The battle in the Grand Coliseum continued for another half an hour after Atos entered the portal.
After losing their commanders, the Gargoyles decided to use suicide attacks in order to bring as many people as they could with them to the afterlife. Most of them succeeded before shattering into pieces, while others were destroyed by the strong fighters on the Human side.
King Noah and the Grand Archmage, Emrys, looked at the scene with grim expressions on their faces.
“Fortunately, we were forewarned,” King Noah muttered softly. “If James hadn’t shared this information with us, many lives would have been lost today.”
“Not only that, Your Majesty,” Emrys commented. “All the students that the demons captured would have lived lives far worse than death.”
“True.” King Noah agreed. “It is impossible for the Demons to have staged an event like this on their own. Perhaps The Organization is also behind this incident.”
“The chances are very high, Your Majesty,” Emrys frowned. “Unfortunately, I’m afraid that this is not yet over.”
“Simon did well in connecting the entire Academy to his personal domain. Although we used many resources, the results are still satisfactory.”
“I’m sure that the Demons will think twice before they set their sights on the Hellan Kingdom again after this incident. They’ve suffered many losses in this mission of theirs.”
Both men looked at the Knights, and the students of the other Divisions, that had surrounded the First, Second, and Third Year students of the Magic Division. Although Carter’s Control over them had dissipated, their minds were still unstable due to the effect of the spells inside their Sea of Consciousness.
For now, they were rounded up at the center of the Grand Coliseum where everyone could keep an eye on them. Although this treatment seemed unfair, no one wanted to take chances. Especially after the backstabbing incident that happened not long ago.
—–
“How is he?” Est asked anxiously as he looked at William’s face that was as pale as a candle.
“He’s safe, for now,” Ian replied. “His ‘Spiritual World’ has collapsed, but his life is no longer in danger. It’s just that…”
“Just what?” Est gazed at Ian who was still in her mermaid form.
Ian took a deep breath before she continued her explanation. “It might take him months to fully recover. However, if I stay by his side to constantly gather spiritual energy to help restructure his Sea of Consciousness I can shorten it, but that would still take a minimum of three months.”
Est felt something sour inside his mouth as he looked at the Half-Elf who had almost died after fighting with Carter. To make things worse, Est also felt guilty because he played a role in luring William to the place where Carter had set a trap for him.
“Is there anything that we can do to hasten his recovery?” Est inquired. “Is there anything that I can do?”
Ian shook her head firmly. “I have already given him a dense amount of Spiritual Energy. Giving him any more at this point will cause harm to his body. I intend to help him repair his Sea of Consciousness from the inside. That is all that we can do for now.”
“Can I help? Is there a way that I can help him?” Est looked at Ian with a pleading gaze.
Ian didn’t have the heart to say No, so she reluctantly nodded her head, and told Est that he could come with her when they entered William’s Spiritual World.
“Will?”
A voice sounded from behind Ian and Est. Wendy had regained her consciousness and looked at her lover, who was currently cradled in Ian’s arms.
“What happened to him?!” Wendy ran towards them as she held William’s shoulder anxiously. “Who are you?! What did you do to him?!”
Est took a deep breath and explained the situation to Wendy. He told her everything that happened right after she was knocked unconscious by Isaac. How Carter forced William to drink an unknown serum and the battle that happened within the Half-Elf’s Sea of Consciousness.
Wendy listened calmly to Est’s explanation from start to end. After hearing that William was “temporarily safe” the anxiousness in her eyes lessened, but it was soon replaced by sadness.
“I’m sorry, this is all my fault.” Est bowed his head in apology. “If I was only strong enough to resist the spell, all of this might have been prevented. It’s all my fault.”
Wendy shook her head as she looked at her Head Prefect who was stricken by guilt and grief.
“Head Prefect, it’s not your fault,” Wendy replied. “I’m sure that Will also doesn’t blame you for the things that happened. If there was someone to blame, it would be none other than that hateful Demon who instigated all of this!”
