Lith called Faluel to deal with Nalrond while he contacted the missing Professor and the academy. Headmaster Marth didn't like being bothered so late at night, but the moment he heard Lith's report he moved as fast as he could.
"You must thank Quylla the next time you see her, child." Faluel was back in her human form, using the spell Quylla had traded with her to inject potions and tonics straight into Nalrond's bloodstream.
"Not even Awakened can heal so many wounds at the same time. We're healers, not miracle workers." The Hydra used her breathing technique, Lifestream, to scan the Rezar's life force and remove the darkness magic poisoning it before stabilizing his condition.
Just like a pseudo core needed mana pathways, a mana core required life force to remain stable. Too many severe wounds would destabilize the life force of an individual, putting their mana core at risk.
On top of that, massive doses of darkness magic did more than just inflicting physical wounds.
If untreated, darkness magic would infect its victim's body and core alike. It was how Lith had unwillingly created a greater undead back at the academy and how Protector's core had cracked during Balkor's attack.
Faluel focused on cleansing the darkness plaguing her apprentice and on closing all of his open wounds thanks to the constant stream of nutrients the potions provided him with.
Stabilizing Nalrond's life force allowed his two mana cores to recover as well, but only once he could safely fall asleep did Faluel sigh in relief. She kept injecting potions in his bloodstreams non-stop while inwardly thanking both the wonders of alchemy and Quylla's ingenuity.
"Don't heal him any further until he gets some rest. Between the combat and the healing spells, his body can't endure any more mana." Faluel said before going back to take care of the other injured.
She couldn't afford the Council to discover that a member of the fabled Werepeople lived next door to her. All races were still looking for a way to get access to the Fringes and very few would respect Nalrond's privacy. Even the other elders of the Beast Council would spare no efforts to squeeze Nalrond's secrets out of him.
"You bring me terrible news, Lith." Marth said while checking his missing colleague's whereabouts and last known position. "Vastor is too old to face a threat the caliber of a Horseman. Not even Manohar could, and he's much younger and madder."
Lith informed the Royal Guards about the Professor being MIA right after bringing Rena's and Zinya's families to his own home. Everyone was so pale that they seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown.
The only silver lining was that, thanks to the presence of the magical beasts, the children were calmer than their parents.
"Please, you have to save Zogar." Zinya needed sheer willpower to not cry and keep her children calm. "He was on his last leg when we ran away. You have no idea the monsters he faced alone only to protect us. If anything happens to him, it would all be my fault."
Elina was still scared to death, but seeing her daughter and granddaughter safe allowed her to be the rock the others needed to survive that night.
"Don't worry, Zinya. If Professor Vastor is still alive, Lith will find him." Elina pretended to pat her son's shoulder while she actually checked that the injury Night had inflicted him earlier had properly healed. "Are you and Kamila alright, son?"
"Yes, we're both perfectly fine. I left Kamila with the Royal Guards and I had plenty of time to recover." Lith replied.
"Thank to the gods." Raaz hugged every member of his family, making sure they were okay before letting them go. "The only thing that kept me from having a stroke when those gigantic creatures appeared, was that they were on our side."
Then, he turned towards the small pack of magical beasts that served as both steeds and bodyguards for the children.
"I've never been so happy to have you annoying, drooling, fur-shedding beasts around the house. Thank you very much, guys. You saved my little girls."
Abominus and the others didn't like Raaz's words much, but his heartfelt gratitude touched their hearts and the big steaks that came with it won their stomachs.
"You can stay in Trion's room as long as you want, Zinya. Consider this as your home." Elina tried to send at least the kids to bed, but Zinya refused to let them out of her sight.
"Are you still there, Lith?" Marth's voice coming from the communication amulet drew everyone's attention. "I've got good news and better news. The good news is that Vastor's last known position is right outside Lutia so he must have managed to escape.
"The better news is that I'm certain he's alive and well. I've just received a message he sent a few minutes ago. Vastor says that he'll take some time off to recover from the wounds he sustained and that he'll be back to work in a week tops.
"May the gods bless that man. Unlike Manohar, he always leaves a message and his contact information before taking a leave of absence."
"Can I please see the message?" Zinya jumped up, taking the amulet out of Lith's hands.
"I'm sorry, miss, but I've no idea who you are and that's classified information." Marth's surprise only got worse as more and more calls popped on his amulet to inform him about Night's attack.
Only at Lith's and Orion's request did the Headmaster share the recording with them. In the hologram, Vastor had taken care of reproducing most of his injuries. A patch covered his allegedly missing eye, a splint kept his right arm still, and thick bandages covered most of his body.
"Hey, Marth. I hate leaving you in hot waters out of the blue, but I've just fought several undead and I got out of there alive just by the skin of my teeth. My apprentices have already treated my wounds, but it'll take me some time to recover and some more to fully rejuvenate my body.
"I've sent you all the paperwork for the next week and arranged the material for my lessons so that my substitute should have no problem following the program. Just one thing before I doze off.
"Please, tell Zinya Yehval that I'm alright and that I'm sorry for letting her down. Vastor out."
"How dare you say that, Zogar? You almost died for me and yet you apologize? Why did you call your boss instead of me?" Zinya said, yet the recorded message remained frozen.
"Please, calm down, miss Yehval." Marth said, realizing his earlier blunder. "Professor Vastor is a battle-hardened veteran, a Royal Forgemaster, and one of the best Spellbreakers I've had the pleasure to work with.
"Whatever are the reasons for his disappearance, I'm sure he'll contact you as soon as he can."
Even though Headmaster Marth could face a Dragon with a still heart, he had no idea how to deal with a woman's tears. Having no wish to be dragged in Vastor's personal business, he pretended to have an important call he couldn't miss and hung up.
'This makes no sense.' Lith thought. 'Vastor couldn't escape with the air sealing arrays and based on how Zinya describe his conditions, it would have taken Faluel to save his life. How could the Professor get away and heal enough to leave a message that fast?'
