Chapter 53 52. The Association.

Both Seo Hana and Elise Ryan arrived at the site.

"Goddamn!" Elise exclaimed looking at the scene.

They could not have predicted the scene in front of them, even in their wildest dreams. More than 50 switch cadet bodies were discovered slaughtered, the field had turned red from blood, and a single body of a guy wearing a mage robe with severed limbs and head was discovered next to the gate, which appeared to be of rank-AA.

The hero association only had three squadrons, but each squad was powerful enough to wipe out an entire sector in a single day; the squad captains of each squad are as powerful as the Hero Association Chairmen, yet they are only squad captains because they are under a mana contract with the association, which took them in even though they were labelled as rouge heroes.

A single Hero Association squad's movement is bound to cause a commotion in the media field, but now two entire squads have gathered in front of the scene, causing panic and commotion. There were several media teams following them; each media team had followed them in search of a scoop but found themselves in the middle of a full course meal.

".... Who was crazy enough to mess with the academy?" Elise mumbled out involuntarily.

The chairman of Switch Academy was a force to be reckoned with, slightly more powerful than the chairman of the Association. There is an unwritten rule that the association and the academy should not be messed with; there are many who despise both the association and the academy but are powerless to act because this world operates on the rules of the strong.

"..... It is not the work of 'The Graveyard.'" Elise said as she looked at Seo Hana, who was standing cross-armed and resting her head on her right fist, pondering.

The vampire association is known as 'The Graveyard.' The Vampire Association is named after the Hero Association, who unanimously declared themselves to be a new race.

".... Because of the blood?" Hana asked looking at the blooded field.

"They don't feed on the blood of the weak, and even thralls are stronger than them; they don't feed on people who are too weak, even if they go insane over blood." Elise explained.

CLI- CLICK (5x)

".... I know the value of life has been scaled back, but... At the very least, show them some damn respect." Seo Hana grumbled in disgust as she watched the media photograph the dead while walking on them in the process.

"..... Damn, people are getting more and more disgusting." Elise joined.

"Did you see the system notification on our way here?" Elise asked.

"No, what's up?" Hana answered.

"Take a look at it. I think this will become more common starting today." Elise explained while pointing to the deceased cadets.

"Hm?" Hana started to move her index finger in air.

"..." Elise stared at her face expecting a worst expression.

"What the f**k!??" Seo Hana yelled in rage and unintentionally released her mana pressure.

"Ukh! Hey, snap out of it!" Elise yelled, releasing her mana to defend herself, squad members and protect the media.

"Huh? Sorry!" Hana exclaimed in surprise, looking at what she had done.

Almost everyone present, including members of the association squad, was on their knees. Some members of the media had fallen face first on the ground, and Elise had held her ground while covering herself with mana.

".... Keep in mind! You are an SS- rank hero! You'll be the one who pays if you lose control every time." Elise reminded her.

Even Elise, a S rank hero, struggled to remain unaffected by SS rank mana pressure. It's not that she's weak; it's just that they haven't faced off against someone more powerful.

They would be on equal footing if they sparred while controlling their mana pressure. Mana pressure causes stress both physically and mentally, so mana control becomes increasingly important after reaching rank B. People frequently overlook mana control because it is useless if you are weak.

"Captain Elise." A man jogged towards Elise and Hana with his hand on the sword hilt slung around his waist.

He had mean eyes, dark brown hair and eyes, appeared to be in his mid-thirties, and wore a blue suit that was almost identical to Elise's. 'Vere Conner' was imprinted on his badge.

"Yes, 'vice-captain' Conner?" Elise asked as she turned to face the man. Man's steps came to a halt for a split second when he heard Elise emphasize the vice-captain part.

".... Stuart Pelletier is a Hell Fury Guild's mage. He had returned to his guild for an emergency meeting after leaving his companion behind to check on the students, and when he returned, his mage companion was found dead alongside the students. Students claim that they were unconscious at the time of the incident, waking up to the scene and falling unconscious after witnessing the gore scene in front of them." Vere Conner glared at Elise as he reported his findings.

"Excellent work, 'vice captain' Conner." Elise said with a grin.

".... Thank you 'Captain.'" Conner said with a stiff smile and turned his back at Elise.

"...Tsk." Conner clicked his tongue and jogged back to the spot he came from.

"Is he still acting up? Even after you beat his a*s in a duel in front of everyone?" Seo Hana asked out loud enough for everyone to hear. Elise realised what Hana was doing and decided to play along with it.

".... Yeah! He can't be under a female captain it seems." Elise grinned and said out loud.

"Oh my!" Seo Hana gasped loudly, causing all female media personnel to look at Vere Conner with contempt.

"Pfft. Yeah, even I can't believe it!" Elise said holding back her laughter.

"Oh my, oh my!" Hana stood cross-armed and shook her head, tapping her feet on the ground incessantly.

"Gate is pulsating!" A media guy yelled out loud, gathering everybody's attention.

"Let's go." Elise said looking at Hana.

WHO-WHOOM

A handsome white-haired young man with orange eyes and covered in blood from head to toe walked out of the gate with five unconscious students floating in the air. followed by beautiful black-haired women with obsidian black eyes and a blood smudge on her pink lips.

"Huh? Who are you?"