Eve’s voice echoed throughout the Aegis Academy campus via the broadcast system.

The announcement urgently requested all combat-capable personnel currently at the academy to assemble immediately in the gymnasium.

First-year students who had been terrorized by the magi.

Students recovering from being stabbed and those who, although the monsters had been eliminated, were still dazed and confused.

And except for a small number assigned to take care of them, everyone else converged on the gymnasium.

“An emergency situation, all of a sudden…”

“Does anyone know what’s going on?”

The individuals gathered in the gymnasium had undergone training for emergencies, so they naturally lined up by grade, though they were buzzing with confusion due to the sudden call.

The teachers, also called in unexpectedly, were just as bewildered.

However, a few who understood the current situation sealed their lips with serious expressions.

They knew that indiscriminately chattering would only create more chaos.

Amidst this, once the headcount was completed, Eve stepped forward in front of the lined-up students and teachers.

At the moment when everyone’s attention focused on her, Eve began to speak.

“I’ll get straight to the point. The reason I called you all here is that, as the acting principal of the academy, I have assessed the current situation as a Level 1 disaster.”

At the mention of a Level 1 disaster, silence fell over the previously buzzing gymnasium.

According to the rules of Aegis Academy, students are considered temporary heroes, and the principle is that rescue operations for citizens should generally be left to heroes.

However, there are circumstances under which students are also allowed to participate in citizen rescues, namely when the academy’s principal or an equivalent authority judges the situation to be a Level 1 disaster.

In the silence, only a girl with pink twin tails whispered a small question.

“…Um, Marin. What does Level 1 disaster mean?”

Marin, the class president from Year 1 Class B, standing in front of Floene, responded to her with a grave face.

“…It means we’re in big trouble.”

It had been several hundred years since a Level 1 disaster was declared, dating back to the time when witches roamed free.

This meant the city was on the brink of collapse.

People’s minds were filled with monsters, and they were being controlled.

Eve detailed the evening’s events that had transpired at the school.

The serious expression on people’s faces deepened when they learned from magical emergency communication networks — since regular communication methods were unavailable — about the current crisis engulfing the city and how the heroes were severely understaffed.

Eve addressed those who would go to support the heroes with a serious tone.

“The goal is ultimately citizen rescue. Got it? Keep in mind that those who are being controlled are also included in the people we need to save.”

The heroes had primarily trained to confront enemies such as monsters or criminals.

Naturally, subduing them is far more challenging and demanding than simply taking them down.

However, in a situation like this, the ones they had to face were innocent people who were merely under control, not true enemies.

They were someone’s acquaintances, friends, or family.

Thus, aside from subduing them, we had no other option.

Students and teachers, designated zones by class and grade, headed towards the rain-soaked city.

What greeted them was a hellish landscape.

—

“Wha—! Honey! Get a grip! What’s wrong with you?!”

A husband, bleeding from the kitchen knife wielded by his wife, screamed desperately while clinging to her.

“Help… please… my child, something’s wrong with my child…”

A mother cried out, holding a child who looked about five years old, as the child gnawed at her.

“It… I didn’t mean for it to end up like this…! They suddenly came at me like crazed animals, and I just tried to stop them…!”

A boy, gripping a bloodied baseball bat, stared blankly at the body of someone who had collapsed in front of him.

The city was filled with sound.

The sounds of the living,

And the sounds of the dying.

Amidst the torrential rain, those sounds invaded my ears, overwhelming me as I stared at the city in shock.

Why was this happening?

I thought it wouldn’t turn worse than the original story since I had prevented the disaster in the gymnasium.

But what about reality?

An event that was never supposed to happen had occurred, flooding the entire city with blood, screams, and despair.

Suddenly, my hands and feet began to tremble.

An event that was never supposed to happen.

I began to think that perhaps all of this was my fault.

It felt as if this entire disaster stemmed from my reckless attempt to alter the future.

Even knowing it was a futile thought, my body trembled and remained still.

It was when I was about to succumb to despair and fear.

Through my blurred vision in the rain, I saw an adult hovering over a boy, ready to strike with a metal pipe, and a crying child sitting in front of him.

The body I thought had frozen was,

Suddenly running out to tackle him to the ground.

“Silvia! Over here!!”

As I yelled, a glowing orb flew from afar, embedding itself into the head of the man struggling on the ground, and he slumped down as if unconscious.

