Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 789

"Do whatever you like with them. I have no intention of ’becoming someone’s people.’"

The statement landed like a crack of thunder, the finality in my voice cutting through the chill in the air. Seraphina’s smirk evaporated entirely, replaced by a sharp narrowing of her eyes. Her fingers stilled against the table, and for a moment, the room seemed to hold its breath.

Then, the frost returned.

The air grew colder, sharper, biting at the edges of my senses. The faint shimmer of frost that had lingered on the table earlier now spread outward, creeping toward me like icy tendrils. Seraphina’s aura surged, suffusing the space with an oppressive chill that carried the unmistakable weight of her intent.

"You’re bold," she said, her voice low, dangerous, each word cutting through the cold like shards of ice. "But don’t mistake boldness for invincibility, Astron."

Her frosty aura grew heavier, the temperature in the room plummeting further as a thin layer of frost began to form along the edge of the table. The sharp bite of her mana pressed against me, seeking to unsettle, to force a reaction.

I met her gaze without flinching, my expression calm as the frost licked at my skin. The air burned with cold, each breath a sharp reminder of the pressure she was exerting. But I held firm, letting her aura wash over me without yielding an inch.

The time I had spent training over the break… It hadn’t been in vain.

The memory of those days to surface briefly—the grueling hours spent honing my mana control, the countless drills in hostile environments, the deliberate effort to push my limits, to strengthen my resistance against forces like this. The weight of her frost was formidable, but it wasn’t unfamiliar. It was something I’d prepared for.

I held her gaze, letting the frost bite at my skin, then finally, I broke the silence, my voice cutting through the cold like a blade. "If this is how you search for people to ’be your own,’ then you’re not looking for a person."

Her silver eyes narrowed further, the frost intensifying slightly, a response to my defiance.

"You’re looking for a slave," I continued, my tone calm but deliberate. "And if that’s the case, then you should know—those types of acts were abandoned long ago. Or have you not realized that yet?"

The frost stilled for a fraction of a second, as though my words had struck a nerve. Seraphina’s smirk returned, sharper this time, though there was a flicker of something beneath it—annoyance, perhaps, or something closer to recognition.

"You think you’re clever," she said, her voice soft but cold, her fingers resuming their steady tap against the frosted table. "But words won’t protect you, Astron."

I leaned forward slightly, the frost crackling faintly beneath my hands as I placed them on the table, my purple eyes locking onto hers with unwavering focus. "I don’t need words to protect me," I said evenly. "But if you think fear and intimidation are enough to make me bow, then you don’t understand the world as well as you think you do."

The air between us felt like a battlefield, the tension palpable, her frosty aura clashing with the quiet resolve in my presence. She leaned back slightly, her silver eyes gleaming as she studied me, her expression unreadable.

"You’re stubborn," she remarked finally, her voice carrying a faint trace of amusement despite the frost that lingered in the air. "But even the stubborn have limits."

"Perhaps," I replied, my voice steady. "But those limits aren’t where you think they are."

For a moment, the room fell into silence once more, the frost lingering but no longer pressing as heavily against me. Seraphina’s smirk remained, but her gaze carried a sharper edge now, as though she was recalibrating, rethinking her approach.

"Interesting," she said at last, her tone soft but tinged with something colder. "You’re more resilient than I expected."

I stood slowly, letting the weight of the moment settle. My movements were deliberate, calm, as if the frost-drenched tension of the room meant nothing to me. Seraphina’s silver eyes followed my every move, her smirk fading into something sharper, colder, her fingers stilling against the frosted table.

As I turned to leave, tilting my head slightly, a sharp projectile sliced through the air with a hiss, narrowly grazing past my ear. The icy shard slammed into the wall behind me, shattering on impact and leaving a trail of frost in its wake.

"I didn’t say you could leave," Seraphina’s voice rang out, low and dangerous. Her tone carried the chill of her frost but also the simmering heat of anger barely restrained.

I paused, turning my head just enough to glance at her over my shoulder. My expression remained calm, unshaken by the display. "And I don’t remember seeking anyone’s permission."

Her eyes burned now, a glint of rage flickering behind the icy composure she fought to maintain. The frost around her intensified, spreading further across the table, creeping toward the floor. The room felt colder than ever, her mana suffusing the space with a sharp, biting chill.