Cristina watched as various pairs took to the Center Stage, which began to glow as the Runic Formation created a magical effect, causing numerous small orbs of mana to float around the stage.
Everyone looked on in awe as they felt the mana rising around them.
"As per the tradition of the Kalvas Gala, the dance shall begin," Cristina announced, clapping once. The lighting around the First Floor transformed.
"I want to know who she is," Amelia murmured, glancing between Asher and Alyssa.
"Well, we can do that after this," Damian said, extending his hand.
Near the center of the stage, Alyssa regarded Asher.
"I might mess this up," she admitted.
"It won't matter by the end of this," Asher assured her.
Alyssa didn't understand the implication of Asher's words, but she recalled the videos of Formal Dance that Emmy had provided when she was preparing.
She had never learned the etiquette of the Elite Families throughout her life.
Alexander Astaria didn't feel the need for her to learn all this, as he had no intentions of presenting her at such events. Apart from basic education, everything Alyssa learned was self-taught.
Although she'd reviewed the videos multiple times, this was her first real dance.
Despite being in such a beautiful place, coveted by many rich families, she felt only disgust.
Without her careful control over her breathing, she would already be struggling to draw breath.
And the voices in her head were louder than ever.
'They killed your mother!!'
'You will also die,'
'Kill them all,'
Yet being near Asher helped Alyssa.
She suppressed her thoughts, not wanting to ruin whatever Asher had planned.
'It's fine, I just need to get through this,' she assured herself, managing to calm her emotions.
She took Asher's hand, and as they made contact, the voices in her head quieted.
As Asher guided Alyssa by the arm, she carefully synchronized her steps with his, and the music started.
Cristina clapped once more, changing the surroundings with her magic.
Through illusion magic, the ceiling transformed into a starry night sky, and moonlight illuminated the entire Center Stage, further enhanced by the glow of the floating mana orbs.
Asher led with composed assurance, his every movement meticulously controlled. Alyssa matched him step for step, her movements displaying an icy, elegant discipline.
Their eyes met - two calm pools amidst the rhythm and chaos - yet a connection existed, as cold and silent as the stars above.
Although many pairs were present, spectators couldn't help but focus on Asher and Alyssa, who stood out from everyone else on the Stage.
Even those watching the broadcast were entranced by them.
"And here I thought no one could match his charm," Helena's words made Alfred raise his eyebrows.
"Who is she?" Helena queried, watching her grandson dance.
Alfred smiled, having never heard Helena praise anyone when compared to Asher.
"The girl dancing with big brother is so pretty," Livia commented, eyes glued to the screen.
"Yeah, she is," Sylvie agreed, but she was confused.
Just like Arthur, and the Seymour couple.
They hadn't seen Alyssa before and were puzzled about her identity.
'I will ask right after this,' Sylvie thought.
On the Center Stage, while the other pairs smiled as they matched each other's steps, Asher and Alyssa's faces remained impassive, their eyes locked onto each other.
The music quickened, and Alyssa elegantly followed Asher's lead, who was ensuring Alyssa could keep up with him.
No one would guess that they hadn't practiced together beforehand.
"Do you think you're strong enough to get your revenge?" Asher asked, gazing at Alyssa.
"I have to. It's not a choice for me anymore," Alyssa replied.
"You can sense it, can't you? The power of those above us," Asher said.
Alyssa didn't respond, but she could sense the colossal amount of mana above them. When she spread her senses further, the amount of mana she detected was simply terrifying. And those were the mana signatures of the SSS Rank Hunters.
"Do you think you can defeat them?" Asher probed.
Alyssa's step faltered for a moment, causing a brief error, but Asher smoothly compensated, rendering the mistake unnoticeable.
But Asher could see a change in Alyssa's gaze, a look he had seen before.
"I will," Alyssa asserted.
'Even if I die doing so,' she resolved silently.
She remembered the reason she had struggled all these years.
Despite the pain and the hatred her younger self had endured.
Alone, without any support, while hearing the voices that urged her to end her own life.
She persevered.
Just for revenge.
Although she knew deep down that she might not be able to avenge her mother, the idea of dying without inflicting some pain on those who had taken everything from her was unbearable.
"Do you realize what will happen the moment they discover you're cured and could be a threat to them?" Asher asked, his expression unreadable.
"I know," Alyssa answered, holding his crimson gaze.
