ALL THE SRARS ARE HERE. - Chaotic gray zone

"Congratulations to all of you. You did great," Isabella said to us.

Kairi was munching on his meal fiercely. I couldn't caution him to take it easy because he was sitting beside Julian.

"Where are you from, Kairi?" Isabella asked, a question I was curious about.

Kairi swallowed everything in his mouth, drank some wine, then started explaining. "I am from the mountains around Statham Valley. I saw both of my parents killing each other when I was really young, so I was alone for a year until I met Jaki."

Hearing that name, Isabella shifted forward as if she was about to gain something she had longed for from Kairi. "Jaki? Jaki what?"

"I never asked. Do you perhaps know him? You see, the thing is, I am looking for him. After I got enrolled in the academy, I never saw him again," Kairi asked enthusiastically.

"The name sounds familiar, but I'm sure I don't know your Jaki. I can help you keep an eye out," Isabella said while adjusting herself back to normal.

'I wondered who the Jaki she knew is that made her react like that.'

"Another dead end. Thank you, though," Kairi said disappointedly.

Julian hit the table, then said annoyingly, "Are we here to question a commoner?"

Isabella shifted her attention to him and said,

"You guys are here to get your reward. In fact, you have started receiving it."

"Our reward is food?" the guy sitting directly opposite Kairi asked.

He was Herald Mournhald. He had long blonde hair with deep brown eyes. He looked nice, always wearing a smile on his face, which made him really handsome. He was also another 'girl to die for' type. The difference between him and Kairi in that aspect is that girls do flock around him a lot.

"The chair each of you is seated on empowers you with pure ether energy. You must all have felt it. The amount of ether energy being given to you is dependent on your rank. I'm sure you all know how to break into Nascent. You'll need a substantial amount of pure ether energy, which is being transferred to you currently. By this week, I guarantee you'll all have broken through," Isabella calmly explained.

Ether energy is the energy we use to fuel our ability. It's also connected to our life force. The more ether energy one has, the more life force. Breaking into Nascent only requires you having enough ether energy for your body and soul to break through the next realm, but above that is not ether alone.

'This is really a great reward. Most people would have to rely on the ether energy in the atmosphere to break through,' I thought.

Then I felt something beside me. A stronger aura than before was emanating from Julian.

'Are you seriously kidding me? He broke through already?' I was perplexed for a moment. Everyone in the room was shocked too.

"Well done, Julian. This is the fastest I have seen anyone reach Nascent. You are truly talented," Isabella congratulated him.

As Julian was about to speak, something also happened beside him. An aura as strong as his exploded—no…the aura is more than his.

My eyes widened for a bit, and I laughed inwardly. 'These two are unreal. Can I keep up with these two monsters?' Everyone in this room probably had the same thought as me. The greatest rivalry of the century is about to begin.

I saw Julian clenching his fist beside me.

"Today is truly magnificent! The two of you broke through the next realm today, and you have only absorbed about 75% of the ether in the chair," Isabella was genuinely happy. Then she turned towards me to see if I'd break through too. She then turned back to Kairi and asked, "Normally I won't be the one doing this, but would you like to join our White Sun Squad?"

"Will I become rich?" Kairi immediately asked.

"Since I personally recruited you, there'll be a lot more benefits and money. I'll even personally train you and find your friend for you."

"That is great. I happily accept your offer."

"I will prepare something to solidify our contract."

And so, Kairi got into the White Sun Squad.

'I am genuinely happy for him,' I thought to myself while smiling.

"What about you, Custos?" Isabella asked me.

I coughed because I wasn't expecting her to extend an invitation toward me.

"Me? What about me?" I asked, surprised.

"Would you like to join us too? I'll offer the same deal I did for Kairi and grant any wish of yours that is within my power, since you don't have anyone to find, right?"

"I haven't achieved Nascent yet."

"So? You are bound to reach it today or tomorrow. I can tell."

