The cold moonlight illuminated the scene outside, as the trees swayed gently in the breeze, casting shadows like ghostly apparitions on the ground.
Outside the silent ancient potion club classroom, a seductive figure suddenly appeared.
Anna.
She seemed extremely anxious, rushing to the door without even bothering to retrieve the key, and roughly slammed her delicate body against it to force it open.
Staggering inside, she traced her fingertips along the wall, inching deeper into the room until she reached a spot near the interior wall. There, she pressed a loose stone brick.
The sound of mechanisms whirring filled the air as the wall slid aside to reveal a small hidden compartment.
Inside were various potions, each labeled meticulously. Anna's eyes scanned quickly, and she grabbed a green potion and a blue one from the inner section of the shelf.
With urgency, she tore the sleeve of her outfit, already ripped by the High Priest’s blade earlier, revealing her left arm.
But the sight of her arm wasn’t what one would expect of a youthful maiden’s fair and soft skin. Instead, what was exposed sent an instinctive chill down the spine of anyone who’d look.
The arm was covered in scales.
Dense, layered, jet-black scales.
Snake scales.
Looking at them, Anna’s eyes burned with unbearable disgust and hatred.
She took a deep breath, as though bracing herself.
Finally, she resolved.
Grasping the green potion, she twisted off the cap with trembling hands and poured the liquid directly onto her scaled arm.
Sizzle!
In an instant, it was as though a powerful acid was at work.
The black scales that could even withstand a blade were quickly corroded, emitting hisses and wisps of foul-smelling smoke.
“Ah—!”
A searing pain engulfed her body as Anna’s face turned pale and sweat drenched her forehead.
Clenching her silver teeth tightly, her heaving chest rose and fell with agony. Without realizing it, her right hand had crushed the potion bottle into shards.
“Why… Why is it spreading so much faster this time?”
“Could it be…”
She slammed her fist fiercely onto the desk before raising her gaze.
The bright moonlight streamed in, but instead of solace, it brought an icy lifelessness.
It wasn’t over yet.
Anna's shaky hand reached for a sharp dagger.
Gingerly, she positioned its blade above the scaly surface of her arm.
She paused briefly.
Then, with ruthless determination, she sliced the dagger across her arm, scraping off the scales.
Blood gushed forth.
As the dagger peeled off the scales, it also tore her skin, leaving her arm in a grisly state.
Yet Anna worked methodically like she had done this countless times before, piece by piece, removing every scale without exception.
Only after ensuring that her entire arm was scale-free did she swiftly splash the blue potion onto the wound.
Instantly, under her watchful eye, the injuries healed at a shocking speed.
Her flesh regenerated, its whiteness even purer and more delicate than before.
Her arm now looked entirely like a normal maiden’s once again—innocent and flawless.
Finally, she exhaled deeply.
It wasn’t just relief from the pain dissipating but also the retreat of a certain uncontrollable desire fueled by the growing snake scales.
That insidious, gnawing urge to consume something unspeakable.
Slumping weakly against the wall, Anna almost melted into the ground, as though her body had been stripped of all strength.
Her unfocused eyes shimmered with a peculiar daze.
“No, I need to hurry. I must…”
Alone within the ancient potion classroom, Anna murmured softly to herself.
…
…
The Grand Clock Tower.
Sublevel thirteen.
The Mercury Well.
“Wow, so this is the most central part of Santa Maria College?”
A man with a jagged scar running across his face marveled at the imposing structures around him in wonder, much like a countryside villager seeing the splendors of a bustling city for the first time.
“Tch, tch, all of this stuff looks like it’s made from rare metals. Such massive chunks—it’d have to be calculated in tons, wouldn’t it? I wonder if I could scrape off just a little to take home. Feels like even a tiny sliver could be enough to last me the rest of my life.”
“Shut up!”
The emaciated figure cloaked entirely in black ahead of him barked a warning.
“And don’t touch anything unless you want this place’s security system to obliterate you entirely.”
“All right, all right. I won't,” the scarred man shrugged with an air of innocence. “I mean, I’m not some distant cousin’s rowdy kid. Why are you so worked up?”
“…”
The thin figure said nothing and continued walking. He carried a beaten-down lantern that swayed lightly, emanating a faint blue glow that encompassed the pair within its range.
The blue light exuded an eerie calmness; however, within its embrace, the countless precision-based security measures around them seemed to turn a blind eye, rendering the duo invisible to all mechanisms of detection.
The long, silent corridor stretched endlessly.
Perhaps finding the journey tedious and the surroundings uninspiring, the scarred man sidled closer to his companion and casually questioned him:
“Right, are your buddies going to be okay? They’re doing some pretty dangerous stuff—distracting teachers and professors away, holding off that Imperial Princess—it all sounds like risky business.”
“They’ll be fine; they’re executing the plan exactly as intended.”
The thin figure sneered.
“If you’re so concerned, maybe you should worry about yourself instead.”
“Worry about myself?” The scarred man frowned. “Why? Everyone’s been lured away—shouldn’t this be the safest place?”
“Sure, it’s safe to enter. But isn’t the most dangerous part escaping afterward? After all, what we’re doing here is none other than *that*.”
“What’s *that*?” The scarred man was visibly puzzled.
“…”
The thin figure fell silent for a moment.
“You seriously don’t know?”
“Know what?”
“You don’t know why you’re here?!”
The thin figure seemed genuinely shocked.
“The High Priest told me to come, so here I am.”
The scarred man scratched his head, looking clueless as he replied.
“And you didn’t bother asking what the task was?”
“Well… isn’t asking fewer questions and doing more work an essential trait of being a good subordinate?”
“…”
The thin figure suddenly felt a wave of regret.
He lamented why on earth he’d allowed this imbecilic lot to assign this person to assist him.
Sure, manpower was stretched thin, but bringing this guy along felt undeniably like a wrong choice.
Still…
It was too late now. Even if this guy proved useless in critical moments, perhaps throwing him out as bait might come in handy after all.
“If you don’t know, then stop asking.”
Turning on his heel, the thin figure barked, “Time is short. If you don't want to die, follow me closely.”
“Oh, oh!”
The scarred man nodded emphatically and quickly kept pace.
But moments later, a flicker of realization crossed his face. He sidled up to the thin figure once more, his expression serious:
“Actually, now that I think about it, if this is so dangerous, you must have a backup escape plan, right? Like maybe some reinforcements blowing up the ceiling and swooping in to rescue us at the critical moment?”
“…”
“If Plan A doesn’t work, Plan B might be a good option. You know, maybe you’ve got a teleportation scroll ready to whisk us away after we finish our business? Sure, I get sick every time I teleport and puke like crazy afterward, but under dire circumstances, I’d say it’s worth it.”
“…”
“No scrolls for Plan B? Well, surely Plan C must exist!”
The scarred man’s tone turned slightly anxious. “Something like summoning your ultimate boss—the Moon something-or-other—to descend and wreak havoc. That’s got to be feasible, right?”
“…”
“What? You don’t have a Plan C either? That’s insane! How do you operate without a solid plan? If Plan C doesn’t work, Plan—”
“Shut up!”
Finally unable to endure this incessant chatter any longer, the thin figure erupted in frustration, shouting aloud:
“The Moonlight’s protection has its limits! If your loud mouth gets us heard, I'd kill you!”
