Professor Whitaker felt disoriented for a moment or two.

She felt the ground underneath her shift, and the world around her change. A faint gust of wind rustled her hair, and she suddenly arrived at a completely different place in the blink of an eye.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself inside a sprawling vault with arched ceilings and dozens of thick pillars supporting it.

She looked around, perplexed.

Where… am I?

The participants around were also wondering the same.

This was a place that even Professor Whitaker had never visited before. Perhaps only Adam, and before him, the Headmaster, might have been here.

But the strange and mind-boggling thing about this place was… it was filled with gold!

Even the elderly woman, who was wealthy in her own right, had never seen such a quantity of wealth. There were mounds of gold coins, precious gems, and jewelry. Some were so massive, they almost formed small hills.

Needless to say, everyone was thunderstruck. Even the scions of the Four Pillars had never seen this kind of wealth before—and all of them could be conisdered to be very rich.

How did Adam come to acquire so much wealth?

Professor Whitaker thought in a daze.

Don't tell me… Is this his reward for passing all the trials of the Raven Inheritance? What… what kind of inheritance makes one so wealthy?

As she thought of Adam, she hurriedly turned to look at the spot a few meters in front of her. It was situated in a corner of the vault, close to the walls. It contained a small landing platform.

One second passed.

Then another.

And another.

Slowly, the elderly woman's eyes flickered with realization, and she couldn't help but smile wryly.

I should have known better…

Suddenly, there was a light commotion at the front of the group. The crowd parted, and Edward quickly approached Professor Whitaker.

His expression was shadowed by utter panic. He walked up to her and blurted out, "Where's Adam?!"

Professor Whitaker deeply gazed at Edward's blue eyes, then she looked away. She shook her head as she answered, "Still in Ravenfell."

Edward felt like his heart was gripped by a tight, cold claw. He gritted his teeth and muttered under his breath, "Why! Why did he have to do that?! Why can't he trust me to fight by his side for just… once?!"

He hated that Adam had to put a spell on him to ensure that he left for Saratoga.

He hated that he couldn't fight side by side with Adam like the old days.

He hated that he was so weak.

Despite all the boons he had received since birth, he still couldn't catch up to Adam… let alone walk side by side as an equal.

He hated it.

He really, really hated it.

Professor Whitaker saw the range of conflicting emotions flash across the blue-eyed youth's face. In the end, she couldn't help but heave a long, helpless sigh.

She walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Ravenfell's become a battlefield, and Mana Foundation and Mana Liquefaction Magi are dying like flies. That is why Adam sent you all here."

Edward did not reply. He lowered his head, silently gritting his teeth. His shoulders slowly started to slouch. Lisa approached him from behind and gently held his hand, looking at him with concern.

Professor Whitaker lingered for a moment, then thought it would be wise to leave Edward on his own.

For now, she had to guide the young Magi to the heart of the castle. She also had to preside over a lot of other important matters since the Headmaster was away.

The situation was dire, and the future uncertain.

Professor Whitaker inhaled deeply, then glanced at the contestants, who seemed lost and nervous. She flashed a gentle smile and said:

"Well then, children, follow me upstairs. You're all safe now."

With that said, she turned around and navigated her way through the vault filled to the brim with riches.

Several minutes later, they had found the exit and made their way out of the vault and into the depths of the castle.

While the young Magi found a fleeting moment of respite, the situation back in Ravenfell was growing increasingly dire with each passing moment.

And as fate would have it, Adam found himself caught in the eye of the storm.

***

Constantine Estate, Uptown Quarter.

At some point, in order to deal with the nagging threat of Professor Whitaker, the Mana Vortex Magi from the cult had utilized a combination spell and summoned a towering abomination.

This undead creature emerged from the depths of the summoning circle. It was a flesh golem stitched together from the mangled remains of countless Mana Liquefaction and Mana Vortex Magi.

Standing at nearly twenty meters tall, its grotesque body was a patchwork of flesh, bone, and sinew crudely sewn with thick, necrotic threads. Dozens of arms, some skeletal, others bloated or decaying, dangled or protruded at odd angles from its torso.

Faces peeked out from various parts of the body, some frozen mid-scream, others eyeless and stitched shut. The creature's skin, if it could even be called that, was gray in color with green patches, oozing noxious and poisonous fluids from between its seams.

As it rose, hunched over from the summoning circle, thick black smoke emanated from his body, spreading the stench of death and rot. Every breath it took hissed with venom, and with every movement, it released clouds of toxic miasma into the air.

Even the cultists retreated several steps, unwilling to come in contact with the toxin.

Massive clawed hands twitched and stretched towards the abomination's target. From its back, several bone spikes jutted out, pulsating with acidic poison.

The summoning circle beneath it crackled violently, seemingly unable to contain its corrupted form as it rose from the ground.

At some point, Professor Whitaker had disappeared, prompting the cultists to switch the abomination's target from her to…

The opulent white manor.

Roaring to the skies, the flesh golem took a thunderous step towards the manor. Then, it took another step, and another, until its gait turned into a slow jog.

When the towering monstrosity neared the manor, it vaulted high into the air and brought down dozens of malformed arms, crashing down like a meteor.

BOOM!

The ground ruptured beneath the terrifying impact. Walls crumbled as shockwaves blasted out in all directions.

The manor groaned under the force, and then…

It began to fall apart.

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