Chapter 48 Madness
Xue Bing turned and became vigilant when she saw them, moving to stand between them and Dante. "Nothing, I just farted really hard."
Meanwhile, Sylphia couldn't take it anymore and burst into laughter while Humphrey had a weird expression. Slessor looked like she was seeing Xue Bing for the first time while Dante felt like he didn't have enough IQ to process everything that was going on.
Meanwhile, Leonidas displayed an annoyed expression at the apparent lie while Infernus' expression changed as he covered his nose quickly. Undina spoke for the first time, her voice sounding like someone that was gurgling water at the back of their throat.
"Don't take us for fools Xue Bing. We sensed a severe power fluctuation above the EX Rank here and rushed over."
Leonidas growled deeply. "That's right, and you better explain what happened here."
Xue Bing frowned. "Scram! The Central Server has already decided that he is within acceptable range and everything should continue as-is."
The expressions of the other teachers became ugly, but they didn't leave. Rather their eyes roved the area and they seemed to see the story of what happened here through the remains. Just like how Dante pieced things together, they were also able to do so as their eyes fell on Dante.
Immediately, Dante felt goosebumps appear on his skin and he took a step back. Xue Bing's expression changed as she manifested a wave of spatial energy, which was suddenly stretched thin as Leonidas, Infernus, and Undina suddenly attacked.
"What are you fellows doing?!' Xue Bing roared as she became pale-faced, her earlier injuries worsening.
"Don't be selfish and let us see this student. It's best to take him back for 'reeducation' don't you think?" Leonidas stated with a roar that caused the spatial barrier to crack.
"You alone cannot swallow this chunk of meat Xue Bing, don't let the Xue Clan behind you come to an end because of your actions!" Undina stated viciously, manifesting spears of high-pressure water to bombard the shield.
Infernus simply shrugged with a wide smile. "Hey, I've got a faction with interests too, so I have to fight even if I feel it's lame."
Xue Bing paled and was forced to take a step back. She glared at Humphrey and Slessor. "The two of you, leave here immediately using your abilities!"
The two students who were overwhelmed by the events occurring before them seemed to snap out of a daze and immediately used their powers to flee the area. Since they were not important, none of the teachers stopped them and tacitly let them escape.
Dante especially was lost. What the hell was going on, one moment Xue Bing was making a fool of herself to coax him and the next, she had fallen out with her colleagues over him? Why go so far, wouldn't there be some punishment for their careless actions?
"Well, it's because the world is ruled by benefits and interests. Right now, their only goal is to capture you first and bring you back to control you using any means necessary, then they can bear any consequences that come out of it."
A sweet voice spoke beside Dante, snapping him out of his daze. His entire body felt ice cold like he had fallen into a well as he turned to see Sylphia standing to his right casually, like a friend. When he looked down to gaze at her, she raised her beautiful and delicate face to meet his and smiled in a very lovely manner.
However, Dante could not find any joy in this. After all, the teachers were fighting Xue Bing and willing to hurt her to get to him… but wasn't Sylphia also a teacher? Wouldn't she have a family or faction behind her?
Dante immediately wanted to react but he felt like the oxygen in his lungs was forcefully locked in and his brain became fuzzy as he passed out. However at the last moment, he had thought of returning to his home universe, so Dante's body disappeared even as he was knocked out, causing Sylphia's confident smile to change.
When the other teachers also saw that Dante was gone, they relaxed their attacks, as their fierce expressions were replaced with despair and regret.
Even if you knew you would be jailed, you would still fight for the 1 billion dollars in front of you.
However, during the fighting, the money was snatched away by someone else, leaving you with the burden of committing the crime without the reward.
Naturally, once your greed cleared up, you would regret even taking part, but if the money were to reappear before you, you would begin fighting again.
Xue Bing relaxed and released the barrier she created but she ended up coughing blood three times. Her eyes were filled with schadenfreude and a bit of hatred as she laughed cruelly.
"You guys are so dead. You have fucked up so bad that I even feel bad for you… not! Hahaha!"
Xue Bing laughed shrilly and cruelly, not caring about the pained feelings of the others. This caused their expressions to become downcast and ugly, especially with the serious mocking in the background.
"Hmph, evil witch it was your fault! If you didn't interfere, we could have captured the brat!" Leonidas roared as his eyes became bloodshot.
Beast-related superpower users mostly focused on training their mental will because they could be easily influenced by the tempers of the creatures they turned into. The regret from failing to capture Dante, the fear of the consequences of his actions and the pain of losing such a good chess piece for his faction turned into anger at this time.
Leonidas charged forward like a bullet and roared, striking Xue Bing in the torso with a claw, sending the svelte woman flying a few meters backward as she spat blood the entire way. When she landed heavily, she could barely get up anymore, being completely winded and severely injured.
The faces of the other teachers changed, but they didn't move to stop Leonidas. After all, there was competition between them not to mention that acting to save Xue Bing would not mitigate their issues. Along with that was the fact that they were also annoyed by the meddlesome woman who ruined their chance.
Leonidas was not done as his bloodshot eyes focused on the severely wounded Xue Bing. He roared once more and leaped over, fully intending to maul her. However, he was blown back in mid-air by a force so strong that it caused the world itself to shake.
When the other teachers saw this, their faces changed greatly. They no longer wished to wait for their verdict to be dealt for they knew that survival would be slim today given the judge who arrived. Immediately, they all manifested their superpowers at the highest order as they fled.
All of them aimed towards the sky as running on the ground would be futile. Unless they entered space and left the range of the academy, their escape would be useless. However, it was clearly wishful thinking as they all crashed back down to the ground much like Leonidas, a strange force seeming to act on them.
Only Sylphia was able to get up to her feet as her injuries were the lightest. She looked upward as her face changed, and her body began to tremble.
Above the group was a peerless woman floating on a golden-red throne that looked futuristic with a thruster below it that kept it airborne and various buttons on either armrest. She rested calmly within her seat as it lowered its altitude to match those on the ground.
"H-Headmistress Lara…" Sylphia squeaked with fear.
Lara's blood-red eyes scanned the entire area. She stretched a palm out and then twisted it counter-clockwise like she was turning a dial. Immediately, the events of the past few minutes seemed to be replayed all over again, only that the repeated events were phantom-like rather than real.
Sylphia saw this and felt a chill. She knew this was the manifestation of one of the Headmistress' seven superpowers, Time Control!
She felt ridiculous when she remembered the power of each of the Headmistress' seven abilities in the sense that she actually thought she could successfully flee.
Lara viewed the events for herself and then released her hold of time with a sigh. She glanced at Leonidas who had a hole in his torso, the other teachers who were half dead, as well as Xue Bing who was unconscious due to the damage she suffered.
She then turned to Sylphia. "Do you understand the magnitude of your actions today? I don't think any of you do, not even the Bing clan girl."
She glanced at the spot where Dante had been when he disappeared with a dark expression. "Even I could not affect the flow of events surrounding him due to his superpower. You cannot possibly understand what this means or entails, but I can tell you this."
Lara turned to Sylphia and gave her the most intense look the diminutive woman had ever received in her life.
"You'd better pray to any god that will accept you that Dante returns."