It was horrifying, yet the princess did not give in to fear. Instead, she continued unleashing blazing punches toward Emrys's face.
But with just a simple downward sweep of the boy's hand, a massive gust of wind struck the princess's entire body, slamming her down.
Her fist crashed into the ground, creating a deep crack, and her knees buckled as well. Her whole body felt unbelievably heavy.
Her teeth clenched as her eyes nearly shut, struggling against the force pushing her down.
The crack on the ground beneath Elise widened slowly but surely. No matter how she resisted, it had no effect on the wind released by the boy.
Until finally she screamed, releasing burning energy from her entire body. She tried to counter the wind, causing the crack on the ground to spread farther, crawling all the way to both walls.
The wind burst free, allowing the princess to finally escape its force—and she appeared behind the boy.
She tried to unleash rapid punches with her blazing fists, but Emrys effortlessly dodged and blocked them by stepping back.
Then, with a simple motion of his hand, another strong gust of wind exploded outward, hurling Elise several meters back.
She remained standing despite this, her gaze calm yet sharp as she faced the boy who launched a series of fire-imbued attacks.
But with slight tilts, bows, and sways of his hands, not a single attack landed on Emrys.
Even when Elise sped up, the boy managed to draw closer to her face. With no emotion at all, he stared at her, grabbed her cheek, and without hesitation slammed her sideways into the wall.
A loud crack echoed. When the smoke cleared, the princess lay unconscious, her face bloodied and blood dripping from her lips.
Emrys stared at her briefly, placed ten healing potions beside her, and vanished like smoke.
About five seconds later, Lucien and his five companions reached the same alley.
They had heard the noise, so they immediately responded and found their unconscious comrades—including the wounded princess.
Lucien quickly knelt and supported his sister's head. He calmly checked her pulse in her neck and sighed in relief upon realizing she was fine.
The others searched the area but returned to Lucien looking disappointed. The prince glanced at them, his expression dark, causing the others to swallow nervously.
"Find him. Don't come back until you do!"
"Y-yes, sir!"
Once they left, Lucien noticed the healing potions beside his sister. His brows furrowed as he wondered who could have left them there.
And these weren't normal healing potions—these were high-crafted items, judging by their deep red color.
—
At the top of a tree, Desmond stood with his hands in his pockets, secretly observing the movements of each student.
There was chaos everywhere. The place was incredibly noisy. It seemed none of them planned to stop and rest anytime soon, but what puzzled him the most was that not once had he seen Emrys since the boy left the Dining Hall hours ago.
Clover finally appeared on the branch behind him, prompting Desmond to ask without even looking back, "Has anyone seen the boy yet?"
"You're the last one I checked on. Seems even you haven't seen him around this area," Clover replied, crossing his arms and looking away. "Did we really do the right thing challenging that kid, Desmond? What do you think?"
"There's no point blaming each other now. It's too early to give up, Clover. No matter how strong he is, he'll eventually get tired. And when that happens, that'll be his end."
—
One of the teachers who was supposed to simply observe the event left his designated post.
He was now secretly climbing the dormitory stairs. When he found Emrys's room, he used wind magic to crush the lock, opening the door and stepping inside.
He grinned widely, but his excitement faded the moment he realized the room was empty. He had assumed the boy was hiding here—and if he caught him, he could secretly hand him over to the White Hunters Guild.
What he planned was illegal, since teachers were not allowed to interfere in the event beyond supervising.
"What are you doing here?"
The teacher's shoulders tensed in shock when he heard a voice behind him.
When he turned around, he saw Prince Warren standing in the hallway across the open room, hands in his pockets, staring at him with a meaningful gaze.
The teacher swallowed hard and began sweating. "P-Prince Warren. It's you." He forced a smile and bowed.
"Why is a teacher like you inside a student's room? Can you explain?" Warren asked.
The teacher looked away, thinking of an excuse, before facing the prince again. "D-don't worry, Your Highness. I'm just observing the surroundings, nothing more. I'm not doing anything illegal."
"Is that so?" The prince narrowed his eyes. "Isn't it illegal to enter someone else's room? You even broke the door. From what I've heard, teachers are only supposed to watch from a distance. If anyone should be doing this, it's us students. Isn't that right?"
The teacher swallowed again, clearly cornered, and could do nothing but kneel and press his head to the floor.
"F-forgive me, Your Highness. Please don't report me. I won't do it again, I promise!" he pleaded.
"Oh?" The prince seemed pleased by what he saw. He smiled sweetly before continuing, "It's alright! Just don't do it again, understood?"