They reappeared inside a massive city—one filled with countless castles and vast lands stretching beyond the horizon. The city sparkled with elegance and opulence. Golden towers rose high, and buildings made of pure diamond glowed under the magical sky. Yet the complete absence of living beings made the city feel like a lifeless garden—beautiful, but eerily quiet, with not even the sound of birds.
Beyond the city and the open plains stood a colossal barrier. It was so massive that it could be seen clearly even from within the city. The glowing blue barrier was only the first; layered behind it were 99 more, each side increasing slightly in height and strength. The layers shimmered with visible, powerful magic.
"Dear students," the teacher called out in a commanding voice, "here before you stands the barrier you'll be tested on. Each of you will use your magic to attempt to damage or destroy a layer. While some of you specialize in creation magic and others in destruction, today we will test the destructive capabilities of both—based on your mastery and experience with magic."
"Since in wars we mostly need strong and destructive magic to stop our opponents, every single one of you needs to learn the basics of destruction magic," the teacher said.
''Let's go, everyone.''
Following her, every student walked toward the barriers.
"For the test, I will now call you one by one for the test," she added.
"For the first round, I would like to ask Mihiya to step forward."
A dark-haired girl in academic dress up stepped ahead from the student line.
Without much hesitation, she drew a magic circle aimed at the first and weakest barrier. She cast a massive storm of flame magic. The red, chaotic flames surged toward the sky-blue barrier and collided with it. Within seconds, the flames vanished without a trace. The spell had not left a single scratch on the barrier.
The dark-haired girl was completely shocked, along with most of the students present.
"How? My flame spell can destroy reinforced steel magic, and yet it failed to leave even a scar? Impossible," she said in disbelief.
"That's how durable the barrier is," the teacher replied with a smile. "No matter how strong your flame spell is, it's nearly impossible to leave even a scratch. If you can manage it, you've likely surpassed even the elders in terms of destruction magic."
"Then it's pretty much impossible for regular students to break it. Barely any of them are capable of matching an elder magic lord at their current age," Marco said, exhaling deeply.
"But I wonder—even if the elders can scratch the barrier—what do you think, Raizel?" Marco asked.
"Well, I don't think anyone from our world is actually capable of it. The barrier is made of some powerful magic that can withstand world-ending destruction spells. I ensured her safety with everything I had—and I succeeded," Raizel explained.
Multiple students attempted to destroy the first layer but failed. Not a single one of them could leave even a faint mark on the barrier.
"Well, I'd like to call Marco now. Please step forward," the teacher said casually, though a tired expression crossed her face.
Marco stepped forward calmly and drew a red magic circle that surrounded the first barrier. Then, he slowly unleashed a massive storm of flames, almost as large as the barrier itself.
The flames burned intensely against the barrier. After a few moments, the barrier began to melt. Within seconds, the once-mighty structure turned into nothing but ashes.
There was a faint smile on Marco's face, but he remained calm despite his success.
Every student—and the teacher herself—stared in utter shock. The sudden destruction of the barrier by Marco's spell had left them speechless. Their eyes were wide, filled with disbelief.
"How? How is this even possible?" the teacher muttered unconsciously.
"Just the way you saw. I'm simply capable of doing it, that's all," Marco replied casually.
He returned to his spot beside Aizis and Raizel. Every student and the teacher—kept staring at him, not breaking their gaze for even a moment.
Aizis broke the silence and the look of surprise on everyone's faces.
"Should we continue, Miss?" he asked gently.
The teacher snapped back to her senses.
"Yeah, sure. Please go ahead," she replied.
"No," Aizis said with a smile.
"I'm not going to join the test," he added.
"What? Why?" the teacher asked, a trace of surprise on her face.
"I just don't have the interest to join. Besides, I'm not confident or capable of destroying a barrier like that. It's beyond my abilities, so I'd rather pass it to the next person," Aizis replied, still smiling.
The teacher sighed.
"Fine. If you're not interested, there's nothing I can do," she said.
"As Miss Maria is a creation-type magic user, I don't think she'll participate either," the teacher added calmly, a hint of curiosity in her voice.
Maria nodded in agreement.
"Then the next and final participant—Edward Raizel. Please step forward," the teacher called gently.
Raizel stepped forward casually and stood in front of the barriers. He drew a large blue magic circle between himself and the others. It created a visible blue barrier, allowing everyone to see what was happening clearly on both sides.
"What are you trying to do, Raizel?" the teacher asked curiously.
Raizel drew another magic circle, this one covering all of the barriers. He slowly cast a massive storm of red flames within the circle.
The flames began to consume everything inside—the barriers, one by one. Within seconds, all the barriers within the magic circle vanished completely.
Dark fog lingered for a few moments, cloaking the area in shadow. But soon, even that faded away, leaving behind nothing.
Except for Raizel and the other two, every person present burst into astonishment. While Raizel's spell had been burning through the barriers, everyone had watched silently from the other side of the blue shield. But now, their faces were filled with a storm of surprise and disbelief.
"How in the world is this even possible?" the teacher exclaimed loudly. Her voice echoed, unable to hold back her shock.
The students began chattering excitedly, their faces filled with wonder and confusion.
"Just how did he do that?"
The murmuring continued for a while. Raizel showed no outward emotion, but it was clear from his expression that he had done it for a reason.
Raizel and the others wandered through Araya's world for a few more minutes. Afterward, they returned to the academy using a teleportation portal.
At Raizel's request, he remained behind.
After walking around for a few moments, someone appeared before him—a person.
It was a blonde-haired girl, no older than twenty. She emerged from flakes of white snow, her glowing blue eyes and gentle smile catching the light. She wore a long, dark red gown adorned with golden designs on both the front and back. She was beautiful and adorable, smiling at Raizel from a short distance.
"I was waiting for you," Raizel said.
"I don't know why, but I had a feeling you'd be here, Araya," he added.
Araya smiled softly and gazed at Raizel.
"It's been a while, Mister Raizel," she said calmly. Her voice was sweet and childish—more like that of a 14 or 15-year-old—despite her mature appearance.
Raizel didn't reply. There was hesitation, sorrow, and a trace of suspense in his expression.
"Are you afraid I'm here to kill you for what happened?" Araya asked, still smiling.
Raizel looked at her in surprise.
"You mean… you know about that?" he asked, his voice breaking slightly.
Araya gave a small nod.
"Someone close to me told me. I found out after reaching the third layer and meeting that certain person," she replied softly.
"I won't ask his name. But… do you seek revenge now?" Raizel asked.
"Revenge? Did you ever teach me the word 'revenge,' Mister Raizel?" Araya asked gently.
"But I'm the one who killed everyone… and destroyed the world you tried to protect," Raizel said, curiosity in his voice.
"Yeah, at first I wanted revenge. But you're the one who taught me to be flexible. To be someone who doesn't seek destruction, but tries to rebuild what was lost.'' Araya took a gentle breath.
''I believe I won't be wrong if I follow the path you planted in my heart," Araya added, smiling with her casual lone expression.
"And someone else also taught me what it means to be mortal—to have a gentle heart inside," she said, smiling as always.
"I wonder who you're talking about," Raizel said casually, expressionless.
"You know exactly who I mean, don't you?" Araya asked.
"Please tell him to meet me there as soon as possible. I'm still waiting for him."
A single tear fell from her eye, hitting the ground.
"I believe he's eager to be reunited with me," she added after a short pause.
With that, Araya's body turned into glowing golden-white snow and slowly disappeared.
"I will try," Raizel said quietly, staring at the snow left behind.
"I'll try to do what you asked. I hope… it's something you'll be glad I did."
Araya vanished—and so did Raizel.