The smell of antiseptic filled the quiet hospital room.
Machines hummed softly beside the bed where Ryuki lay unconscious.
Her body was wrapped in bandages. The brutal fight in the junkyard had left deep injuries across her arms and ribs. Even with treatment, the strain of the battle still lingered in every breath she took.
Hours had passed since Akshat Aether had brought her there.
The doctors had been confused. A sword wound victim, unconscious, dropped off in the middle of the night. But Akshat had left before they could ask questions.
Now the room was silent.
The lights were dim.
Outside the window, the city had already fallen asleep.
Then the door opened.
Slowly.
A tall figure stepped inside.
Nearly six feet tall.
His face completely hidden beneath a dark mask.
The air in the room felt colder the moment he entered.
The leader of Hostel 1.
He walked quietly toward the hospital bed and stopped beside Ryuki. For a moment, he simply looked down at her injured body.
Then a faint smile spread across his lips. "…What a disappointment."
His voice was calm.
But the cruelty behind it was unmistakable.
Ryuki stirred slightly.
Her eyes slowly opened.
The moment she saw the figure standing beside her bed, her pupils trembled.
"…L-leader…"
Her voice was weak.
The leader tilted his head slightly, almost amused.
"You failed." He spoke casually. "As a result…" He leaned slightly closer. "…I can't help with your sister's blood treatment anymore."
His smile widened. "Sorry, my dear Ryuki." The words hit her like a knife.
Ryuki's breathing immediately became unstable.
"No… no… please…" Her voice broke.
Tears began rolling down the sides of her face.
"You promised… you said if I killed him… you would save her…" Her hands trembled against the hospital sheets.
"Please… don't do this… I'm begging you…"
Her voice cracked completely as she started crying helplessly. The leader watched the scene silently.
The faint smile on his face never disappeared.
Then suddenly—
His expression changed.
He noticed something.
A movement behind the curtains near the window.
The leader's eyes sharpened. "…Who's there?"
The curtain slowly moved.
And a figure stepped out.
Hands casually inside his pockets.
A calm smile on his face.
Akshat Aether.
He walked forward slowly, completely relaxed. The leader's eyes narrowed.
"…So you were listening."
Akshat shrugged lightly.
"Hard not to."
He stopped a few steps away.
His gaze was calm, but his voice carried a sharp edge.
"You're the reason for all this instability."
His eyes flicked briefly toward Ryuki, who was still crying in the bed.
Then back to the masked leader.
"I'm going to end it."
For a moment, the room fell silent.
Then the leader suddenly laughed.
A low, mocking laugh.
"You are such a dumb dwarf."
His tone was filled with contempt.
"You think you can beat me?"
He shook his head slowly.
"You're not even close."
Without waiting for a response, the leader turned around and walked toward the door.
Before leaving, he paused briefly.
Then he spoke one final sentence.
"Try not to die too quickly."
And just like that—
He left the room.
The door clicked shut behind him.
Silence returned to the hospital room once again.
Only the quiet sound of Ryuki's crying remained.
__________
Days had passed since the night at the hospital.
During that time, something extraordinary had happened inside Aryavarta Union Medical College.
The balance of power between the hostels had shifted.
Completely.
Through strategy, intimidation, and a series of decisive confrontations, Akshat Aether had taken control of Hostel 6.
But he didn't stop there.
The influence of his group expanded quickly.
Soon, Hostel 5, Hostel 6, and Hostel 7 were all operating under his authority.
For the first time in years, the weaker students finally had protection.
The extortion and bullying that had once dominated the lower hostels began disappearing.
But not everyone felt relief.
Inside a quiet room of the campus medical wing, Ryuki stared silently out the window.
Her body had recovered.
The bandages were gone.
The wounds had healed.
But something inside her remained broken.
The words of the leader of Hostel 1 still echoed in her mind. "I can't help with your sister's blood treatment anymore."
Every night those words replayed again and again.
The guilt was unbearable.
She had failed.
Failed her mission.
Failed her sister.
And now…
There was nothing left she could do.
Late that evening, Ryuki quietly left the building.
No one noticed.
Her footsteps were slow as she walked toward one of the tallest buildings on campus.
The rooftop.
The wind was stronger up there.
Cold.
Relentless.
Ryuki stood at the edge of the building, looking down.
The ground looked impossibly far away.
Her hands trembled slightly.
Tears slowly filled her eyes again.
"I'm sorry…"
Her voice was barely a whisper.
"I'm sorry, little sister…"
She closed her eyes.
And stepped forward.
Her body dropped from the rooftop.
For a brief moment, time seemed to freeze.
Then—
A scream came from somewhere below.
"Someone jumped!"
Students in the courtyard looked up in horror. Several people began shouting.
But it was already too late.
No one could reach her in time.
Her body was already falling.
Wind rushed past her ears.
The ground rushed closer. Closer & Closer.
Then—
A window several floors below suddenly burst open.
CRASH!
Glass shattered outward.
From the second-to-last floor, a figure launched himself into the air.
It was Akshat.
He had seen the fall from inside the building.
And he didn't hesitate. His body exploded through the window with terrifying force. He pushed off the broken frame with his full strength, sending himself outward like a projectile. For a split second, both of them were suspended in the air.
Ryuki falling downward.
Akshat rising upward.
The distance between them was closing fast.
But gravity was brutal.
Akshat twisted his body mid-air, stretching his arms forward. Just as Ryuki's unconscious body dropped past him—
His hand grabbed her wrist. The force of the fall nearly tore his shoulder apart.
Akshat gritted his teeth.
"Got you!" But the momentum dragged both of them downward.
They slammed hard against the outer wall of the building. Akshat wrapped his other arm around Ryuki's hips tightly to keep her from slipping. Then his feet smashed against a narrow metal ledge jutting from the building's exterior.
THUD!
The impact rattled his entire body.
For a second, it looked like both of them would fall again.
But Akshat forced his legs to stabilize.
His muscles strained violently as he held both their weights on the narrow ledge.
Broken glass from the window above continued falling around them.
Below, the students watching from the courtyard stood frozen in shock. High above them, Akshat slowly lifted Ryuki into a safer position.
Her eyes slowly opened.
She looked at him weakly. "…Why?"
Her voice trembled.
Akshat looked down at her.
His expression wasn't angry.
It wasn't mocking either.
It was calm.
Almost annoyed.
"You still owe me your life."
He adjusted his grip to make sure she wouldn't fall. "So don't try to throw it away that easily."
The cold wind howled around them as they stood suspended high above the ground.
But for the first time in days—
Ryuki's falling world had finally stopped.
End of ch 40
To be continue...
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