Disciple Cultivation System:All my students are legendary.

Valaria ranned like a madman.

Her clothing, drenched in the blood of Cheshire whom she carried on her back, was soaked red.

She didn't know why she carried Cheshire's corpse.

Regret or guilt.

It was none of that… just a shallow delusion that the girl on her back wasn't beyond saving.

Cheshire was dead, but maybe there did exist magic that could revive the dead.

She wanted to believe that childish urge of hers, so she kept Cheshire close while fleeing for her life.

"You are rather sentimental."

As she made a beeline towards the school building to hide, something—no, someone—landed in front of her, the resulting feedback launching her backward.

"No."

As she crashed onto the ground, she managed to spin just in time to reduce the impact on Cheshire.

"I guess you are a child after all."

Having scraped her body against the ground, she bit her lips to keep the pain in check before gently pushing Cheshire's body off her.

After which she stood up and stared daggers at the red-haired woman casually strolling towards her.

"It's your fault… you and that bastard son of a—"

Her words were cut short as Scarlet bridged the distance between them and punched her straight in the gut.

Valaria choked on her words, her hands moving instinctively to her stomach.

"Cough…"

As Scarlet withdrew her hand, blood and other fluids seeped out of Valaria's mouth only for her to stagger back, the pain rocking through her body and disturbing her balance.

"You have a rather vulgar mouth."

Pursuing her, Scarlet, a smile tugging across her lip, stretched her hand back and slapped Valaria, sending her flying into one of the nearby trees.

With the state her body was in, she immediately came to a halt upon impact and collapsed onto the ground, bleeding rapidly.

No aura… no technique, no weapon.

But even if she had them, what could she achieve?

The woman before her was a monster in the literal sense.

Her presence far suppressed Art in the rank games, who had declared himself more powerful than the likes of Instructor Grim.

To suppress him meant only one thing: she was of the saint class.

That was the kind of opponent the world had thrown at Valaria, and now she lay broken on the ground.

"Sob…"

Moving her bloody hands to wipe the tears forming underneath her eyes, she wondered where everything went wrong.

It should have been a party, one she didn't want to attend, but a party nevertheless.

After everything, she would have met the principal and would have been awarded the title of ace.

But she just had to have a bad premonition.

She just had to see the death of a friend.

And she had to experience it also.

Just like that, a night of joy had been twisted into one of nightmares.

"Nest finds you valuable but me, you're nothing but a nuisance. A protagonist… what a joy. Just trash… not even worth exerting myself."

With her shadow obscuring Valaria's figure, Scarlet pulled back her right leg and slammed a kick straight into Valaria's gut.

If she wanted, Scarlet could have ended it all.

Just a finger would have been enough given the difference in rank, but she had been given a job other than murder.

The job was simple: test if the girl was worthy, and if she was, convert her to their cause.

It wouldn't be easy, but no one said it had to be consent.

"I wish your knight was here so I could kill two birds with one stone, but alas… he escaped me."

Bored and unfeeling, Scarlet grabbed Valaria by the hair and dragged the weakened girl across the granite floor.

Her skin scraping roughly against the ground felt like she was on fire as it was ripped apart, leaving behind grotesque wounds dripping with blood.

"Opponents… no, victims like you are boring."

Tossing her beside Cheshire's corpse, Scarlet muttered,

"You will seem unbreakable… perks of being the protagonist. You can shrug off wounds, having immense confidence and surreal willpower, but…"

Switching her gaze from the dazed Valaria, she stared intently at Cheshire's unbreathing body and crushed her arm with her heel.

"Nooooo!"

Valaria screamed, her exhaustion replaced by newfound strength as she threw herself at Scarlet to shove her away but…

"Once I switch from you… to people you care about, you begin to break."

With a swift sidestep, she dodged Valaria's ambush before grabbing her by the hand and tossing her aside.

"Heroes and their love for others… what a magnificent combo."

Scarlet's smile grew at the side as she watched Valaria rising to her feet and lunging at her once more.

"The thought of humiliating or killing someone they care about sends them into a frenzy."

Valaria, her face streaming with tears, clenched her fist and threw a punch with all her might at Scarlet's face.

But the demoness merely caught it and twisted her arm.

"Arghhhh!"

Screams of agony filled the empty space and Valaria fell to her knees drooling.

"Why don't I show you how to throw a punch!"

Taking a more amusing tone, Scarlet clenched her fist and pulled her right arm back.

Valaria, too lost in the pain, didn't even have the time to react before her face was slammed in with the force of a hammer and buried in the concrete below.

Scarlet watched coldly as the white-haired girl's head was engraved in the concrete, the impact shattering the back of her skull and splattering blood all over the cracked floor.

"So weak… the all-called overseer bleeding by my hand."

She once stood neck to neck with demon lords, shattered the will of heroes, and bathed in the blood of ancient dragons, and yet here she was now.

Having long passed her prime and reduced to slaughtering children.

"I expect a challenge… not whatever this is."

Irritated by how easy everything was, she walked to Cheshire.

"The so-called overseer had none of the energies. She's useless. But you… you are also a protagonist… a perfect vessel."

Smiling fanatically, she crouched to grab a hold of Cheshire.