Varon no longer had that clean white coat. He wore a normal gray coat, his leather bag in hand.
Varon placed his hand on the magic identification panel next to the door to enter.
Beep.
The panel light turned red. The "Access Denied" beep echoed in the air.
Varon froze.
He placed his hand again. Harder. As if he didn't believe it.
Beep!
Red.
The door didn't open. The system didn't recognize him. The professor who had designed the Academy's security systems himself was now locked out of his own lab.
A young guard stepped forward hesitantly.
"Excuse me, Master... I mean, Mr. Varon."
Varon stared at the guard with a burning gaze that could melt glass.
The guard swallowed but did his duty:
"Direct order from the Council. All your access is revoked. Entry is only possible with written permission from the Headmaster."
A few students passing by stopped and watched with surprise. "The Fall of the Eagle." The moment power is humiliated.
Varon's fingers twisted into tight knots, his jaw taut. For a moment, it seemed he wanted to blow up the panel with magic. But then, he exhaled forcefully. His shoulders stiffened.
He hadn't lost; he was just kicked off the playing field.
Varon turned on his heel to leave, his pride functioning as his only remaining armor.
But as he walked away from the locked doors of his empire, his gaze drifted across the courtyard.
And locked directly onto Maria.
The distance between them was vast, but the cold, calculating promise in his eyes bridged the gap instantly.
The clamor of the courtyard dimmed, as if the world paused.
Varon slowed his steps, but didn't stop.
His look was no longer that "Master to Student" or even "Researcher to Assistant" look.
It was a cold, deep look full of pure malice. A look that said:
"This red light... this humiliation... these boxes of equipment... it's all your doing."
And deep in that look lay a terrifying promise: "I'll be back. And when I return, there will be no law to protect you."
Varon passed without a word and left.
Maria felt a shiver down her spine. The coldness of Varon's gaze was worse than the winter air.
Sarah grabbed Maria's arm.
"He... he looked very scary."
Maria watched Varon's hunched but proud figure receding.
"He's not just angry, Sarah..."
Maria whispered:
"I made a real enemy today. An enemy with nothing left to lose."
Maria and Sarah walked in the long stone corridors.
Sarah, usually talkative and disliking silence, was quiet this time. She wasn't behind, but walking shoulder to shoulder with Maria.
Maria waited for questions. Waited for Sarah to ask: "What happens now?" or "What will Varon do?"
But Sarah asked neither.
She was just present. Like an invisible support.
The sound of their footsteps on the cobblestones had found a synchronized rhythm.
Near the dormitory entrance, Sarah stopped. She looked at Maria's pale face, which seemed more tired than ever under the weak afternoon light.
She asked quietly:
"Shall we go to the room?" she asked quietly.
Maria paused. She pulled her gaze away from the corridor window and turned to look at Sarah.
It was the first time someone in this world just wanted to be by her side—without demanding anything, without interrogations.
She nodded.
"Yes… let's go."
To reach the dormitory, they had to pass through the main courtyard. Where the signs of last night's battle were still fresh.
The view they saw was an open wound on the Academy's body.
A group of workers in earth-colored clothes were busy moving large pieces of stone and debris. Dust still hung in the air.
On the other side, several professors stood, shining a yellow light on the cracked walls with their staves. The walls groaned and stones slowly returned to their places, but the trace of deep black fissures caused by shadow magic still remained like rotten veins on the building.
Maria stopped.
Her gaze fell on a few students sitting on benches. A boy with his arm in a splint. A girl still shivering.
A strange heaviness settled on Maria's chest.
These... were the cost of my decision.
She saved a creature's life, but took the safety of dozens.
Did I have the right to make such a trade-off?
Sarah noticed Maria's fixed, frozen stare. She followed her gaze and reached the destruction.
She put her hand gently on Maria's arm.
"Don't blame yourself."
Maria whispered bitterly:
"I can't unsee them, Sarah. This destruction... has my signature on it."
Sarah increased the pressure of her hand, forcing her to look forward.
"If it weren't for you... if that device had exploded... instead of 'injured,' we'd be collecting 'corpses' right now."
Maria said nothing.
Sarah's logic was correct, but Maria's conscience wasn't convinced. She was used to being a protector, not a cause of danger. But maybe... maybe sometimes to protect one thing, you have to break another.
***
The key turned in the lock, and the door opened.
The air in Room 304, unlike outside, was warm and familiar. It still smelled of Sarah's peach perfume and a bit of disinfectant.
Maria entered and closed the door.
Silence.
For the first time in days, there was no sound. Not the buzz of Varon's machines, not the creature's whimpering, nor the Council's verdict.
Everything was over.
