Just like that, three days had passed.

Michelle seemed to have more confidence than before, and Kai certainly knew the reason. Ayaka had gotten a few new pieces of equipment. Tasha was the most relaxed one because she had done everything she could after Rapakha's training.

On the other hand, Sofia had apologized to them because she made the situation awkward due to the fights with Rapakha. She then recovered and gradually became normal again.

Evan, on the other hand, was looking at his device to see whether they had an announcement to go. At the same time, he was also curious about Sanae and asked. "Teacher. Are you going to participate in this mission like the previous one?"

"No. The school has ordered us to standby here. The operation this time is too big, so it's better for us to not join, so you can directly see what kind of battlefield with a few hundred thousand magical beasts in it."

"The school is not worried about their students then?"

"Not really. The army has taken care of that, so if you want to blame anyone, blame then, not me." Sanae shrugged.

Kai nodded. "Alright. In that case, we are going to set off, Teacher."

"Yes. Be careful out there." Sanae nodded.

Kai and the others then left the room, heading toward their personal helicopter and flying to the sky.

Half an hour later, the helicopter landed on the military base, where Kai was greeted by the generals.

Kai tilted his head, wondering what was going to happen. These four would surely gather attention if they were in the same place, let alone greeting a student.

"May I know what is going on here?" Kai politely asked.

"Nothing. We are just curious about the little devil who is going to fight with us today." Jose smirked.

"That's right. Besides, he seemed to have undergone an interesting training far from here." Nathan nodded in agreement.

"Well, I just hope for a safe battle." Ethan shrugged.

"Haha… You need strength to do that." Paolo laughed before getting smacked by his wife.

"Ehm? Then, should we have a meeting?" Kai asked.

"It's fine. You can put down your luggage first because we are going tomorrow. And the meeting shouldn't take that long." Ria suddenly appeared and said nonchalantly. "I am too tired from having too many meetings."

"It's a pain in the ass to explain everything to the soldiers and us, right?" Nathan grinned, teasing her.

"That's right. You three idiot old men, why can't you simply listen to my order and ask nothing." Ria let out a long sigh.

"These three are pretty cute despite their age, you know." Jose smiled.

"They are dumb." Ria shrugged before grabbing Kai and dragging him inside. "Anyway, let's go inside first. The meeting will be held in three hours. I don't want it to be more than half an hour."

"…" The generals only smiled when looking at their back before Jose smiled to Kai's teammates. "Come inside. They are going to your room."

"Ah, yes." Michelle and the others were startled and immediately followed Kai.

As soon as they put out their luggage, Ria asked him to follow her as she wanted to talk about something.

They went to the rooftop. Ria leaned her back on the ceiling as she looked up. "Say… What do you think about fighting an S rank magical beast?"

Kai thought for a moment and genuinely said, "I don't think the spider is stronger than Elder Rapakha."

"…" Ria scratched her head. "Have something hit your head?"

Kai shook his head. He could clearly remember how hard it was to fight Rapakha. Even with all combinations he could think, the first attack that took his arm somehow became their last clean hit.

Although the poison would be dangerous, they had trained their dodging ability since Rapakha didn't hold back with his attack.

"Since you think of him with that high regard, what do you think if I fight him?"

"I don't think you will win." Kai shook his head.

"He was that powerful huh… I think it's time to say goodbye to my 'Teacher' title."

"Eh?"

"I think I will ship you to Easter Island, so you can train more there."

"…" Kai widened his eyes before shaking his head. "No, no. You might not be the best teacher that I can hope for, but I think you are the most suitable one for me. I think of you more than my teacher."

"Eh? Do you like a taboo relationship?" Ria made a face of disgust.

"I mean, I see you like an older sister… No, a mother is more suitable."

"Oh. A Teacher-Student relationship is an insult. A Mother-Son relationship is an honor."

