The students were agitated, suddenly finding themselves in a completely unfamiliar place.

Some panicked, clutching onto their peers' shoulders, while others approached the professor in annoyance.

"Seriously... we should have tried to escape when we had the chance, right, Isuke?" Alexia said in a low voice, looking him up and down.

"Thanks for worrying about me, Alexia," Leo, who was behind them, said.

"You're an idiot that's hard to kill, Leo. I doubt anything bad happened to you in this accident," Alexia said, crossing her arms.

"You're mistaken. Unfortunately, I left my sword at a club, and now I'm completely unarmed," Leo said in a somewhat exaggerated dramatic tone.

"Seriously, you're..."

Alexia reached for a small pouch on her waist and pulled out a decent-sized sword.

"Wow! How handy," Leo said, impressed.

Alexia began explaining to Leo the details of the sword so he could use it properly.

Meanwhile, Isuke couldn't take his eyes off the artifact still held by the classmates who had activated it.

The group that had managed to activate the artifact was discussing among themselves while the girl holding the artifact trembled from the cold.

A wave of concern washed over Isuke.

What if the artifact fell?

What would happen if it broke?

"Careful! Monsters are approaching!" one of the students shouted to their peers, and several didn't hesitate to go on guard.

"Isuke!" Alexia yelled, finally getting his attention.

"What's up?"

"You didn't hear anything I said, did you?"

"Is there anyone who listens to you?" Leo said mockingly, irritating Alexia.

"We're on alert, idiot! Use that damn sword properly and return it to me intact," Alexia warned as Leo advanced to face the monsters.

"Enough!" the teacher suddenly shouted, alerting everyone.

"I understand your concern, but did you really expect something like this to work on the first try? Anyone who doesn't want to participate further is free to leave on their own. Our priority is to recharge the device's energy to use it again," the teacher explained loudly.

"He's insane! Can't he see how dangerous this is?" one of the students complained.

"Do you think you can accomplish anything without ever taking a risk?" the teacher responded with a smile.

The statement left several students confused.

Before they could continue the discussion, several students began to confront the white wolves that had come to attack them in a pack.

Leo, along with the students wielding melee weapons, stood at the forefront while the magicians focused on casting spells to deal with them.

[Come]

It was a voice suddenly heard in several heads, causing many to lose concentration and get injured by the enemies.

"Leo!" Alexia shouted as she ran swiftly to finish off the wolf threatening her friend, stabbing it directly in the neck, then rushing to help her friend who had stumbled.

"What's wrong?" Alexia asked as she examined Leo's shoulder wound.

"Sorry, but... I heard a voice that paralyzed me for a few seconds," Leo explained as he got up with Alexia's help.

"A voice?" Alexia asked, confused.

"Did anyone else hear a voice!?" one of the magicians supporting those still fighting against the wolves asked.

"Calm down! Everyone who heard the voice, ignore it! Those who are injured, step back so others can take your place! No one can die! Got it!?" a boy with yellow hair and blue eyes seemed to have taken command of the situation.

Several students moved at their own discretion while others clicked their tongues due to his eagle insignia but reluctantly obeyed as the situation required.

"It's alright now, doesn't hurt anymore, right?" a girl wearing a rosary asked.

"Yeah, thank you very much," Leo replied with a smile.

◇◆◇

Eleonora was nervous.

She knew this day would come, but she didn't expect it to be like this.

Not this way.

Why were there so many humans!?

And although there were a few unpleasant demi-humans, Eleonora was excited to finally encounter someone who could get her out of this place.

What should she do?

Nervously, she had asked several to come at once, but upon calm reflection, it wasn't such a good idea.

Eleonora hesitated on what to do but didn't want to miss this chance.

What if, just as everyone appeared out of nowhere, they suddenly disappeared?

To make her telepathy more effective, Eleonora attempted to contact just one of them for a more efficient interaction.

[Can you hear me?] Eleonora asked, feigning calmness.

[Is it that voice again!?] thought the frightened person, and now Eleonora could hear those thoughts.

[Listen to me carefully, you need to come where I am. I'll help you, okay?] Eleonora explained, trying to sound as clear as possible.

[Who are you!? Why are you talking to me?] the girl shouted, frightened.

Several seconds passed as Eleonora thought of a response, and when she tried to reply, the connection had been cut off.

What had happened?

Eleonora attempted to connect with another human and again received a similar reaction.

As she received more rejections, Eleonora grew increasingly nervous.

What was happening?

Why could she mentally connect with fewer people each time?

Each time, she detected fewer humans, and this panicked her.

[Please listen to me!] Eleonora pleaded upon making another connection.

Silence.

[So, this is the voice in my head my classmates talked about… What are you?] the human asked curiously.

[I'm Eleonora! Please, don't disconnect, I need you,] Eleonora pleaded, unable to maintain her calmness.

It was impossible to devise a plan now.

She had to act and seize this opportunity slipping through her fingers!

[I think I asked wrong; I didn't ask for your name. I already know that because it's what others have said. I'm curious to know what you are. How are you capable of doing something like this?] the human asked with a certain indifference.

Eleonora didn't quite understand what they meant, but she responded as quickly as she could.

[I'm a sword... An ego-sword. This is one of my abilities, and well... I need a candidate,] Eleonora explained while struggling to communicate.

[Candidate?] the human asked with curiosity.

[Yes. Without one, I can't use many of my abilities, and... I could be of great help to you! Even if it doesn't seem like it now, I can do many things...] Eleonora said, the last part with a hint of resentment.

[I see... so, you're trapped somewhere since you don't have a candidate. Are you reaching out to us to save you?] the human asked, and Eleonora didn't hesitate to respond:

[Exactly!]

[I see... so, that's your situation.]

For a few seconds, Eleonora hesitated to ask that question that had caused several of these humans to reject her, but she had to ask.

[Will you... come?]

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