102 A long night
The news of the incident between Erwin and Asher was spreading among the professors. Many were surprised that a guy like Erwin would do something like that. Xander did not report Asher’s extreme killing intent, so the blame on Erwin was bigger.
“What? They are expelling him today?” one of the professors was talking with a staff member.
“Well, it’s his fault anyway,” he didn’t care about Erwin one bit, so his reaction was natural.
“But I don’t think he will survive,” the man chuckled, knowing Erwin’s fate.
There were three reasons why nobody ever messed with the Greville family inside Somaria.
First was Nathaniel Greville himself, the SSS Rank Hunter known as the Sword God. His immense strength alone was enough to repel any ill intentions towards the Greville family.
Second was Abyss Corporation, which was owned by Sylvie alone and had a huge monopoly on mana crystals. Most of the financial giants of Somaria, and even other four continents, were invested in Abyss Corporation, which increased the financial might of the Greville family among other elite families.
The third reason was Helena Raven, mother of Sylvie.
If someone were discussing the most feared woman in this world, Helena Raven was the name that came to their mind. She was a peak SS Rank Hunter and the Guildmaster of the Information Guild, Moonlight, whose capabilities were on par with the World Association.
She also had the unique bloodline ability to read the memories of people. However, it was her extreme control over black element made her one of the strongest SS Rank Hunters in the world. It was even said that only SSS Rank hunters could kill her in a duel.
The reason Asher could go around disrespecting others was that he was greatly favored by his grandmother. However, Asher’s strongest backing and resource was the same person he did not wanted to meet in person.
Right now, Helena Raven was sitting in the Greville Estate, talking with Sylvie.
“So, these are Ivar’s children?” Helena asked Sylvie with a smile on her face.
Despite being old, Helena didn’t look a year above 45, and her appearance was similar to Sylvie.
“Yeah,” Sylvie answered with a chuckle.
She saw Livia and Lucas, who were sitting on Helena’s lap, but Lucas’s face was getting red. Normally, only Livia would get such treatment because she was cute, but it was his first time somebody treated him like that.
“Lucas, Livia, she is my mother, Helena Raven, and my role model as well,” Sylvie said with a smile as Livia and Lucas both greeted Helena.
“You can call me Grandma Helena,” Helena said with a smile.
Helena was out of Somaria due to some issues with her guild, Moonlight. When she heard about the news about Asher’s talent and the findings of Ivar’s children, the first thing she did when she came back to Somaria was meet with Sylvie.
“Well, I heard there were some issues with the party and in the Tournament with the Rothschild,” Helena was speaking calmly, but Sylvie knew that she would have done something by now if not for her father, Alfred, stopping her.
“Nothing much,” Sylvie changed the topic quickly, but Helena didn’t mind it.
She already knew what had happened and wanted to see what her daughter’s intentions were regarding those incidents. If she was fine, Helena was not going to interfere much.
Helena let the twins go down, and Lucas could finally escape from the embarrassment he was feeling.
“It’s time for your class, so I will not waste your time,” Helena said as the twins left for their classes.
Sylvie asked, “Mom, did you find what you were looking for?” as she picked up the tea from the table.
“I don’t exactly know who was behind it, but I saw the same evidence that was seen when the Garcia family was purged,” Helena’s words made Sylvie’s expression a bit serious.
“But I could not find anything when I tried to read their memories. It seems a very strong artifact hindered my bloodline ability,” Helena told Sylvie.
“Do you think the same thing will happen again, like last time?” Sylvie asked, remembering the incident that happened more than a decade ago.
“Not really, the mana reactions were not even half of what we saw back then,” Helena was speaking when she saw Sylvie receive a notification.
“Who is it?” Helena asked.
“Oh, it’s Amelia,” Sylvie stopped, and her bloodlust started to leak as she saw what her daughter had typed.
Helena disappeared and appeared behind Sylvie, taking the phone from her hands. She read the message.
“Nightwing,” she muttered some words as people wearing all-black outfits with masks on their faces emerged from the shadows.
“Hunt this Erwin guy from World Academy and bring him to me alive,” she said, and all of those people disappeared in an instant.
It was already late in the evening, and it was getting darker outside.
A man with slight brown hair was running away from Soran; it was Erwin, who was expelled from the World Academy. Fortunately, Farnus had not held him for trial, so Erwin still had the chance to flee from Soran. He didn’t understand why Farnus did it, but he needed to escape as this was the only way he could live.
He was running through the mountain ranges that were present in Soran when the presence of a person made him stop.
