They had discovered the key to breaking the situation at the altar early on, so they deliberately disguised themselves as captives and quietly slipped near the pitch-black altar.
Then, after communicating with each other through eye contact, they launched an offensive toward the pitch-black altar in unison.
Behind them, a holy chant rose, accompanied by a beam of pure light.
It turned out that Dyres had summoned her pure white unicorn, and auxiliary-type enhancement skills were cast upon their Pet Beasts, significantly amplifying their might.
This sudden turn of events invigorated all the students present, as well as the instructors outside who were using detection skills to survey the situation, their faces alight with anticipation.
Mature in thought, sharp in tactics, and their coordination was tacit.
Moreover, they had enhancement-type buffs.
This was the elite of St. Roland Academy!
The opportunity to break St. Roland Academy's crisis and become the hero who would save the academy—to bask in flowers, glory, applause, and cheers—was at this very moment!
However, contrary to everyone's expectations, at the very moment the Pet Beasts' attacks were about to hit the pitch-black altar, wisps of black flame that seemed to devour light silently emerged around it.
Then, in an instant, almost all the Pet Beasts that had approached the altar let out piercing cries of agony as their flesh was scorched and corroded.
Even though their masters immediately recalled them to the Soul Pact Space, it was barely enough to keep them alive.
The pain that backlashed from the Pet Beasts to their owners through the Soul Contracts turned several students pale as sheets, causing them to faint right away.
In a matter of seconds, the elite Student Council members in whom everyone had placed great hopes were utterly defeated, with no chance of rallying.
"HAHAHA... Do you really think we of the Ashes Cult are all mindless madmen, exposing a weakness for you to exploit?"
"With the altar suppressed by the Master's relic, how could you insignificant ants hope to destroy it?"
A boisterous laugh came from the group of black-robed thugs, as an Arsonist leader pushed his way through the crowd.
His undisguised aura caused a sinking feeling in the hearts of all the captive students present.
3-Ring!
A high-order Beastmaster!
And not a novice one at that.
Apart from the cult leader outside, there was such a powerful figure hidden among these Arsonists.
An intermediate Beastmaster was already the limit for students at the academy, while a 3-Ring seemed somewhat out of their reach—sufficient to serve as a high-ranking officer in the Military Department.
This was not merely a difference of one more Soul Pact, but a leap from the Extraordinary Order to the Commander Order in a Pet Beast's maximum growth rank.
It was an almost insurmountable chasm.
The Arsonist leader surveyed his surroundings.
Then, his gaze settled on President Dyres, who had turned deathly pale from the spiritual power exhaustion of casting multiple auxiliary skills.
He raised his scythe, pointing it at Dyres's swan-like fair neck, his lips curling into a fierce and ugly smile.
"I've heard that pure white unicorns only form pacts with virgins. Such a pure soul would be quite appropriate as the Master's first sacrifice."
"You bastard, let go of President Dyres!"
"Stop it! Your atrocities will be judged!"
Seeing Dyres standing defiant, the scythe at her neck but still refusing to bow to the Arsonist leader, many students roared in anger.
As the Student Council President of St. Roland Academy, Dyres had always been hardworking and responsible, courteous and gentle whether dealing with instructors or fellow students.
Combined with her exceptional beauty, she had long been the perfect goddess in the hearts of countless commoner students.
Now, seeing the goddess of their hearts in danger, many wished they could rush forward to enact a heroic rescue, yet they were all bound by ropes, completely unable to move.
And with the scolding and curses of the crowd, the Arsonist leader's action of forcing President Dyres onto the altar actually paused.
However, it wasn't because of those meaningless shouts and scoldings.
He turned around, frowning as he stared into the distance. "Who's there? Come out."
"Oh, it seems the Ashes Cult isn't entirely composed of mindless madmen obsessed with burning everything."
"Indeed. If all you knew was how to burn things, you would have been used as pawns and wiped out long ago."
"After all, clandestine organizations that endure for long periods must have their own unique methods of survival."
A somewhat nonchalant voice drifted from the distance.
A man and a woman emerged from the cluster of houses.
The man had black hair and eyes, wore a windbreaker, and had his hands in his pockets, looking nonchalant.
The woman had long hair flowing over her shoulders, and the simple uniform of St. Roland Academy did nothing to hide the beauty of her pale, pretty face.
She walked a step behind the young man, her pale golden hair fluttering in the heat waves from the fire.
It was Shiayar and Enola.
Shiayar, hands still in his pockets, sized up the Arsonist leader. "By the way, I'm curious, does every member of the Ashes Cult come standard-equipped with a scythe?"
"Are you really just cosplaying the FFF Inquisition?"
Fe Fe Inquisition?
The Arsonist leader frowned slightly, not understanding Shiayar's question.
But soon, he shifted his attention from Shiayar and locked onto the blonde girl beside him, who was holding a silver spear.
Something about this blonde girl felt off to him.
Clearly, judging by her age and the spiritual power he sensed, she should be below 3-Ring, still within the realm of an intermediate Beastmaster.
But in his spiritual perception—the girl was like an unsheathed knight's sword, her entire being suffused with a piercing killing intent.
It was as if anything, be it metal or stone, would face only one fate before her: to be pierced and turned to dust.
The Arsonist leader's expression gradually became serious.
There was no doubt that this blonde girl was a formidable individual capable of posing a threat to him.
Although she was also a 2-Ring, like those previous nobodies, the comparison was night and day.
"'Shiayar! Enola!' Dyres looked up, pleasantly surprised by their arrival.
The group of captive students also began to stir.
Some students looked toward Enola with hopeful eyes. She was, after all, the real deal—the strongest at St. Roland Academy.
Perhaps this top-ranked figure in the academy, rumored to regularly undertake missions for the Military Department, could accomplish what the elite Student Council members could not?
Meanwhile, another group of students was blankly asking those around them who Shiayar was.
"Ahem."
Shiayar looked around and cleared his throat.
"Everyone, eyes on me. I have an announcement to make."
In an instant, students, Arsonists, instructors... thousands of gazes converged on Shiayar.
Even the three 4-Ring powerful pros engaged in combat nearby spared a fraction of their spiritual power to pay attention.
All countermeasures on both sides had been revealed; they had reached a decisive moment, their resources exhausted.
And at this moment, Shiayar and Enola might just be the final variables to determine the battle's outcome.
Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Shiayar spoke words that made the vision of every St. Roland instructor and student go dark.
"Well, I think President Dyres's soul quality is a little too poor."
"How about... I take her place as the sacrifice first?"