This... I had thought that the fight would have now resulted in any possibility of Noah being close to Victoria completely erased from existence, but—

That didn’t seem to be the case.

Was this what they called... fate?

The heroine of the game being united with her destined hero at the end, no matter what variables had arisen in their path along the way.

For some reason, the mere thought disgusted me.

Was this the difference between Noah and me, as the protagonist was on the way to being united with the one he was fated to be with, and that too without putting any effort into it?

I, on the other hand, had to go through every trick out there and manipulate all events so that the end result would end up in my favour.

Was this the world’s way to cuddle and protect its blessed child?

"Vice President, if it’s not too rude, may I ask why the two of you were fighting?"

My thoughts were interrupted by Ana’s voice as she questioned Victoria, who now stood along with us, observing Noah from a distance.

I was now standing at a sufficient distance from Noah, allowing me to sense each and every movement of mana particles around him without expending a lot of my mana on using Mana Sense.

"It’s... nothing for you to worry about. We just had a small misunderstanding."

Victoria’s voice sounded a little hesitant as she explained herself.

Was she trying to cover up for Noah?

The mana in Noah’s body was now moving towards his mana core, but it didn’t stop there, as the mana had now begun to spread all over his body, as if trying to nourish it.

Was it due to the Mana Sword?

I didn’t have to think for long, as the vortex of mana that had formed behind Noah had now enlarged enough to be around a metre in radius.

The mana particles in the air began to clash against each other, and their vibrations resulted in sparks flying around Noah in the air.

Soon the sparks had even begun to surround us—

"Get back if you don’t want to get burned."

Saying the words, I retreated a few steps without waiting for the others.

Ashlyn, Ana, Victoria, as well as the rest of the disciplinary committee members, observed me with confusion in their eyes, but seeing me retreat, they had no choice but to follow my instructions.

Retreating for around fifty metres or so, all of us stood in silence, watching Noah from afar.

Sensing several gazes directed at me, it was clear that everyone was waiting for an explanation from me, but there was no need to expend my efforts, as the sparks that were flying in the air soon took the form of flames.

At first, hints of flames could be seen only at selected places, but then they had spread far and wide, and now the entire area around Noah had been caught in a fire made of mana.

"Instructors... somebody call the damn instructors!"

Someone amongst the disciplinary committee members shouted with panic in his voice, which was mirrored by the rest of the students too, as everyone began to run away from the area, not wanting to get caught in the fire that was still spreading outwards.

"We need to retreat and wait for the instructors to arrive."

Ashlyn spoke with a firm command in her voice, making the rest of the disciplinary committee members who had still stayed with us... nod their heads in return.

One by one, everyone began to retreat, leaving only Ashlyn, Ana, and Victoria by my side.

"Let’s go."

But Ashlyn didn’t stay for long, as she gave Noah a final glance before turning away.

"I hope he survives through it."

Her words were filled with pity that was totally unnecessary, in my opinion.

"Aren’t you coming with us?"

Ana, seeing me stand in the same place, called out in an urgent voice.

"Kael, we need to retreat or else we could get caught up in the fire."

Ashlyn, hearing Ana’s earlier question, turned back only to find me absent by her side.

Victoria too had to stop in her tracks, only to find that I wasn’t following them out of the area.

"You may return. I will stay for a little longer."

Saying the words, I shifted my focus back to Noah, who was still engrossed in evolving his core despite the chaos around him.

I could understand what he was feeling, as I had gone through something similar during my first rank-up.

When the taste of growing power lands on one’s tongue, it is difficult to retreat even after knowing that you could die in the process.

Hm?

Sensing some presences moving towards me, I couldn’t help but turn my head a little to take a good look at them.

"It would be unwise of me to leave behind my supporter and run away."

Ashlyn’s voice was firm and unyielding as she stepped closer to me before focusing her attention on Noah again.

Ana too had tagged along with Ashlyn, and so both the girls now stood on my right side, observing the fire spreading across the area.

Though their actions were a bit foolish in my eyes, what surprised me was something else.

Turning to look at my left, my eyes met Victoria’s, who simply observed me in silence.

No words were exchanged between us, not that I had anything to say to the girl.

Was she staying behind out of guilt for Noah, or was there something else behind her current behaviour?

Sigh.

"Are you sure we would be fine standing here?"

Ana asked, making me look at her with raised brows.

"I m-mean... it feels a little risky to stand at such a close distance."

I continued to observe Ana, making her a little nervous again.

If she knew the risk of standing here, then why had she even returned?

Ashlyn hadn’t asked anything yet, but I could tell that the girl would have the same question in her mind.

"It will soon settle down."

My explanation was short, but it was enough to ease their worries.

And as for the reason behind my confidence... it was pretty simple.