Venna looked at the lab’s entrance with a worried face.

Judging from the silence, it seemed like nothing had happened yet.

She was standing at the entrance not knowing what to do when someone called to her.

“Venna?”

“Z-Zell.”

A fellow dark magician named Zell.

He looked at her with distaste in his eyes and asked.

“What are you doing here?”

“Ah! That…”

“Hella is so mad at you. It looks like today will finally be your death day.”

“Ah!”

Zell’s words had reminded Venna of the errand she had forgotten about.

She was so nauseous that she forgot about it.

Normally, she would be nervous and afraid of Hella, but today, she sighed out in relief.

“Have you lost it? Hella is seriously pissed!”

Hella was known to be the most bad-tempered among the dark magicians.

And to Venna, he was like the devil, so Zell couldn’t understand Hella’s reaction.

“Ah-no!”

“Whatever, I warned you.”

Saying that, Zell moved away.

As he disappeared, Venna breathed another sigh of relief. It was because things were just the same as before. Nothing changed.

“Let’s go in.”

Venna clenched her fist and entered the lab.

The lab looked just like usual, but a commotion could be heard from afar.

“Where did that motherfucker go!”

“That bastard!”

It was Nalson and Ball.

They yelled and kept looking around, till their eyes fell on Venna, who just came in.

“You, have you seen Pika?”

“Did you see that jerk!”

“I-I didn’t.”

Venna was shocked.

The two seemed like they wanted to kill someone.

“What is it?”

“That fucker broke us apart!”

“I don’t really care anymore. Once I catch him, it will be the end of him! I mean it!”

It looked like Pika had really done something.

“But it is strange. He isn’t that kind of a person.”

“Right. He isn’t smart enough to dare reveal others’ secrets. Why did he do that then?”

“If you see him, let us know!”

“Right. He needs to pay.”

Nelson and Ball disappeared again.

Venna bit her nails.

She knew Pika too.

Pika was close to the two men, and they had a good relationship. He wasn’t the kind to expose other people’s secrets.

Right.

“Ehh, then.”

Her heart started to grow anxious.

If Pika really did what Nalson and Ball said.

“L-let’s find out.”

Venna began to run.

Pika was nowhere to be seen.

Although there were many labs, finding him shouldn’t be that hard.

He might be in the research labs, but she didn’t want to go in and poke her head.

Rather, she thought that it might be a chance to leave the place.

However, she didn’t have the courage.

She just wanted to find Pika as soon as possible.

At that moment, someone pulled Venna’s hair.

“Kyaak!”

“You! Are you taking me this lightly?”

Venna landed on her butt as she looked at the other person.

“H-Hella.”

“I sent you on an errand. Why are you this late? Besides, shouldn’t you have come to where I am first? What are you doing here, you trash!”

“Sorry, sorry, I forgot.”

“Hahahaha! Forgot?”

“Kyaaak!”

Hella widened his eyes and then pulled her hair again.

He then took out the wand in his back pocket and poked it at Venna’s cheek.

“Are you really giving me that excuse?”

“Forgive me this once…”

“Forgive? Ah, you must be really taking me lightly.”

He smiled as he waved his wand.

Black mana began to condense on its tip.

Seeing that, Venna shouted.

“Hella! Wait!”

“You need to be punished to know your place.”

“Hella!”

The wand turned towards Venna.

Venna grabbed Hella’s arm and kept begging.

“P-please forgive me!”

“Leave my hand.”

“Please…”

She began to cry.

But Hella had no intention of showing mercy. Rather, he looked sadistically excited.

“Kay, let’s make you struggle a little more…”

However, the magic suddenly stopped.

She wasn’t sure why Hella stopped, but she thought that it was a good thing the wand didn’t touch her.

“Th-thank you, Hella…”

“What are you..”

Hella’s eyes went wide.

He pushed away Venna and moved back.

Venna was taken aback by Hella’s actions. What did he see?

Her gaze shifted to where Hella was looking.

“Pika!”

Standing there was Pika, whom Venna had been searching for.

“He didn’t hear it.”

He safely escaped from the lab without being detected.

When he suddenly felt that energy, he almost killed the person on a sudden impulse. If he did, it would have turned into a big deal.

Jamie immediately moved to another place.

He looked around and went into a common empty room.

With a tired face, he muttered.

“This is the black magic I created?”

Although the energy’s nature was difficult to master, it was continued till the present day.

He knew it.

But knowing and witnessing are two different things.

The other schools wouldn’t be much different from this. No, maybe even worse.

“I didn’t want this.”

He didn’t exactly hate those dark magicians as he, too, had to sacrifice countless lives in order to oppose the 12 Gods.

But not like this.

Lives aren’t toys. One should be very aware of the life they are sacrificing.

“Canon. You were special.”

Jamie had entered the place with hopes in mind.

