Chaos Core

People do not notice external things while fast asleep.

Losing one's perception of the passage of time meant that upon waking, one would subconsciously assume not much time had passed.

Tina woke up.

But only a few hours had gone by.

It was not yet dawn. Tina glanced at the clock in the room and quietly let out a sigh of relief.

The young girl was fast asleep, face down on her hospital bed, letting out soft, purring noises from her throat.

Sathya was asleep.

Just as she had said not long ago, she had stayed by her side the entire time.

She hadn't even returned to her dormitory tonight. Even though her physical condition was far worse than before, she was the fool who needed rest more than anyone.

【Magic Core Integrity: 17.5%】

After sitting up, Tina gently picked Sathya up, laid her on the bed, and tucked her in with the blanket.

Her body was very light, like a ragdoll—though, in truth, Tina's own body was even more petite.

She was beautiful. One could search the entire world and never find a girl more beautiful than her.

“I'm sorry, but there are some things I have to do.”

The moonlight was quickly obscured by dark clouds, leaving only the light from the hospital hallway to shine on Sathya's sleeping face.

No, wait.

At the very moment she was about to leave, Tina suddenly understood what the System meant.

Her attention had been entirely on Little Ya just now, so she hadn't realized it.

The reason she could wake up so quickly was due to her long hours of swordsmanship training before the Time Reversal.

Similarly, she had undergone mental training to "wake up quickly from unconsciousness."

If she woke up early, wouldn't that reveal she had retained her past memories?

If Sathya found out she had left, wouldn't her cover be blown?

Tina also realized another problem.

Sathya also knew that tomorrow would be highly dangerous.

This meant she was also on guard against Ulrich's Sacred Mutiny and was making preparations in advance.

Could it be that she had gone looking for clues about the Sacred Mutiny yesterday morning, which was why she hadn't shown up?

Of course, Tina had a way.

As long as she could resolve this "Sacred Mutiny" before Sathya woke up, everything would be fine.

When the time came, she would only need to pretend nothing had happened, and Sathya would have no reason to suspect her.

Coincidentally, Tina wanted to end all of this before the Sacred Mutiny even began. Rather than letting something happen and then trying to stop it, it was better to nip it in the bud.

Tina bit her lip once again.

She gently cupped Sathya's head and kissed her.

As her blood slid down Sathya's throat once more, the process of mending the magic core would cause Sathya to sleep for a much longer time.

She wouldn't be waking up anytime soon.

She suddenly felt that this wasn't so bad, though having to kiss her every single time felt a bit strange.

Tina patted her head, then leaped out of the window.

The night wind ruffled her silver-white hair. As the moonlight broke through the haze, a few sweet, fragrant drops remained on her cherry-red lips.

The door suddenly opened.

The person who walked in was Velrose.

She looked in disbelief at Sathya, who was fast asleep on the bed. By this time, Tina had already left the room.

“Lady Sathya?”

Velrose didn't quite understand what had happened here.

But she had been told by Sathya beforehand to come to the room in the early hours of the morning so they could set off together to Babarol's location and stop a conspiracy to assassinate the Saintess.

After a brief moment of thought, she stepped forward and said:

“Lady Sathya, Tina is already gone. It's time to wake up.”

...

Far to the south of the Holy Academy lay a mountain range that divided the southern plains from the north.

After the main trade route was opened, the “Alai Mountains” became a world-famous scenic spot.

The snow-capped mountains gradually shifted into a dreamlike purple amidst a hazy, light-blue mist. The clear, melodious chirping of birds echoed through the mountain forests, bringing peace to the mind. It was also an excellent place for a vacation.

Yet, atop a hidden peak of the mountain range, a steel fortress had quietly risen. Built secretly among the surrounding mountains, its golden, impenetrable walls were said to be capable of resisting attacks from any magical beast.

Guarded by several Inquisitors, and constructed jointly by the Cardinal and Ulrich, it had become the most heavily fortified stronghold in the world.

“Fort Yax”

Tina still remembered this name. Of course, this was not her first time here.

The last time she came here, it had already been abandoned.

