Michael stepped to the front of the classroom, his confident stride commanding instant silence.
"My name is Michael Luminous," he began, his voice calm but carrying a strange weight that made every student sit straighter. "I'll be your new professor, and I will teach you the fundamentals of easy combat and fast incantation magic. I may be human," a faint smirk tugged at his lips, "but I am not weak. If you listen well, you'll walk out of my class faster, sharper, and stronger."
The students nodded, though some exchanged whispers. Amethyst, however, wasn't paying attention to the whispers. He felt it—a faint, chilling aura that swirled like dark fog just beneath Michael's composed demeanor. The void…? Here? His expression hardened. The thought of his younger siblings flashed in his mind, and he knew he couldn't ignore it.
After class, Amethyst quietly pulled Theodore aside, explaining what he sensed. Theodore's face paled.
"I don't… I don't want Professor Michael to be my teacher in the future," Theo muttered, glancing over his shoulder as if Michael's shadow might still be lurking nearby.
Before lunch, the group was ready to leave the classroom together—except Theodore somehow drifted behind, lost in his thoughts. That's when trouble found him.
Three older students blocked his path.
"Lost, little angel?" one sneered. "Bet you think you're special just 'cause you've got wings."
They circled him, their words growing sharper, filled with the kind of venom only kids desperate to feel powerful could spit.
One raised a hand as if to slap him—
—and then froze.
Standing between them was a girl neither Theodore nor the bullies had noticed before. She was his age—maybe twelve—but unlike anyone they'd ever seen. Her skin was pale as moonlight, her hair dark as midnight, and her eyes glowed a deep, unnatural red. An almost elf-like grace clung to her, but there was something else… something that made the bullies' faces drain of color.
"W-What the—" one stammered, before all three turned and bolted down the hallway.
The girl knelt slightly to meet Theodore's eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked, her voice soft but laced with a quiet confidence.
"Y-Yeah… I guess," Theodore replied, brushing the dust from his clothes.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"Theodore," he said, still a bit shaken. "I… I was just trying to find my siblings."
She smiled faintly. "Then I'll help you. That way, you don't have to face people like that alone again." Her eyes softened, but her tone carried a strange seriousness. "You're cute, you know. But you'll need more strength if you want to stand up to those who try to hurt you."
Theodore's cheeks heated. "T-Thanks… Miss. You look cute too… I mean, your pale skin and those red eyes… you look like a—" He paused, a thought slipping into his head that he knew he probably shouldn't voice. "Are you… a vampire?"
Her lips curved into a small, mysterious smile.
End of Chapter 45)