Eva finally returned back to her dorm room and collapsed on her bed. The fluffy bed engulfed her body, and she sighed in comfort. It's 11:50 AM now, and she had ten more minutes before the first class started after the placement test break. Honestly, all she wanted to do right now was sleep, but she knew that she needed to change out of her uniform.

She also puts her phone on silent mode before leaving, so she expects some notifications from Reina or Ryuji. And yep, her assumptions are right. Multiple messages and missed calls were displayed on her screen, but Eva didn't have time to deal with it. Eva forced herself up, groaning, and went straight to her closet. After changing her clothes, Eva grabbed her cane and headed out of the room.

Eva didn't have the time to properly dress up since she had to hurry to the class. She hoped she looked presentable enough and her hair wasn't messy. But to be fair, even without putting effort into her appearance, Eva still looks attractive and beautiful. Her hair rarely gets tangled or messy; she has nothing to worry about if you ask people around her.

Eva is in class A-1, and she's thankful that the main academy is close to her dorm building. Walking there wouldn't take more than three minutes. She makes a beeline towards the classroom, passing some students along the way. Some greet her, and Eva returns the greetings. Most just look at her curiously. She's been in the spotlight ever since her entrance, and the whole campus is already aware of her presence.

But she didn't have time to stop and chat since class was about to start. Eva arrives at her destination and enters the room. The bell rings just a few seconds after she's entered the room. All eyes were instantly focused on her, but Eva ignored the stares, walking towards one of the empty seats at the back of the room.

Luckily, the teacher hasn't arrived yet. Eva sits down and lets out a sigh of relief, glad that she didn't have any problems with attendance. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down after a hectic morning.

"Good morning, miss." A sudden familiar voice from beside her startled Eva.

"Fuah?!" Eva let out a weird yelp, embarrassed at her own reaction. She looked at the owner of the voice, and there stood Ryuji, grinning playfully. Eva pinches her nose bridge and takes another deep breath.

"You're in this class too, huh... Ryuji?" Eva replied, her voice laced with irritation

"That's right," Ryuji nods, his grin still plastered on his face. "It seems we'll be classmates from now on. How fortunate."

"I suppose so..." Eva sighs again.

"Anyway, I heard from Reina that you suddenly ran away after breakfast, and your phone is turned off. Is there something wrong?" Ryuji inquired, his smile disappearing and replaced with a look of concern.

"There's nothing to worry about, so get back to your seat. We're gathering quite the attention," Eva said, glancing at all the curious classmates looking their way.

"As you wish, young miss," Ryuji bowed dramatically and walked back to his seat.

Eva rolled her eyes. He needs to make him stop calling her that while they're at school. Eva returned his focus, but then she made eye contact with Reina, and she smiled apologetically. Reina nodded and returned her focus to the teacher who had just arrived.

"Alright, students, settle down," A man with messy brown hair who looks like he is in his thirties enters the classroom. He wears a black suit and has a white armband that says 'Staff' written in big bold letters. The man looks tired, and Eva notices the dark bags under his eyes.

Eva instantly recognized him. He is Masao Watanabe, the man who rudely scooped her up during the mall bombing incident. Eva's brows furrowed in distaste, but she kept her expression neutral. Masao glanced at her for a brief moment before averting his gaze.

"So he is a teacher here..." Eva thought.

"Welcome to class A-1. I'm your homeroom and basic instructor, Masao Watanabe. You can address me whatever you like. Mr. Watanabe, Mr. Masao, or simply Masao is fine. I don't care." Masao introduced himself casually.

"Now, I'm sure most of you have already read the student manual, but I'll say it again, just in case. The class will start at 9 AM sharp every day unless otherwise stated. The class will last until 2 PM. There will be a one-hour lunch break from 11.30 to 12.30. Any question so far?" Masao explained.

No one answered. 

"Great. After that, you will have special classes related to the curriculum field of your choice. The schedule for those will be given at a later date, so pay attention to it when they're available. Now, before we begin the class, we wi-" Suddenly, the door barged open, interrupting Masao's speech.

"Is this class A-1?" A boy with spiked ash blond hair asked, looking around the class. His red eyes scanned the whole room. "Whatcha starin' at? Is there something on my face?" He said to the class, and the students quickly averted their gaze.

"...Yes, this is class A-1. And who are you, may I ask?" Masao questioned, slightly irritated by the sudden interruption.

"Cool, found it. The name's Keji Takami. I'll be in your care or somethin'." Keji shrugged and walked toward the nearest free seat.

Masao frowned. He doesn't like the kid attitude, but he knows it will be a waste of time if he scolds the boy now. "Whatever. Just sit and shut up. I'm not repeating what I've said earlier." Masao then cleared his throat and continued his speech, "As I was saying, we will do some introduction and then head straight for our first lesson. You must showcase your astral ability to your classmates and demonstrate its capabilities."

Suddenly, one of the students raised their hands and asked, "Sir, are we allowed to do it in private?"

