Undine, walking ahead, noticed that Joanie hadn't come to her side but had instead gone straight to that "dog-thing" Eros. Her eyes instantly flared with vigilance. Shyness forgotten, she halted in her tracks and waited. When the two caught up, she wordlessly wedged herself between them, successfully separating them.

  "What are you two chatting about?" she asked, acting as if nothing had happened.

  Eros, who had already pieced together the Prince’s motives, chuckled. "We were just discussing why that 'Blue-hair' is suddenly so concerned about me."

  Undine blinked. "What? Why?"

  Seeing her friend’s confusion, Joanie’s eyes curved into a smile, and she recounted the conversation she had just had with Eros.

  By the time Joanie finished, Undine looked thoughtful. She knew exactly why the Prince had been pursuing her, so she understood the deeper implications of his "concern" almost immediately. She shot a look at Eros. Seeing the slight curve of his lips, she was certain there was a hidden meaning he wasn't sharing.

  The fact that the "dog-thing" hadn't said it out loud meant it wasn't a good time to talk. As for why it wasn't a good time, Undine stole a glance at her best friend and let out a light, haughty huff.

  Undine’s subtle gestures didn't escape Eros’s notice. He watched his little sister’s stride grow lighter and her mood noticeably brighter, leaving him slightly bewildered.

  After walking for a bit, they reached their destination: the Training Grounds.

  As soon as they entered, Eros heard voices nearby.

  "Raymant, are you sure you're okay? You look terrible. Maybe we should call it a day? We don't have to practice combat right now; there's still time before the year-end practical assessment. There's no rush."

  A second voice responded, sounding exhausted. "I'm fine. I just haven't slept well these past few nights. It won't affect my fighting. Actually, fighting helps me stay awake. Come on, Klibb!"

  Eros recognized them; they were his classmates. It seemed they, too, were preparing for the upcoming exams. He glanced over and saw the man named Raymant. His face was pale, his eyes were deeply sunken with dark circles—he truly looked like he hadn't slept in days.

  Eros withdrew his gaze and walked over to the wall of the training hall. He pulled down a massive Greatsword, planting it in front of him with both hands resting on the hilt. He smiled at the two girls. "Who’s first?"

  Eros had barely returned to the academy today before Undine dragged him here to practice melee combat. While the world now had guns and cannons, firearms were often less effective than alchemical, enchanted blades when facing physical specters or xenomorphs. After all, purifying and exorcism bullets ran out eventually. One couldn't exactly engage in a fistfight with a specter. Aside from the power gap, the risk of contamination through physical contact was far too high.

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  As for why he chose the Greatsword? What else would a "Support" use? A Greatsword was a man's true romance!

  Undine nodded and pulled a massive broad-bladed machete from the wall.

  Wait. A machete?!

  Joanie felt her brain stall for a moment. This was the first time she had seen Undine and Eros spar with cold weapons, and the shock began before they even started. It was discordant enough to see Eros’s lean, slender frame wielding a heavy Greatsword, but the girl gave her an even bigger shock. She simply couldn't visualize a refined, beautiful noble lady swinging a massive butcher-style machete. The image was too "vivid" to contemplate.

  These two... truly are cut from the same cloth, Joanie thought. Nearby, several male students were staring, eyes glazed, at the sight of Undine holding the heavy blade.

  Undine ignored the stares. She took a deep breath, kicked off the ground, and charged at Eros.

  Eros calmly lifted his sword and began his defense. His main task today was to act as a sparring partner. If they were to actually fight, Undine and Joanie together wouldn't last a single round against him.

  Seeing Eros wielding the massive sword with one hand, blocking Undine’s relentless strikes with effortless grace, the other students nearby stopped their own practice to watch. Despite the sword's raw, heavy nature, it moved in Eros’s hands with an elegant, natural fluidity. The girls watching from the sidelines had stars in their eyes.

  After parrying another one of his sister’s strikes, Eros smiled at Joanie. "Join in as well!"

  Joanie was skeptical. Did Eros really want to take on both of them at once? Was he that arrogant? But then she remembered he was now a Sequence 7, and it didn't seem so unreasonable. She didn't hesitate; she pulled a rapier from the wall and joined the fray.

  Eros continued to deflect their attacks with ease. He had spent years sparring with Barbara in his soul space every single night. His combat techniques were forged through countless "beatings." A Sequence 8 like his sister and a Sequence 9 like Joanie couldn't even force him to use half his strength.

  Of course, his Elven bloodline provided a massive boost. Eros’s superhuman strength was a direct gift from his lineage. This made him wonder if the legendary image of the Elven race had been heavily "beautified" over the centuries. Perhaps on the surface, they were elegant and merciful, but in reality, they were brutes capable of ripping someone's skull off with their bare hands.

  Suddenly, Eros sensed something wrong to his left. He frowned.

  A sharp cry of alarm rang out: "Raymant! What's happening to you?!"

  Eros raised a hand to stop the sparring match and turned toward the source of the commotion.

  Raymant, the man who had claimed he just lacked sleep, was now kneeling on the ground, gasping for air while propping himself up with his hands. His pale face had turned a sickly purple-blue. His legs began to writhe unnaturally, and his eyes took on a murky, emerald tint.

  In Eros’s vision, phantom tentacles were erupting from every part of Raymant’s body.

  Eros’s pupils shrank. "Watch out!" he bellowed.

  Simultaneously, he flung his Greatsword toward Raymant with a powerful snap of his wrist.

  But it was a second too late. In the blink of an eye, Raymant’s body completed its mutation. Before anyone could react, a tentacle pierced straight through Klibb’s chest.

  The Greatsword whistled through the air a moment later, severing the tentacle, but the damage was done. Klibb’s heart had already been punctured.

  "He was contaminated," Barbara’s crisp voice rang in his ear. "The source was incredibly well-hidden—it managed to evade my observation. Though, that might be because I wasn't paying close attention."

  Eros’s expression grew grim.