Through a curtain of green, Areii made his presence known. Nauseating heat waves washed over him, blooming and rippling across the clearing. He noticed that a dozen human-shaped engines were pushing themselves as much as they could. Explosive crimson spheres the size of baseballs whistled through the air like a mess of missiles. Barriers of red-tinged energy were the only forces keeping these spheres away from the delicate human body.

The children of nobility were at each other's throats, and Areii calmly took it all in.

Inside his mind, every trajectory he perceived was accounted for. His estimates were akin to pinpoint calculations as his footsteps propelled him forward through the rain of projectiles. Every sphere of energy simply brushed past his skin as he pushed himself to his limits.

He only had thirty seconds of existence in this state. He was but a weak, inferior commoner. Different from the high and mighty nobles.

The quality of his energy was like a lamb to the slaughter, and theirs were hungry wolves. Areii had discovered for himself that the shine of crimson was most certainly more terrifying than his pale, yellow bullets.

He was miles away from someone like Seraphina who could fight in this state for far longer. She was right at his heels, blocking every sphere that came her way. In the face of absolute power, the twelve, chaos-indulging Energy Sorcerers were nothing.

Although he didn't need her help, she still exerted energy to do so. There were some things that he could not dodge with ease.

"I found him," Areii's eyes flashed as he caught sight of everyone's target. 

Areii identified the boy as Varia Malhomm, a Baron's son from his class. The distribution of crimson spheres had focused on his sorry form. Bruised and battered, the noble was doing his all to escape his pursuers.

Whiiiiiiiii—!

A crimson sphere came flying into Varia's gut at that moment, and Areii watched as his body exploded from the release of energy. Unfortunately, Varia's partner had failed to protect him from the incessant rain of explosives. His body could not resist the fate of being turned into particles of energy and light, scattering in the wind.

"There!" Areii noticed the shining coin that had appeared where Varia's body should have been, unaffected by the explosions that rained down upon it. His eyes gleamed with the malevolence of greed.

Click—!

A decision was made at that moment; a safety switch was flicked, and energy poured into the black frame of Areii's pistol. In but a moment, the gun was filled with veins of yellow energy, pulsating with the youth's heartbeat as if it had suddenly come alive.

He then glanced at the beauty by his side. Seraphina met his gaze, and the duo nodded. Their expressions were both calm and yet hid two different emotions.

Seraphina felt relief.

Areii contained his avarice.

Nonetheless, with their rhythmic cadence, they swiftly found themselves being bombarded on all sides. Now that the sole holder of the coin had been eliminated, and the desired item had appeared, the battlefield had been injected with vigour. A greater desire fuelled the hearts of everyone present.

Areii only had twenty seconds left of his energy reserves. Once those twenty seconds ended, he would no longer have the energy needed to connect to the Virtual Realm.

Seraphina's shields kept appearing and disappearing, blocking every incoming sphere just moments before they collided with her and Areii's frail bodies. Yellow bullets flew out of Areii's gun from within her field of protection. Several bullets found their marks, injuring their targets with a hole in their bodies; their ability to fire more projectiles was therefore impeded.

For every crimson sphere, there was a crimson shield.

For every Energy Sorcerer in the clearing, there was a yellow bullet.

There was no one but Areii and Seraphina within ten metres of the coin, and it only took them a second to cross that distance. 

Bang—!

With a simple push of the trigger, Areii shot the silver, indestructible coin into the air and snatched it as it fell. He tossed the coin to Seraphina, who swiftly pocketed the item.

"How much longer do you have?" Seraphina asked, her brows creased with worry as she continued to shield herself from the endless rain.

"Fifteen seconds," Areii replied, a grim tone lacing his words.

Seraphina nodded as she pushed herself even further. An even more immense amount of heat leaked out of her body. She was like a bonfire in a world of ice and snow. 

In the blink of an eye, her speed nearly doubled. At this point, she had a superhuman physique, leaving Areii in the dust.

The boy did not care about this fact as he turned around to face the angry nobles. With the coin stolen from right under their noses, their bloodlust was most certainly discernable from their expressions.

More than a dozen crimson spheres appeared in the air—and each sphere represented death.

In the face of such a bombardment, with Seraphina no longer protecting him, he realised his dire predicament. His eyes shrank, and the familiar chill of fear coursed through his spine.

However, he did not back down. With one last breath, he ignored all those rapidly approaching spheres. The colour drained out from his face as he poured all his energy into his gun.

He then let loose eleven bullets. The previously yellow-tinged bullets had taken a more threatening hue of orange.

Coupled with the benefits of his gun, every bullet pierced through the crimson barriers that protected each student. Then, they continued their relentless advance without hindrance.

Areii watched on with a smirk. He watched as the eyes of his foes dilated in shock. He watched as they all panicked as they tried to dodge.

