Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess

Selner had a smile on her face.

Even though her arms were plastered to the wall and the whole training chamber was covered in a thick layer of ice, she was smiling.

The reason behind her happiness was Valerie's progression.

Each day in the outside world means a month here. She lied to Valerie about keeping her here for only four months, while she would be staying for about a year here.

Selner was unsure of how much Valerie had progressed with her Shard, so for the last two and a half months, all she did was polish her combat skills and magic control.

It was not difficult to work with Valerie since she has been taught by a teacher before and knows the value of this training. She is a diligent child who can go beyond her physical limits to fulfill the task given to her.

Her magic control has shown such drastic improvement that the moment Selner flashed the letter before Valerie, the whole room was caged in ice.

Selner never got to tell her that it was going to be a test if she wanted to read the letter.

'It appears she has started reading me better...' Her intentions were anticipated, and the girl didn't waste a blink to freeze her at her place and snatch the letter away.

"Mind showing me what he wrote?" Selner asked only to get ignored by the girl who was smilingly reading the letter.

Valerie was aware that she was going to be kept here longer than she was told, and at some point, she would have become frustrated because of not being able to see the one she lives for.

However, this letter helped her calm down her frustrated self.

She went through the letter for the fourth time, and the smile couldn't seem to fade from her face at all,

[Dear Valerie,

This might be the first time for me to write a letter to you...but this is the first for us to be separated like this as well. I might sound childish but three days seems like three months for me!]

'For me too...my lord.' She wanted to tear up but her mind desired to read further. So, she did,

[I have been working hard these days...a little too hard. After all, a war is approaching, and I need to be prepared....or so what I wanted to say, but my motivation to work hard is to impress you once you return. A strong husband for a strong wife.]

Valerie chuckled...how can he be so adorable? She wanted to see him right now...haa~

[People say that after separating from someone, you get to understand how precious they were to you. And that is correct. In your absence, I realized I didn't pay attention to you enough...I want to love you more, Val. So please come back as fast as you can.

—Austin.]

Valerie exhaled a long breath as she folded the paper securely, not wanting to part from it.

She was going to read this twice a day to keep herself motivated.

Raising her spear, she thumped it on the ground, and all the ice from the training ground shattered.

*CLINK*

Selner was liberated from her ice cage as she asked, "If it's about Austin, your magic control becomes monstrous. It explains why you were able to unlock that spell when Austin was injured."

"So you indeed were watching us," Valerie spoke with her eyes narrowed.

At that time, when the Illusion Monkey attacked, Valerie didn't see anyone around. But they were being watched.

"Valerie, you do realize the nature of that spell, right?"

Valerie's brows elevated as she responded, "Isn't it an extension of Ice magic?" After all, that's what her Shard is capable of. She has an affinity with Ice magic, so she believed her strongest spell must be of the same attribute.

But, "You are wrong...when you create the Ice Prison for your opponent, you stop the time in that cage."

Valerie's brows drew closer as she listened to her intently.

Selner plucked a hairstrand before snapping her finger.

The thin strand was surrounded by a grey orb that floated mid-air as she explained, "This is a time chamber where the time will work as I want. However, for someone inexperienced, they would just stop time within the orb...and so, even after a hundred or thousand of years, the hair strand would remain the same, if only the mage could maintain their spell."

Snapping the orb, Selner continued, "But your spell, Valerie...it was different. You didn't just create a time chamber...it was a null domain. A place where not only the physical and mental state of a being gets frozen, but their very soul gets trapped."

Valerie was trying to make a sense out of it, as she said, "How...is that any different?"

Selner made it plain and simple this time, "A null domain can achieve something which a time chamber can never," with her eyes turning serious, she added, "You can break someone's soul and eradicate their existence from the world—without leaving any hope of rebirth. You...are the ultimate death of any being, Valerie."

°°°°°°°°°

"You really want to travel with me? You could have reached Ademerg directly, Sebas." Austin told the butler who was walking beside him towards the entrance of the academy.

The sun had barely peeked from the horizon, and they were ready to leave.

Time was a very important factor here, so Austin decided not to waste it. Especially not when he wasn't going to train rigorously anymore.

God...he had such a deep sleep last night.

"You may outrun me in a sprint now, young master, but until the last breath I will fulfill my duty as your guardian."

Austin stopped there. There was no point in pursuing the man. He would do whatever he decides upon.

As they reached the entrance, Austin saw four familiar people standing there.

Rhea and Rudolph were expected, but the other two...

"Good morning, headmaster, Vice-headmaster."

Harold gave a nod and Philius greeted back, "Good morning, Austin. Are you prepared to leave?"

Austin nodded as he showed him his bag. It was just a pretense to have a bag. Most of his stuff were inside the inventory.

Philius stepped toward Austin before resting his hand on his shoulder, "It's a brave decision...to approach the warzone. Not only you, but Valerie, Rudolph and Rhea...I commend you all for your courage."

Rhea faintly smiled while Rudolph maintained a serious expression.

Turning toward the blond one, he added, "Asking you to prioritize your safety when you are going for a war is not possible...but please, try to return alive."

Austin assured the man, "None of your students will die, I assure you, Headmaster. I take the guarantee of it."

Philius softly smiled, "Wish you luck, son."

°°°°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.