The Genius of Cloning in the Academy City

Chapter 57: Polaris – Someone Set Violet on Fire (1)

At the time when the aftermath of the underground facility experiment had thrown the Violets into chaos, two girls at the academy also faced the shock that Violet had experienced.

First, Irene, who was walking on the campus grounds, suddenly sensed danger and realized that her body had instinctively entered a combat-ready state.

The senses honed through training and experience sent her an alarm of impending crisis.

‘Who is it?’

She carefully drew the folded spear shaft from her back and scanned her surroundings.

Was it an ambush?

She would strike back without hesitation.

If it was a sniper, she would immediately seek cover.

If it were magic or some unknown unique ability, she would pull up her mana instantly and confront it with her own abilities.

A list of responses etched into her memory quickly ran through her mind.

And then, an anomaly occurred.

-Ziiiiing…

“…?”

A piercing noise rang in her ears.

Her eyes widened as a strange sensation began to scramble through her mind.

She immediately drew upon her mana with full force.

This situation felt as though someone was forcibly opening her mind and digging into its most sensitive parts.

Magic? What is the intent?

She couldn’t figure it out, and there was no time to investigate.

At this rate, she would be compromised.

This was not enough!

Judging that mana circulation alone was insufficient to counteract it, Irene immediately activated her unique ability.

A small whirlwind swirled around her, and golden mana radiated outwards from her as the central axis.

Golden particles enveloped her entire body, invigorating her and sharpening her mental clarity.

Although the unidentified force continued to delve into her thoughts, she managed to resist it somehow.

Time, which had been stretching like a rubber band, suddenly snapped back into reality.

“Huff… huff…”

Cold sweat trickled down her forehead.

The ordeal had lasted only a few seconds, but her breathing was as heavy as if she had run a long-distance race, and part of her mana had been depleted.

‘What was that just now…?’

She barely moved her stiff body to look around.

Under the clear blue sky, the wind casually brushed past the shrubs.

The students around her walked by as if nothing had happened.

‘Is it just me?’

Though it lasted only a few seconds, she felt a deep sense of incongruity in that moment.

Like waking up from a dream, the memory of what had happened started to fade.

The purpose and meaning of the experience vanished, leaving only emotions behind.

Before she realized it, Irene found herself wondering why she had reacted so sensitively in the first place.

Meanwhile, at the same time, Daphne, who had been listening to a lecture in the front row of the classroom, was also caught in this strange phenomenon.

The difference was that, unlike the quick response of Helios’ heir, her reaction, lacking harsh training and experience, was much slower.

By the time she realized what was happening, the unpleasant sense of intrusion had already deeply penetrated her thoughts.

“…Kyaaah!”

She let out a short scream in instinctive rejection.

Her body, sensing the threat, activated her unique ability.

A pale green shield enveloped her body, severing the unpleasant intrusion that seemed to gnaw at her mind.

“Oh my… My apologies!”

Concerned that she might have disrupted the class, she tried to offer an apology.

The classroom was as silent as a grave.

Was it because of the sound she had just made?

Feeling embarrassed by the stillness of the room, Daphne glanced around—and almost screamed again.

Everyone in the classroom, except for her, was staring blankly into space with lifeless eyes.

Every single person, with their heads tilted back, gazed into the void like dead fish, their eyes devoid of life.

‘No way. This has to be a joke, right? Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?’

After a few seconds, the students and professor, who had been frozen like statues, started moving again.

It was as if they didn’t remember what had just happened, as they acted as though nothing was wrong.

Daphne was bewildered.

Was it my imagination? Did I see it wrong?

“And so, the mechanisms of the human body… Student? We are in the middle of a lecture. Stop using your mana.”

The professor’s reprimand snapped Daphne out of her thoughts, making her realize she was still maintaining her shield.

The bizarre sight from earlier left her deeply shaken.

She couldn’t tell if what she had experienced was real or just a figment of her imagination.

Trying to gather her scattered thoughts, she attempted to focus on the lecture, but the strange scene in the classroom lingered in her mind.

Did I really see it wrong?

* * *

We Violets could no longer afford to take any risks.

Having directly experienced that mental shockwave earlier, the threat had become a reality.

We confirmed that whatever experiment they had conducted in the underground facility had begun to affect Violets in other regions as well.

Our unique abilities are no longer untouchable domains.

They can be breached at any time.

And as someone without any unique abilities, I was just a beautiful girl who could barely wield some mana.

I might really die.

If that happens, it’s all over.

Fear gripped me.

This was the first time since I had forgotten my name that I had felt such a spine-chilling dread.

“Leave only the minimum number of personnel and reverse-create everyone else. Immediately.”

“Even those stationed in the underground facility?”

“Of course, pull them out.”

Except for one person left in the dormitory, the minimum personnel instantly dissolved into sparkling dust and vanished.

The person remaining in the dormitory now had a singular objective: to steal as many valuable items from inside the academy as possible before the situation erupted.

Attendance?

Grades from a school that would soon disappear were hardly important.

“No secret vault here, huh…”

“Guess it’s because this is from five years ago.”

Ever since looting the Crystal Flower, we had been

Ahead, four or five teenagers, who looked like students, were wielding knives and axes, repeatedly striking a green, dome-shaped object.

The weapons they were holding emitted faint traces of energy blades.

And I could clearly see who was inside that translucent dome.

“Rugilinn! Why are you here?!”

The girl inside saw me and shouted in a distressed voice.

It was Daphne.

I was horrified.

“What?! Daphne! Why are you—”

Before I could finish, they kicked me in the stomach, sending me tumbling to the ground.

These guys.

They must’ve infused mana into their kick.

Thanks to pain dispersion, it didn’t hurt much, but the impact on my organs was unavoidable.

I ended up vomiting out my earlier dinner.

Laughter echoed around me, stabbing at my ears.

“No. 5! I’m going in now!”

“No, hold off for now. Call for reinforcements.”

Once again, my hair was yanked upward.

Stop pulling my hair already!

“Hah… this is so funny. Do you even know why you’re here?”

“I don’t!”

-SLAP! SLAP!

At this rate, my cheeks might puff up like balloons.

Around a dozen boys and girls who looked like students surrounded me.

I shifted my gaze.

Daphne was still inside the shield, holding on.

She looked terrified, her face pale, but at least she wasn’t hurt.

Two of the assailants nearby were still laughing and striking the shield.

“Ha-ha-ha!”

“Open it! I said open it!”

A black-haired girl, who seemed to be the leader of the group, grabbed my head and forced me to look up.

Her face, full of ridicule and arrogance, came into view.

I adjusted my tone to sound as pitiful as possible, adopting the stuttering Violet persona from my days at the lab.

“I… I don’t know… I’m sorry… please don’t hit me…”

“Looks like you’re finally understanding your situation.”

For now, I needed to figure out the reason.

Why were Daphne and I dragged here?

“Yes, I’m sorry. Can you explain…?”

Before I destroy all of you, you bastards!

You’ve crossed the line.