Knock knock. A soft knock broke the silence of the dorm corridor.
Creek.
The door slowly opened. George stood there, his face immediately clouded with worry.
"Aslan?! How did you get hurt like this? Where… where were you so late at night?"
"I'll tell you later," Aslan muttered, his voice low and strained.
"Y-Yeah, sure… First, we need to bandage you." George gently pulled Aslan's arm over his shoulder, guiding him toward the bed.
"Why do you always end up hurt?" he muttered, concern etched across his face.
He grabbed the medical box from a nearby shelf and began pulling out bandages.
"You don't need to," Aslan said, trying to wave him off. "I'll do it myself. Just go to sleep."
"Shut up. Not one more word from you. Just sit quietly," George snapped, his expression unexpectedly fierce.
…Sometimes, I'm genuinely terrified of George when he looks like that, Aslan thought, too tired to argue.
Suddenly—SLAM! The door flung open with a bang.
"Aslan, Ge—" Cael stopped mid-sentence, frozen at the doorway. His eyes widened when he saw the bandages wrapped tightly around Aslan's chest and arms.
He stood there, mouth slightly open, caught off guard.
Then, without waiting, he rushed in. "Aslan! How did you get so badly hurt?!"
Aslan groaned and pressed a hand to his forehead. "Just leave me alone," he muttered.
"Well, that's not why I came," Cael said, frowning. "Have you seen Alice?"
George blinked. "He said he needed some books and went to the library. Wait… he hasn't come back yet?"
Suddenly, Aslan stood up.
Cael and George flinched.
Aslan quickly grabbed his coat.
"Alice's life is in danger," he said sharply.
"Without wasting a second, he opened the door hurriedly — and all three of them ran toward the library."
Meanwhile — a few minutes earlier
A hooded figure walked through the academy hallways in a battered state. His breathing was ragged. After turning a sharp corner, he ducked into the shadows of the hallway.
"Damn it… I didn't think the side effect would be this bad." He gritted his teeth, pressing a hand to his side. "Tch. Next time, I'll rip that bastard apart."
His breathing was shaky but quiet. Carefully, he pressed his back against the cold stone wall, blending into the dim light.
Suddenly— Step… step…
He tensed, eyes narrowing as another figure entered the hallway from the opposite side.
It was a boy — holding a stack of books so high it nearly blocked his face.
The cloaked figure exhaled slowly. "Tch. Just a student."
His lips curled into a crooked smile when he recognized the face.
"Alice Elgren."
"So… some of my power still remains. That's good news." He licked his lips, eyes gleaming with malice.
"In that case… I might as well enjoy my next target properly."
Aslan and his friends sprinted down the corridor.
"George! You know the paths that lead to the library, right?" Aslan called, glancing over his shoulder.
George, already panting, nodded. "Yes."
"How many?"
"Three in total," George replied without hesitation.
"Damn it," Aslan muttered. "Any shortcuts?"
"I do," Cael cut in, pulling ahead. "Follow me!"
Without waiting for a response, Cael swerved left into a narrow hallway between two lecture halls.
The three of them darted through a side hall lined with old paintings. The tension was rising, but none of them stopped.
Meanwhile...
Alice was dodging the enemy's attacks using his wind magic.
"Oh… I thought your only talent was talking big. Didn't know you could actually use wind magic too," the person sneered.
"What, you think I got the title of war hero for free?" Alice replied with a grin — though his heart was pounding like thunder.
But the enemy was slowly overpowering him.
Those black powers… and the side effects. There's no doubt he drank Voidbrew.But Voidbrew is illegal in the Empire… so how did he even get it?
Suddenly, a surge of water crashed behind the enemy, wrapping around him like chains.
"Guys!" Alice called out with relief.
Aslan, Cael, and George had arrived.
Aslan was trying to restrain the enemy with water, but suddenly, blood began pouring from the man's mouth — spreading across the floor.
"It's the side effect of Voidbrew," Alice said. "He'll explode in a few minutes!"
Aslan asked, "Is there a way to stop it?"
Alice thought for a moment. "Yes… there is. Voidbrew is weak against intense fire. But I'm a wind element user, and none of us here have fire magic."
A sudden realization hit Aslan.
"Everyone, get down!"
"Huh?"
"Just duck!"
Everyone dropped to the ground.
In an instant, a blazing fire erupted from Aslan — so intense that the very air around them began to warp. Breathing became difficult from the heat.
Within the flames, the black magic slowly weakened… then vanished.
Aslan finally dispersed the fire, staggering from the effort.
"Thank goodness we're safe," Cael breathed out.
Aslan swayed, almost collapsing, but the others caught him.
Alice slowly stepped toward the enemy's lifeless body.
"…He's Vikir," he muttered.
Aslan blinked. "Who?"
"The one who fought Kihu… before Kihu was murdered."
The four of them slowly made their way back to their dorms.
Cael glanced back at the scene one last time.
A few days later
Thankfully, the incident was resolved without any problems. Everyone was relieved the murderer had finally been taken care of.
Aslan walked through the corridor on the way to class.
Math Class
"So that's it for today's lesson," the teacher said. "Oh—and don't forget. There's a math competition coming up. If you want to apply, just write your name."
A blonde-haired boy walked up to the teacher to ask something.