When he thought about Canon, he wanted to know more about dark magicians.

Canon had learned black magic for a purpose.

So he thought that the modern dark magicians would be a little more evil.

But.

“These are the seeds I sowed.”

Seeds that have grown for over tens of thousands of years were going out of control.

He couldn’t leave it though.

Someone had to correct it.

“I have one thing to do.”

Besides getting revenge on the 12 gods, there was something he had to do.

To direct the dark magicians with his own hands.

He wasn’t sure how long it would take, but Jamie had to do it.

“Let’s go.”

He walked out.

A familiar pink color was seen in the distance.

A man was holding the girl’s hair and waving the wand at her face.

“As soon as I make up my mind, this comes.”

Jamie smiled and walked over.

“You. What are you doing?”

Hella pointed his wand at Jamie.

“…”

“A bastard who isn’t much different from a bitch dare to ignore me now?”

“….”

“Ha! Really this bastard…”

“Venna.”

Jamie called her name.

Venna flinched at the sudden call.

“How long are you going to keep suffering?”

“…?”

Jamie asked again.

“Is this one that scary?”

“…what are you?”

“stand up.”

Venna could feel the way Jamie was speaking.

He was using magic to speak.

Venna felt something change within her.

Venna staggered as she stood up. She wasn’t sure why she was moving. It just felt like she had to do it.

She could feel it. If she wouldn’t do it now, she would end up regretting it all her life.

“Ha!”

Unable to understand what was going on, Hella laughed.

“You two must be really mad!”

“How long will you remain silent?”

“Pika, I will kill you today.”

“Venna. How long are you going to stay still?”

“I…”

It was the moment Hella was about to move towards Jamie.

Venna, who felt dizzy, looked at Hella’s face.

Always tormented her, ignored, cursed and treated her like a bug. All because she didn’t look like a warlock.

She knew better than anyone that she wasn’t a person that’d fit into this place.

No, she didn’t even want to be the kind of person who would fit into this place.

She wanted to run away.

She wanted to overcome the pain, but each time she did, Hella would inflict new pain.

“Not anymore.”

Venna looked at the wand in her hand. She couldn’t remember when she took it out.

Her hands were trembling in fear.

“I don’t want to live like this anymore!”

Hella glared at Venna with an angry expression and spouted.

“I will make sure to make you rot in hell you little bitch!”

“Venna.”

“I!”

Mana swirled.

Her pink hair fluttered.

And then black mana began to condense on the wand.

Despite seeing it, Hella couldn’t understand what was happening.

Venna was about to cast a spell on him.

A slave of his was rebelling on him. As if some bug possessed her.

Something Hella never imagined would happen.

“I don’t want to live like this anymore!”

Resisting for the first time ever.

Venna swung her wand. Black mana sparks scattered.

However, the difference in skill was unavoidable.

“As if!”

Hella broke Venna’s magic without much difficulty.

Venna’s face was painted in despair as she saw it, but she didn’t want to give up.

“I will not give up!”

Her eyes shone.

Invisible mana began to shine around Venna.

At that moment, Hella’s body trembled for the first time.

“W-what did you just do?”

All of a sudden, he felt like everything was going to shatter.

Jamie looked at Venna with wide eyes.

He thought that Venna was good-natured. But he didn’t think that she was hiding something like that.

No.

It wasn’t hidden, she was unaware of what she was doing.

Did she just have an awakening!

“This is crazy!”

After taking the curse that Venna shot, Hella shot it back at Venna.

Venna closed her eyes.

The curse didn’t reach her.

Hella narrowed his eyes.

“W-what!”

Hella looked bewildered.

“P-Pika!”

“Venna, you took one step forward.”

Jamie’s eyes shone purple.

A thick hand gripped Hella’s face. And irresistible pressure cramped down on his body.

“The first time will be difficult. The second time won’t be that much.”

“W-wait!”

Darkness began to corrode Hella’s skin.

No pain was felt.

Just vanishing.

“How could you have such…”

“Ehh, a power that doesn’t fit you.”

Hella wanted to live, but there was nothing he could do against Jamie.

“Ah!”

Venna saw the robe fall to the floor.

And lost the strength in her legs.

“At last.”

Gav, an old man, looked shocked.

He wasn’t sure what had just happened, but what he worked so hard on, had finally awakened.

However, it seemed like the girl hadn’t figured out how to control it yet.

Gav remembered the face of Venna, who was always in pain.

For 10 years, everyone rejected her.

No one even knew why.

Even those who bullied her didn’t know why they hated her.

Venna just thought of herself as a lowly being.

“I was worried she had suffered too much to awaken.”

Fortunately, he still had a chance.

The huge talent he had discovered in the child called Venna.

“The Valkyrie power!”

Gav draped his robes and lifted his cobra-carved staff.

“This place is no longer needed.”

It was time to move on to a higher world.