I thought for a while and said, "Thanks for the invitation. I gratefully accept."

"That's great."

'The squad I was hoping to join is not originally White Sun, but I can't go on and create animosity with a powerful figure like her, and it also comes with even better benefits. I get to be trained by a powerful figure like her. The experience will be abundant. I still have a wish to be granted.'

"You are really strong. I almost peed my pants when I walked in here. Who exactly are you?" Kairi asked.

Isabella smiled, then claimed proudly, "I am Isabella, Vice Leader of Red Sun, and I'm a Saint."

"You are the strongest person I have ever met," Kairi said.

Isabella smiled and said to us, "Let's go pick up your other rewards, shall we?"

"What's the other reward?" Herald asked.

"Enchanted weapons," Isabella replied calmly.

"I don't think most of us will need that," implying that they all have something suited for them.

'As expected of nobles,' I thought while envying them.

"I know, but you never know—you might see some things you want. I won't force you." She then gestured at one of the servants in the room. The servant came with a tray containing something. "But you are all mandated to collect this talisman. It increases the potency of your abilities. It can be used infinitely, but can only be used for a certain amount of time every three hours. So use it wisely."

She gave each of us the talisman, which exuded a small aura, but using it once, I felt the surge in the potency of my ether.

"Alright, you boys follow me." She was talking to me and Kairi.

"I would like to check it out too," the princess of House Crimson said.

Everyone was surprised that she stood up, even Isabella was.

"Oh, that's good to hear, Seraphina," Isabella smiled at her.

'I just realised I didn't know her name. What a bad slave I am.'

We moved to the armoury. There were a lot of weapons there. I already knew what I wanted. We were only allowed to pick three enchanted items. I picked a spear—the shaft was made of metal, and the spearhead, which was made from an unknown material, was exuding an aura that suggested it could cut through anything; a shield—it had a red intricate design in front; and armour that adjusted its size to the wearer. Kairi picked two katanas, each with a different hilt, and armour like mine. Seraphina picked a staff that had a crescent-shaped head with an orb in the middle; the bottom of the staff was a blade.

"Good things you picked there. I'll explain each enchantment briefly. The spear gets sharper the more it cuts. The limit to how many times it can get sharper is ten. The shield is the same—it gets more durable the more it's hit, also with a limit of ten. As for the armour you both have, it has the durability of a Nascent, but if pierced or broken and it causes a fatal injury, you can activate its enchantment to reconstruct itself and heal that injury. That can only work three times before it completely gets destroyed. If it was only pierced without you receiving any injury, it will naturally reconstruct after three hours. Your katanas cut more easily through harder objects, so the harder whatever it is you want to cut, the easier it is to cut. But the limit of what it cannot cut is the durability of a Hyper." She looked at Seraphina. "As for your staff, that orb will accept your ether and make your ability more potent while using less ether. It can take up to half of your ether, so use it wisely. The blade has no special features, but it can also contain your ability."

"These are really good. Can we name them?" Kairi asked.

"It's advisable to name them. Lots of enchanted weapons have a soul or a will. You should also treat them nicely so they can serve you well."

'I will think of a name for each of them.' I looked at each of what I picked. 'Do serve me well.'

"Also take this." She handed a bracelet to me and Kairi. "This is a dimensional bracelet. It lets you store your weapons and all. That one can contain as much as a ton. Just think of something you want in it or out of it. That's also one of the reasons you should name your weapons."

I sized up the bracelet, then wore it and put my items in it. Dimensional items like this are really expensive. It took my savings from a month to get one, and it was subpar compared to the one I'm wearing now. 'It's much faster to summon than my previous one,' I thought after testing the bracelet.

"Now let's go join them outside."

Isabella led us outside, but she stayed in the backroom talking to some people.

We moved to the stage. This time, everyone had already seen their ranks. I searched around for Charles and Chara.

