NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94: One Fell Swoop
Dinner was buzzing.
Students laughed, reenacted their favorite moments from the capture-the-flag match, and exchanged theories on who would get ambushed next in training.
And then Athena strutted in.
Golden hair tousled, collar slightly open, her jacket slung casually over one shoulder, and the victory flag twirling between her fingers like a baton of conquest. Her boots clicked with just the right amount of arrogance.
Every eye turned.
And every heartbeat in the cafeteria skipped.
She made her way to Damien's table like she owned the room.
He was already there in the same quiet corner, same massive plate of rice and dumplings, acting like the world wasn't whispering about him and the kiss he received.
Athena dropped into the seat across from him without invitation, set the flag down on the table between them like a love letter written in war, and leaned forward with a grin that could melt diamonds.
"Still thinking about me, big bro?" Athena purred, eyes glinting with mischief.
Damien didn't flinch. "I was thinking about how to take you down faster next time."
Her grin widened. "Ooh, rough. I love it when you talk like that."
He exhaled through his nose and picked up his chopsticks, calm as ever.
Athena leaned forward, reaching across the table to gently wrap her fingers around his wrist. Her touch was light, teasing, but deliberate.
"Tell me," she whispered, voice like warm silk, "do you prefer the sweet little sister Athena… or this version?" Her gaze smoldered. "The bolder, sexier Athena—one who takes the lead when she wants something?"
Damien's chopsticks paused midair.
His eyes lifted to meet hers. Slow, focused, unreadable.
Athena's smile sharpened.
She leaned in just a little more, her breath brushing against his skin.
"Wanna know a secret?" she murmured, soft enough for only him to hear. "That kiss? That wasn't just strategy."
Her lips hovered near his ear.
"I wanted it."
Athena laughed, a bright and ringing sound that danced through the air and turned heads with its unmistakable tone.
Gone was the demure Coffee Club girl. Gone was the bubbly class clown.
Standing in her place was a confident predator who knew exactly what she wanted and exactly who she wanted it from.
She stood up, brushed a hand across Damien's shoulder in passing, and whispered into his ear with one last velvet tease.
"I'm not done with you, Damien. Not by a long shot."
And then she was gone, strutting through the cafeteria with the flag in one hand and everyone's attention in the other.
Damien sat still, staring at his food as he tried to deal with the flux of emotions in his heart and… the little uprising that was threatening to happen further below.
"Damn it, what kind of Super Soldier Training does not prepare me to fight against women?" He muttered with deep misgivings in his heart.
[Are you requesting to initiate the Super Soldier Intermetiate Training Program?]
[It would cost you 50,000 gold]
"NO! Stay the hell away from me!" Damien instantly shouted in his heart.
[Acknowledged]
[Super Soldier Intermediate Training Program will begin as per previously scheduled]
"Damn it. There's an intermediate training program? When is it? Why are you making me go through all these trainings?" Damien shouted at his system.
Only the damn system could trigger him to such an extent.
But the system remained silent.
"... … …"
If the system was a human being… Damien would definitely do a lot of exceedingly unfriendly things to it.
Damn system!
Who the hell designed you anyway?
At that moment, Jiang Xiao Yu sat down opposite him with quiet precision and set her tray down with a little more force than necessary. She didn't say a word about Athena, or the kiss, or the flag.
Instead, she slid a folded document across the table.
Damien raised an eyebrow. "What's this?"
"Read it," Jiang Xiao Yu said softly, not looking at him as she picked up her spoon and began eating.
He unfolded the paper and scanned the contents. His playful irritation vanished.
Casualty Report – Beast Incident Cluster: Northern Ridge
Outpost 17-C: All personnel confirmed lost. No remains recovered. Emergency beacon disabled within ninety seconds of activation. Recovery teams found only scorched terrain and disrupted leyline traces.
Mana Stabilization Tower K3: Sustained critical structural damage. Four survivors extracted—two in catatonic state, one suffering from mana overload. Tower core destabilized and currently offline.
Research Relay Alpha-Seven: Drone surveillance terminated mid-broadcast. Final transmission corrupted by unknown waveform. Audio logs contain whispers and pulse distortion—suspected psychic interference from an unidentified entity.
Movement Pattern Identified: North Ridge → West Marsh → Southern Borderline. Progression suggests strategic pattern focused on testing layered defense responses.
Note: Beast evolution accelerating rapidly. Tactical intelligence, adaptive behavior, and coordinated strikes now confirmed. Rate of advancement and structural adaptation exceeds all previous projections. Risk level escalating.
Damien's fingers tightened on the paper.
This wasn't new.
It was the latest update, but definitely not new.
The world had been spiraling toward this for months now. Even the slowest minds, the most stubborn officials and the most arrogant generals knew.
The Beast Awakening was underway.
And the beasts were no longer wild, mindless animals of corruption and instinct. They were moving with purpose, with timing and with far more intelligence than a horror author's wildest imagination.
It began with small waves. Remote incursions. Glimpses of creatures with mana signatures that didn't match any known catalogued category.
Then came the disappearances. Entire outposts blinking out like candle flames in the wind.
Now it was coordination. Waves sent in timed bursts. Attacks perfectly spaced to test and measure response protocols, to expose mana defense grids, to assess how long it took for reinforcements to arrive.
It wasn't a war, not yet. But it was something far more fearsome than a mindless war against a rampaging horde of beasts.
It was a diagnostic.
Behind the growing tide was not chaos, but cold intelligence: a mind, or perhaps many, guiding the beasts with purpose.
They weren't just evolving; they were learning, refining their tactics with each encounter, studying humanity with the detachment of surgeons preparing for a single, perfect incision.
And every elite across the world, every academy headmaster, every battlefield commander, every professor worth their robes knew exactly what that meant.
The beasts wanted to take over the world and all of humanity in one fell swoop.