“Did he leave?” Byron, the Headmaster of Hestia Academy asked Celeste who was standing in front of him.
“Yes,” Celeste answered. “He’s now headed towards the Demonic Continent.”
Byron sighed as he stood up from his seat and looked outside of his window. He gazed in the direction of the Demonic Continent as a frown appeared on his face. Inside Hestia Academy, his words were law, and anyone who dared oppose him would find themselves in big trouble.
However, right now, that same man who stood above the continent felt weariness deep in his bones. An unprecedented event was about to happen, and even now, he still wondered if he made the right decision in sending William to the Demon Lands to retrieve Celine, and bring her back to the academy so that she could be protected.
“Celeste, you know, I considered sealing William inside this academy,” Byron stated. “However, I also know that it will be an unfair thing to do to him. Right now, he is just one among the many candidates that is suspected of becoming the prophesied prince. If I really lock him up, he might come to hate me and the academy.
“As the son of the Dungeon Conqueror, and the ruler of the Floor of Asgard, many expectations and responsibilities are placed on his shoulders. Locking him up will just breed resentment and, if I angered him, I’m afraid that even if he is not the prophesied prince, I will be creating an enemy that will not lose to that prophecy.”
Celeste quieted down. As someone who was more deeply involved in the prophecy than most, she also shared the same thoughts as the Headmaster. When she first came to see William, her intention was to gauge whether he was indeed the prophesied Prince. However, after interacting with him, she wished more than anything else that she was wrong.
While she represented the Virtue of Chastity, Celeste didn’t mind getting her hands dirty in order to protect herself and her sister from the person that was said to claim one of them as his bride. There was a time when she was tempted to end William’s life, as well as the lives of the other candidates in order to prevent the prophecy from coming true.
However, she just couldn’t take it upon herself in killing innocent people just to protect herself. Deep inside, she was afraid that doing so was a mistake. If she really killed them, and they turned out to be innocent, Celeste knew that the guilt she would feel would haunt her for the rest of her life.
“Headmaster, what are the chances of William being the one in the prophecy?” Celeste asked. This was the question that she wanted to know the answer to more than anyone else in the world.
If the boy, whom her sister had chosen to be her only Disciple, and the person who had also gained the Familiamancer Job Class just like her, turned out to be their enemy then it would just be too ironic, to say the least.
“His chances of being the one in the prophecy?” Byron snorted. “The same as everyone else, fifty-fifty. Right now, there are two hundred possible candidates that the agents of our academy have found. Perhaps, there are more in some reclusive regions that even our eyes cannot see.
Celeste, I’m saying this now. Don’t leave the academy anytime soon. As long as you are here, you will be safe. But beyond these walls… you’re just as defenseless as a newborn babe. No matter how strong Chloee is, or how smart Claire is, they won’t be enough to save you.”
“”Perhaps, the only saving grace for you is that fifty percent chance that the chosen bride will be your sister and not you. Although it is a bit hard to swallow, this is the only protection that can be afforded to you, if and when that prophesied time comes.”
Byron sighed for the second time as he returned to his chair. If he could be high-handed, he would forcefully abduct everyone on the list and have them all sealed in the deepest prison under the academy.
“What are the Elves up to?” Byron inquired. “They must be making preparations on their end as well, no?”
Celeste nodded. “I received a letter from my grandfather saying that the Elves are fortifying the defenses on the outer perimeter of the Silverwind Continent. They are also building large-scale magic barriers that will cover the land and sky of the ancestral lands.
“Although I don’t know how much help these will be in the future, it is still better than doing nothing. Aside from that, they are also gathering the prodigies of the young generation, so that they can send them to a safe place, just in case the worst case scenario happens.
“They are also ramping up the training of the army, so that they will be able to respond to any kind of threats that will come to the Elven Lands. The Guardians have also finished recuperating from the injuries they had sustained in the battle on the Silvermoon Continent.
“With them taking the lead, the Elves are feeling more hopeful about the supposed tragedy that will befall them.”
Byron nodded his head in appreciation when he heard what preparations were being made in the Silvermoon Continent. Although the Elves had suffered a setback in their conquest of the Southern Continent, they still remained one of the strongest races in the world. Even the Humans would have to think twice if they planned to launch an invasion on the Elven Lands.
It was simply unbelievable to think that a single Prince would be able to turn the tables on the Elves despite their race’s strength and superiority.
“It’s also time for us to make our move,” Byron stated. “We cannot just sit on the sidelines and watch as things unfold. Tell the Watchers that they are ordered to mobilize the moment something unexpected happens in the Demonic Continent. Although we cannot openly oppose this new enemy, that doesn’t mean that we can’t support our allies from the shadows.”
Celine nodded her head. The time had come to let the strongest warriors of Hestia Academy mobilize. They were the strongest warriors of Humanity, and none of them could be taken lightly.
The peace and security that Hestia Academy had enjoyed for the past hundreds of years was all due to their relentless effort in weeding out the threats and nipping them in the bud, before they could even grow strong enough to cause harm to the world that they called home.