Wendy gnashed her teeth in anger as her eyes locked on “Carter” who was lying on the ground, unconscious. Now that the Astral Worm had left his body, all that remained was an empty, living husk.
Est followed Wendy’s gaze and shook his head. Clearly, he didn’t want Wendy to do anything reckless and harm the soulless body lying on the ground.
“Let the King handle this,” Est stated. “Someone has to take the blame and preserving the professor’s body is a must because it will serve as evidence. Also, the original owner of that body is innocent. He was just one of the many victims of that Demonic Worm that devoured people’s souls.”
Wendy reluctantly nodded her head as she looked at Ian. “You still haven’t answered my question earlier. Who are you?”
Instead of answering Wendy, Ian undid her transformation. The blonde beauty’s mouth opened wide in shock as she stared at Ian who was looking at her with a serious expression.
“Y-You’re a girl!” Wendy’s grip on William’s shoulder tightened as she stared wide-eyed at the boy in front of her. “Why are you pretending to be a boy? Are you doing this to get close to Will? Wait…”
“I’m not pretending to be a boy,” Ian replied. “I was originally a girl, but was placed under a powerful curse. This is the reason why I am currently a boy. And just so you know, I also like William.”
After almost losing William to the demon, Ian felt a heart-wrenching pain inside her chest. It was then when she truly realized that the boy whom she always quarreled with had already taken a place inside her heart.
Wendy gazed straight into Ian’s eyes and understood that she was dead serious.
Wendy then turned her head to look at Est who was standing beside her. “Earlier you said that I got in your way… are you also a girl?”
“Yes.” Est nodded.
“Do you also like William?”
“I’ve liked him for years.”
After getting the answer to her question, Wendy shifted her attention to Isaac. “Are you a girl as well?”
“Yes,” Isaac answered.
“Are you also in love with Will?” Wendy inquired. If not for the fact that the poor Half-Elf was already in a “Half-Dead” state, Wendy would have definitely smacked his head to vent out the frustrations that were welling up inside her heart and called him ‘Womanizer’.
“Me?” Isaac pointed at himself with a surprised expression. “No. I’m not in love with William. We’re only friends.”
“Okay, good.” Wendy patted her chest in relief. “That’s one less problem to deal with.”
She then looked at her pale-faced boyfriend, before reaching out to take him away from Ian’s embrace.
The blonde beauty took a deep breath, before glancing at Est and Ian who was looking back at her with complicated gazes.
“Let’s talk about this messed up relationship later,” Wendy proposed. “Let’s have the clerics take a look at William first. After that, the three of us need to have a proper talk about how we will proceed from here.”
Est and Ian nodded their heads. Since Wendy now knew their secret, there was no reason for the two of them to hide their feelings for William any longer.
—–
Oliver watched this scene from the shadows and sighed. He arrived just in time to witness the three girls that liked William make their feelings known to each other.
Fortunately, the Half-Dead-Half-Elf was still unconscious, and was spared from the messy relationship that he had unknowingly created.
Oliver subtly entered William’s shadow in order to protect him from any further threats that might arise out of nowhere. His mistress, Celine, would have also come to the academy, if not for the letter from The Organization that mysteriously appeared at her doorstep.
The letter explicitly told her not to interfere with The Organization, and in return, they would not target her one and only Disciple. The leader of The Organization had personally placed his seal on the letter, which forced Celine to stay in Lont.
However, the letter didn’t tell her not to send anyone to look after the boy, so she immediately sent Oliver to ensure William’s safety.
The Organization had its members scattered across every part of the continent. If they were to set their eyes on targeting William, the Half-Elf would definitely not be able to resist their assault. Because of this, Celine decided to compromise and not interfere with The Organization’s attack at the academy in order to spare her Disciple from having additional enemies who specialized in schemes and deceit.
