Chapter 72: The Quest To Save Lily [14] [EXTRA]
Chapter 72: The Quest To Save Lily [14] [EXTRA]
(BONUS CHAPTER FOR 30 GOLDEN TICKETS!)
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[At The Academy Entrance Gates]
The guards stood at full attention, gazes wandering around for any strangeness.
Some were taking rounds around the gate as well.
It was a hot and humid day yet they did their duty with utmost sincerity.
That was how much they loved and respected the academy.
"I really wonder when the headmaster will be back from his expedition." A guard standing before the gates spoke to the guard next to him.
The second guard sighed.
"We can't say anything, the headmaster has not been back for 2 years. He's on a dangerous expedition that's all we know. All we can do in turn is protect this place with our full capacity to return our favor."
The first guard nodded with exuberance.
"Yeah! We shoul-" The guard's voice was cut off as a deep, old voice resounded in his ears. "You guys missing me already?"
Every guard that stood around the premises halted at the voice, their bodies instantly freezing at their spot.
Their heads stutteringly turned towards the source of the voice, the one that they so easily recognized and missed so much.
Their gazes which were filled with disbelief landed upon the small shadow of the first guard.
It was from where the voice had originated.
But their gazes still didn't move, as they knew what was going to happen.
At that moment, the shadow moved.
It started wriggling before molding and solidifying itself into a sculpture of a real person. And in the next instant, the black shadow covering the sculpture fell, unveiling a real person. With a wide build and tall stature, the man exuded an air of command and authority.
An air that instantly made every single person inside the academy tense up, let alone the guards.
Chills crept up their spines as they felt the hair stand up on their sweat-drenched backs. The man looked to be in his late 20s, wearing a medieval formal suit along with a white regal cape that draped from his shoulders, covering his back.
With high cheekbones and a refined jawline, his skin was without any blemish and his neatly combed black hair gave him a sophisticated appearance along with his gentle smile.
His crimson-red eyes shone like rubies with a golden monocle leisurely placed over his right eye that brightly shone in the embrace of sunlight.
In his gloved hand was an exquisitely crafted wooden cane that was currently planted into the ground.
Every guard's jaw slacked open.
The person they were just talking about was finally back after 2 years.
The headmaster was back. Arthur Milize, the strongest human alive, was back.
Arthur's head moved and his crimson eyes met the gazes of the guards.
His gentle smile spread further and he raised his hand in the air.
"Yo!"
However, before the guards could say anything, several presences crashed down from the sky on the ground.
Along with them, a purple spatial portal opened up beside Arthur.
Sighing, he planted his cane on the ground and sat down on the wooden handle.
In the next moment, all of the teachers that landed down on the ground stood up and bowed at 90 degrees to Arthur along with the guards.
"Welcome back Headmaster!"
Some of them were war veterans and people at the peak of society. Yet their bowing down to Arthur showed how much respect they had for him.
The latter sighed and waved his hand in the air.
"Whatever whatever, stop with this. It isn't like the world is being turned upside down."
"You are coming back after 2 years and the world would sit normally? What an underestimation." Arthur heard a familiar feminine voice from behind.
He leaned back his head while sitting on the cane and saw Athena come out of her portal, wearing a casual dress.
Out of everyone, she was the only one who didn't bow to him.
"Welcome back Arthur." She smiled tiredly, something that couldn't be seen by the others as their gazes were fixated on the ground.
Arthur raised his hand with a smile.
"Yo! Been a while eh?"
He stood up and tapped his cane on the ground again.
She nodded.
He tilted his head and scratched it with an apologizing smile.
"I hope the burden wasn't too much?" He tried to apologize.
Athena's mouth twitched, but before she could say something, he quickly switched the topic. "Anyways, what are we standing here for? It's hot here. Let's move inside, stand up everyone." He waved his hand, telling them to get up.
The teachers stood up and started to follow Arthur, their bodies still a little tense from the natural presence that came off of him.
"Oh yeah, you guys as well. Take a break for a while. There's no need to worry anymore since I'm here." Arthur looked back at the guards and pointed towards his back.
He was assuring everyone that nobody would dare to cause any problem now that he was back.
A cheerful expression formed on every guard's face as they all bowed while Arthur started to move inside with the teachers.
However, as soon as he was about to enter, he suddenly stopped and looked at the sky.
Or more accurately, far away into the academy.
His expression contorted into an 'o' shape and his smile widened.
"This is going to be fun." He mumbled something that only Athena heard.
Then he turned towards her and scratched his head again.
"Something just popped up right? Be back soon. Handle everything here, please." He spoke
before quickly starting to melt in her shadow.
Her mouth twitched with annoyance again.
"Get!-"
"I owe you one, cya." He raised his hand as farewell and disappeared causing her to sigh.
But nobody noticed the upward curl of her lips that lasted just a second.
"That idiot...." She mumbled.
****
Amon stood in front of Norman, his body bleeding from multiple places.
His equipment had suffered many tears and the only thing that remained intact till now was
the mask.
Multiple bones in body were now broken.
The room was now shrouded in crimson, with blood and pieces of flesh being scattered all
around.
During their fight in which he was getting beaten up like a ragdoll, multiple children had moved from their place, ending in them exploding like balloons.
Their flesh, blood, and innards landed on Amon throwing him further into a pit of trauma.
It was his fault that every person was dying.
Each time he tried to attack Norman, he would get thrown away and a new child would die.
It was all his fault. He was committing a child massacre.
He was deliberately making attacks that would throw him far from Lily, to not get her injured.
He couldn't afford to let her die. Though selfish, he bore with it.
Any child could die here but not Lily. It pained him to the core at such a disgusting thought
but he could do nothing.
He couldn't let someone close to him like a little sister die. Even if it meant he had to make
hundreds of others die.
Though looking at his beaten up and near-death condition now and Norman's almost unharmed one, it was safe to say that he would die here.
There was nothing he could do.
His plan, had failed. Very badly.
Thanks for reading!
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