WITCH OF THE END

A soft, melodic symphony wove through the air, setting a tranquil yet anticipatory tone as guests began to fill the grand hall. The men, clad in an array of elegant black and white tuxedos, moved with a refined grace. While the women, adorned in an exquisite spectrum of colorful gowns, transformed the room into a vivid tapestry of grace and glamour.

At the heart of the hall, a magnificent chandelier hung on the ceiling, its crystals catching the light like a constellation of stars, casting a warm, golden glow over the gathering. This centerpiece, suspended with effortless grandeur, bathed the room in a rich, inviting luminance. Surrounding it, delicate orbs of light floated like enchanted fireflies, their gentle illumination ensuring that every corner of the hall was awash in a bright, welcoming radiance.

The interplay of light and shadow created a dynamic interplay of brilliance and warmth, accentuating the guests' elegant attire and animated conversations. The air was filled with a harmonious blend of soft laughter and the distant clink of glasses, adding to the enchantment of the evening.

In the corner of the room, right next to the food table, a pale woman stood with a glass full of champagne in her hand. She wore a sleeveless sparkling black dress with a coat to keep herself warm during this night. She was staring at her communicator, scrolling and reading the latest pop culture news. Mundane humans had the best drama when it came to these things…ascenders never usually involved themselves in mundane lifestyles.

Luna was shocked to find out that her famous persona, Raya, was trending number one after announcing her temporary retirement.

Of course, the Internet had to go haywire. Gaming companies were now looking for new faces to test their latest games.

'Ah, good times…'

She drank more of her champagne. Its bitter-sweet taste was familiar to her tongue. She finished it in seconds, as she tried to distract herself from the eyes staring at her. And when she met with their eyes, they either turned away or pretended to look at something else.

"Having fun?"

A melodious voice gently cut through Luna's reverie. She blinked, reluctantly tearing her gaze away from the communicator to find the source of the interruption. Standing before her was a striking vision of elegance: a tall woman draped in a stunning velvet red dress that seemed to shimmer with every movement. Her long, cascading curls of golden hair framed a face marked by bright, hazel-brown eyes that now focused intently on Luna.

Luna's breath caught in her throat. "Wow… you're so beautiful," she blurted out, her voice tinged with genuine admiration. The words escaped before she could stop them, and her cheeks immediately flushed a deep crimson. Flustered, she averted her gaze, her heart racing. "I mean, it's just that this isn't my type of party."

The woman's lips curled into a warm, understanding smile as if she were well accustomed to such reactions.

"I understand," she said softly, her voice like velvet. "Sometimes it takes a bit of time to get used to the atmosphere."

Luna stole a quick glance back at her, her curiosity piqued by the woman's grace and ease.

The woman's smile was both warm and serene. "Thank you for the compliment," she said with a gentle laugh. "Given your youthful appearance, I'm guessing you're Professor Feng. I'm Professor Bell. I teach sorcery." She extended her hand in a graceful, welcoming gesture.

Luna, slightly taken aback, reached out and accepted the handshake. The touch was surprisingly firm yet delicate. "Sorcery? Is that part of the curriculum here?" she asked, intrigued.

"Not exactly," Professor Bell replied, her eyes sparkling with a hint of mischief. "Our academy doesn't focus on sorcery per se, but since our enemies wield such formidable powers. So we believe in preparing our students for any eventuality. It's a matter of ensuring they are equipped for the challenges they might face."

Luna nodded thoughtfully, her curiosity deepening. "That makes sense. It's always good to be prepared for the unexpected."

Professor Bell's smile widened, her gaze reflecting both wisdom and warmth. "Exactly. The world outside these walls is full of surprises. It's our job to make sure our students are ready for whatever comes their way."

Luna was well aware of how cruel the world was outside the settlements. Devils came down with a lot of calamities ranging from giant monsters to natural disasters due to the powers they wielded as corrupted deities. To fight against them, humans developed a ranking system in line with the threat level and how much damage is to be expected. These levels started from level 1 up to level 7.

Level one was of lesser threats which could be handled by any ten ascenders with ease and evacuation was usually unnecessary.

Level two was of moderate threats where the ascenders with Auras were needed to subjugate. Beyond this level, evacuation was a must since the monsters were bigger and smarter. Level three was of significant threats that could not be seen and were subjugated by ascenders with spiritual abilities and zenshi mastery of level two and above.

Level four was of Major threats including elemental monsters and powerful undead capable of shape-shifting—some were even capable of sorcery.

Level five was designated for Legendary threats, involving monsters like weak dragons, and mythical beasts with multiple heads or forms. The last time the world had faced a legendary threat, an entire settlement on the moon was destroyed by a Cursed Emperor-type beast. Luckily most humans had evacuated before it was taken over by their enemies.

