My F-Rank Sagea is Secretly an EX-Rank Calamity

>>>>>VEILED SANCTUM<<<<<

The silence following the mention of Master Caelum hung heavy over the stone table.

Lord Zephyr was the first to break it, leaning forward with his knuckles pressed against the map.

"Our teachers didn’t just give their lives just for us to hide behind these walls while the seal crumbles. If the Cabal of the Sunless Eye breaks Bleakstone Maw, the Grim Prodigy won’t just destroy Ravenwood - it will tear through the outer realms."

"And if we march the Academy Lords directly to Bleakstone Maw now, we play right into Morgaunt’s hands," Lord Ignatius countered, his voice lower this time, though no less sharp.

"He wants us to deploy our top fighters away from the central barrier. That is why he gave us a seven-day ultimatum."

"Enough," Nova Vesta said quietly.

Her voice wasn’t loud, but the golden mana that flared around her fingers made both lords instantly freeze. She stood up, her cold, luminous eyes scanning every face at the table.

"The Cabal’s target isn’t just the seal at Bleakstone Maw," Nova stated cleanly. "They need a suitable host vessel to channel the Grim Prodigy once it is unbound. And right now, the strongest candidate for that vessel is currently lying unconscious in the Arcane Ward."

Lord Malovik’s eyes widened slightly.

"Asher..."

"Precisely," Nova said. "We proceed with the tournament tomorrow to sharpen the remaining students and keep up appearances. But behind the scenes, we prepare for a two-front war. Dismissed."

>>>>>>RESTRICTED ARCHIVE<<<<<<

In the subterranean level of the Auric wing, the Restricted Archive was dead silent. Tall, iron-bound bookshelves stretched up into the shadows, smelling of ancient parchment and compressed magic.

Remi followed Fang through the narrow aisles until he stopped, pointing toward a secluded reading desk illuminated by a single glowing mana orb.

Rowan was sitting there, surrounded by stacks of ancient texts regarding spatial seals and mana backlashes.

"Alright, brought you here like I promised," Fang whispered, crossing his arms and leaning against a bookshelf. "Now spill the secret."

Remi smirked faintly, leaning closer to whisper in Fang’s ear. "The secret is... Rowan thinks you’re the most reliable brute in the entire Auric faction."

Fang blinked, his face flushing slightly before he scoffed, turning away with a smirk. "Tch. Tell me something I don’t know." He waved a hand over his shoulder as he walked off down the aisle. "You’ve got ten minutes before the floor guards do their sweep."

Once Fang vanished, Remi walked over to the desk, pulling out the wooden chair opposite Rowan.

Rowan didn’t look up immediately, his finger tracing a line of ancient runes in a heavy leather-bound book. "I told Fang I wanted to be alone, Remi."

"Well, Fang is easily bribed," Remi said softly, sitting down. She looked at the exhaustion etched into Rowan’s face, the faint dark circles under his eyes, and the lingering traces of strain from his battle against Malix. "Rowan... we need to talk about Asher."

Rowan finally closed the book with a heavy thud, meeting her eyes. "What about him?"

"You know why the Cabal is doing this, don’t you?" Remi leaned in, her voice dropping to an urgent whisper. "It’s not just about destroying the academy. Nova said Asher dragged Soren through the spatial rift—he used Primordial fusion. The Cabal of the Sunless Eye wants him. He’s their ultimate target."

Rowan remained silent for a long moment, his hand resting flat on the leather cover of the tome.

"I know," Rowan said quietly. "Malix wasn’t just testing our defenses at the border wall. He was stalling us. If the Grim Prodigy is unbound in seven days, they’re going to come straight for Asher to complete the ritual."

"Then what are we going to do?" Remi asked, her voice trembling slightly with emotion. "He’s still unconscious in the Arcane Ward. His mana channels are shredded! If they come for him, he can’t defend himself!"

Rowan’s expression hardened, his eyes glowing with a dark, steady resolve. "Then we protect him. We use these seven days to get stronger, win this tournament, and build a defense they can’t break. Asher risked his life to save everyone... we aren’t letting them take him."

>>>>ARCANE WARD — NIGHTTIME<<<<

The quiet hum of the protective magical dome was the only sound echoing through the Arcane Ward.