"Who are you looking for?" Kairi asked. He followed me because he doesn't have any friends, and because Isabella told him to follow me before we moved to the Red Sun base, which was really fast. I had no complaints since I didn't have anywhere to go.

"My friends. They are good people. You'll like them," I assured him.

"I don't dislike anybody, though," Kairi replied, which confused me slightly.

"Not even Julian?"

"I don't dislike him. I won't say I like him either, but I like you more."

"I see," I said as I resumed my search.

Then I saw Chara and Charles on the other side of where we were seated, talking to each other. The stage was really packed, so moving through was going to be a bit stressful. I found a space to go through when, as I was about to enter, a girl popped out and fell to the ground. I helped her up.

"Thank you," a soft feminine voice said. Then she looked up and got flustered. "I didn't know it was you. I'm really grateful."

I was confused for a while, then realised I had become popular a while back. "No need to be that formal. We are age mates," I comforted her.

The girl, who was short with blue eyes and white hair, looked at me, still shy. She was wearing a white and blue gown, which was simple but nice. She was also wearing a blue beret. She was pretty too, but she looked like a commoner. She looked down and said, "Ahhh, right. I am sorry," then left.

She seemed to be in a hurry.

As I was about to move, a voice resounded through the hall. It was coming from the entrance, where the two shady people we saw earlier were standing. The male-voiced one said, "Hello, graduates. I am Valek, and I'm here to kill six of you. I have a list here already, so if your name is on the list, come forward. No one is allowed to leave until I find those six."

He looked towards the girl, and they seemed to be arguing.

I shivered a little. The guards were nowhere to be found. 'I couldn't sense any of their aura previously. I wonder why. Perhaps the cape is what is concealing it? Something tells me my name is on the list. My name and Charles's name are on the list. Well, I am safe, and maybe I can convince Isabella to keep Charles safe too,' I thought carelessly.

But the crowd was already instilled with a bit of fear.

"Who are you to make such a declaration?" Julian questioned Valek. He was a few metres away from Valek. "Do you think you can threaten us in this place and leave happily?"

"Julian, the prince of… what house again? Well, I don't care. Your name is not on the list, so you are free to go," Valek said while pointing at the door behind him.

Everyone in the hall was dumbstruck. House Francis was one of the most prominent houses in this realm. There was no one who didn't know them, and Julian, the prince of the house, was really popular. For someone to not know him, they were either not from this realm or joking.

"Huh? Today is really an annoying day. Two commoners getting on my nerves, and you, a nobody, mocking me." Then he drew out his sword.

The aura emanating from that sword made me feel a bit of fear. The quality of that sword compared to my spear was like a baby being compared to a man in terms of strength. For me to feel it from the other side of the entrance spoke well of its quality.

Then Julian released his full ether. His presence at that moment put hope in the hearts of the graduates. They all felt relieved; their initial fear was washed away by the aura of the sword. Everyone there knew Julian was the strongest graduate at that moment. The power he had right now might rival an Exalter.

"I have been wanting to test this strength since I achieved Nascent. I'm glad I'll be able to release my pent-up anger on you." Then Julian smiled darkly at Valek.

"That's a nice sword you've got there, and you are already at Nascent. I'm sure you've heard this a lot of times already—it's starting to sound like your name. You are really talented," Valek said as he removed his robe. Under the robe was a slender, handsome young man wearing a black trench coat. His purple hair was dishevelled, and he had glassy purple eyes. He was wearing black gloves. "…but you are still very weak."

Right at that moment, Julian closed the distance between them and swung his sword at Valek. The world grew still for a moment, and at that instant, I heard a loud noise behind me. Cold sweat rolled down my spine because something really went wrong. I slowly looked back, hoping my fears hadn't become reality.

There, on the wall—or was it in the wall—was Julian, unconscious, blood dripping from his mouth, his eyes losing any hint of consciousness. I immediately looked back at Valek, but he was nowhere to be found. Only the girl was there.

