The Academy’s announcement echoed through the forest one more time. It was the Academy telling them that the battle had ended, and the victor had been decided.

The winner of the Inter-Class War is Class S.

Ronan heard it from somewhere near the treeline, far enough from the main battlefield that the smoke and noise had thinned into something quieter.

He stood with his back against rough bark, arms loose at his sides, breathing slowly while Aura watched him from a few paces away.

Ronan could tell she expected frustration. Anger. Something sharp enough to match the fact that he had spent days moving pieces across the battlefield, only to watch Grace Light pull victory out of chaos at the last possible moment.

He gave her nothing.

Ronan closed his eyes for a beat, then opened them again and processed the outcome the way he always did. Methodically, without letting emotion distort the shape of the result.

Class S won. Grace held the statue. The traditional transmigrator found a way to salvage the ending despite everything falling apart around her.

That was inconvenient, but not disastrous.

He began sorting through the events.

Class B winning had never really mattered to him. Sure he moved towards it, but he had also moved against it at multiple occasions. What really mattered was putting Elara in charge so he could subtly influence the events that happened, making sure this final battle at the end would be as chaotic as possible.

That was his goal, to create the most ideal outcome for the refinement leech to show itself in.

That hadn’t happened, and he’d gotten something far worse instead.

Ronan felt his heart beat faster.

Not his real heart.

His new one.

The one which was currently beating in his abdomen. But it didn’t have to be there. He could move it wherever he wanted, as if it were a finger or an arm, and not a literal organ.

Somehow, he knew it was a heart too.

Ronan tilted his head slightly, considering.

He didn’t want to tell Aura about this yet. Perhaps later, if he found that he needed her help to test it, but first he would experiment with what having two hearts really meant.

And the very obvious benefits it would potentially bring.

"Ronan."

Aura’s voice cut through his analysis, sharp enough to pull him back to reality.

He glanced at her.

She was still holding herself like someone ready to fight, demonic energy no longer flaring, but her mana was coating every part of her body, augmenting it so she couldn’t get ambushed. Her eyes had shifted from shock to irritation to something closer to resignation, though the hostility underneath all of it remained constant.

"Class S winning should not be your main concern right now," she said flatly.

Ronan kept his expression neutral and waited.

"You have roughly 395 days before full assimilation," Aura continued. "A Rank 5 Demon Leech cannot be removed by any normal method."

"I’m glad you care, princess."

"Is that what it seems like?" Aura asked with a scoff. "I still need you to do what you promised. I will not have this all go to waste because you decided to become a puppet to some rank 5 unknown entity."

"You assume I actually have a way back to the demon continent for you."

"You do."

Ronan looked at her and gave her a smile that didn’t give her anything, more to piss her off than anything.

She wasn’t wrong though, he did have a way to get her back. She didn’t know why she was so certain.

Had his expression slipped when she’d first asked him?

Probably not.

He ignored her, and looked back at Aura, who had a small snarl on her face.

"What’s the immediate danger?"

Aura’s jaw tightened, but she gave him the practical answer anyway.

"Long-term danger is host override," she said. "But short-term danger is detection. Your normal mana still looks mostly human because the Leech is heavily injured and assimilation is low. But someone with holy affinity, demonic expertise, or advanced detection could notice if they really inspect you up close. But being next to them is fine, just don’t let them use any detection spells on you."

"Must be nice having an artifact that can conceal yourself fully." Ronan smirked. "I guess that makes us demon buddies now, huh?"

"I do not understand how you are in the mood to joke considering your circumstances."

"It’s a coping mechanism," he lied blatantly. "Anyway, are there any ways to suppress it?"

Aura paused, then nodded once.

"I do know of a way...," she said. "It won’t cure you, weaken the Leech permanently, or stop assimilation completely. It will only fold the demonic energy inward so that casual detection becomes harder."

"How long?"

"As long as you don’t use it."

Ronan raised an eyebrow.

"Use it?"

"If you feed the Leech, let the corruption spread, or deliberately channel demonic energy through your pathways, the suppression will stop working," Aura explained.

Ronan met her gaze and asked the question that really mattered.

"Does that mean the Leech can be used deliberately?"

Aura’s expression turned colder.

That was exactly the wrong question.

But Ronan did not retract it.

He had no intention of dying politely.

If a Rank 5 parasite was inside him, then either it became a tool or it became his executioner. There was no middle ground.

And he had no intention of dying to this parasite. He already had methods planned to become stronger prior to this... all this did is force him to take more drastic measures come the future.

Aura recognized the thought in his eyes and stepped closer.

"This mindset is precisely why I should kill you now," she said quietly, though she didn’t sound very serious. "You risk me being detected as well."

Ronan replied without hesitation.

"You wouldn’t do that princess, you care about me too much."

Aura rolled her eyes.

The mana contract prevented direct harm. But more than that, Aura had already decided – back in the slave market, back in the inn, back when she realized Ronan was the only person in the human kingdom who knew what she was – that letting him live served her goals better than watching him die.

Even now.

Even with a Rank 5 Demon Leech inside him.

She turned her attention toward the ruined remains near the undergrowth where Ronan was burning Reddy’s corpse, and she pointed.

"Will that be a problem?"