Chapter 326: Assassination 2

Elisa had a rough idea of what might have happened.

After Asher’s performance in the previous examinations and his unusual behaviour, he had already made quite a few enemies. There were also plenty of people who had become wary of him because of his strength and the way he treated others.

And now, considering the situation, Elisa couldn’t help but suspect that this might be an assassination attempt carried out by one of those people or perhaps by a faction that wanted to get rid of him.

After all, it wasn’t difficult to imagine someone trying to take advantage of the practical examination to eliminate a troublesome individual like Asher.

Elisa had no way of knowing who was behind this incident. Nor was it her responsibility to investigate the identity of the people involved.

However, she did have a responsibility to protect the students under her supervision.

That responsibility mattered even more for students of higher standing, such as Asher.

"I advised that kid to keep a low profile, but he never listened. And now, look where it’s gotten him," Elisa muttered as she hurried towards the teleportation portal.

Her expression was tense, and her mind was already racing through the possibilities.

The longer she thought about it, the more worried she became.

Elisa quickened her pace, determined to reach the island as soon as possible.

It took her only a few moments to arrive at the portal facility. However, when she finally reached the area, she discovered that all the teleportation portals had already been deactivated.

Her expression immediately darkened.

’You’ve got to be kidding me!’

The portals had been shut down after all the students had entered the island, which was standard procedure during the examination. Elisa became even more frustrated as she looked at the inactive portals. The staff members were taken aback when they saw Professor Elisa suddenly come in such a hurry. They exchanged confused glances, wondering what could have happened to make her look so anxious.

However, before any of them could ask her what was going on, Elisa’s stern voice rang throughout the room.

"Activate the portals right now and set the destination to Asher Astrean’s team!"

Her voice was filled with urgency and frustration, leaving no room for questions.

The staff members immediately realized something serious had happened.

Although they were confused about the situation, none of them dared to waste time asking questions. They quickly moved towards the control panels and began reactivating the teleportation portals.

Meanwhile, Elisa stood nearby, watching their movements with an impatient expression.

She clenched her hands slightly as her thoughts continued to wander towards the worst possibilities.

’The staff members assigned to protect Asher are Diamond-rank too.’

That was the detail that worried her the most.

The people responsible for monitoring Asher’s team weren’t weak individuals who could easily be overwhelmed by ordinary students. They were experienced staff members with considerable strength, and their ranks were high enough to deal with most threats that might arise during the examination.

Yet, somehow, they had disappeared along with Asher.

This meant that whoever was behind the incident might be much stronger than a Diamond rank, or the one supposed to protect him was the one trying to kill him.

And both the possibilities suggested that Asher was at least against a Diamond-rank assassin.

The more Elisa thought about it, the more uneasy she became.

If the people responsible for the attack were only Platinum-rank, there might still be a chance for Asher to survive long enough for her to reach him. Given his abilities, he might even be able to defend himself until she arrived and destroy whatever barrier was preventing him from escaping.

However, if the attackers were Diamond-rank, the situation would be much more dangerous.

She couldn’t be certain that Asher would be able to hold out against opponents of that level, especially if they had planned the assassination in advance and chosen the moment carefully.

Elisa’s expression grew increasingly grave as she considered the possibilities.

’Please, let him have some kind of protective artifact.’

That was the only thing she could hope for at the moment.

Asher came from a Duke family, and given his standing, it was entirely possible that his family had provided him with protective artifacts capable of defending him against powerful enemies.

If he had such an artifact, the assassins might not be able to kill him immediately, even if they were stronger than him.

At the very least, it could buy him enough time for someone to arrive and help him.

That if enemy had not thought of Asher having protective artifacts and had not prepared for that much, which was unlikely.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity to Elisa, the teleportation portal began to glow.

The staff members had completed the preparations, and the portal was now ready to transport her to the designated location.

The moment Elisa saw the portal activate, she didn’t hesitate.

She immediately stepped forward and entered it without wasting another second.

Her figure disappeared into the light, leaving the staff members behind as she rushed towards Asher’s location, hoping that she hadn’t arrived too late.

...

When Asher’s team was teleported to the island, two Diamond-rank staff members were already waiting at the designated location for their arrival.

Both of them stood silently, their expressions serious as they waited for the teleportation to be completed. And when Asher and his teammates finally appeared, the two staff members exchanged glances.

They had already discussed everything beforehand and understood the situation they were in.

There was no other way out for them.

If they refused to follow the Demons’ orders, their families would be killed. However, if they followed those orders and attempted to assassinate Asher, they would most likely die afterward anyway. After all, there was no way they could expect to survive after attempting to assassinate the son of one of the strongest Humans.

They knew that even if they somehow managed to complete their mission, the Demons might not keep their promise to spare their families. In fact, there was little reason to trust them at all.

Yet, despite knowing all of this, they still held on to a small amount of hope.

Perhaps, if they completed the task, the Demons would keep their word and spare their families.

It was an unlikely possibility, but it was the only thing they could hope for.