Suddenly, I heard a voice beside me and felt a hand grab me. My eyes widened as I was lifted into the air. I was being dragged away by Kairi. Kairi had already summoned his katana. We landed on the ground, and Kairi immediately swung his sword at Valek. Instead of the katana slicing his hand off, it broke.

"I found three here, Mira," Valek said calmly while looking at both of us.

'How the hell did he reach here in an instant?! How the hell did the katana break?! Wasn't it supposed to cut more easily through hard objects? How hard is his skin?' So many questions surfaced in my mind in an instant.

Then Valek said, "Custos Stark, Kairi, and…" He then looked towards the shy girl from earlier, who had yet to get far away. "…Eira."

As he moved towards us, the wall behind me—in which Julian had been plastered—broke, and Isabella came through with a kick to Valek's face. He blocked it, causing a shockwave, and everyone within a certain range was blown away.

"Who are you?" Isabella asked in a demanding tone. She then dropped her leg, which was almost across his face, and said, "Valek? What are you doing here?"

'What? She knows him?' I was confused while trying to recover from the blast of the shockwave.

Valek replied, "I came on her orders to take six children." He then fiddled with the arm he used to block Isabella's kick. "You almost broke my arm."

Isabella ignored the last statement and pointed towards Julian, who had been removed from the wall by Oscric. "Is he part of the children you came to take?"

"Hell no. Why would I want to take the heir of House Francis?" Valek asked rhetorically.

'So he does know him,' I thought to myself while dusting my body.

"Then why was he in the wall? I doubt anyone in this room expected you could do that," Isabella said.

"He attacked me first."

"You have other ways to subdue him instead of hurting him like that."

"Well, what's done is done. Can I take the kids now?"

"Is it mandatory for them to follow you?"

"Yes, it is," he said while raising the sleeve of his left hand to show Isabella a symbol on his arm.

"He said he was going to kill us," I butted into their conversation before Isabella could ask another question. At that point, I felt like Isabella was going to allow Valek to take us because of 'her' orders.

Everyone looked towards me when I said that, and Isabella looked back at Valek, asking for an answer.

Valek said, "I was just trying to scare them. Kids are fun to scare."

Isabella then asked, "What if they decide not to follow you? Would you take them by force?"

"I was never going to ask for their permission before taking them. Can they go against me?" Valek said proudly.

"But I can go against you," Isabella also claimed proudly.

"Can you really?" Valek asked while smiling.

At that moment, something happened in the hall. Isabella released her aura and her killing intent at Valek, but it didn't faze him at all. Instead, everyone in the hall felt a great deal of fear. Even I fell to my knees while sweating profusely. Kairi pissed his pants while standing. Eira, the shy girl, looked lost. Every graduate in the hall probably felt their life flash before their eyes. It wasn't directed at us, yet we all felt like we wouldn't survive the next moment. The only people standing in the hall right now, except those two, were the girl that was with Valek and Oscric.

I instinctively activated my ability. A small dome covered me and Kairi.

'The hell is going on here exactly? The pressure is even affecting us physically.' Even after activating my ability, I still felt something great weighing down on me.

I tried looking up towards the source of the immense pressure and killing intent. 'I can't look. If I look at them, I could die. Everyone here will die if I don't do something. But what can I do in front of a Saint? Won't I die if I try something funny?'

An idea then came to me. I had been absorbing the pure ether energy around this hall for a while now. It wasn't as much as when the chair was transferring it to me, but it was sufficient enough to break through the next realm. I started absorbing it faster, but I felt it wasn't enough. 'I have no choice. I have to do it now.'

I then placed my palm on the ground, and then I felt something in me break. But it wasn't painful; it was actually quite soothing. I felt stronger, then felt my ether more potent than before. I realized I had reached Nascent, but I wasn't excited because my rank in Nascent might only last for a few seconds if I didn't do something. I then infused more power into my dome, and it started spreading throughout the hall.

