Outside the medical room, the corridor remained tense and unusually quiet.
Keris stood near the wall, arms folded, but his fingers trembled slightly. His thoughts refused to settle.
If anything happens to Eden… everyone will blame me.
Luther noticed the trembling but chose silence. This wasn't the moment for words.
Inside the medical room, Eden lay unconscious on one bed while Adrian rested on another.
Adrian's breathing was slow but steady. A fresh bandage wrapped tightly around his shoulder.
The faint smell of antiseptic filled the room, mixed with the quiet beeping of a small monitor beside Eden's bed.
For the first time, the medical room felt less like a campus facility and more like a hospital.
The doctor finished examining Eden and turned toward Professor Finch, Raymond, and the Devil Trio.
"That boy is out of danger," the doctor said. "But his body shows signs of repeated bullying and prolonged stress. Someone has been mentally pressuring him for some time."
Professor Finch asked, "When did the trigger occur?"
"Most likely this evening."
Professor Finch nodded slowly. "Then Keris wasn't involved today. He was in the canteen."
The Devil Trio exchanged glances but said nothing.
Raymond stepped forward. "And the principal?"
The doctor sighed.
"He's unconscious. His left shoulder was previously injured. The impact worsened it. We've run tests. If tissue damage is severe, surgery may be required."
Raymond's expression tightened, but he stayed composed.
"When will they wake up?" Professor Finch asked.
"The student may regain consciousness in three to four hours. No pressure when he wakes. This is a sensitive case."
The doctor then gestured toward Adrian.
"The principal may wake in eight to nine hours."
Professor Finch nodded. "Inform us if anything is needed."
After stepping outside, Raymond explained everything to the waiting students.
Professor Finch spoke firmly.
"Everyone return to your rooms. Tomorrow morning, we'll talk after both regain consciousness."
Students slowly dispersed.
Raymond remained behind for a moment, looking through the small glass window of the medical room door.
Then he turned and walked toward the hostel.
Responsibility never allowed him to rest.
---
At the hostel entrance, Lucas stood at his watchman post, arms crossed, observing students returning quietly.
He had seen Hillcrest during its worst years — fights, shouting, broken rules — but tonight's silence felt heavier than all of that.
Lucas adjusted the old register book on his table and wrote the time of the incident in slow handwriting.
"Tower incident," he muttered.
In years of working here, he had written many entries — fights, property damage, complaints — but never something like this.
Raymond stopped beside him.
"They're both stable," Raymond said.
Lucas nodded slowly.
"That principal… climbed a pipe to save a student," Lucas murmured. "Never seen something like that here."
Raymond replied quietly, "Neither have I."
Lucas looked toward the dark tower in the distance.
"Tonight feels different."
---
Samuel had helped spread the cotton sheets moments before Eden fell.
Now he sat in the maintenance room, tools beside him.
Now he stared at his hands.
"I fix broken chairs… broken pipes… broken doors," he muttered. "But how do you fix broken students?"
He leaned back and exhaled slowly.
"For the first time, Hillcrest feels like it might actually change… or collapse completely."
Samuel turned off the light and left the room.
---
In the hostel rooms, whispers spread.
"Why did the principal risk his life?"
"Why didn't he think about his own injury?"
"Eden jumped because of Keris."
"Maybe the Devil Trio did something."
"Everyone is hiding something."
In his room, Lucas's words echoed faintly from the corridor as he completed his night round, checking locks and windows like always.
Routine continued — even when nothing felt normal.
---
In his room, Luther replayed the tower scene again and again in his mind.
Adrian climbing the pipe. Running without hesitation. Jumping to save Eden without caring about his injured shoulder.
"Principal really wants to make this academy… an academy," Luther whispered.
Then doubt returned.
"But why did Eden jump?"
Eden was quiet. Fragile, maybe. But not someone who would suddenly do something like that.
"In the last few days, Keris didn't bully me… Did he bully Eden instead?"
---
In another room, Keris sat on the edge of his bed, staring at the floor.
"Did Eden jump because of me…?"
He rubbed his forehead.
"Yes, I bullied him… but that's normal. I bullied others too."
His thoughts grew faster.
"From the last three or four days, I sat with Eden and Luther. I didn't do anything to Eden. Then why…?"
A memory flashed in his mind.
In the classroom.
"Keris: Eden, where did you get that red mark?"
"Eden: I slipped in my room and hit the bed corner."
Back in the present, Keris's breathing became uneven.
"Was that a lie…? Did someone else hurt him?"
The doctor's words echoed in his mind.
Constant bullying… silent torture…
"But I didn't torture him… I didn't…"
Another thought struck him harder.
"What if no one believes me?"
"What if the police come tomorrow?"
Fear wrapped around him tightly. His thoughts refused to slow down until exhaustion finally dragged him into sleep.
---
In the Devil Trio's shared room, the air felt heavy.
Marcus spoke first.
"You two didn't do anything to Eden… right?"
Leon frowned. "What do you mean you two? If we did something, you're included."
"I'm asking because you sound defensive," Marcus replied.
Ethan sighed. "I didn't bully him much. He's too quiet."
Leon said, "The last time I remember, we bullied him before Adrian arrived at Hillcrest."
Marcus looked at Ethan.
"You're lying."
Ethan hesitated.
"On the day Adrian made us kneel," Marcus continued, "you were angry."
Leon nodded slowly.
Ethan finally spoke.
"…After you both slept, I went to Eden's room."
Marcus's eyes hardened. "And?"
"I made him kneel. Crawl. Polish my boots. That's all."
No one spoke after that.
The ticking of the wall clock became unusually loud inside the room.
For the first time in a long while, the Devil Trio looked less like rulers of Hillcrest… and more like students who didn't know what to do next.
Then ,
"Why didn't you tell us?" Leon asked.
"Why would I announce it?" Ethan replied.
Silence followed.
Marcus eventually said, "Tomorrow… when Eden wakes up… we'll see what happens."
After a moment, he added quietly, "That principal risked his life to save Eden. Even after we humiliated him."
Leon nodded.
"He's different."
Ethan didn't respond.
---
Near midnight, Raymond completed his hostel round.
He checked each corridor, each staircase, each exit — the way he always did.
When he finally passed the medical room again, he stopped briefly.
Through the glass, he could see both Eden and Adrian still unconscious.
Raymond whispered softly,
"Tomorrow morning… this academy changes again."
Then he walked away.
---
Near midnight, far from Hillcrest, Eden's family received the news.
His father immediately went to the police station.
"My son tried to harm himself," he told the inspector. "Someone is responsible."
"Details?" the inspector asked.
"My son studies and lives at Hillcrest Academy. I suspect the students… maybe professors… even the principal who recently joined."
"You suspect the entire academy?"
"Yes."
The inspector nodded.
"We'll begin the investigation tomorrow. We'll also inform the station near Hillcrest to monitor the situation tonight."
Eden's father thanked him and left.
Overnight, the news began spreading.
Phone notifications buzzed across the city. Social media posts multiplied. Speculation grew.
Some news channels blamed the Devil Trio — the sons of Unicorns. Some blamed Adrian. Some called it a staged incident to clean the academy's image.
Truth became secondary to noise.
Inside the academy, the campus lights remained on longer than usual.
The tower stood silent.
The medical room door stayed closed.
And across Hillcrest, no one truly slept.
Somewhere in the distance, a police siren echoed faintly through the night.
Morning was coming — and it wasn't coming quietly.