She understood perfectly that her survival up to this point was due to everyone's belief that she was destined to die without becoming powerful.
"I won't ask you to support me. You've done enough for me already," Alyssa said.
She was profoundly grateful that Asher had given her the potion that cured her. She wouldn't mind if Asher didn't want to support her further; he'd already given her so much.
"I will honor our contract," Asher assured her.
"Then I'll lend you my strength in any way you need," Alyssa promised.
She vividly remembered the contract she signed before entering the World Academy. Initially, she had signed it to leverage Asher's status, but now, she was glad she did.
She also remembered the clause that stated she would follow Asher Greville after the World Academy.
But there was one thing she wouldn't compromise: her revenge. That was the only condition she added to the contract.
"What if I told you that it's not the hunting team I wanted you to join?" Asher asked.
"Then what is it?" Alyssa inquired, as Asher led her in a turn.
Asher didn't answer, waiting for the music to change again.
They continued to dance, but Alyssa was still awaiting Asher's reply.
"Do you remember what I told you on the way here?" Asher asked.
"Not to use magic under any circumstances," Alyssa recalled.
"Correct," Asher affirmed.
At that moment, Tom watched a timer ticking down to '00:00'.
"I'm going to start it soon, so prepare to leave the Operation Tower," Tom instructed Dane and Kai.
Once the timer hit zero, Tom initiated the process.
"I don't feel good about this," he confessed to himself.
But it was too late; he'd already activated the sequence, and now he could only watch the results unfold.
"Let's make sure I haven't left any traces behind," Tom decided, desperate to ensure that no evidence could lead others to them.
After all, what they were doing now was far more significant than the heist.
At the White Castle,
The music changed, but suddenly the chandelier, hidden due to the illusion magic, began to glow faintly.
It wasn't the chandelier itself but a small ball attached to it that was glowing.
'It's time,' Asher thought.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the chandelier exploded, and shards of mana-reinforced glass showered down onto the Center Stage.
The incident was so abrupt that no one was prepared for it.
Alyssa noticed the glass flying toward her face at the last second, but she refrained from using her magic, adhering to Asher's instructions.
Suddenly, a hand appeared in front of her face, and a shard of glass dug into it slightly.
"Kevin! Are you alright?" Elena asked as Kevin covered in the last second as few glass pieces dug inside his right arm.
Only the people like Leonard, Raelyn, Reece and Jayden that were above C Rank were fine.
Unlike normal explosion, the chandielier bursted and the peices flew downwards at a very high speed which didn't gave anyone a chance to react to it.
Kevin looked up with as he grabbed the piece of glass out of his right arm, and he could see the illusion magic was removed as the place where the explosion happened become visible.
At the Second Floor,
"What happened?!" Arthur shouted as he stood up, and so did the others.
The chandelier was made from Rank C material, so apart from a few, many others sustained cuts from the exploding chandelier.
But something even stranger occurred when the footage on the screen changed, revealing a man sitting in a chair wearing a black mask and a white suit.
"Hello," the man said in a slightly robotic voice.
"I am Zephyr," the man on the footage introduced himself, catching off guard the entire world that was watching the broadcast due to this unexpected turn of events.
"It seems like the previous incident wasn't enough, so I decided to use this method instead," the masked man said.
People watching the broadcast were left baffled.
<Lutherr25 : Did something explode? >
<Carmen : Wait, who is this guy? What on earth is happening? >
<Limar_41 : Previous incident??? >
Everyone was confused, but Kameron, who was handling the broadcast, was the most stunned.
"CALL THE OPERATION TOWER!!" Kameron shouted.
"Sir, we can't connect to them," one of the men replied.
"Then turn this off!!" Kameron yelled.
The man tried, but his attempts were futile.
"We don't have control to turn it off," the man informed Kameron, looking back at him.
"Yeah, someone has hijacked the entire network connected to the Operation Tower," another person added.
Kameron stood up and pulled out his communication device.
"Call the people near the Operation Tower, tell them to secure the whole tower as quickly as possible," Kameron instructed the person on the call.
"Who is the guy on the broadcast?" the man asked.
"Just do what I'm telling you right now," Kameron said with a sense of urgency.
"Understood." The man on the other end acknowledged, realizing the seriousness of the situation.
"I have a small message for the world and a small gift," the masked man spoke, as a snake formed around his neck.
