Because of the death of the former archduke, Arthur Mariette, the academy had been closed for two days as a sign of respect. Once those days passed, everything returned to normal. Classes resumed, though the lectures were lighter than usual since most students were busy preparing for their upcoming exams.
Many were out hunting monsters, earning contribution points to exchange for essence stones and other valuable items to grow stronger. Ethan's team was no different, though unlike Ethan, the others still lacked real combat experience. They spent most of their time training and practicing together to sharpen their skills.
This morning too seemed like nothing more than an ordinary day. No one could have imagined how quickly it would turn into chaos.
It was already close to 8 a.m. Most students had arrived in their classrooms, while Esdeath and Maruti lingered on the rooftop, looking down at the school grounds before heading to their own class.
Something unusual stood out. Even though it was morning, the newspapers had not yet been delivered. Normally, this would have made people irritated or impatient, but strangely, no one was complaining today. After the shocking news of Arthur Mariette's sudden death, the people had grown indifferent to the papers. Ordinary news no longer felt worth reading. Nothing else could compare to the wave of shock that had spread across the kingdom just days before. People expected months of calm and nothing surprising to happen anytime soon.
But then, at exactly 8 o'clock, everything changed.
All across the city, delivery boys rushed through the streets in a frenzy, throwing newspapers into every household as if the action had been carefully planned in advance.
In libraries and bookstores, a brand-new article appeared on display. Its cover was glossy black, with a crow printed on it. The crow's red eyes glowed sharply, and its pupils were marked with rings—strange, unsettling symbols that caught every passerby's attention.
At the same time, several large billboards across the city, which had been hidden under red cloth for days, were finally uncovered. The same crow symbol was there too, bold and striking. And under it, in clear words, a chilling title was written—
Black is divine.
The delivery boys shouted as they ran through the streets, their voices carrying through every alleyway and market square.
"Today's breaking news! Anastasia Times has revealed the true identity of the author of The Future I Saw! Buy the newspaper now for just one bronze coin!"
"An article of exclusive personal interview with the author of The Future I Saw! Published by Anastasia Times! Available for only two silver coins!"
"The author declares—I Quote 'Black is divine!' Has the author lost their mind? Read the article to find out more!"
It wasn't just the academy district. The entire kingdom stirred at once. From towns to villages, from the capital to distant corners, the news spread like wildfire.
The timing was no coincidence. Just as the book The Future I Saw was gaining fame and popularity across the kingdom, this massive wave of advertisement was unleashed. It was too grand, too organized to be the work of a single newspaper company.
Behind it, pulling the strings and funding the chaos, stood the revolutionaries—making sure no one in the kingdom could remain unaware of what was about to come.
Even in the academy, those who read the newspaper were shocked and finally learned the identity of the author, it was none other than a student of Awakened Academy, Maruti Vanara.
"Maruti?"
"Maruti?"
"Maruti?"
Everyone had the same thing in their mouth. In the hall, every student who had a newspaper was running while some other students chased them to read the contents with their own eyes.
---
"Pass it to me! Give it here!" Sylvania shouted toward Valen, who was actually holding the newspaper.
Valen, as a nerd, daily read the newspaper and had a subscription for it. Thus, the newspaper was delivered to him while other students were clearly not interested in newspapers, but today was different.
Emma and Violet were also chasing him around inside the classroom.
"C'mon show it to me, you are lying right? Ain't no way my favorite author is Maruti!" a Class A girl shouted as she demanded the newspaper.
But Valen could not run any longer. A long hand grabbed his head directly and hurled him up in the air like nothing. It was none other than Sasha, Maruti's elder sister.
Valen trembled as he directly handed the newspaper to her. "Here just take it!"
Sasha took the newspaper, left him, and then read the contents. Her lips twitched as she did not know whether to laugh or be angry at it.
"When did that happen? I need to tell Father about this!"
---
Meanwhile, at the same time, in the hallway, Cassandra approached Princess Ravenna.
"My lady, I had some work with you," she said while bowing her head slightly.
"What is it?" Ravenna asked.
"I needed to have a personal meeting with the King, I hope you take my words to him and ask when he is free," Cassandra said in her emotionless voice.
Ravenna was puzzled but she nodded. "Okay!"
But at that moment, several students ran past them in a hurry while some students chased them.
"What happened to them?" Ravenna let out a dry chuckle.
But then, another group of girls ran toward Ravenna with a newspaper in their hand.
"My lady, read this, you would have never in your dreams expected it!" the girls said as they handed it over to her.
Ravenna read the contents and laughed dryly inside her mind. "Well I did expect it, Master already told me about it," she thought, but then she made an exaggerated shocked face. "What? Maruti is the hidden prophet?"
"Huh?" Cassandra raised her eyebrows slightly and took the newspaper from Ravenna and read it. There were no subtle changes in her facial expression.
"So what Corin said was true," she muttered in her mind.
---
In Lilith's office, the mother and daughter were having a conversation. Kailith stood at the front with a blank expression.
"Do you have any idea how it happened?" Kailith asked.
"I'm surprised myself, how can there be another Silver Dragon other than us? That's practically impossible," Lilith sighed.
"Can't you just question Esdeath and Lortell instead?" Kailith said.
But Lilith shook her head. "I can bet they would just flat out refuse to tell me. What can I do? I am no longer in my prime, neither am I Vice Principal now. The difference between our status has long changed."