"Can you stop teasing me already?" Kai rolled his eyes. "I seriously think of you like that. Now that I see the past, I can see this matter clearly. That's why I want to thank you for everything."

"Now you sound like someone who will never come back. What is the word again? Ah! You are triggering a flag, you know."

"Teacher… I am certain that there is a screw loose in your head right now. Or are you afraid?" Kai smiled.

He expected that his teacher would tease him again, but that tease never came. Instead, she didn't say anything for a minute before hugging him.

"Teacher?" Kai was startled at first, but he felt her shaking hands and rapid heartbeat, knowing that she was anxious.

"I am sorry…"

"Teacher?" Kai called her name again, wondering why she was like this.

"The truth is… I am really scared to fight against this S rank. Not because I will lose, but because of the thoughts of me losing something more precious than the battle itself." Her shaking voice resounded in the depth of his heart.

Kai closed his eyes and realized. She wasn't teasing him earlier. Instead, she wanted to reject his thought because if he thought of her as his mother, she was afraid to lose this 'son' of hers in the upcoming battle. She was afraid that the previous incident where her teammates all died happened again.

That was why she kept teasing and correcting his words.

Realizing this made Kai happy. He slowly raised his arms and hugged her back. "Don't worry. I am not the weakling I used to be. Even if needed to be, I shall be the one to end this fight for you."

"Teacher… Can I ask you something?"

"What is it?"

"When you have something bothering you, can you call me? I know that my current power might not be of any help, but I still can listen to your problem. I want to repay you for all the things you have done for me." Kai smiled.

"Silly kid. You have thought of me as your mother, right? Then do you think the love of a mother is something that asks for a return? Besides, you have done enough for me by pulling me from that darkness."

"Teacher…"

"Yes?"

"Do you know that we are triggering a flag right now?"

"Absolutely. But this is real life. Screw those flags that only appear in a story."

"Haha… I know you are going to say that." Kai smirked.

"Anyway, let's talk about business." Ria took out another device from her pocket. "This is the last thing that you want me to make. With this, you will have thirty percent of your magic power. I think this is your dream item, right?"

"Yes. I should be fine with this thirty percent since I think more than that will just be a waste. I think I can use all my magic with this amount." Kai nodded.

"It's good then. There is one more thing that I want you to know."

"What is it?"

"I think I can make a drug to suppress your animal instinct… The one that wants to make you insane. Hmm, controlling your animal instinct might sound more appropriate. The concept is mellowing the instinct to the point you can assimilate with it and control it."

"You have completed the drug?" Kai opened his mouth in surprise.

"Yes. Thanks to you for bringing me the corpse of that girl."

"I was just leaving her there. Since the request came from you, I couldn't say no."

"Anyway, I can replicate the DNA to mellow the animal instinct. This way, your fighting prowess should increase because you don't need to hesitate and unleash your instinct. However, I need a bit more time to complete the drug, so I hope you can wait."

"Seeing how my genius teacher can solve my problem is already like a ray of the miracle that will soon fall upon me." Kai shrugged with a smile.

"Heh… You can sweet-talk now." Ria smirked.

"Haha…" Kai chuckled.

"Now that I look at you, you look more confident than before and… a bit bolder. I think you don't hesitate anymore." Ria observed him from top to toes.

"Yeah. I think I have seen the path. I don't know where the journey will end, but I know where to start." Kai smiled.

"Heh, quoting something like that…" Ria smirked, planning to tease him, but Kai suddenly grinned.

"And I also want to show the result of my training in this battle." Kai smiled.

"Heh… It's something that I should look forward to." Ria nodded.

"Anyway, I think we are done around here since Teacher has also livened up a bit."

"True enough." Ria paused for a moment. "Hence, I am going to brief you about our current situation."

Ria talked about a few things regarding their deployment and strategy. Although there was no major improvement in his plan, he still needed to know the very details.

Kai thought about it and understood the plan completely before he and Ria went to the meeting room.