The thick dust from the collapsed warehouse was still hanging in the air when loud shouts and military orders were heard.
"Surround the area! Healers! Over there!"
The Academy Headmaster, Master Garret, and dozens of guards and senior mages finally arrived. Late, as always.
The light of magic staves lit up the dusk darkness like day.
The scene was catastrophic. deep craters in the ground, cracked walls, and students lying groaning on the ground.
Varon was still kneeling by his device. His clothes torn and face bloody, but he didn't try to run. He looked at the burnt pieces of his device with a gaze that was a mix of anger and calculation.
Guards surrounded him.
"Lord Varon! You are under surveillance for endangering Academy security and conducting unauthorized Level 5 experiments."
Varon raised his hands. He didn't resist.
He wouldn't face real consequences. His influence ran too deep. But his reputation had plummeted. His secret project was exposed.
Sarah limped toward Maria. Her face was muddy, and her pajamas were torn.
"Maria... are you okay?"
Maria, still sitting on the grass, looked at the empty spot on the wall where only the darkness of the night remained.
"I'm fine."
Sarah sat beside her and looked at the destruction before them. At the students being carried away on stretchers.
Her voice trembled:
"Was it worth it? All this destruction... for a monster?"
Maria looked at Sarah.
"It wasn't a monster, Sarah. It was a innocent prisoner set free."
Then she fixed her gaze on the darkness of the forest. For a moment, deep in the shadows, she saw the faint glow of two ruby eyes as if saying goodbye for the last time.
"Yeah. It was worth it."
The chaos had subsided, but it gave way to a heavy, sorrowful silence.
Red and orange emergency lights were lit in the courtyard, creating scary shadows.
Maria and Sarah stood amidst the crowd.
Injured students were being taken away. Some were crying, some were in shock, just staring at the cracked walls of the dormitory.
Whatever safety the Academy once promised lay buried under stone and ash.
No one thought this was the safest place in the country anymore. War, which was always at the borders, had now reached their backyard.
Maria felt the trembling of Sarah's hand and squeezed it. This was no longer a strategy game or a class grade. This was the harsh reality of their world.
Maria felt a heavy gaze on her.
A second-year student with a bandaged head pointed a finger at Maria.
"That... isn't that the girl?"
The sound of whispers rose like snakes in the grass.
"Yeah... I saw it myself. She was by the device."
"Maybe it was her doing? Heard she became Varon's assistant."
"She caused the monster to escape? She's crazy! She almost killed us!"
The looks turned.
Not the admiring look after the victory over Damian, nor the mocking look of the magic class.
This time, the looks were full of anger, fear, and accusation.
They were looking for a culprit. Varon was a professor and untouchable, the creature had escaped... And Maria was the easiest target. A strange, defenseless, and mysterious girl.
Maria raised her head. She tried not to be afraid, but the weight of collective hatred crushed her shoulders.
She hadn't become a hero. She had become the "cause of the disaster."
Guards were taking Varon toward the administration building. He wasn't handcuffed, but he was surrounded.
As he passed by Maria, he slowed his steps.
His clothes were torn, his face wounded, and all the results of his research had gone up in smoke. But in his eyes... no defeat was visible.
He stopped and looked at Maria.
He gave a faint, terrifying smile. A smile that said: We are alike.
He whispered quietly, so only Maria could hear:
"Think you won?"
He paused and fixed his gaze on Maria's gold bracelet (now empty of mana).
"You just entered the game, little engineer. I'll be back... and then, you won't be my apprentice anymore."
Varon passed and left.
Maria remained alone amidst the angry looks of students and under the shadow of Varon's threat.
She had saved the creature's life, but in exchange, she had drawn a bigger target on her own forehead.
The War of Shadows was over, but the War for Survival in the Academy had just begun.
Maria and Sarah intended to quietly disappear into the shocked crowd and return to the dormitory.
But, a tall shadow blocked their way.
One of the senior professors of the Disciplinary Committee, a woman with a dark gray robe and a bony face that always smelled of law and punishment, appeared before them.
Sarah froze on the spot and grabbed Maria's arm.
The professor cast a cold look at Maria, covered in blood and mud from head to toe. A look that was like a court verdict.
"Maria."
Her voice was calm but sent shivers down Sarah's spine.
"Tomorrow morning, ten o'clock. The Academy High Council has summoned you."
Maria swallowed.
This wasn't "class detention" or "cleaning the workshop" anymore.
The High Council, composed of the Headmaster, representatives of the Great Houses, and the most senior mages. They only met for one thing: severe crimes and expulsion.
Maria tried to keep her voice steady.
"Understood."
Without another word, the professor turned and left to attend to the damages.
Sarah, who had turned white as chalk, whispered:
"The High Council... Maria, they don't joke around. They can not only expel you but also hand you over to the City Guard as a criminal."
The crowd had dispersed. Maria and Sarah walked alone in the corridor.
The weight of the silence between them was heavier than the weight of the collapsed debris.
Sarah finally broke the silence. Her voice was choked with tears.
"They might expel you..."
Maria didn't answer.
She stopped and raised her hands.
She looked at her palms.
They were wounded. Burnt. Her nails were broken, and traces of the creature's blood and the blackness of Varon's circuits were still on them.
Hands that had always been trained to punch, draw daggers, and harm.
But today... these hands had broken a lock. Saved a life. Pulled an innocent creature from under the scalpel.
She gave a faint, tired smile.
"Maybe they'll expel me, Sarah. But today... I didn't lose."
Sarah looked at her. In Maria's eyes, there was a sparkle she had never seen before. The calm of a clear conscience.
Maria clenched her fist and lowered it.
"Let's sleep. Tomorrow is a hard day."
***
The room was dark. Only moonlight barely penetrated through the broken window, now covered with a thick blanket.
Sarah was in the bathroom, washing away the blood, mud, and exhaustion.
Maria sat on the chair, facing the window, staring into the darkness of the room.
She hadn't changed her uniform. She was still sitting in the same bloody and torn clothes, as if waiting for something.
Suddenly, in the dark corner of the room, where the wardrobe's shadow fell on the wall, she saw movement.
Maria blinked.
Two glowing red points appeared in the darkness.
Ruby eyes.
For a second, just a second, she saw the creature sitting there, looking at her with gratitude.
You're alive... You're free...
Maria smiled...
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The sound of heavy fists pounding on the room door tore through the silence of the night.
Maria's smile vanished. Her gaze turned cold and hard.
"What...?"
With trembling hands, she grabbed the door handle and opened it.
Two men in metal armor with swords at their waists stood at the door.
"Maria Alessandra?..."