I released a sigh of relief and knelt to pat the head of the child still crying, saying,

“…Stop crying, it’s okay now.”

The child looked at me with teary eyes, then sniffled while clinging onto the arm of the unconscious man.

“Whew… Is… is Daddy gonna be okay?”

“…Yeah, he should be fine now. It’s cold in the rain, so I’ll take you both to a warm place.”

I hoisted the unconscious man on my back, with the child tightly gripping him.

Since it was raining, leaving unconscious people on the street could lead to hypothermia, so I moved them to a temporary shelter I had set up for evacuations.

Worried the child might be cold, I dried them off with flames and, as I tried to step back outside, the child who had been attached to the man rushed over and grabbed my left hand with his tiny one.

The child was surprised upon seeing my metallic prosthetic arm, hesitating before glancing back at the unconscious man and then turning to me again, bowing slightly.

“…Thank you for saving us.”

After saying that, the child quickly retreated back and snuggled into the man’s embrace.

I stared at their figure for a moment before looking at my left hand, tightly clenching my fist, feeling something even without sensation in the metallic arm.

“Right… I came to save people.”

Murmuring that, I dashed outside.

Now wasn’t the time for other thoughts; it was time to save people.

One more person.

—

With Sylvia, who could eliminate monsters without touching people, and Yoon Si-woo, who was subduing people at a terrifying speed, the shelter was bursting at the seams with unconscious people and their families.

However, halfway through, Yoon Si-woo, with a serious face, remarked,

“Even with all these people brought in, there’s no sign of it decreasing…”

Subduing people, transporting them to shelter, and providing first aid to the injured.

Repeating those tasks, even the students started to show signs of fatigue.

To fill their absence, we would have to work harder, scanning broader areas for people.

But despite doing our best, unease began to creep into the expressions of the students.

Being the ones witnessing the reality of the city, we understood it even more.

Someone murmured with a sigh.

“…If things keep going like this…”

The most important thing in a city is its people.

While we couldn’t know exactly how many were dying each moment, if this state continued.

The inevitable outcome awaited us.

I bit my teeth, refusing to accept it, as I ran through the streets searching for controlled people.

“Hey there, Eva. No, Evangeline.”

Amid the rain, a girl with violet hair appeared, looking completely dry and exceedingly calm amidst the pouring rain.

She was likely a witch, considering our last encounter.

And being a witch meant she was probably involved in this incident.

[Burn.]

The voice in my head murmured.

It was always an unpleasant voice, but for some reason, I felt inclined to follow it this time.

Suppressing the urge to let flames erupt, I asked her.

“Did you do this…?”

“What are you talking about?”

“…This cursed act that controls people and turns the city into this mess.”

Flames began to emerge slowly from my body.

But the girl, brazenly, didn’t even blink at the flames pouring from me, casually replying.

“Well, I helped a bit, but it’s not all me, so let’s say it’s fifty-fifty. I’m not interested in such bothersome tasks.”

Upon hearing her admit even partial involvement, I lunged to grab her collar.

Or at least, I tried.

But my hand was blocked by something protecting her.

“What the…”

Feeling confused, the girl smirked.

“Don’t get mad. Your temper hasn’t changed one bit. But that’s a good thing, I guess. Hey, want to know how to stop the things happening right now?”

“…Can it be stopped?”

I thought it might be a trap, but if there was a way to stop it, I felt I would do anything to know, so I asked.

The girl raised her smile wider.

“If you want to know, just follow me. I’ll tell you if you come along.”

It was an unsettling grin, akin to melted cheese.

“Let’s play hide and seek like before.”

With that statement, the girl completely vanished.

No matter how desperately I looked around, there were no traces left behind.

Just as my anger surged at feeling mocked,

[Burn.]

An inexplicable memory flashed through my mind.

[I’m going to burn. ]

Even as my body burned,

[I’m going to burn it all.]

With flames flowing instead of tears and blood from my eyes,

[You who hurt me, made me sad, made me suffer, made me angry, made me burn.]

Memories of chasing after someone.

[I’ll chase you to the end and burn you to death.]

The girl with violet hair watched me while smiling and slowly clapping her hands.

……

[Burn.]

……I somehow understood.

[Burn and kill.]

“…This way.”

As I took a step, I heard giggles and applause echoing from somewhere.