"Lully- what are you doing?!", Millie screamed.

  He pulled out the tooth from Cael's side, letting blood gush out from his wound.

  "Guh!", Cael's hands became clammy, "Argh!"

  Lully stammered, "I-I'm sorry...", he looked around, as if looking for an excuse, "Esteine threatened me to do it."

  "?!"

  Cael coughed, his face becoming pale, "N-no way, so when we met Esteine before, this is what you guys were talking about..?"

  Millie looked back and forth between them, "When? When? When??"

  Verna didn't hesitate to conclude, "So you're the real traitor. In that case-"

  Whoosh! Out of nowhere, Handon appeared in front of Lully, his hand projecting a barrier made of mana. Across from him, Verna stood, having thrown a small monster tooth, aimed at Lully.

  "Verna. He said Esteine 'threatened' him, not that he defected. I never knew you were the type to resort to violence quickly.", Handon then dispersed his mana barrier, the monster tooth falling to the ground. Tak!

  Lully's eyes snapped to the monster tooth on the ground, horror leaking through his expression briefly. He shook his head and looked back up again.

  "You're so fast!", Millie stared at Handon's dispersing mana, "Since when could you do that?"

  He didn't answer.

  At the same time, Cael flinched at the thrown monster tooth, but didn't rush to shield Lully. He frowned, "T-that's true... But Lully, was it really necessary to do thi- ugh!"

  He knelt down, wincing at the pain.

  "Cael! Are you okay?", despite his reservations about Cael, Handon still exclaimed in worry, "Thankfully the wound isn't too deep... But we need to stop the bleeding."

  Millie had also studied on first aid before the entrance exams and agreed with Handon, "Yeah. You might die in a day if you keep bleeding!"

  "Shut up! Do you think that's gonna help?", Lilah growled.

  They all huddled, looking at Cael's injury, wondering how they could help. Handon handed Cael a piece of clean fabric ripped from his sleeve, and had Cael stuff the wound excessively.

  Meanwhile, Verna looked at them, directly blocking her line of sight of Lully, and lowered her outstretched hand. Frustration welled up inside her. Her intuition told her that something very wrong has been lodged in her authority as the leader. Moreover, she previously thought that Handon might not interfere in her assassination because of his passivity for the past few hours--but it looks like he's still resolute in protecting Lully. She gritted her teeth.

  Simultaneously, Millie stepped back, holding her head, "Ugh, why are so many things happening? Something isn't right. This maze is supposed to be a survival section! Why..why..."

  Cael ignored her and turned to Verna, "Hey, Esteine might be around. Can you go check if he is?"

  "What?",

  "I mean, scout the area."

  ...Verna noticed an opportunity, "Hm, alright. It'll be dangerous if I go alone. Lully, you go with me."

  Immediately, Cael objected, tilting his head, "Isn't that counterintuitive? Lully is obviously connected to Esteine. Plus, you're the strongest one here, and our 'leader'."

  Everyone turned to look at Verna. Some of their gazes were indifferent, while others were dissatisfied. Although most of them knew that Verna was correct in her logic, they were no longer the cohesive group they were before.

  Cael discreetly gestured something to Lully.

  Noticing it, Lully also chimed in, "W-well, I also don't want to go!"

  Seeing everyone say nothing, Verna clenched her fists, her hands trembling, then opened them and breathed out.

  "Alright. I'll check quickly and come back. Don't move while I'm gone."

  Verna was tempted to not actually 'check' if Esteine was nearby and to simply linger around making sure that no one did anything out of her favor, but if anyone caught her then it wouldn't be far-fetched to say that she might lose all of her credibility and be kicked out altogether. Assassinating someone in such a plain environment while Handon is protecting Lully would also be extremely hard to do... Although she was trained, she knew that she wasn't omnipotent.

  Reluctantly, she skimmed through the indifferent faces in front of her one more time, and turned around, walking away to scout.

  When Verna was gone, Millie kneeled and asked, "Cael, are you really okay? That looks painful... And Lully why don't you just step back for a bit?!!?"

  Lully stepped back but retorted, "Well it isn't my fault! Esteine threatened me! I-I can't say no to that!"

  "Okay what did he even say anyways?! Cael- he's basically the only one here who hasn't done anything bad! Why would you stab him of all people?!", Lilah shoved Lully back further.

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  "It's personal! You wouldn't understand!-", Lully shouted.

  "Cael hasn't done anything bad? What a joke.", this time, Handon couldn't accept one particular statement Lilah made, "We-"

  But before anyone could explode, Cael interrupted Handon abruptly, "Honestly, everything is so strange. So much has happened in such little time, it almost seems engineered."

  For a moment, everyone paused, turning their attention to him.

  "...Uhuh? And what are you trying to insinuate? That someone caused all of this on purpose?", Handon rolled his eyes, "It could also be that we're all just a terrible fit in one group. Why are you trying to change the topic anywa-"

  Lully didn't let Cael's point leave, "But what if he's right? If someone is actually engineering chaos, what's going to happen when they get it?"

  Lilah held her chin, contemplating what he said. Millie alternated her gaze between Handon and Lully, unsure what to think.

  Cael leaned his back on the wall for support, "I'm sure that everything was still peaceful when me and Lully joined, though. It's kind of confusing. Exactly when did all of this start?"

  Handon sighed, scratching the back of his neck, "Well, it does feel like everything's happening in one continuous sequence... I guess you're right. What if someone engineered this? And their goals?"

  "Wait, but why would we even need to care about that anyways?", Millie asked, tilting her head, "Can't we just..I don't know, leave it be?"

  Cael shot a glance at her briefly, and looked away, "Then, why don't everyone share why they applied to the Demon Academy? Why, exactly, is it important to pass at all costs?"