My ability, as I like to call it, Aegis, is a defensive-type ability. It creates a dome around me and my allies that protects us. Inside that dome, my allies and I feel a sense of serenity, and anyone I deem not my ally inside the dome feels the opposite. But right now, I deemed everyone my ally, even Valek. The purpose is simple: my ability might not work on those two, but they are bound to feel the intent of using it. They will both feel it, and Isabella will release her killing intent. Valek will also not want to fight Isabella, hopefully. If this doesn't work, I will die.

I looked towards Isabella, hoping she would understand the purpose.

Isabella noticed Aegis encompassing everything around her. She then noticed how distinctly the graduates inside and outside the dome were reacting. Before it could encompass everyone, she had released her killing intent and her immense aura.

Everyone started looking a bit calm. The terrified look on their faces softened a bit. But they were all still terrified—not as much as before, though.

Then I felt the pressure on me gradually alleviate until there was nothing left. The killing intent had completely dissipated. I could finally breathe. Aegis then crumbled, and I fell flat, exhausted. Aegis wasn't meant to encompass a hall as large as this; it was only meant for a few meters. But after reaching Nascent, it could probably go further. Still, I didn't have a choice but to let it reach everyone.

Isabella then moved towards my lying body. "Thanks to you, everyone seems alright. I'm sorry for losing my cool there."

I said tiredly, "You don't have to apologize. I totally understand." I then looked up at her, declaring, "I want my wish to be granted right now." Then I paused for a moment and said, "I wish no one follows that man to wherever he's taking us to."

Isabella looked at me with a melancholy sight. She then patted my shoulder. "I am sorry. That wish is above my power."

I felt despair in an instant. 'What sort of power is backing him up enough to make a Saint powerless? Who exactly is her?' The answer was quite obvious—a demigod is at play.

Isabella then looked towards Valek and said, "Why not try convincing them to follow you?"

"Do you really think anyone will want to follow me after what I just did? But I'll try. If they don't agree, I have no choice but to use force," Valek replied.

"Then promise they'll all be safe when this is over."

"You don't understand. My hands are tied much tighter than yours. But I will try to keep them safe."

"I will make do with that."

Valek then scrutinized the hall until his eyes landed on the Princess of House Crimson. He then got closer to her.

"What? I thought you were only taking commoners?" Isabella asked in shock. House Crimson's popularity does not pale in comparison to that of House Francis. What Valek was doing right now could be considered kidnapping, but because Custos, Kairi, and Eira were commoners, it could be ignored given his reason. But to forcefully take a member of a prominent house—an important one at that—was like courting death.

"I'm taking a few nobles," Valek replied.

"You do know what this means, right?" Isabella warned him.

"She said she'll take care of it." He then pointed to Seraphina. "Moreover, you should realize her position." He said, then turned towards Seraphina.

"No." A sharp reply came from Seraphina.

Valek chuckled. "I didn't even ask you for anything yet."

"I am not interested in whatever you have going on."

"This is going to be really beneficial for you. Listen to me."

"Still no," Seraphina replied adamantly.

Valek ignored her, then leaned towards her and whispered something in her ear. Seraphina's eyes widened. She was in complete shock.

Her voice lost the sharpness it had a few moments ago. "How did you know that?"

"It doesn't really matter," Valek said while smiling confidently.

"I'm sorry. I'll have to decline. I don't trust you," Seraphina said while still in shock.

Valek sighed, then said, "I am also sorry, Princess." He then lifted his hands, then appeared behind her back and chopped her neck. Seraphina fell unconscious before she could react.

"Mira, the joke is over. We are finishing this now. Come carry her," Valek said to his accomplice while looking down at Seraphina.

"Why do I have to carry her?" Mira's calm voice reverberated through the hall.

Valek looked coldly at her. "She is a young girl. I'd rather not do that." He then left her unconscious body and moved to his next targets, Chara and Charles.

My body was so exhausted that I couldn't keep up. I passed out after seeing him reach them.

*********