Asher’s eyelids fluttered.

A sharp, burning sensation rushed through his veins, making his chest heave as he suddenly gasped, sitting up straight on the stone bed.

His vision was blurry, his head pounding like a heavy drum, and his body felt as if it had been dragged through a mountain of crushed glass.

He looked to his left. Marnie was slumping forward in a wooden chair, her head resting on the edge of his bed, fast asleep. Her eyes were swollen and pink from crying.

Asher blinked in confusion, his breathing ragged. ’Marnie...?’

"You’re awake..." a voice rasped from his right.

Asher snapped his head to the right, wincing as a sharp pain shot down his neck.

Sitting across from him was Edgar, his arms resting on his knees, staring at Asher with wide, stunned eyes.

For three excruciating seconds, neither of them moved. Edgar looked like he had just seen a ghost, while Asher stared back, completely bewildered.

"Edgar?" Asher rasped, his voice rough and dry. "What... what are you doing here? Why are you two here?"

Edgar swallowed hard, looking down at his clenched fists before looking back up at Asher. "I... I needed to stay. Look, Asher... I’m sorry."

Asher raised an eyebrow, his mind still clouded from the backlash. "You’re... what?"

"I’m sorry," Edgar repeated, his tone dead serious, completely stripped of his usual arrogant edge.

"For everything. For trying to crush you, for looking down on you... for acting like an idiot before the invasion. You saved people out there. You dragged Soren back through a spatial rift while your own core was tearing itself apart."

Asher stared at him, utterly bewildered. He squinted at Edgar, genuinely suspecting some kind of illusion or trick.

"Are you... out of your mind?" Asher muttered, leaning away slightly. "Did a Sagea hit you in the head during the attack? Is this a joke?"

"I’m being serious!" Edgar hissed in a low whisper, glancing nervously at the sleeping Marnie. "I mean it, damn it! I felt like a coward sitting in here while you were fighting outside!"

Asher shook his head, refusing to process the sudden apology.

"Whatever, Edgar. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing, but I’m too tired for this."

He pulled the blanket over his chest, turning his back to Edgar, though his mind was racing with confusion as he stared at the faint golden glow of the dome above him.

>>>>>MAIN ARENA — NEXT MORNING<<<<

The morning sun broke through the remaining dark clouds, casting a bright glare over the reconstructed stone arena.

Despite the looming seven-day deadline and the tragic losses from the previous day, the grandstands were packed with students from every faction.

The air was charged with a mixture of nervous anxiety and electric anticipation.

Maverick stood at the center of the reinforced stage, his voice amplified by a sound rune that echoed across the entire stadium.

"Welcome back, students of Ravenhurst!" Maverick bellowed, his jaws clenched and his gaze serious and piercing.

"Although we’ve faced a slight trouble however that fuels us even more to begin what we had started and today, we resume the semi-finals of the Academy Tournament!"

The crowd remained quiet. None was cheering. They were all nervous. Some visibly trembled, worried that Soren might appear again like the last time.

"The rules remain absolute!" Maverick continued, raising his hand. "If an opponent crosses past the battle point, you lose. Bear in mind again that this is the Semi-finals and only two winners emerge! Now... let the first match of the semi-finals begin!"

The massive magical display above the arena flickered to life, spinning through names before locking onto the first matchup:

```

[SEMI-FINALS: MATCH 1]

ROWAN FLYNN VS. SERAPHINA MALOVIK.

```

The crowd murmured loudly as Rowan stepped onto the left side of the stage, his black-and-gold uniform neatly fitted, his hand resting calmly at his side.

Across from him, Seraphina walked up the stone steps, her white hair tied back.

She stopped twenty paces away, her sharp blue eyes locking onto Rowan.

"Don’t hold back just because we fought side-by-side at the border yesterday, Rowan," Seraphina said, her voice cool and composed as frosty air began to swirl around her boots.

Rowan smiled faintly, a dark aura of shadow mana beginning to pool beneath his feet as Erebus’s low growl vibrated from his shadow.

"I wouldn’t dream of it," Rowan replied softly.

"BEGIN!" Malovik commanded.