Chapter 170: Amelia and Celestia conversation

The ambient light inside the highest office of Aether Blessed Academy was almost nonexistent.

Deep black marble walls swallowed up the room, while a single floating crystal lamp cast long, sharp shadows across the floor. The faint, metallic tang of a long passed lightning storm hung in the air, mixed with the bitter scent of dark coffee.

Sitting behind a massive black desk, her curves spilling out of a high backed leather chair, was Headmistress Amelia Veyrith.

She wore a dark coat with red lining draped over her shoulders, black gloves reaching past her elbows, and a form fitting black dress beneath that accentuated every single inch of her voluptuous frame.

On her forehead sat a golden sigil, pulsing with an ancient, terrifying mana that outclassed any ordinary Blessed.

Her pure, pupil less white eyes glowed faintly in the dim room as she stared directly at the glowing hPad in her hands.

On the screen, match replays from the tournament’s First Phase were playing on a loop.

Amelia watched Lynx Azarion’s five mandatory matches for what felt like the twentieth time. She had already expected him to win his fights, that much was obvious after his display back at the academy, but what she didn’t expect was the absolute disrespect.

Five fights. Five opponents completely trashed in ten seconds or less. He didn’t even sweat. He didn’t even drop his smirk.

"Show off," Amelia murmured, taking a slow sip of her black coffee. It was very bitter. No ounce of sugar. Just the way she liked it.

Yet, despite her quiet insult, a dark, beautiful smile touched her bloody red lips.

All in all, she was deeply impressed with the overall performance of Aether Blessed Academy.

Out of the fifty total students sent to represent the empire, a mind boggling forty students had officially qualified for the Second Phase.

Forty out of fifty.

For the first time in years... no, for the first time in her entire era as Headmistress, something like this had happened.

It had been a really, really long time since she became linked to this academy, and never once had Aether Blessed Academy established such overwhelming, embarrassing dominance over the other three empires.

And it was all thanks to that boy. Lynx.

When Lynx first made his aggressive rise back at the academy, he didn’t just fight, he crushed the standard. Seeing a Year 2 student walk around with that kind of untouchable, arrogant power made the rest of the students feel dangerously weak.

Driven by sheer humiliation and desperate ambition, the students had started training like possessed demons, day and night, grinding themselves to the bone just to keep up.

"Inspirational little monster," Amelia chuckled softly, her voice echoing off the cold marble walls.

However, as she swiped her finger across the hPad screen to review the rest of the matches, her pure white eyes narrowed slightly in deep curiosity.

She looked at the fight footage of the girls who were always glued to Lynx’s side. Ava, Kira, Lira and Ophelia.

Something wasn’t adding up.

Amelia knew these girls. Sure, after they returned from their excursion into the Restricted Area of the academy forest, they had clearly powered up.

They were exceptionally strong for Year 2 students back then, but they weren’t this strong.

Before this tournament, the strongest Year 2 student Amelia kept an eye on was Raven.

Raven was an absolute genius at nineteen, wielding her dual affinities with high level precision.

She had a brilliant future ahead of her. But looking at the tournament footage now, Lynx’s harem had completely shattered the normal growth curve.

Ever since those girls started hanging out with Lynx, spending almost all their time together, disappearing with him for days, their strength had exploded into something absurd.

Amelia leaned back in her chair, tapping a long, black painted fingernail against her coffee cup.

Clack. Clack. Clack.

She was dead certain that a girl like Ophelia could easily stand her ground against the elite Year 4 students from the other empires now.

In fact, if all of Lynx’s girls fought serious matches against the Year 4 elites of Aether Blessed Academy, they would probably go toe to toe with them and win.

They could probably even beat Julian and his entire political squad without breaking a sweat.

Now, if they fought Queen Eleanor and her four top enforcers. Layla, Iris, Rhea, and Nadia, maybe, maybe Lynx’s girls could force a draw.

But they wouldn’t win that one easily. Still, the sheer fact that a bunch of Year 2s and a Year 3 girl could even be compared to the elite royal vanguard was insane.

"And it all comes back to him," Amelia whispered, her white eyes flashing in the dark. "What on earth are you doing to those girls, Lynx Azarion?"

Her students had passed. They made her proud. They made her academy look like an absolute fortress of monsters.

Suddenly, her hPad began to vibrate, interrupting her thoughts. A soft, magical chime echoed through the dim office.

Ring... ring... ring...

Amelia looked down at the caller ID displayed on the screen. The moment she saw the name, her sharp smirk returned.

She pressed the screen, accepting the video call, and laid the device flat on her black marble desk.

Ten seconds passed in total silence.

Twenty seconds.

Thirty seconds.

Forty seconds.

Neither side said a word. The silence stretched until Amelia finally rolled her white eyes and let out a light snort.

"You know," Amelia said, leaning forward on her elbows, "if you’re just going to stay quiet like a ghost, you shouldn’t bother calling at all."

A smooth, ethereal, breathtakingly beautiful voice immediately vibrated through the hPad speakers from the other side of the line.

"I was waiting for you to speak first. You always get impatient."

Amelia burst out laughing, a sharp, rich sound that filled the dark room. "You always do that, Celestial. Or should I say... ’Mother Saintess’?"

She dragged out the title with pure mock reverence, clearly making fun of her.

On the other end of the screen, sitting in a grand, sunlit cathedral filled with white marble and golden banners, was Saintess Celestial, the undisputed spiritual leader of the second largest church in the entire human continent.