However, their faith in their shields had now become their bane. They were simply too late.

Eleven heads were blasted into particles of light. The spheres that they commanded dissipated as they did.

Meanwhile, the cause of this display of fireworks began to dissipate into nothingness. His body in reality had exhausted its resources, and thus his connection with the Virtual Realm could no longer be maintained. 

After one last glance at his surroundings and a satisfied nod, Areii allowed himself to disappear.

When Areii's consciousness returned to his body, it was already morning. Luckily, the [Virtual Mind Cabin] that he had used was a comfortable place of rest. Moreover, it was built to respond to situations like these. Although he had drained himself of the special energy that Energy Sorcerers needed to survive, his body did not cease its functions.

An emergency battery had supplied his heart and mind with the power to keep him alive.

With a whoosh, his cabin door opened, allowing him to step into the golden light of a new day. Morning dew crawled down his glass-paned windows, and the soft chirping of the city's birds rang in his ear.

When Areii glanced at his Quantum Watch, a single message had appeared in his notifications.

It was from no one other than the only daughter of the Duke of Gryphons, Seraphina Ravenscroft. As for its contents? There was only another name.

"Long Vine Café."

The only contents of my watch have been nothing but names recently. Areii shook his head as he recalled the newly-installed [Unholy Trinity] app on his watch.

Curious, he navigated over to the app. Expecting to see the same list of names and three blank spaces, Areii did a double take when he realised that one of the spaces had been filled. Glittering golden script shone on one of the slots, spelling out two words.

[Orbital Inference]

"Orbital Inference?" In a daze, Areii muttered those words aloud.

Suddenly, the world around him shifted to black and white, but other than that, there was nothing. With a frown, Areii put some thought into this situation.

If the name is its activation, then it holds more meaning than simply being a title. Areii grabbed a pen from his nearby desk and spun it around his fingers.

Without sparing a second, shimmering silver lines appeared around the pen, dictating the motion of its spin.

A brow was definitely raised.

Then what about...

Whoosh—!

The wind whistled as Areii created a marble-sized sphere of yellow energy. He then flung it out his window, watching carefully as it dissipated after reaching a certain distance.

Another line appeared in his black-and-white perception.

So it helps me read the trajectory of things... Areii nodded to himself as the perception effect faded, and a pang of pain assaulted his eyes and mind. It was a familiar pain. One that he had felt many, many, many times before.

This... This pain can only be caused by a [War Saint]'s ability... Orbital Inference is a martial art! 

Shock appeared on Areii's face, and a creeping suspicion arose within him. All those names on his watch... He had not bothered to read through the thousands upon thousands of names, but with this revelation, he could not help but scroll through it in a hurry.

With every swipe, his shock grew.

These should all be abilities from Earth's [Inheritances]! How?! Could this Quantum Watch be..?

Suddenly, cold sweat dripped down Areii's back. Shivers ran up his spine as several memories flowed back to him at that moment. 

Massacres and blood-stained weapons. Manic laughter and atrocious deeds.

The works of demons.

Impossible! Areii chided himself at the mere thought of it.

But... his curiosity had grabbed a firm hold of him.

There's absolutely no way.

Yet, he still spoke with a low shout. Memories aplenty flooded his mind. His entire mortal life flashed before his eyes.

"Show me your true form, Chain of Death and Reincarnation, Shackle of the Living, Binding of Heaven and Earth... [Gaia's Essence]!"

Crack—!

The screen of his Quantum Watch shattered, and time suddenly ground to a halt.

A terrifying pressure descended, and Areii fell to his knees. Blood seeped out of his nose and pooled in his throat.

It's real!

Arei choked on his own blood as he struggled to stay conscious. [Gaia's Essence] was what the demons desired. They raided planets for the sake of an item just like it. Earth had become their target because of it.

They would stop at nothing to claim it.

Yet now, it was in his hands.

No... I cannot let anyone discover I have this on me! For the first time in his new life, panic began to consume him.

But just as he was about to lose himself in the madness wrought by the pressure on his mind and soul, time seemed to flow backwards.

The shattered screen of his watch was mended in an instant. The terrifying pressure accompanying its shattering had been contained and sucked back into his watch. 

"Hah, hah, hah," Areii's breaths were ragged as if he had just run a marathon. His body was drenched with sweat, causing a sting in his eyes. His mouth was plagued with the taste of blood.

Then, a cold, soothing sensation consumed him as it did on his first day on Aquamarine. The words of a dying god of death once again rang in his mind. The voice that sought vengeance brought him tranquillity.

He was as calm as a mountain once more. Insurmountable and steady.

Another golden name appeared on the blank spaces of his watch as if it responded, and recognized, the changes in his psyche.

[Elder Lich]

Areii was, therefore, rendered speechless.