Maria dropped her bag on the floor and sat on the edge of her bed.
The spring mattress creaked.
And just in this moment of silence and safety... the walls collapsed.
Not the room walls, but Maria's mental walls.
The adrenaline that had kept her upright during the detention, interrogation, and trial suddenly drained.
Fatigue crashed onto her head like a flood of debris.
She put her hands on her knees. They shook, beyond her control.
Her breathing became heavy.
She just realized how close it was. How close she was to losing everything. Expulsion, exile, and the destruction of all her plans for the future.
I... I really took a big gamble.
Sarah, noticing Maria's state, asked nothing. Didn't come forward to hug her (knowing Maria wasn't ready yet).
Instead, she quietly went to her own closet. Started folding her clothes. The soft rustle of clothes was the only sound in the room.
Sarah deliberately busied herself to give Maria space. So Maria wouldn't have to pretend to be strong.
Minutes passed in silence. The trembling of Maria's hands slowly calmed.
Sarah put the last piece of clothing in the closet and said without turning around:
"I was afraid they'd expel you."
Her voice was calm, but a slight tremor of remaining fear could be felt in it.
Maria stared at her hands.
"Me too."
A brief silence. Her words slipped out, raw and unguarded
"Maybe I deserved it. I broke the rules. I endangered everyone."
Sarah turned and leaned against her bed. Looked at Maria.
"No. You didn't deserve it. You were the only one who dared to do the right thing, even if it was dangerous."
Sarah gave a crooked smile, similar to the smiles Maria used to give.
"But... honestly, you acted very stupidly. Who goes to war with a mad professor and a rampaging monster?"
Maria raised her head. Looked at Sarah's face.
Friend? Accomplice? Or just an unlucky roommate?
Whatever she was, Sarah was the only one who didn't leave.
The corner of Maria's lip twitched. And for the first time in these months, a real smile, though weak and tired, settled on her face.
"Maybe... maybe you're right."
The tension in the room broke.
Maria took off her shoes and lay on the bed.
"Sarah?"
"Hmm?"
"Thanks. For everything."
Sarah turned off the light.
"Sleep, stupid hero. We have lots to do tomorrow."
The room was plunged into darkness and silence. Only the sound of Sarah's calm and regular breathing, who had passed out from the psychological exhaustion of the past day's events, could be heard.
But Maria was awake.
Lying on the bed, she held up her hands. Moonlight passed through the blanket covering the broken window and shone on her fingers.
Hands that were still trembling.
She closed her eyes, but images paraded behind her eyelids:
Explosion of mana pillars... students' screams... Varon's cold look... and the trembling of that creature's body in the cage.
I did the right thing... didn't I?
This question spun like a drill in her head.
She saved one life but endangered the safety of a school. She stopped Varon but made an enemy for herself that would chase her forever.
Maria clenched her fist and put it on her chest.
Being strong... doesn't always mean acting right. Sometimes, being a hero means choosing between bad and worse.
The heaviness of her eyelids finally overcame the stress. Her mind, tired of fighting the world and her own conscience, slowly surrendered to sleep.
In the distance, the Royal Academy of Alverin looked calm under the silvery moonlight.
But this peace was wounded.
The dormitory walls still had cracks. Part of the eastern courtyard was destroyed, and yellow "Danger" tapes were pulled around it. Broken glass still glittered on the ground.
These were scars reminding how fragile peace here was.
But on the third floor of the girls' dormitory, in Room 304, a real peace flowed.
Maria, the girl who always slept with one eye open and always had a dagger under her pillow, had now fallen into a deep and peaceful sleep. Her breathing was regular, and the perpetual frown on her forehead had smoothed out.
***
Elsewhere...
The fireplace fire burned with a pleasant sound, casting dancing shadows on the expensive leather furniture and the face of the boy sitting on it.
Arthur Valerion was wearing silk loungewear, but his face was tired and grim.
Several papers were spread on his small table. Reports from the Academy Council, the Royal Guard, and a draft of a request for a meeting with the High Council of Solareth.
Knock, knock.
A man in a personal valet's uniform entered and bowed.
"Your Highness. New news arrived from the Council."
Arthur swirled his cold tea in the cup.
"Speak."
"The verdict was issued. Maria Alessandra was not expelled. Only suspension and mandatory labor."
Arthur let out his held breath. His tensed shoulders relaxed.
"Thank God."
The valet continued:
"But her situation isn't good, Sire. All her privileges are revoked. Everyone avoids her."
Arthur stared at the flames. The heat of the fire hit his face, but he felt cold inside.
He clenched his hand and crumpled the report paper.
"I told her to come to me if she needed help... but when she really needed help, where was I?..."