A few days later, the incident triggered an extraordinary wave of fear throughout the academy. Dean Saires, a man usually known for his sternness, appeared visibly distressed as he approached the classroom where Arvin sat quietly reading a book of magic.
"Arvin, you must come to the office! You've severely injured four noble students! Their parents are there, raging and demanding your head!" Dean Saires called out from the doorway.
Arvin didn't budge from his seat. The aura around him suddenly grew razor-sharp. "I refuse! Why should I be the one to go there? You should have been firm with those who enjoy bullying others. Isn't that your duty as the Dean?"
"Arvin! This is no trivial matter! Their parents are waiting for you with their guardian knights!"
Arvin closed his book with a low thud that sounded like a death sentence. "Tell them to take their children away from here immediately, or I will turn the faculty office into a sea of blood!"
Instantly, the temperature in the classroom plummeted to freezing. Frost began to crawl across the windows and walls. Every student in the room began to shiver, their breath forming thick mist. They felt a massive mana pressure weighing down on their shoulders.
"If you think I am merely bluffing, feel free to force me to meet those royal wastes." Arvin continued with a polite tone, but with a gaze that was freezing and lethal.
Dean Saires swallowed hard. He knew the history of the Vedegra family all too well and realized Arvin wasn't playing around. Ultimately, the Dean chose to retreat, leaving the room in a hurried pace.
Allen, sitting right beside him, gazed at Arvin's face with profound awe. How strong is this man that even the Dean doesn't dare to oppose him?
But the madness wasn't over.
A few moments later, heavy footsteps approached. The classroom door was kicked in so hard that the hinges broke. A middle-aged nobleman dressed in luxurious clothing, his sword already drawn, and with two guardian knights burst in.
"Who is Arvin Vedegra?! Who do you think you are to touch my son?! I'll send your head to Duke Vedegra myself!" the man roared, his voice thundering with rage.
Arvin rose from his seat with a calm movement. However, in the blink of an eye, he was already in front of the man and his two guardian knights.
Zrash!
A razor-sharp slash of dark energy tore through the air. In an instant, Arvin decapitated the man and his two guardian knights in front of everyone. Blood sprayed out like a fountain, drenching the classroom floor. Every girl shrieked hysterically, while others fainted from shock.
"I warned you through Dean Saires not to show your face before me. But you came anyway, brandishing your sword in a classroom. Fool!" Arvin said coldly, staring at the three heads rolling on the floor.
Arvin kicked and toyed with the noble's head as if it were a ball, eventually kicking it out of the room out of sheer boredom. "Does this noble have no common sense? Defending his child for bullying... what an idiotic noble!" Arvin spoke loudly enough for his classmates to hear.
"How can trash like this even be a noble? Disgusting! And what's even more disgusting are the idiots who enjoy bullying the weak! FACE ME IF YOU THINK YOU'RE SO SUPERIOR, YOU FOOLS!" Arvin shouted, his voice echoing in the room.
Everyone who heard his scream was terrified. No one dared to look him in the eye.
Then, he walked back to his seat as if he had just wiped a small speck of dirt from his desk.
Dean Saires, who had just returned to class 1-A, was shocked to see the gruesome scene. The headless corpse of a nobleman and his two guardian knights lay on the floor, while Arvin crouched beside them, as if mocking the corpses.
The entire class fell silent, frozen in fear. They weren't afraid of the murder itself, but of the person who committed it with such a cold yet deadly expression. Unbeknownst to anyone else, in Allen's eyes, Arvin was an unrivaled hero.
Since then, bullying at Astoria Magic Academy vanished completely. The name Arvin Vedegra became a symbol of protection and terror. Allen felt safe, he felt protected by Arvin's presence. Likewise, the students from the commoners who were studying at the academy all felt safe too.
However, that admiration slowly blossomed into a much more complex seed, a forbidden, yet profound love.
[Back to the Present]
Allen woke up and immediately turned to his side, looking for the figure who had been holding him. However, the space beside him was empty. Arvin was no longer by his side.
"Arvin?" he called out softly, but there was no answer.
The room was silent, save for a faint sound coming from another room, the voice of someone talking to themselves.
With careful steps, Allen got out of bed and approached silently. He stood behind a wall, straining his ears to eavesdrop.
Arvin's voice sounded low but clear.
"I can't wait for Allen's power to awaken. Indeed, that's how the storyline is supposed to go."
Allen furrowed his brow. Storyline? What does he mean?
Moments later, an amused chuckle was heard from Arvin.
"He is so cute. Every time I look at his face, I almost faint. Arvin, you are so weak! Hahaha."
Allen's face instantly flushed red after hearing that secretly spoken praise.
"But... if he awakens his power, will he kill me, just as it's supposed to happen to me?"
Gasp!
The shy smile that had just appeared on his lips vanished instantly after hearing Arvin's words. He was in total shock, unable to believe what he had just heard.
Allen's body stiffened instantly. He felt he couldn't ignore what he had just overheard. That sentence hit him harder than the memories of being bullied by the nobles in the past.
Me? I kill him? What did he just say?
Allen said in his heart, shock.