Chapter 225: All Part Of The Plan [Part 1] "It’s about time," Professor Gareth muttered as he looked at the hourglass by his side. The top bulb had almost been emptied. A minute or two more, and the two-hour grace period for the students would end. And when the time came, the Phantom Soldiers would appear. Their role was simple—eliminate all the students one by one. The Professor couldn’t help but sigh as he thought of the Headmaster’s words. "Believe in our students. They can handle this." Professor Gareth didn’t know where the Headmaster’s confidence was coming from. ’They’re just First Years,’ Professor Gareth thought. ’What can they possibly do?’ After interrogating the Demon Worshiper, the Headmaster had ordered Professor Gareth to keep the information to himself. He was not to divulge what they had learned to anyone, and that included his son, the treasurer of the student council. The Professor could only look at the monitor showing Vaan Damne, even though he knew that the young man would be responsible for what was about to come. As soon as the last grain of sand fell to the bottom, a grand magic circle appeared, encompassing a vast area of the Mistral Weave Forest. It was something that everyone was expecting, and yet, it somehow felt foreboding at the same time. Above the magic circle was a red dome that prevented anyone from leaving or entering the battlefield. Suddenly, countless Phantom Soldiers appeared as planned. But they were not alone. Several individuals, all in black cloaks, also appeared in the forest. None of the magical screens had detected their presence. They were none other than the Demon Worshipers, who had come to start their killing spree, and they moved to activate the magic formation that would give the First Years of the academy a very tragic experience. Even the safety mechanism that the student council had set in place to ensure that their juniors wouldn’t die during the Battle Royale was suddenly disabled, marking the start of the tragedy that the Demon Worshipers had been planning for over a year. Sitting on a tree branch, Nessia looked up at the red dome that had suddenly encapsulated the entire forest and sighed in her heart. "A Seer, huh?" Nessia murmured as she remembered what Alex had told her. The plan the young man had dragged her into joining had been so daring that, if found out, could get both of them expelled. She had only agreed after Alex promised that if they were exposed, he would shoulder all responsibilities and tell everyone that he alone had done the unthinkable. Now that the young man’s chilling prophecy had finally come to pass, Nessia felt oddly relieved. She was glad that despite her doubts, she had agreed to his request. "First, I need to re-activate the safety formation," Nesia said as she lightly tapped the tree branch, activating a set of runes that lit the tree up like a Christmas tree. "That way, no students will die even if they are killed." A faint blue ripple emitted from the tree’s roots, spreading out in all directions until it covered the entire area under the red dome. Nessia closed her eyes and saw one of the cloaked individuals stab a student in the chest while cackling way too dramatically. "Why?!" the student asked as blood seeped out from the corner of his lips. "Why?" the cloaked individual echoed in disdain. "It’s because you are a student of this wretched school. If you want to blame someone for your death, blame the Headmaster for not being here to save you!" Similar scenes were happening all over the forest as the Demon Worshipers systematically tracked down and killed the students. However, just as these students were about to truly die, their bodies turned into particles of light, which quickly disappeared before the Demon Worshipers could even get over their shock. "Sorry, but you’re not killing anyone under my watch." Nessia’s voice reverberated through the forest. Demon Worshippers and students alike heard her declaration. "Also, Mr. President, don’t forget that you owe me, okay?" Alex, who had just rammed a Phantom Soldier against the trunk of a particularly massive tree, couldn’t help but chuckle after hearing the young lady’s words. "Of course," Alex replied before beheading the Phantom Soldier with his sword. "I’ll make the student council foot this bill later on. Don’t worry, our club will be filthy rich after this." Nessia smiled. Although Alex was far away from her, she could see and hear everything happening in the forest. Now, she just had to wait. Once Vaan activated the artifacts he had buried in the forest, they would enact the next phase of their plan. A minute later, a giant octagram appeared above the forest. It was filled with countless runes, shining like stars. All the remaining students, including Nessia, suddenly felt a force pulling them down. It was as if gravity had increased by about four times. Some