But at that moment an assistant teacher knocked on the door thrice.
"Come in!" Lilith said.
The teacher entered and bowed slightly. "Vice—, Professor, have you read today's newspaper?"
"It was delivered to me a few minutes ago, but I was in a personal conversation with my daughter," Lilith replied softly as she stood up from her seat to fetch the newspaper.
Since someone had personally come to remind her, there might be something important in it. The teacher didn't stay any longer and quietly left the room.
Lilith sat down again and began to read the contents. Her expression quickly turned heavy.
"What happened?" Kailith asked.
Lilith sighed. "Your girlfriend turned out to be a pretty big shot it seems. If it's true, then no wonder she's not getting addicted to you, even after sleeping with you so many times."
Kailith frowned in confusion. She went forward, took the newspaper, and started reading. The moment her eyes caught the words, she remembered how Maruti had once mentioned that she could see and feel things about the future, and that those fracture of visions were given by Goddess Seraphine.
"I didn't think too much about it before. I just thought she was one of those rare people in the world that can get a gist of feelings about what would happen But to think she's actually a blessed one…" Kailith muttered in her mind.
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In Class B, Alice sat quietly in the middle seat of the middle row. From that day when she beat up almost every student, no one dared to bully her anymore.
She saw students running around, fighting desperately for the newspaper. Without a word, she extended her hand, as if demanding it.
The students trembled in fear and quickly gave her the newspaper within seconds.
Alice calmly read through the contents. The moment her eyes moved over the lines, her tail stood straight in shock.
"A prophet? A seer? Wait… does that mean she foresaw our relationship and still didn't try to avoid it? I knew she loved me!" A red flush crept across her cheeks as she hugged the newspaper tightly.
"We are fated ones after all,"
-----------
Some students and even teachers were searching for Maruti. Some wanted her autograph to treasure it or sell it later for a high price, while others wanted to question her directly about all this.
Meanwhile, away from the noise, on the rooftop, Maruti and Esdeath had already locked the door.
Maruti looked down below and saw reporters and cameramen starting to gather at the academy gates. They were setting up camera stands, preparing their pads and pens to scribble down anything that might be worth publishing.
She let out a hard sigh of frustration. "Damn that guy. I told him to publish it after three months. It hasn't even been two months yet, and now exams are still pending!"
"You can't control everything," Esdeath replied casually as she leaned beside her. "He was just an employee, not a boss. It's not really his fault either."
Maruti pressed her lips tightly.
Esdeath looked at her again and asked, "But why are you whining so much about exams? Who cares about them anyway?"
"It's not the exams… it's the competition," Maruti muttered. "Last time I had a lot of fun. Maybe this time something good might happen too…" She sighed again.
Esdeath chuckled and patted Maruti's back. "Now's not the time to worry about that. Go and give them your greetings, my dear prophet," she teased with a grin, her red eyes glinting playfully.
------------
In the capital of Anastasia Kingdom, inside the royal palace, King Augustus Thorne sat on his grand throne. He was the father of Princess Ravenna. His long pink hair had already started losing its shine, and his body carried the marks of age. His face was nothing special, but the royal clothes, golden crown, and glittering accessories made him stand out like a true king.
Augustus was a Rank B awakened now, though in his younger days he had reached Rank A. No matter how hard he had tried, he never managed to touch Rank S, and none of his children had either. Still, his position as king gave him more power than strength alone. Dozens of Rank A awakeneds would obey his orders without hesitation, just because one word from him could change their fate.
But right now, the mighty king's face was filled with anger. His hands gripped the newspaper so tightly that it ripped apart in his rage.
"Black is divine? Which fool allowed this to be published? Why was I not informed in advance?" His voice boomed across the throne hall as he glared at his ministers and advisers.
One adviser stepped forward nervously. "My liege, they said they sent us a letter about it, but for some reason we never received it!"
Augustus's expression grew darker. "That means someone else is backing them…" He thought of the revolutionaries first, but another possibility weighed on his mind. Lortell. The article was all about black being divine, and everyone knew Lortell's wife, Esdeath, had black hair.
He had always been wary of lortell. Not only the current Archduchess, but she was also the one and only S rank awakened in the kingdom. The balance of power was already tilting toward her. Deep inside, Augustus feared she might overthrow the throne and claim the crown for herself, just like what had happened in the Awakened Kingdom when Maddie Madone, with the help of Victoria von Scarlet, had dethroned the king and become queen.
This was the real reason he had not gone to Arthur's funeral. He feared that Lortell might simply kill him there in front of everyone, and no one would dare stop her.
"My liege, should I send people to stop this mass publishing?" another adviser asked cautiously.
But Augustus shook his head. "No. If we do that, the public will think we're afraid of something and trying to hide it. That would only damage the crown's reputation. Instead, focus on exposing this barbarian. Push her back to the forest where she belongs."
"Hahaha, exposing her will be easy," Adviser Alger laughed, his voice dripping with mockery. "She dares to go against the customs of society. Black is good? What foolishness! The citizens themselves will call her a witch and burn her alive."
The others in the hall burst into laughter. One lady minister, holding a cigar between her fingers, let out a dry chuckle. "You're right, Adviser Alger. That's exactly what we can expect from these wild creatures."