“Who-who are you?” Erwin stuttered.
“Be grateful to the Chairman that you are allowed to live,” a woman’s voice could be heard, but her words made Erwin relax.
“Really?” Erwin could not believe that he would be able to live.
As they were talking, they sensed the auras of multiple S Rank Hunters.
The woman grabbed Erwin hurriedly and brought out a teleporting artifact as they quickly teleported away.
Inside the Rankers’ Dorm, Alyssa was sleeping.
On a huge fluffy bed, a pink-haired girl with a pale face, which had a huge scar, could be seen sleeping, but her face had a frown.
“No-no, no, leave,” she muttered in her sleep.
*****************************************
In the garden, the sweet fragrance of blooming flowers filled the air, while a little pink-haired girl ran around, her laughter echoing through the space. Spring had just arrived, and the weather was perfect for enjoying the beauty of the garden. A woman with cherry blossom pink hair and light pink eyes followed behind the little girl, watching her with a loving gaze.
“Alyssa, come back here,” the woman called out to the girl, her voice full of affection.
“Okay, Mom,” Alyssa responded with a grin, running back towards her mother.
“Can I have a candy, please?” the little girl begged, looking up at her mother with pleading eyes.
“My darling, you already lost one of your front teeth. If you eat too much candy, the rest might fall out too,” the woman said, her tone serious.
“Not even one?” Alyssa pleaded, hugging her mother’s leg.
“Liz, let her have one more candy,” a man with short pink hair said, joining them in the garden. Alyssa ran towards him with joy in her eyes.
“Uncle!” Alyssa exclaimed, as he picked her up.
“Brother, don’t spoil her too much,” Elizabeth said, shaking her head as she watched her brother give in to Alyssa’s demands.
“Don’t blame me. Look at how adorable she is,” the man replied, grinning.
“Okay, Alyssa. If you bring Mom a rose, I will give you a candy,” Elizabeth said with a smile.
Alyssa jumped out of her uncle’s arms and ran to the garden, searching for the perfect rose for her mother. She remembered her mother loved blue roses, and so she searched for one.
But as the little girl reached the garden, she saw the blue rose starting to wither. She was shocked and looked around; the scenery around her had changed.
All the flowers that were once full of life were now withering, laying lifeless on the ground.
The flowers, once the pride and joy of the garden, had lost their luster and vitality, leaving behind a desolate and dreary landscape.
She tried to run towards the mansion but what once had been a beautiful place but had turned into a mess with debris all over the place.
“Mommy,” Little Alyssa shouted while her hands trembled.
“Mommy, where are you?” She ran, but she could not find her anywhere.
The little girl kept running, but she fell, and her knees started to bleed.
“Mommy, I will not ask for candy,” tears were forming in her eyes.
“Mommy!!,” the brave little girl stood up again to find her mother.
With all the debris around her, she could see multiple corpses of people who were once working happily at this beautiful mansion.
Fear was clouding the mind of the little girl, but she kept running despite falling multiple times.
Her knees were bleeding, and her hair and clothes were a mess.
“Alyssa,” a voice made the little girl turn as she ran towards the voice, and she saw Elizabeth sitting on the floor.
“Moooom,” the little girl ran into the embrace of her mother and started crying.
ƥαṇdα-ηθνε|·ƈθm
Little Alyssa looked up and saw her mother was gone.
She turned and saw her mother begging in front of some people.
“Please, she is innocent. Leave her alone,” the helpless cry of a mother was echoing throughout the place.
A white-haired man and a slightly brown-haired man with deep blue eyes were standing on the bodies of two men.
“Uncle, Grandfather!” the little Alyssa screamed, as she knew the two men who were now lying dead in front of her.
“Please just leave my daughter alone. She can’t hurt anyone,” Elizabeth was pleading with her eyes full of tears.
The little girl started to run towards her mother, but no matter how much she ran, the distance between her and her mother kept becoming larger.
She saw her mother turn, and a drop of tear left her pink eyes.
“MOOOOOM,” Alyssa woke up and shouted; her breathing was rough, and her hands were trembling.
She looked around and saw she was in her bed.
Her heart was beating fast, and she could feel the pain around her chest. She tried to calm herself down, but there was no one to hug her like her mother did. There was no warmth in her life anymore, just lonely cold nights, and once again, Alyssa laid back on her bed.
She hugged her knees and started crying. She promised it was the last time she would cry, but she also knew that it was a lie.
She kept crying as memories of her childhood kept playing in her head.
“Why me?” She kept saying the same words again and again.