Levels six and seven were the rarest because the world had seen little of them. The threat level for these two was the same….

God level threats.

These specific threats were so dangerous due to the fact they could wipe out an entire settlement if they wanted to. The monsters of this level were not even considered to be monsters in most cases. They were intelligent and carried powers similar to what you would consider god-like. The beings of this threat level included Devils higher than the rank of Scythe due to how powerful and mysterious their abilities were in the first place. Only Humans who have opened the Fourth Soul gate were capable of fighting these beings and had a chance of winning.

Luna's father was killed by a god-level threat that wanted to wipe out the Northern settlement. He managed to kill a Soverign-ranked being which was a great victory for humanity that day.

"I teach martial combat. I can't use Zenshi though." Luna forced a laugh, as placed her glass down and put away her communicator.

Professor Bell felt like a cool figure and someone she should at least show some respect to despite coming from a high standpoint in modern society. From her presence, Luna could tell that Bell must have opened around three gates to appear so powerful and teach an advanced class like that.

"A Feng is still a Feng. Word moves around a lot." She winked at Luna. "Regan Atlas is a very promising student. He can travel through space and he's showing signs of opening his Third Soul Gate before advancing to the next class."

"He's weak and too confident. Diana is a stronger, much stronger."

"Diana? The Artemis…girl? I thought her only ability was healing." Professor Bell muttered with interest.

'Interesting.'

Diana seemed to have put up a powerful facade and everyone had bought it. Artemis was a great clan. Having a healer of her caliber was similar to having an immortal soldier on your side.

"There is much more to healing, professor. It's obvious she doesn't wish to stand out."

Bell regarded her words and nodded with approval. "I am starting to see why you still shine even among diamonds. Welcome to Hansho Academy. If you ever need a tour around the city and the academy, feel free to ask."

With those words, the beautiful walked into the crowd and soon disappeared.

Luna was left alone once again. But before she could pull out her communicator, Professor Graham walked in and the hall was suddenly silent.

His presence was a powerful one. A mundane human would've been crushed by it. But a good percentage of the professors were trained in how to combat this weird phenomenon, including Luna herself who was trained in how to combat pressures and mental attacks which were very lethal. The mind was in charge of everything the body did, so damage to the mind was damage to the body.

He stopped in the center of the room, picked up a glass of champagne and tapped on it to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening. I hope all of you are enjoying the beautiful night as much as I am. Tonight, we're are celebrating the promotion of Professor Bell who is now the seventh professor to join the upper tier rank."

They all clapped as Bell made her way to the head Professor and accepted a black cape from him.

Does being in the upper tier mean that much? The most common thing in the world was class division. Humans could not survive in a unified state. And so, class division was something that always allowed this special balance that they seemed to go along with.

Luna hadn't been out much and was always at the top of society. She never experienced the effects of class division.

'But I feel like I'm about to feel them soon.' She mused as she watched Bell wear her cape and make the occasional "thank you for this opportunity" speech.

***

"What does it take to become an upper tier anyway?" she picked up some shrimp from her plate with a pair of chopsticks.

Bell, who was now seated right next to her with her plate of food answered. "I recently unlocked my third gate and my zenshi mastery is now above level 3." She grabbed a piece of sizzling meat with her chopsticks and threw the juicy meat in her mouth.

"Oh, I also contributed to the level 4 gate subjugation in Astral. And it was a surface gate, I was leading one of the troops. We won, I opened my third gate, and here we are…getting higher pay."

Luna was surprised Bell managed to subjugate a surface gate. Gates were more of a calamity to mankind since they were a bridge between the world of gods and the human world. Thanks to technology and sorcery, humanity was able to construct the IDSS which stands for Inter-dimensional Sensory Satellites. The special satellites floated within Earth's orbit to sense even the slightest change in reality or foreign energies. Most gates appeared close to the sky so they were the easiest to detect. However, gates that appeared underwater or on the surface weren't very easy to detect.

How did they work? She had no idea.

"Do you have plans on climbing higher, Miss Feng?" Bell asked, her tone very professional.

Luna shook her head. "I already get paid a lot of credits. I'm seventeen and I am making more than a government official in a month. That's enough for me. Also, please call me Luna."

Bell smiled and returned to her meal.

Meanwhile, Luna savored more of the taste of shrimp as she devoured more. The seafood here was by far the best she had ever had, it was perfectly cooked accompanied by a special sauce that made her taste buds dance to the sweetness of the spice and ingredients.

'This is so good, compliments to the chef who made this indeed. I'm so glad I came tonight.'