“Huh?”

Zinora tilted her head. Was this level of skill really that impressive?

Nolan had expected her to be exceptional. How could an Apostle of the Throne of Chaos be some nobody?

Though she was still a bit of a dope, and needed some training.

The elder from Silver Campus rubbed his hands together and asked with a warm smile, “Child, where would you like to study? Even a Silver Guardian would be delighted to take someone like you as a disciple!”

“The Silver Guardians may be powerful, but they’re not skilled at controlling light. You should join Gold Campus instead! We’ll summon Saint Sunflame from the Prime Plane right away to teach you personally!”

“That stuff doesn’t matter! The students at Bronze Campus are the best-looking—beautiful girls everywhere and handsome guys by the dozen. Come study with us!”

The instructors’ words were full of barely concealed eagerness. They’d stop at nothing, even invoking the names of their campuses’ greatest champions to tempt the adorable little elf.

In front of such an outstanding new student, they’d lost all their authority. Instead, they were practically asking for her personal preference, leaving the other students not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The oblivious genius elf girl hunched her shoulders. The instructors’ enthusiasm had actually frightened her. Blushing, she hid behind Nolan and looked to her god (beloved) for help.

The instructors immediately understood and decided to test Nolan first.

The two girls had arrived together. Perhaps the equally beautiful silver-haired girl would surprise them too—though the pair looked as if they’d been robbed, which was rather suspicious.

Lockrien also stopped, watching Nolan’s back expectantly. His interest in the girl had grown even stronger.

Unfortunately, like most people, Nolan’s crystal ball displayed a muddled array of colors.

Dark red appeared first, followed by dim green and deep blue.

It wasn’t a good sign, but the number of elements she could gather was decent—not outstanding, but not terrible either.

“Oh? She can attract three elements, but her affinity for all of them is weak. Fire: D-minus. Wind: C-plus. Water: D-plus... Hm?”

The instructors were disappointed, and more than a little troubled. Ordinarily, they couldn’t accept a dud like this—but what if that sun elf ran off too?

Then the next thing that happened inside the crystal ball left them stunned.

Every free-floating element was swallowed by a black vortex, which only kept growing. They’d never seen an anomaly like it.

A dark affinity?

No!

“Wait. What is that?”

That blackness wasn’t caused by dark elements. It was a black hole. Even the starlight sent down from the Obelisk of the Stars at the top of the firmament was swallowed whole, leaving no color to detect.

The white-bearded old man, the most well-traveled among them, rubbed his eyes and said in horror, “Could that be the legendary Void?”

Among the seven primary elements, Soul Spirits of the four basic elements—earth, water, wind, and fire—were the most numerous and easiest to attract.

Light, darkness, and space were the three rarer higher elements.

Beyond those, countless unknown Soul Spirits existed across the endless planes. Each possessed a unique power, and they were even rarer.

“Dust to dust, earth to earth. All things in this world fall into Chaos and become nothingness.”

The white-bearded old man stared at Nolan in disbelief, terror impossible to hide in his eyes. “Y-you’re a disciple of the Destroyer of Worlds?”

His words set the crowd ablaze with commotion.

As long as they obeyed the Wings of Freedom Charter, the Free Federation accepted every faith—even those worshipping the most evil demon gods. That was the true meaning of freedom.

Even so, the myths of the Lord of Chaos had spread across every plane, far beyond the understanding of ordinary people.

The Void affinity was naturally incredibly powerful, far surpassing Lockrien’s and Zinora’s. Yet the instructors couldn’t bring themselves to feel even a little happy about discovering such a rare Soul Spirit.

Just hearing that name made everyone take a step back, seized by the urge to flee the hall.

Nolan rubbed the back of her head. She hadn’t deliberately concealed her divinity, so it was only natural that the Void vision she revealed would frighten mortals.

She just hadn’t expected her reputation to be this terrifying. Changing that fearsome image was clearly going to be a long road!

“May I ask if I passed?”

The hall fell silent. The instructors exchanged glances, swallowed, and quietly nodded.

Nolan’s gaze passed over the five instructors, then settled on a crystal school badge.

It belonged to a female instructor who hadn’t said a word. Her rare black hair hid her face, but she kept nodding.

At first glance, she seemed to approve of every student. Look closer, though, and it turned out she’d fallen asleep...

As the two girls left, the contempt in Bella’s eyes turned to wariness. Lockrien, however, curled his lips into a smile, his gaze burning.

And so Nolan enrolled Iseran’s first follower in Crystal Campus, one of the five campuses.

Even in broad daylight, the Obelisk of the Stars hung in the sky, shining brilliantly. Beneath its gaze, the two passed the white spire and officially became members of Saint Lensa War-Soul Academy.

The academy was like a city within a city, set in a five-pointed-star formation at the heart of the southern continent’s highlands. An invisible arcane barrier separated it from the surrounding Lunsa City and its five interconnected campuses.

Along the way, the campuses’ buildings took on all kinds of shapes and styles. Some were ancient and elegant; others, eerie and mysterious. In Free City, cultures from different planes blended seamlessly.

The campuses had every facility imaginable, all powered by the Prime Plane’s most advanced magic crystal engines. The latest shows and news could be streamed through the systems installed in the apartment dorms.

Saint Lensa took pride in its powerful faculty and excellent learning environment, both of which surpassed those of every lesser plane.

Students in their respective campus uniforms streamed along the paths. The break was over, and they’d all returned.

There were plenty of unusual beastfolk and gnomes among them. Elves were the rarest, but still not an uncommon sight.

Zinora held Nolan’s little hand, her heart racing. She’d even forgotten the beautiful campus she’d once been most eager to attend. Unable to hold back any longer, she asked, “Are you really a follower of Chaos?”

“That’s right. I am—and now you are too. What, are you scared?”

Nolan suddenly stopped, pinched the little elf’s cheek, and grinned.

If that silly girl dared to back out now, Nolan would take her little life right back!

Zinora shook her head and managed a strained smile. She hadn’t forgotten anything that had happened at the camp.

Friction between planes was constant, and war and death were commonplace. But this sheltered little princess had never before seen so many dead people with her own eyes.

“Ever since I was little, everyone around me has told me how kind and great the Goddess of the Seven Luminaries is, and how cruel and wicked the evil gods of the Abyss are. But Barry, whose faith was stronger than anyone’s, was cold-bloodedly slaughtered by those villains when he needed the Goddess most. Was it my selfishness that brought this about? Is the Goddess punishing me...?”

Only now did the gentle, introverted elf girl’s tightly wound heart begin to relax. She leaned against Nolan, clinging to her.

Zinora’s eyes were full of confusion and uncertainty. For a believer, losing one’s faith meant watching one’s entire inner world collapse.

She could no longer bring herself to believe in distant gods.

“Gods are monsters who’ve cast aside part of their humanity: cold-blooded executioners and cunning, deceitful liars. Remember that...”