We were allowed through the checkpoint on the condition that our belongings would be inspected.
It wasn't a problem.
I had already moved all my smaller items into my spatial storage, and the rest were things no one would ever question.
The others were the same—students with nothing suspicious on them. As expected, the inspection ended quickly, and we passed through without issue.
Still, the atmosphere felt… wrong.
"What is all this about?" someone muttered behind me.
"Did something happen to the Academy?"
The moment we crossed the gates, questions flew toward Anna from every direction. What we'd expected to be a simple precaution clearly wasn't.
The guards' expressions, the mana detectors, the unusually large number of patrols—this wasn't normal at all.
Anna hesitated, then raised her hand and pointed ahead.
"Do you see that?"
We followed her gaze.
And froze.
"…What the—"
A building stood in the distance, or rather, what remained of one.