students collapsed on the ground, unable to move. Others were able to resist, but only to a certain extent. Their bodies were simply too heavy for them to go anywhere. Vaan’s magical formation did not affect the Demon Worshipers and Phantom Soldiers, who immediately intensified their killing spree. They were eager to start killing their powerless victims. However, their sadism gave way to confusion and frustration when the students simply refused to die. Instead of turning into corpses, they all transformed into particles of light and were ejected from the forest. After deeming that the right time had come, Nessia tapped another engraved rune on the branch. This sent another ripple of power expanding through the forest. The pressure immobilizing the members of Endless Horizon and a handful of other students—including Franz, Astrea, Princess Xenia, Lapiz, and Evangeline—disappeared completely. This allowed them to defend themselves against the Phantom Soldiers, as well as the Demon Worshipers, who had no idea what was happening. "This shouldn’t be happening!" one of the Demon Worshipers roared uselessly in anger. "Why aren’t they dying?! Why?!" They had come to slaughter the helpless students trapped by Vaan’s powerful formation. The students had indeed been helpless and defenseless at first, unable to do anything as the Demon Worshipers and Phantom Soldiers attacked them. But instead of leaving bloody bodies behind, the killed students were simply sent out of the forest. Even to the most simple-minded Demon Worshiper, it was obvious that the students would survive this supposed tragedy. Outside the forest, Professor Gareth was busy checking up on the students that had been teleported to the Field Infirmary. They suffered various levels of injuries, but he could determine that none of them would be fatal. He allowed himself a small sigh of relief, unwilling to appear shaken before his students. The special counter that the student council had created to track the number of students left showed that the survivors were quickly getting eliminated by this one-sided slaughter. The Demon Worshipers had expected an effortless victory, so they did not bother to hide their actions. The seniors observing the Battle Royale through magical screens couldn’t help but gasp in shock when they finally saw some Demon Worshipers in action. The student councillors went pale—especially Cassandra, who had been responsible in setting up Phantom Soldiers. Never in her wildest dreams had she thought of the possibility that terrorists might hijack the Phantom Soldiers for their own purposes! "Break the barrier, now!" Theo ordered. The students and Professors joined hands as they unleashed their strongest attacks on the red dome that prevented anyone from entering or leaving the forest. However, no matter what they did, they couldn’t even leave a mark on the red barrier. The only person who could break it was the Headmaster, but he was currently sipping some tea as if he were watching a theatre performance put up by children for a town festival, not a terrorist attack unfolding in real time. His faint smile revealed that he had no intention of breaking the barrier. "Sly brat," Professor Rowan remarked in an amused, even pleased, tone as he watched Alex ignore a student who was about to be killed by a Phantom Soldier. Clearly, Alex wasn’t going to try saving any of his peers from their attacks. No, he was cheering the Demon Worshipers and Phantom Soldiers on, at times even thanking them for helping him eliminate his fellow competitors. That was not all. He snapped his fingers like an entitled customer to get the attention of a Demon Worshiper. As soon as the Demon Worshiper turned to him, face twister in anger, he helpfully pointed at a student hiding in some bushes. And then he ran away. The staff, councillors, and students could only stare at the magical screens in disbelief. "What the hell?! Is that brat a traitor?!" "Wait, isn’t that Alex Stratos? The top ranker in the Seventh Training Room?" "Did you guys not notice anything strange? Everyone is paralyzed, but his club members can move about just fine!" "Are you blind? Can’t you see that Princess Xenia and Miss Astrea are also unaffected?" The seniors tried to make sense of what was happening, but it was in vain. They were just as perplexed as they had been when the first student was "killed," and they were no closer to understanding the situation. The number on the counter had gone from over two hundred to a hundred in a matter of minutes. Now, only dozens of students were still in the forest. By the time the Headmaster finished brewing himself a new pot of tea, that number had dropped to fifteen. As the Battle Royale would not end until there were only ten survivors, the barrier around the forest would not disappear, no matter what, until five more students were eliminated.