My physics masters couldn't possibly be grand mages.

Xia stood still. Although the magic ban had been lifted, he could send a signal flare back at any time.

But he can't go back yet.

Based on his previous deduction, if one of the manipulator's objectives was to get Victor to do something in order to achieve some kind of goal.

Then this woman is most likely one of the targets.

Logically speaking, he should have appeared by now.

But now that there's no one here, that's a different story; the person in charge wants to hand things over to Einstein to solve.

It can both probe Einstein's true strength and weaken the current forces in front of him.

Then he came out to clean up the mess.

Killing two birds with one stone.

Therefore, he cannot leave.

They had devised a similar plan before the exam began, in case any "unexpected situations" required Einstein to handle.

So he would try his best to keep the rest of them calm, and then reunite with Char, who would lead them to escape to 2072.

With Einstein and Tesla's spatial reasoning abilities, finding their way based on Char's bombing trails wouldn't be a problem. Char had already cleared out most of the monsters along the way, so there wouldn't be any obstacles.

After a brief silence, the woman named Cindy slowly spoke.

"How many years have passed?"

Her voice was like a cello in the dead of night, its lowest string gently plucked. Every word was clear and detached.

"One hundred and thirty-three years," Victor said, his voice still steady, but beads of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

"One hundred and thirty-three years..." she repeated, her lips twitching slightly—not a smile, but more of a confirmation—"That old bastard March is dead?"

"After sealing you away..." Viktor lowered his head, "he succumbed to his injuries and passed away two years later..."

Cindy raised her head slightly; she didn't seem surprised.

"This is his fate. We made this decision together, but in the end, he regretted it."

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but in the end she lowered her eyes and said, "Ultimately, people have to pay the price for their choices..."

She looked at Victor again. "What happened to the Vilvia family that made you decide to release me?"

"A war." Victor looked at her with a solemn and serious expression. "A war that could set the world ablaze, a war that could reshuffle the Golden Family."

Cindy's eyes narrowed slightly, a distant light flashing in them.

"I've heard people mention it..."

Victor was taken aback. "What?"

"This war." Her voice was even softer.

Viktor seemed to realize something, his pupils suddenly contracting. "One hundred and thirty-three years ago!?"

Cindy remained silent.

Xia, who had been silent the whole time, felt someone tug at his clothes.

Sylvia approached him at some point and lowered her voice.

"Press the flare! That's a witch! Run!"

When she said the word "witch," her voice trembled like never before, as if the name itself carried some kind of invisible fear.

Is it specifically referring to this woman named Cindy, or... is it referring to some special group?

Suddenly!

Cindy turned her head sharply, her scarlet eyes instantly locking onto Sylvia who was speaking. She raised her hand, her fingers spread wide.

Sylvia felt an invisible giant hand grip her chest, and she was suddenly pulled forward.

When she came to her senses, a strong feeling of suffocation spread through her brain...

Cindy's five fingers gripped Sylvia's neck. Her fingertips dug into her skin.

Sylvia opened her mouth, but no sound came out except for a faint, squeezed "uh" from deep in her throat.

Cindy lowered her head slightly, her inhumanly beautiful face drawing close to Sylvia's. There was no breath, no body temperature.

Only her dark red eyes, like two mirrors, reflected Sylvia's pupils, dilated with fear.

She noticed the silver hair on Sylvia's head.

"Christian?"

She slowly parted her lips into a smile, and in the dim red light, her pair of vampire-like fangs gleamed with a chilling light.

"Elf blood must taste delicious, right?"

"Click."

The sound of someone stepping on gravel came from one side.

Char Aznable turned his head abruptly.

Several figures emerged from the tunnel entrance where they had come down.

The one walking in front had white hair, wore a white magic robe, and had a lit pipe in his mouth.

His slightly raised right hand emitted a blazing white light, illuminating the surrounding darkness.

Einstein, followed by Tesla.

Those grey-blue eyes swept over the giant gate, the woman, and Victor, finally settling on Char.

He tilted his head slightly, as if asking, "How is it?"

Char gave him a wry smile, meaning, "That's terrible."

The next moment, the light at the tunnel entrance was torn apart by a figure.

"call-"

The air was torn apart by terrifying speed, passing between Einstein and Tesla, as fast as an arrow released from a bow.

His long, silvery-white hair trailed in a straight line behind him, the hem of his black robe fluttered in the wind, and a dazzling ball of light crackling with icy blue electric arcs had already gathered in his palm.

Aldrich Christian, a fifth-tier mage of the Christian family, a professor at the Tower of Truth, and one of the proctors for this exam.

His eyes weren't on Cindy, but on Sylvia.

The ball of light exploded in his palm like flower petals, and ice-blue fire lines with electric arcs rushed towards Cindy from six directions simultaneously.

Cindy's right hand was still gripping Sylvia's neck, and she didn't let go.

She raised her left hand.

The movements are slow, with fingers spread and palms facing outwards.

Then clench your fist.

The six ice-blue lines of fire stopped simultaneously less than a meter away from her.

Aldridge's pupils suddenly contracted.

Sixth rank!?

The fire lines began to spin in place, intertwining with each other, and finally exploded in the air into a harmless ball of sparks.

Sparks fell, burning several charred pits in the ground.

Aldridge did not hesitate. He reached to his waist with his left hand and pulled out a slender silver needle engraved with runes.

The silver needle pierced the palm.

His left pupil instantly turned silver-white, and dense lines appeared around his eye socket. He raised his right hand, his five fingers clenching loosely in the air—

A silver-white spear materialized in his hand.

It wasn't fifth-tier magic, it was sixth-tier. A sixth-tier magic imprint left on him by a member of his family.

The space around the gun began to distort, and the moisture in the air condensed into ice crystals, which then instantly evaporated into white mist.

The temperature in the entire underground space dropped by more than ten degrees, and even the dark red light on the giant door dimmed for a moment.

Cindy finally turned her head.

Those dark red eyes glanced at Aldrich.

Just one glance.

Aldrich felt as if his mind had been struck with a hammer.

The Starfall Spear, which was condensing, exploded in his palm, scattering silvery fragments everywhere. One of them grazed his cheek, and blood dripped from his chin onto the ground.

His knees buckled, and he knelt on one knee. Black smoke began to rise from the palm where the silver needles had pierced.

He looked up and saw Cindy's lips move slightly.

No sound.

But he "heard" a sentence that resonated directly in his mind.

"A fifth-tier...you dare to attack me?"

Then he felt something bump into his chest.

My heart stopped for a moment.

Aldrich froze, his pupils dilated sharply, and his lips opened but no sound came out.

He knelt there, his breath catching in his throat for a moment.

Sylvia struggled between Cindy's fingers, watching this scene. She wanted to scream, but her throat was being choked, and she could only let out a whimper.

The entire underground space fell silent.