"That would be pointless since the academy already knows what your astral power can do. The goal of this is for you and your classmates to learn more about each other. You're here as a team, not as individuals. You need to learn how to work together, and hiding your astral power will not help with that. Do it only if you can't control it or your Astral power is dangerous, and I will decide on it. But for now, no." Masao replied sternly, giving the student a cold stare.

"Understood," the student replied nervously, lowering their head.

"Any more questions? No? Great, then let's head straight to the practical part," Masao said, clasping his hands together.

Masao then led the students to the Astral Practice Area (APA) located on the school's training grounds. It is a massive building filled with various facilities to practice and train Astral abilities. The building is built to withstand powerful attacks, and it has various safety measures in case something goes wrong.

There are also students from other classes already using the facilities. But instead of joining them in the massive open area, Masao leads his class to a room. Masao pulled out a card and swiped it. The card reader flashed green, and the door opened automatically. Inside the room was a small stadium-like arena.

"Be grateful. You lot, the so-called 'elite' students, are given your own training room. If you were in any other class, you would have to share a public facility with other students," Masao explained, gesturing for the students to enter the room.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters, all of the high-ranking Japanese Astral Agents (JAA) are gathered in the conference room for an urgent meeting regarding the terrorist organization Initiator. The last operation has been a catastrophic failure. The terrorist leader has escaped, and a lot of casualties have been reported.

The government also isn't happy with the outcome, and they are at risk of losing support and being cut loose. If that happens, they would lose control over the situation and possibly be replaced by their counterpart, who had an absolute loyalty towards the AGA.

Their opposition is gaining ground, and the JAA is losing its influence. They are spinning their head, trying to find a solution or at least come up with an excuse for their failures.

"This is a disaster." One of the agents commented.

"Tell me about it. The public is panicking that the terrorist had 'won,' and the government is pissed off at us." Another agent replied.

Masamoto could feel a headache coming. Things are getting complicated. Not only is the terrorist gaining ground, but they are also getting stronger. Moonlight is a major concern; her appearance has caused the whole operation to fail.

Richard is also present in the meeting to help discuss and find a solution. If his allies in Japan were to fall, then things would get more complicated for him and make it harder for him to accomplish his goal. Not only does he need to find out more about some whisper that he heard about the existence of a dark organization supporting the anti-astral movement, but he also needs to stomp out that mad scientist who AGA has been sheltering the entire time.

Fortunately, all of them are level-headed people who are able to calmly assess the situation. Although their relationship is strictly professional, they are not petty enough to point fingers or blame each other.

"What are our current options?" A female agent asked.

"To be honest, we are pretty much screwed," Masamoto admitted. "All we can do right now is damage control and try to prevent the situation from escalating. We need to divert all the attention and keep the pressure away from us." Masamoto elaborated.

The other agents nodded in agreement. They all had the same thought: damage control is their only option. Launching another operation is too risky and dangerous right now. Sure, if they could attain some sort of victory, it would boost their reputation, but that's too big of a gamble, and there is no guarantee that they would succeed on whatever mission they launch.

Especially since there are many high-risk variables involved, such as Moonlight. Trying to capture her is too risky and costly. They would suffer a lot of casualties, and it's not even certain if they could subdue her or even kill her. If even the great Masamoto failed, what chance did they have?

"Hmm, damage control, huh? I think I might have an idea." Richard suddenly spoke, and everyone turned their attention towards the foreign General who had been silent this entire time.

"Please elaborate." Masamoto requested.

"Instead of alleviating the public panic, why don't we increase it?" Richard suggested.

"...What do you mean?" Masamoto was confused. Increase their panic? Isn't that the opposite of what they want to do?

"Increase the public panic and feed them with 'leaked' information. Make them believe the terrorist's victory is just the beginning and something worse is about to come. Create a fake sense of urgency and fear that makes the government would be in a pinch and lose control over the situation." Richard elaborated.

"How would that even improve our reputation? We would be replaced by our opposition." Masamoto argued.

"With what time? They will have their hand full dealing with the public panic, and besides... if we paint our agents as defeated 'heroes' who sacrificed their lives protecting the populace, while those 'corrupt' politicians just sit on their asses doing nothing. Don't you think the public would sympathize with us more? It will increase our reputation tenfold when they can only see us as their saviors." Richard reasoned.

"If you want all of them to be more desperate, why don't all of you just 'resign' due to being forced by the 'evil and corrupt' government," Richard suggested.

Everyone was stunned; creating a massive panic and political fallout was a bold move. Masamoto pondered and found the idea intriguing, and if they played their cards right, it might actually work. But it was devious and manipulative. Masamoto had no qualms with it, but he wondered if his comrades would be willing to go through with this.

"That's an interesting plan... But can we really pull it off?" One of the agents voiced her opinion.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I will handle the propaganda and spin it in your favor. You guys just do what you have to do." Richard reassured.

Masamoto felt a chill down his spine. He suddenly felt like Richard was more terrifying and dangerous than Moonlight. An ordinary terrorist he could deal with, but a manipulative mastermind was something else entirely.

"Very well... let's put it into a vote," Masamoto announced.