred, his body vanishing from Garin’s line of sight. In the next instant, he reappeared directly behind the charging teenager, his spear already in motion. The wooden shaft came down in a sharp, precise chop aimed at the base of Garin’s neck—a nonlethal strike meant to knock him unconscious.

But just before the blow landed—

Crackle!

A translucent barrier of shimmering red light materialized around Garin’s body. The spear struck it with a dull thud, and Soren’s arm bounced back as if he’d hit solid steel.

’A defensive artifact?!’

Garin spun around, eyes wide with alarm, and slammed both palms into the ground.

"Inferno Burst!"

Flames exploded outward in a chaotic wave, engulfing the space around him in a dome of searing heat. Soren kicked off the ground, twisting his body mid-air to avoid the worst of it, but he could already feel the oppressive heat singeing his clothes.

Twang!

An arrow cut through the smoke, aimed at his exposed side.

Shink!

A dagger flashed from the shadows, targeting his back.

’Tsk!’

Soren’s spear spun in his hands, deflecting the arrow with a sharp clang. He twisted again, narrowly avoiding the dagger as Dia’s form melted back into the dimness.

He couldn’t fight all five of them head-on like this. Not without risking serious injury.

He needed to control the battlefield.

Soren landed hard, driving the butt of his spear into the stone floor with both hands.

[Frost Surge!]

A pulse of icy mana exploded outward from the point of impact. The temperature in the chamber plummeted as frost spread across the ground in a rapidly expanding circle, coating the stone in a slick layer of ice. Within seconds, the floor beneath the students’ feet turned treacherous.

"Wha—?!"

Hana slipped immediately, her feet flying out from under her as she crashed onto her back with a pained cry. Chloe stumbled, her footing lost, and Narcus’s heavy armor worked against him as his boots locked in place, frozen to the ground.

Soren didn’t waste a second.

Hana was first. A sharp tap to her solar plexus knocked the wind from her lungs, and she collapsed, gasping.

Next was Dia, who tried to sneak up on him once more. He caught her wrist mid-strike, twisted her arm behind her back, and drove the butt of his spear into the base of her skull. She went limp instantly.

Chloe tried to nock another arrow, but Soren closed the distance before she could draw. His spear shaft cracked against her wrist, and the bow clattered to the ground. A follow-up strike to her temple sent her sprawling, unconscious.

Narcus roared and swung his shield in a wide arc, but his feet were still frozen in place. Soren ducked under the swing, pivoted, and drove the butt of his spear into the gap between Narcus’s helmet and chestplate. The tank’s eyes rolled back, and he toppled like a felled tree.

"You... you bastard!" Garin roared.

The ice around his feet hissed and evaporated as his crimson flames flared with renewed intensity. Ignoring the fact that his teammates were still trapped and shivering, Garin gathered a massive sphere of fire between his palms.

"Burn to ashes!"

He unleashed the blast with a manic grin.

’Not good!’

Soren moved instantly, using Quick Step to blur toward the side, his instincts pushing him to evade the concentrated heat.

However, as he moved, he realized the terrifying trajectory of the attack. Behind the spot where Soren had just been standing, Chloe lay slumped and unconscious on the frozen floor.

"Garin, stop! Chloe is right there!" Narcus screamed, his voice thick with desperation as he struggled against the ice pinning his feet.

However, Garin didn’t even flinch. To him, his teammates were merely tools, and tools were replaceable once they had outlived their usefulness. In fact, it might be better if they all died, because, in his twisted logic, the equation was simple: if everyone died, he was the tragic hero who had barely made it out alive; if they lived, he was a criminal.

"I’ll just tell them the gate killed you all," Garin whispered, his eyes reflecting the roaring inferno he had just unleashed.

Swoosh-!

The fireball roared across the chamber, the air screaming as it was incinerated.

Soren’s eyes widened. He had already committed to the dodge; his weight shifted for a lateral blur, but if he moved now, the unconscious girl behind him would be reduced to a charred husk.

’Damn it!’

Aborting his retreat, Soren dug his heels into the frost-slicked stone.

He forced his momentum to a grinding halt, bracing his legs as he stepped directly into the path of the inferno. He wouldn’t let an innocent girl die just because her leader was a psycho.

As the flames roared toward him, Soren stabilized his mana flow, concentrating it into a precise, rigid formation around his frame.

It was finally time to use his own trump card.

’Glacial Emperor Scripture, Second Star Technique: Winter’s Barr-!’

BOOM!