CHAPTER 157: EX 157. WAKE UP

As the last echoes of combat faded, the training field began to empty. The soldiers who had gathered for the display left satisfied, with minds buzzing with everything they had witnessed. The name Leon Kael had already carried weight, but now it pulsed with something deeper, something heavier.

Rebecca stood still, her arms behind her back as she watched them go. Her sharp gaze then shifted toward the towering figure stepping toward her. Arbiter George.

"Thank you for your presence, Arbiter," she said, bowing her head slightly out of courtesy.

George gave her a nod. "It was my pleasure," he said with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. "After all... I haven’t been this excited in a very long time."

Rebecca’s brows drew together. "Excited?" she echoed.

But George was already turning away. She followed his line of sight.

Sakura was still on the ground, eyes glassy, chest rising and falling with shallow, uneven breaths. Her body trembled faintly, whether from fury, confusion, or something else entirely, no one could say. And yet... she hadn’t moved since Leon left.

George approached her slowly.

"Supreme Heir," he said softly, almost kindly, "it’s time to go."

Before Sakura could lift her gaze, let alone reply, the air around them rippled, and in the blink of an eye, they were gone.

Rebecca stood staring at the empty space they’d just vanished from, the grass still bent where Sakura had fallen. Silence hung thick. She didn’t speak. She only turned and walked away, leaving the now-deserted field behind.

****

Elsewhere, far from the awe of the crowd, chaos bloomed quietly in the clinic.

Eden’s body convulsed on the medical bed, jerking with violent spasms. His skin was pale, slick with sweat, and his breath came in ragged bursts. Sandra, who had remained behind to watch over him, rushed to his side in horror.

"Eden!" she cried, her voice cracking. "Eden, what’s wrong?!"

Her hands hovered helplessly over his body, not sure what to hold, what to press, what to ease. Her heart pounded against her ribs. All she could see was her son, and all she could feel was dread.

’What should I do? What should I do?!’ she thought, panic rising in her throat like bile.

She had already failed him once. That truth weighed heavy on her, and in this moment, it stole her confidence. She couldn’t go through another mistake, not again.

Then, the doors burst open.

A team of healers stormed in, their leader, a high-ranking healer, barking instructions. Incantations echoed across the walls and hands glowed with gentle magic.

Sophia backed up, eyes locked on Eden.

Minutes passed. Finally... the spasms stopped.

And the air felt colder now.

"Is he okay?" she whispered, voice trembling. "What’s wrong with him? What’s wrong with my son?"

The elder healer stepped forward, her face pale with confusion.

"My lady... my apologies, but..." She hesitated, struggling to find the words. "I don’t know."

Sophia’s breath caught.

"What?"

Before the healer could continue, the door slammed open again.

A young assistant stumbled in, panting. "Mrs. Khalifa! Vanguard, Raven Stone, is requesting your help! The high-value target is waking up!"

Khalifa’s eyes went wide.

"I’ll be there at once," she said.

Sophia stepped in her path, desperation flickering in her eyes. "What about my son?"

Khalifa paused.

She looked at Eden, then at Sophia.

"I’m a mother too," she said gently. "I understand. I’ll be back to find out what’s going on with him. I promise. I’ll leave a team here. They’ll watch over him."

With that, Khalifa swept out of the room, a few of her aides following her into the hall.

Now only Sandra, Eden, Adrian, and a handful of silent healers remained.

Sandra moved back to her son’s side, brushed sweat-damp hair from his face. Her hands trembled.

"Please," she whispered, voice barely audible in the quiet room. "Please let my son be okay."

****

In a sealed, reinforced chamber deep within base 1, the air trembled with unnatural energy. The room was thick with the sharp scent of sterilized mana and sweat. Healers moved in rapid formation, weaving spells and chanting under their breath as they tried to contain the chaos strapped to the bed at the center of the room.

Eleanor.

Despite the iron restraints bolted into the bedframe, she thrashed violently, her body contorting in ways that seemed less human and more monstrous. Veins pulsed black under her skin. Her mouth opened wide, letting out guttural, inhuman cries that clawed at the nerves of everyone present.

"KRRRRAAAAAAAGHHHHHHH—! HIIIIISSSHHHHHHHHH—!!"

Healer Khalifa, calm but firm, stood at the head of the bed, her hands glowing as mana surged into her arms.

"Stabilize the chest bindings! Don’t let her break loose again!" she barked, sweat glistening on her forehead as she focused. "Ready—[Greater Purification Heal]!"

A brilliant wave of blue-white mana surged from her palms, crashing into Eleanor’s convulsing body. The demonic screeching dulled for a moment, her limbs stilling just slightly, like the tide had ebbed, but the storm was far from over.

"SHYAAAAAARGHHHHHH!"

Outside the observation window, transparent from only one side, Vanguard Raven Stone watched, arms crossed, jaw tight. Beside her stood Vanguard Sky Rebecca, her eyes locked on the girl writhing within.

Raven glanced sideways, her voice low. "What do you think, Sky Whale? Will she come out of this still... her?"

Rebecca didn’t rise to the nickname jab. She didn’t even blink.

"I don’t know how it ends," she murmured, voice quiet but certain, "but if it gets out of hand, I’m stepping in."

Raven’s expression darkened, her gaze sharpening as another demonic wail filled the chamber beyond the glass. She didn’t argue. Not this time.

Just then, the door to the observation room slammed open with enough force to make one of the healers outside flinch.

Nikko Yakomoto stepped in, her eyes fierce and voice laced with irritation, not at the situation, but at being pulled away from something more personal. She was still wearing the faintest blush from earlier.

Her expression, though annoyed, was collected as her gaze flicked between the two vanguards.

Nikko’s expression shifted as she took in the sight through the one, way window. The scene on the other side was a battlefield in its own right, healers on the brink, fighting to keep a girl from tearing herself apart.

"Brief me," Nikko said firmly, her voice now devoid of the earlier annoyance. "From the beginning."

Rebecca nodded once, then started her report, while behind the glass, Eleanor screamed again.

"SKREEEEAAGHHHHHHHH—!"

The sound was no longer fully human. And something inside that voice was starting to answer back.