  He raised his hand, "I'll start first. I applied because I have nothing else."

  The rest looked at him slightly confused. One of them asked, "Nothing else?"

  "Oh, sorry, is that too vague?", he smiled and answered politely, "I meant, if I don't pass the exam and get into the academy, I won't have a future, present, or past. I have no family here, no friends, no money, no place to go or belong, or at least lost any resemblance of a home, and I have no power."

  "Basically, I already have nothing, so why not try getting a second shot here?"

  Everyone fell into silence upon listening to him. Despite his calm and peaceful smile, his tone was an assorted concoction of resignation, disbelief, and desperation. It was clear that this academy was not just a second chance, but the last thread he had to desperately hold onto just to not disappear meaninglessly. Clearly, it wasn't just a small matter to dismiss even the smallest conspiracy.

  Breathing in deeply and breathing out, Lully spoke next, "I wanted to get into the academy because otherwise, I'll have no place in the world."

  He nearly came to tears, "I don't want to be in someone else's shadow forever. I just want to be my own person... and finally have someone look at me."

  Lully stopped talking to wipe his eyes. A few people were tempted to call him dramatic, but restrained themselves.

  Nodding, Handon joined in, "I'm here because my father told me to be someone he could be proud of. I'm here because I want to be a noble, not just be born one."

  Lilah spoke next, "I'm here because I want to become someone powerful. That's all. I'll die trying if I have to. As for the reason behind it...that's a little too personal for me."

  And, Millie spoke last, realizing the significance of the academy to the others, lowering her head, "I...I'm just.. I want to get into the demon academy because I want to be just like everyone else. I want to make friends and... if I never even try getting into the academy, everyone will think I'm weird. I- I just don't want to be lonely."

  Now that everyone had properly articulated their reasons for being here in the first place, the knowledge of what was on the line was much deeper. Pausing to let their reasons sink in, Cael gave his final proposal.

  "Then, let's figure out who's behind all of this, and before they get to do anything, take them out of the picture entirely. How does this sound?"

  "But who's the one 'engineering' this anyway? Does anyone have any idea?", Lilah looked at everyone.

  Everyone sunk into deep thought, recalling and reexamining everything that had happened until now, right from the beginning of the maze. Cael likewise stroked his chin going through his thoughts, and after some time, he cleared the fog.

  "Hmm.. But, what about Verna?"

  "?", Lilah looked at him, "Why her?"

  "Yeah, I thought maybe Esteine would be the so-called 'mastermind'.", Millie added.

  Cael didn't flinch and caressed his stab wound carefully, "You're right, Esteine probably plays a role in this... But I was just wondering when all of this began in the first place, and I remember the first time Esteine visited. Didn't Esteine specifically ask to talk with Verna alone?"

  "!"

  "Wait..! You're right!", Lully's eyes widened.

  Immediately, Millie clenched her fists and ground her teeth, "Ugh!! I knew it, she's complete trash!"

  "...Seems plausible.", Handon responded, "Even if she isn't malicious, just the fact that she's the strongest of us here makes her dangerous enough to be wary."

  "What should we do then? How do we hide from Verna that we know it's her?"

  "Hide?", Cael looked at Lilah, smiling wider, "We don't need to."

  He trailed off, and Handon frowned slightly.

  "So?"

  At this point, everyone was looking at Cael, waiting for him to share his thoughts.

  He raised a finger, "...What about this?"

  His gaze skimmed through everyone there.

  "A..coup d'etat?"

  "Are you saying we band together to kill her?", Handon's body tensed up, "Someone is bound to get inju-"

  "How desperate are we to pass?", Cael's smile shrank.

  Lilah looked unsure, "Ah, but-"

  "We don't even know how long we've been here. Even if we kick her out, are we sure that the maze won't last long enough for Verna to matter?"

  "3 days, 5 days, a week. Just how long have we been here?", Cael put a hand over his face, his tone shaking and quiet, "How much more?"

  "..."

  Everyone looked at each other, then back at Cael, more resolute than ever.

  Handon spoke the same sentence that everyone was thinking.

  "Then, since you suggested it, how should we do it?"

  Esteine hid in the darkness ahead with the twins as he watched a familiar figure walking and looking around, as if she was searching for someone.

  Verna's footsteps were completely silent as she called out, "Esteine. Let's talk."

  But no response came back.

  She continued to walk and repeat the same sentence, but Esteine continuously moved back and hid in intersections to not be spotted.

  It was clear what Verna was thinking. Some time ago, when Esteine had asked to talk to Verna alone, he had offered to help her kill Luliak, in exchange for mentioning him to the Rosamund family that she worked under. However, he was refused, with Verna saying she could handle everything alone.

  But it was evident now, Verna wanted to backtrack on her answer and ask for help.

  "Perhaps something went wrong? She can't even make up her mind, hehehe!", the male twin giggled.

  "Shh!", the female twin shushed him up.

  Esteine only stared at Verna, not bothering to have second thoughts of working with her. She already said she didn't want help, why was she coming back now?

  Tsk! He clicked his tongue, "How dare she refuse me when she's just a mere slave..."

  Rather, seeing how that rat's plans would play out was much more interesting to him. Moreover, it would yield a better outcome than if he were to simply work with Verna to assassinate Luliak anyway. That way, Verna would die and he could sweep in to kill Luliak and gain more favor with the Rosamund family.

  Of course, this was only if that rat was telling the truth and Verna would indeed die according to his words...

  Regardless, if it didn't happen, then he could just visit again and help Verna with whatever she needed. He wasn't so rigid to only stick to one plan.

  Esteine backed away farther from Verna.

  Shortly after, seeing that no one was replying, she left and went to return back to her group.