Celestial wore flowing holy robes, her soft, glowing golden eyes radiating an aura of absolute purity and divine grace.

Celestial let out a soft, elegant sigh, though the faint curve of her lips proved she was used to Amelia’s teasing. "Must you always mock my title, Amelia? People spend their entire lives bowing before it."

"Yeah, well, those people haven’t known you since you were crying over spoiled milk centuries ago," Amelia replied smoothly, picking up her coffee again.

"How is life in your little holy cage? Still glued to the church altar? Still praying to the sky while the rest of the world has actual fun?"

"It is called devotion, my dear Headmistress," Celestial answered calmly, adjusting her silk white sleeves. "Something you severely lack. Although, considering your lifestyle, perhaps a little divine discipline would do you some good. You are still a virgin, after all. Just like me. You have no right to lecture me about living a full life."

Amelia almost choked on her black coffee. She set the cup down with a sharp thud, her white eyes narrowing playfully. "Excuse me? I am a mature, beautiful woman who chooses her peace! Don’t drag me down to your nun level!"

"Amelia," Celestial said, her voice dropping into a gentle, knowing tone. "The last time you had a real suitor was over a hundred years ago. And if I recall correctly, you castrated him on the spot."

"He was trying to force himself on me!" Amelia barked back instantly, throwing her hands up. "I was defending myself!"

Celestial shook her head, a soft, amused smile playing on her face. "You two had been dating for three years. He hadn’t cheated once. You both literally agreed on the date for your engagement night, and when he tried to intimacy initiate with his soon to be wife, you panicked, changed your mind, and castrated him for life out of raw instinct."

"I told you, I changed my mind!" Amelia snapped, though a rare, faint blush dusted her porcelain cheeks. "A woman has the right to change her mind! My combat instincts just took over!"

"And then," Celestial continued smoothly, completely ignoring Amelia’s outburst, "after you broke up with him, the poor man came back to your estate a month later to confess his eternal love and beg for forgiveness... and you killed him."

"He became a massive bother to me!" Amelia declared, folding her arms tight under her massive chest, making her curves bounce.

"He wouldn’t stop crying outside my gates. It was bad for my reputation. Besides, he’s dead now, so why are you bringing up ancient history?"

Over in her sacred temple, Celestial simply shook her head in mild pity. This girl will never change, she thought to herself.

For a few minutes, the two ancient women went back and forth like old school friends who had survived centuries of war and politics together.

They talked about a whole lot of nothing, complaining about the endless paperwork of running their massive institutions, laughing about old historical figures who had died off, and mocking the political posturing of the four major empires.

It was a rare moment of complete relaxation for both of them. To the rest of the human continent, Amelia Veyrith was an untouchable, dark Headmistress who could crush armies with a flick of her wrist, and Celestial was the divine Saintess whose prayers could heal thousands. But to each other, they were just two ancient survivors sharing a private joke.

Eventually, the playful atmosphere began to settle.

Celestial leaned forward in her white marble seat, her glowing eyes fixing firmly onto the screen. The light banter vanished from her expression, replaced by a quiet, heavy aura.

"Amelia," Celestial spoke softly, her voice carrying a subtle weight that made the air in the room shift. "I didn’t just call to listen to you defend your past romantic crimes. I called to talk about your students."

Amelia’s playful posture disappeared instantly. She didn’t move a single muscle, but the temperature inside her dark marble office plummeted.

"What about them?" Amelia asked, her voice dropping all teasing notes.

"That Lynx boy," Celestial said, her tone deeply solemn. "I watched his fights. I noticed something about him."

Amelia put on a dead serious expression.

If there was one person she had seen physically in the entire human continent or beyond that Amelia wasn’t entirely sure she could beat in a full scale battle, it was Celestial.

It wasn’t just because Celestial possessed terrifying, god like elemental affinities and a mana reserve. It was because Celestial possessed the rarest, most broken capability in human history. She could see into the future.

Add that divine vision to her already monstrous battle strength, and Celestial was an absolute nightmare of an opponent. No sane person would ever want to fight her.

That didn’t mean Amelia was weaker than her. Not at all. Centuries ago, during the bloody unification era of the United Continent, the major empire generals and hidden old monsters gave Amelia a specific title in absolute fear. The Tyrant Empress.

That blood stained name wasn’t given to her for show. If Amelia went all out, continents would tear apart. But Celestial... Celestial was just on another level entirely. A true monster wrapped in holy silk.

Amelia leaned over her desk, her white eyes locked onto Celestial’s screen. "I hope my students are winning this tournament properly. Once this year’s event is over, we can finally force the other empires to change the stupid format of this damn tournament."

Celestial let out a soft, melodic laugh. "Yes. We are winning this tournament. There is no doubt about that anymore. And frankly, it is almost entirely because of him."

Celestial paused. The silence on the call returned, but this time it was thick, heavy, and suffocating.

Amelia waited. "Celestial? What is it?"

Celestial looked directly into the camera, her divine eyes shining with a mixture of quiet awe, subtle fear, and deep confusion that Amelia had never seen on her face in hundreds of years.

"The thing I wanted to tell you..." Celestial murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "I tried to use my divine vision on him during his third match."

She stopped again, taking a slow breath before finishing her sentence.

"Amelia... I couldn’t see his future. It was completely blank."