Sathya had wiped out Babarol and the army of the Sacred Mutiny. The tragedy had turned this place into ruins, burying all evidence deep beneath the thick snow.

Navigating the maze-like, intricate paths leading to the bottom level of the fortress, Tina headed straight for its absolute center.

Her movements were fast enough to bypass the eyes of all the Inquisitors after she broke through the gates. This operation was going just as smoothly as usual.

The structure of the fortress was like a labyrinth, but the central area was as large as a basketball court.

Countless pipes rose from the mountain depths below, seemingly siphoning energy from the ley lines. At the center where the cluster of pipes connected stood a massive, cylindrical glass container.

Inside, a black sphere of energy throbbed rhythmically like a heartbeat. Black tentacles extending from it clung tightly to the inner glass, looking mysterious and eerie as they connected to multi-colored pathways.

“Chaos Core”

This core originated from the high-ranking members of the Church.

According to the documents Tina had reviewed, they had once captured a magical beast for research. By extracting the inexhaustible energy from her body, they used a special method to condense it into a core.

Unlike a magical beast's magic core, this core was mostly composed of a chaotic energy mass. The biggest difference was that it could be used directly as a source of power.

Correspondingly, it could also serve as “nourishment” for a magical beast to absorb.

For Sathya, who had lost her magic core, it was the perfect supplement.

Tina had long wanted to take this item to restore Sathya's magic core.

Her own blood could only do so much at best; this pure chaotic energy was the vital nourishment Sathya truly needed.

Thus, she had assassinated several Church members to obtain the constantly changing map of the fortress. Bypassing numerous obstacles at her fastest speed, she had arrived at the central area of the fortress without making a sound.

The young girl in her maid outfit lightly leaped in front of the container.

As if possessing a consciousness of its own, the Chaos Core throbbed and drifted slightly closer to Tina as she approached.

But before she could touch the container, a sudden change occurred.

A sword flew straight toward her neck. After she easily dodged it by stepping aside, the blade pierced deep into the wall, followed by a thunderous, deafening explosion.

Tina slightly turned her head and saw that a massive gap had been blown into the wall over there.

“You really disappoint me.”

The voice came from a man standing on a pipe about fifty meters away.

He was about 230 centimeters tall, built like a small mountain.

His thick, heavy armor made his physique look even more terrifying. Clearly, he was the one who had attacked Tina.

Tina recognized this guy. He was also her original target.

“Good evening, Babarol.”

“You know my name? That's great. But I don't know yours, which means I'm about to kill a nobody.”

The man leaped into the air, suddenly soaring dozens of meters high before stomping down violently toward Tina's position.

With a loud crash, the platform disintegrated in an instant, leaving only a few metal parts dangling precariously.

He leaped onto the ground not far away, looking at the unscathed maid, and praised her, “Chris was my colleague, and he died at the hands of an assassin a few days ago. It seems you are the one who killed him. What a pleasure to meet you.”

“But still, it's a bit disappointing. I thought you would be the leader of some cult, but you're just a little girl. This is too boring.”

“What is your goal?” Perhaps out of boredom, or simply wanting to chat, Tina asked softly.

“The Chaos Core.”

“This thing is much more powerful than you can imagine.”

“This device can deploy the Chaos Core to any location set up with a ‘teleportation array,’ triggering an explosion anytime, anywhere.”

“In a few hours, the machine will start up and send the core to the Holy Academy. When that happens, the pathetic fools gathered in the south, as well as the Saintess... everyone will die!”

Tina, of course, still remembered.

It was an unprecedented explosion. Even with barriers erected by countless mages, the detonation of the Chaos Core had still completely destroyed the southern campus.

Almost everyone who opposed Ulrich would die.

And the army waiting in the shadows would rush in to slaughter any survivors.

This operation was dubbed the “Sacred Mutiny” by Ulrich, and the entire event lasted only twenty-four hours.

Babarol pointed at himself. “And I will kill any intruder!”

But before he could resume his attack, he looked up only to find that the Chaos Core inside the glass container had already vanished.

The young girl before him might be far more troublesome than he had anticipated.