Chapter 226: All Part Of The Plan [Part 2] A young lady walked unhurriedly inside the forest. At least, that was what most people would assume if they saw her. After all, with the femininity and grace practically oozing out of her body, it would cross no normal person’s mind that this beauty was actually a crossdressing boy. Moreover, what others thought of his fashion choices was the last thing on Vaan Damne’s mind right now. He was perplexed—very perplexed. The plan he had meticulously prepared seemed to have encountered a mishap. Worse, it’s not clear what exactly this mishap was. By now, the entire forest should have been dyed with the blood of the students losing their lives at the hands of his followers, as well as the Phantom Soldiers who had been programmed to eliminate them. But his subordinates were rushing to talk to him through their special communication artifact, and all of them were saying the same thing. "What is happening?!" Vaan didn’t know the answer to their question, so he decided to go and investigate. He headed to one of the red crystals that he had buried in the ground and began digging. He found the crystal, but something else caught his eye. Right beside the red crystal was a blue magic crystal. Its surface was embedded with countless runes that gleamed with a ghostly light. "This... What the hell is this?!" The frown on Vaan’s face deepened. He could tell that the blue crystal had overwritten the command spell he had imbued on the red magic crystal. Even if he destroyed the blue magic crystal now, it wouldn’t matter. The red one was already pulsing with identical runes. "That is what you call all part of the plan." Vaan did not recognize the voice, but he could hear the smile in it. Indeed, when he looked behind him, he saw a young man with short silver hair leaning casually against a tree, clearly entertained. "Who are you?" Vaan demanded, glaring at the stranger. The young man’s smile grew wider. "I am Renard Vale," he replied. "The strongest First Year in the academy." If Renard had known that his club president was using his name to stir up this kind of trouble, he might have—very understandably—gone ballistic and beaten the crap out of Alex until he couldn’t remember his name. Unfortunately for Renard, he was currently busy eliminating the Demon Worshipers. This was part of the plan that the members of Endless Horizon had discussed before the Battle Royale. "Renard Vale." Vaan summoned a spear and pointed its tip at the young man. "How much do you know?" "Everything," Alex answered, unfazed by the killing intent that was oozing out of Vaan’s body. "Even the fact that you tricked this young man—err, lady into believing that you will help her regain the former glory of her noble household." After hearing the young man’s reply, Vaan’s expression immediately changed. The Renard boy was talking to him as if he truly understood everything! But since Vaan knew that what was happening was being broadcasted to the entire academy, he didn’t affirm or deny anything. He simply decided to attack Alex and silence him before he ran his mouth more! The sound of metal hitting a shield spread in the surroundings. "Did I touch a nerve?" Alex asked in a teasing tone. "Is that really how you should speak to a young lady?" Vaan asked. "You’re right," Alex replied. "My bad." Alex took a step forward and used his shield to bash Vaan, but the latter was quick on his feet and managed to distance himself at the right moment. The two clashed again and again. Vaan unleashed a flurry of spear strikes that could only be seen as a blur. However, Alex now had two shields strapped to his left and right arms and could block every strike with precision. "Vaan, are you really fine with this?" Alex asked, his voice suddenly solemn. "To let someone take over your life as you watch him do bad deeds using your name and face?" Vaan sneered as he continued his relentless attack, sending sparks flying everywhere. "Vaan, are you really unable to do anything?" Alex shouted. "Are you fine with what is happening?!" "Shut up!" Vaan roared as he unleashed a spear strike that sent Alex skidding back several meters. "Good." Alex lowered his shield and smiled kindly at the beautiful youth who seemed to have regained a bit of clarity and control. Unfortunately, that clarity soon vanished, replaced by a look of annoyance that contorted the teenage boy’s pretty face. "You talk too much." Vaan’s killing intent intensified as he started to channel Aura on his body. "Time for you to die." "Sorry, but that’s not going to happen," Alex replied. "I came here for only one thing, and that is to save Vaan. "You are the one who should die, you sick b*tch!" Alex knew that one of the Elders of the Demon Worshipers was possessing Vaan. She had been entranced by Vaan’s feminine looks and had decided to take over his body and make it her own. She delighted in showing Vaan the crimes that she had committed using his body in order to break his heart and soul. Of course, she also promised that she would restore Vaan’s family to their former wealth and glory. She even vowed to make the family’s name resound across the Kingdom of Avalon until every child knew who they were. That was the only thing that bound Vaan and the Elder together. Since Vaan believed that he didn’t have the power to restore his family’s former glory, he had surrendered his body to the Demon Worshiper despite her obvious sadism. He knew that she enjoyed seeing him, the owner of her vessel, suffer. "Vaan, do you still not see?" Alex pressed. "Do you still believe that what she is doing will help you and your family rise up once more? I know you’re not stupid, so why are you letting her take over your life?" "It’s useless you dumb punk!" Vaan answered. "Just die already!" As the two fought against each other, screams started to reverberate through the forest. "Do you hear that, Vaan?" Alex asked, unrelenting. "Those are the subordinates of this b*tch, and all of them are going to die like the pathetic worms that they are." The Demon Worshipers had planned to use a gravity spell to immobilize the students and leave them without a means to fight back as they were massacred. However, since Alex had known about this, he had asked Nessia to make adjustments to the spell. Thanks to Nessia’s intervention, the Demon Worshipers and the Phantom Soldiers were now affected by the gravity spell as well. This made them unable to resist the one-sided beating from the members of the Endless Horizon Club. Vaan stopped attacking for a moment to listen to the screams around him. Alex had to admit that his opponent really looked like a cute young lady from every angle. He wouldn’t have suspected a thing had he not known better. "Why don’t we make a deal?" Alex proposed. "Leave Vaan’s body and escape. That way, the Headmaster will not be able to interrogate you. How does that sound?" Vaan didn’t reply, simply turning to look at Alex in disdain. The screams of her followers did not stop. She understood that their plan had been truly foiled by a brat. "I see. So you are the Headmaster’s dog," Vaan stated. "I knew that something didn’t feel right because Calem suddenly disappeared. You captured that Copycat freak, huh?" Alex smiled faintly because he didn’t take part in Calem’s capture. Professor Gareth had noticed that his "son" was suspicious and had pummeled him to oblivion until the latter broke apart. "I will take your silence as a yes." Vaan twirled his spear, transforming it into a death scythe. "Since it has already come to this, there’s no use holding back." Vaan’s hair grew longer, and her eyes glowed with power. Although their main plan had been thwarted, she had still one trick up her sleeve. But before she activated the insurance she had planted long ago, she would first kill the irritating bastard in front of her by destroying his soul. Even if his body was ejected from the forest, it would become a vegetable because it no longer had any soul inside of it. Alex knew the power of the Elder possessing Vaan, and frankly, he was feeling a little anxious despite his calm appearance. Damage to the soul was a serious injury and couldn’t be healed by ordinary healing potions. However, he did have a plan to stop the Elder from overpowering him. Unfortunately, there was one condition. The real Vaan had to help him by preventing the Elder from fully controlling his body. As long as he was given an opening, Alex was confident that he would be able to save the pitiful young man, whose innocent heart was being corrupted by the Demon Worshiper, who only cared for his body and soul.