An hour before the trio encountered the Jester, the Headmaster received a letter delivered by carrier pigeon. The moment she read its contents, a chill ran through her entire body. Terror seized her heart. There was no time to hesitate. Without a second thought, she summoned her abilities and took to the skies, her form cutting through the air as she flew toward the academy, arriving within mere moments.
What greeted her upon arrival was nothing short of a nightmare.
Fallen Star beasts were ravaging the academy grounds.
"What is happening?" she muttered, disbelief and dread lacing her voice.
Her head snapped to the side just in time to see a student pinned beneath a grotesque beast, its jaws widening as it prepared to feast. In an instant, the Headmaster vanished in a flash of light and reappeared beside them. With a single, fluid motion, she severed the creature's head, its lifeless body collapsing atop the blood-soaked stone.
She spared the trembling student a brief glance before issuing her command.
"Evacuate the school immediately and request backup from the police force and any nearby Star Masters."
The student scrambled to their feet and fled without hesitation.
The Headmaster surveyed the battlefield. Beasts clung to the main building, prowled the front courtyard, and no doubt lurked within the classrooms as well. The academy was overflowing with grotesque, humanoid monsters.
As much as it pained her to acknowledge the truth, she knew what they were.
They were the infected students.
They had fully turned—nothing more than hollow husks of their former selves, cloaked in warped, serpentine scales. Patches of decaying skin sloughed from their bodies as they moved, falling to the ground in sickening strips.
Students were dying.
Some were already dead.
The front of the academy was bathed in blood. The once-pristine fountain that had flowed with crystal-clear water lay shattered, its basin now filled with thick, crimson liquid.
The Headmaster could eliminate every beast before her—but doing so would consume an immense amount of energy. Still, she had no time to concern herself with exhaustion. Every second spent hesitating was another second the beasts used to slaughter innocent lives.
She inhaled deeply.
Then she moved.
In a blinding flash, she vanished, reappearing throughout the academy in rapid succession. She entered every room, every hall, every stairwell, and killed every last beast. Before they could even react, all they saw was a streak of radiant light. Heads flew through the air, striking the ground before blood could even spill from their severed necks. One fell—then another—then another.
They had once been her beloved students.
But she could not dwell on that truth.
Now, they were the enemy.
Her spear moved with terrifying precision, each strike faster than sight itself. In that moment, memories of the Headmaster in her prime surged forth—a living embodiment of power and authority.
At last, the carnage ceased.
She stopped, releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Relief washed over her, followed immediately by crushing exhaustion. Her breathing grew heavy. It had been a long time since she had been forced to use her abilities to such an extent. Rust clung to her movements, and her body lacked the endurance it once possessed.
Still, one question gnawed at her mind.
Why were there so many beasts?
Some had once been human—that much she understood. But the rest? Where had they come from? And why now? Why attack the academy at this precise moment?
"I have to say," a voice spoke from behind her, calm and unsettling, "you haven't lost your touch."
The Headmaster turned sharply.
The sight before her made her eyes widen, her expression tightening with unmistakable dread. She had only met this man a handful of times, but his appearance was etched permanently into her memory.
"Or perhaps you have," he continued, "but I fail to see it."
The warm, kind smile she once remembered was gone. In its place stood a hollow man—his eyes lifeless, his face locked in a stoic expression devoid of emotion.
"It can't be…" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"This place," he said calmly, almost nostalgically, "brings back many memories. But the one I cherish most is the memory that gave me the conviction to do what I will do today."
The Headmaster took a step back.
"It is you, isn't it?" she asked quietly. "Bertal?"
The man stared at her, his cold, dead eyes piercing straight through her soul.
"Bertal Wenkay is dead," he replied flatly. "I killed him. From his remains was born a man willing to sacrifice everything for his goals. I am Unul."
He paused. "But call me whatever you wish—it will not change a thing."
The Headmaster's heart shattered at the sight of her former student standing before her as something unrecognizable.
"Then am I correct in assuming you planned all of this?" she asked. "And if so… why?"
Unul glanced around, taking in the devastation—the bodies, the blood, the lives lost to his beasts.
Then he smiled.
A cold, cruel smile.
"Why?" he echoed. "To weaken you. And to destroy the root of the tree that bears such rotten apples."
"Do you feel no regret?" she demanded, anger rising in her voice. "You were once a student like them!"
Unul shook his head slowly before turning back to her.
"I feel no regret. Nobles are vile creatures, and those who accept their existence and cruelty might as well share the same fate."
"All of this because you hate nobles?" she cried. "Even so—why kill the children?!"
A tear slid down her cheek.
Unul raised his hand toward the sky, clenched his fist, then lowered it and extended it toward her.
"They—and this academy—are the roots that will birth those rotten apples."
He met her gaze. "Now, Headmaster, I present you with a choice. Join me and allow me to destroy this academy… or oppose me and die alongside the institution you cherish so dearly."
The answer was painfully clear.
Her energy was barely at half. She could not win a prolonged battle—not now.
She looked around—left, right, then behind her at the academy.
She wiped the tear from her cheek and raised her spear.
"I will not allow this school to fall."
She pointed the spear directly at Unul, her resolve unshaken.
"You have made your choice," he said coldly. "Unfortunately for you, the academy is already gone."
Suddenly, massive coral spikes erupted from the ground, impaling the main building and obliterating it in an instant. Fragments of its former grandeur were hurled into the air, crashing down in ruin.
The Headmaster turned back, sorrow flooding her expression—quickly followed by rage.
Tears welled in her eyes as she tightened her grip on her spear and faced him once more.
"Bertal!" she screamed.