Luckily for me, the headmaster was a workaholic, so he never really left his office.
Day and night, he was there.
But even so, since classes were only around 10 minutes away from starting, I made my way up to his office without being seen.
Then, I knocked on his door.
After just a few seconds, the door opened and I stepped inside, making sure to close the door behind me.
"Amon Everness, to what do I owe this unexpected visit?"
I straightened my posture.
"I have a few questions, and a request if possible."
The headmaster put aside his quill and sat back.
"Ask away."
Good.
For starters...
"What is the nature of our relationship? I mean after the project ended."
"It is the same as it had been. Except now, I suppose I trust you slightly more than before."
Trust, huh?
"When will I get to meet the other two?"
The headmaster thought about it for a moment, then shrugged.
"When it is time."
Talking with him was like talking to a wall.
Not sure what I expected.
But even so, there's something I wanted from him.
"I want to disappear for a year or so. Could you help me?"
The headmaster raised a brow.
"This is unexpected. Do you intend to leave the academy?"
Does that even matter?
"I'm nearly a Grade 28, sir. I'm stronger than every single student and instructor combined. Every mission you send me on, and every special assignment you'll give me, would make me more of a contractor than a student."
I bowed slightly.
"I believe for that reason, I should be allowed to grow outside of the academy. And I want a fresh slate for that. I want to focus on a few things at a time, and if people forget about me, I believe it'll be much easier for me."
It was the truth.
And I fully expected the headmaster to find a logical loophole out of my thinking.
But instead...
"I see. That is doable."
Seriously?
"So you wish to make it look like you've truly died. Do I understand that correctly?"
"Yes."
He fell into thought again.
I could only imagine what he was scheming inside his head.
But just then...
"Very well. Let's start right away then."
Hmm?
"What...!?"
Before I could even finish my question, my body tore through the roof of the academy, sending me hundreds of meters into the sky.
My ears rang from the impact.
Honestly, I didn't even know what he hit me with.
All I knew is that he broke my jaw.
But to my surprise, my jaw began healing incredibly fast.
Within just a few seconds, it was back in place, and my ears were no longer ringing either.
Still, I didn't get what his plan was.
Did he want to fake a fight here?
That was what I thought.
For a moment at least.
However, when I glanced down, I spotted a massive magic circle being formed.
It was the size of half of Aldraazan.
There were all sorts of glowing runes along the magic circle, and only now was I reminded that this guy was also a master of inscriptions.
But judging by how the primary color was red, I knew whatever this magic circle was, was actually an attack.
So even if I didn't need to, I braced myself.
In fact, I also made sure to float a little lower so the people inside the city could see me better.
As expected, the earlier attack drew a lot of commotion, so even the cadets that had been waiting inside the academy ran outside and gazed up.
Kevin, Isabelle, and the others were included.
I couldn't read their expressions very well.
Though, it didn't take a genius to realize that the majority were hoping I die here.
Just then, the headmaster himself emerged from his office.
He flew up into the sky and eventually, he arrived only a few meters away from me.
I was about to speak up, but before I could, he shook his head slightly, stopping me.
"..."
Sure.
Let's see what you have planned then.
I raised my hand, and then snapped my fingers.
The entire sky turned dark as hundreds of lightning strikes suddenly descended onto the headmaster.
It was a flashy attack.
But I put no power behind it.
The moment the lightning struck the headmaster, it dissipated.
I was about to do something extra, but before I could, my movements froze.
The magic circle below began to glow too.
Although I tried to resist it, I couldn't.
Even when I used more of my strength...
Hold on just a second.
Is he being serious?
He's not really planning on killing me, is he?
The headmaster's figure blurred.
In the next instant, I felt pain in my chest, and before I could even process what was happening, I hurtled through the sky, breaking the sound barrier.
I only stopped when I crashed through tens of buildings and found myself in the very center of the city.
More importantly, the magic circle followed me.
But its glow had vanished.
Right as I began to wonder why that was the case, I saw a red flare shoot up into the sky.
It didn't stop traveling upward until it went way above the clouds, and for a moment, I thought that was as flashy as the headmaster's attack could get.
...I severely underestimated him.
A ball of fire tore through the clouds as a meteorite the size of a castle hurtled right at me.
At times like these, I was reminded that the headmaster was an emotionless maniac.
Why did I ask him to help me?
Though, I guess I also never expected him to drop a meteorite in the center of Aldraazan.
But regardless of that, I remained standing under the meteorite and watched on as instead of getting slower, it was becoming faster.
And soon enough, that meteorite was just a few meters away from me, scorching my skin and destroying everything in the surroundings.
The people that were next to me, I made sure to launch them away with my Telekinesis.
When there was finally no one around me, I covered my whole body in Telekinesis.
Right as the meteorite landed on my barrier of Telekinesis, it pushed me back as it split the ground open and sent me hurtling straight into the sewer system, and then deep below into the earth.
Even with my Telekinesis, it was pretty painful, but eventually, I heard a crack below me, and as I slightly turned my head toward it, I realized it was a portal.
I fell through the portal and it closed immediately.
I was safe.
And I was near a forest, far away from Aldraazan.
But that didn't stop me from feeling a powerful earthquake even now.
As I glanced at the sky, I also saw a smoky trail from the meteorite that led down into the city.
But since it was over the horizon, I could only see the smoke, not the city itself.
Honestly...
It looked quite beautiful.
Though it didn't change the fact that if I hadn't blocked that meteorite, it would've killed me.
Yet as I stared at the smoky trail, I felt like all my worries washed away.
Who in their right mind would think that I could ever survive a meteorite falling on top of me?
People saw me before the meteorite hit, and I was sure the headmaster was going to spin some story about me too.
So I was sure that this plan, even if it was abrupt, worked out very well.
"Now then..."
There's an artifact on the edge of the continent that would help me hide my appearance.
And after that, it's about time I started searching for Clementine.