Hunter Academy: Revenge of the Weakest novel Chapter 1059

She closed her eyes.

And then—channeled.

Not fully. Not casting. But tracing. Matching the impression of Leonard's aura from earlier. The sharp, precise intent that had twisted space like a thread pulled taut. She rebuilt it as best she could from memory—constructing not the spell itself, but the emotional tone behind it. The pressure. The logic of the will that had been ready to strike.

It took her a few seconds.

And then she felt it.

A tremor.

Not in her hand.

Not in the air.

From him.

Astron's mana pulsed—not flared, not surged, but responded. In the tiniest possible way. Like a muscle twitching under a blade it had once known.

The tremor faded almost instantly.

It wasn't even a full second.

Just a pulse—small, contained, but undeniable. Like the slip of a heartbeat in a dead room. But to someone like Eleanor, whose senses had been sharpened by decades of combat, analysis, and high-tier regulation training, it was enough.

More than enough.

Because what she had felt just then, if only for a fraction of a moment, could not be explained away.

The energy that had buckled the edge of her perception earlier that evening…

It came from him.

From Astron.

She opened her eyes slowly.

But when she looked at him again, she saw nothing.

No change in his expression. No tightening of the shoulders. No defensive posture, no flicker of guilt or confusion. He just stood there, composed, calm, as if none of it had happened. As if the mana around him hadn't shifted just seconds ago. As if the air hadn't recoiled.

As if he didn't know.

Or worse.

As if he did know—and had already prepared himself to deny it in every way that mattered.

Eleanor tried again—channeling the same aura pressure, matching the tone, the frequency, the intent—but nothing happened this time.

No pulse. No flicker.

Astron remained completely unresponsive.

The link was gone.

Shut.

Cut.

She held it for a moment longer, her hand still open in the air, then slowly lowered it.

He hadn't stopped her.

He hadn't pushed back.

But he hadn't yielded either.

'So that's how it is.'

Even now, when his mana had reacted involuntarily, he offered nothing.

No acknowledgment. No fear. No curiosity.

Just… silence.

Deliberate, measured silence.

And that, more than anything else, told her what she needed to know.

He wasn't unaware.

He was unyielding.

She could press. She could threaten, corner, apply pressure like a wedge against his stillness—but it wouldn't work. Not on him. Not on Astron.

He was too trained.

Too calm.

Too good.

The kind of good that couldn't be faked. The kind that came from years of internal conditioning. Whatever secrets he held, they wouldn't come out in a confrontation.

Not like this.

Not tonight.

Eleanor took one step back.

Then another.

Her voice was quiet, but clipped.

"You can leave. If you want."

Astron didn't speak right away.

Then finally, he gave a small nod. Not respectful. Not cold. Just neutral.

And without another word, he turned and walked.

Eleanor stood still, her coat unmoving in the windless night.

Her hands returned behind her back, her fingers folding together once more.

'So it really was you.'

The flare that had buckled her perception.

The density that had warped the air.

The weight that had made even someone like Leonard hesitate.

It had come from Astron.

And now that she knew that—

The real questions began.

Eleanor remained in place long after Astron's silhouette had vanished down the lantern-lit path. The silence returned—but it wasn't peaceful.

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