Chapter 49: Kidnapped
The layout of the camp was organized with strict martial efficiency.
Lucien had technically arranged his assigned tent alongside the others, ensuring the girls’ official tents remained standing nearby to maintain appearances for any wandering inspectors.
Yet, the interior of his shelter was where they truly stayed. As the group moved through the camp lines, the surrounding female students from the A-rank class watched them pass with undisguised jealousy.
Whispers broke out among the rows of tents. They envied Serena, Meghan, and Adeline for monopolizing such a handsome, mesmerizing guy, openly wishing they had someone like Lucien to anchor their own teams.
The boys of A-rank Class, however, couldn’t care less about the drama. Driven by pride and the fear of failure, they were completely focused on one objective: slaughtering beasts to secure their positions.
Soon enough, It was time for the hunt. All classes dispersed into the thick, dark foliage of the wilderness, dividing into their respective hunting grounds.
Deep within the overlapping borders of the S-rank territory, two figures remained behind the vanguard, whispered voices cutting through the humid air.
Damian and Isolde were busy refining their conspiracy, searching for the perfect opening to separate Lucien from his women.
"All the classes are competing like rabid dogs right now just to avoid being de-ranked," Damian muttered, his eyes scanning the treeline. "The lower classes are fighting just to survive. Is now really a good time to make our move?"
Isolde crossed her arms, her golden eyes flashing with irritation. "If not now, then when is a good time, Damian?"
"You don’t understand how the hierarchy works here," Damian explained coldly.
"The Elite class will do everything in their power to ensure no lower tier surpasses them. They are already conspiring to sweep the zones, killing so many beasts that none of the other classes will even touch their score.
And if any class somehow manages to rank higher than them, the Elites have their own brutal methods to make that class pay for it. The grid is too chaotic right now. I don’t think now is the time, Isolde."
Without waiting for her reply, Damian turned on his heel and walked into the brush to begin his own hunt, leaving her standing alone.
Isolde stared at his retreating back, her jaw clenching. "Well... if you don’t have the time for it, I certainly do," she murmured venomously to herself. "I’ll make Adeline pay, and i’ll kill him myself."
Meanwhile, Lucien, Adeline, Serena, and Meghan walked in a tight formation through their assigned sector. The deeper they marched, the quieter the forest became.
They hadn’t encountered a single beast, almost as if the monsters were all intentionally gathering in one specific, hidden location. The silence felt incredibly strange.
"Stay here," Lucien said, his heterochromatic eyes narrowing as he scanned the shadows. "I’m going to scout ahead and see why the forest is entirely empty. I’ll come right back."
But before he could step away, the space directly in front of them warped. A girl stepped out from the shadows.
She possessed perfect, gleaming golden hair and exquisite golden eyes. There was no denying her aesthetic; she was undeniably, flawlessly beautiful.
Lucien immediately shifted his weight, his eyes locking onto her. "Why are you here? You’re not an A-rank student, are you?"
"No, I’m not," Isolde replied, a mischievous, cruel grin spreading across her beautiful face.
Adeline stepped forward, her voice dropping into a hard, defensive tone.
"Isolde? What the hell are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in the S-rank part of the dungeon killing beasts. Why are you wasting your time coming all the way down to the A-rank zone?"
Isolde’s grin widened, her golden eyes fixed entirely on Lucien. "Well, I came here to kill him."
"What?" Adeline gasped, her mana flaring instinctively.
"Well, since he is the love of your life, it pains me to see you happy," Isolde mocked, her voice dripping with pure malice.
"What I want most in this world is to tear away every single shred of happiness you have in your stupid, perfect life. And the easiest way to do that is to slaughter him right in front of you. Don’t bother resisting,.I am far stronger than him. I’m an early-stage Saint, and none of you are anywhere near that level."
Hearing the blatant threat, Meghan’s temper shattered. Her usual hazel eyes bled into a furious, glowing demonic red, her dark aura erupting as she prepared to tear the golden-haired witch apart.
Lucien reached out a hand, firmly stopping Meghan in her tracks. "Back down," he commanded calmly. "I’ll deal with her."
Isolde let out a mocking laugh. "Well, I’ll give you a chance to try—"
Before the sentence could even clear her lips, the ground beneath Lucien shattered. Moving at a speed that completely defied her early-stage Saint perception, he materialized directly in front of her.
His fist connected with her jaw in a devastating, bone-shattering punch that almost twisted her neck clean off her shoulders.
The sheer kinetic force sent Isolde flying through the air like a broken doll. She crashed violently through three massive trees, splintering the trunks before slamming hard into the dirt.
Coughing up a splatter of blood, Isolde slowly pushed herself up, a twisted, maniacal smile returning to her face. "Maybe... I underestimated you just a little bit."
Slamming her palms into the ground, she concentrated her golden mana to its absolute peak.
Space fractured around her as her body systematically split into multiple identical clones, each one radiating a heavy, devastating pressure. They surged forward simultaneously, attacking from every angle.
Lucien’s expression didn’t even change. With a fluid motion, he drew his sword from his spatial storage.
Channeling his newly fused Overlord Dominion energy, the blade coated itself in a terrifying, dark edge. He swung the weapon in a single, blinding horizontal arc.
The localized shockwave sliced through every single clone, vaporizing the illusions into dust in a matter of seconds.
Before the real Isolde could even register the destruction of her spell, the cold steel of Lucien’s sword was pressed firmly against her throat.
"Any last words?" Lucien asked, his voice deadpan.
Isolde, despite the blade drawing a bead of blood from her neck, simply chuckled darkly.
She looked past his shoulder. "Thank you for leaving the girls behind."
Lucien’s heart sank. He whirled around instantly.
The clearing was empty, save for Serena, who was standing there looking completely bewildered.
Both Adeline and Meghan had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only the residual distortion of a high-grade displacement spell.
When Lucien snapped his gaze back to the ground beneath his sword, Isolde was already gone, her body dissolving into a faint cloud of golden dandelion petals.
"Oh... This can’t be happening," Lucien muttered, his dual-colored eyes burning with an immediate, lethal rage.