Upon returning back to Cosmos City, Nine called for Shade to make accommodations for Seyton, leaving the two of them to get acquainted with each other. She directly ignored the baffled the two were having.
She'd already been away for more than two weeks, which made her itch to start her experiments. With a body on hand, she was more than ready to get down to work. Everything that she had been suppressing for so long finally reared its head.
She placed Black on the table, briefly scanning his body to make sure nothing had changed since she had put him inside the interspatial bracelet. Although it had already been tested that it was fine for animals and Rainier to go inside, they weren't humans in the end. She paused. Then again, he was practically a Vampire now, wasn't he?
She briefly regretted that she hadn't abducted a Vampire as well, before putting aside her regret. She still had Seyton, so it was fine.
Nine's mind abruptly switched into work mode as all other miscellaneous things were put on hold. With the perfect example of a person under the curse of eternal sleep, she had everything she needed.
Outside the door, Seyton and Shade swallowed as various terrifying sounds leaked out from behind the door. They had a feeling they wouldn't want to know what was happening inside. What terrified them even more, however, was when the sounds slowly tapered out into stillness. A shudder ran down their spines.
One Vampire and one human exchanged a look, feeling a sense of camaraderie in someone they had never met before. Their Master was terrifying. Luckily, they were on the same side.
Seyton exclaimed in relief that he hadn't made an enemy and refused to swear allegiance. He would likely have been dust on the sidewalk if that had happened. He had no doubt that Nine would have been able to take care of him with a few flicks of her fingers should he have tried to resist.
Outside the silent door, Seyton and Shade stood by tirelessly, waiting for their Master to emerge from inside. The darkness of night slowly faded as trickling light emerged in the sky. The two subordinates exchanged discreet glances, sizing each other up.
Shade released his hold on his Master's magical signature on his mark, allowing it to bloom to the surface. Startled, Seyton instinctively lost hold on his own, similarly allowing it to surface on his pale skin. Although hidden under his clothes, the two marks resonated, causing the two to reluctantly admit the other was truly a subordinate under Nine.
Seyton's eyes traced the delicate set of the magical tattoo on Shade's face, his eyes flashing in admiration. The other man's attractiveness increased by more than a point after it appeared, somehow adding a mysterious charm.
His suspicions and paranoia satisfied, Shade faded from view as he hid himself, like a true hidden guard. Even though this man had been brought here by his Master, it was his job as a subordinate to eliminate any hidden factors that would hinder his Master. Seyton's eyes contained a grudging feeling of respect at the mastery the other had over his stealth, erasing his presence entirely. Seyton couldn't even feel him anymore, which was a feat in itself.
°•°•°•🐢. . . .
When Nine exited the room, her face had gained a bit more colour as compared to before. She didn't seem as cold as she usually did. Like this, her countenance could have captivated even the coldest of souls.
Seyton inwardly exclaimed in wonder at the sight his Master made. Just like the rest of the Vampires, he rather adored beautiful things, and his Master was even more stunning than a normal Vampire. It was a wonder, considering that his Master was merely a human. Should he ever be turned into a Vampire, it was likely that just on his looks alone, he would be able to stun enemies into submission. A single look would have caused one to prostate themselves before him, begging to be allowed to serve.
Nine departed for the school immediately after exiting the room, taking Black with her. Whilst her residence was safe, she wouldn't make any careless mistakes with her precious experimental subject. Although she had acquired him to use him as a test subject, since she was using him for her own benefit, then she would take care of his safety as repayment.
Inside the classroom, things seemed just as they had before she left. The group of twenty students were broken into little groups, discussing magic and theories animatedly. Some were having heated discussions amongst themselves, debating about the ways to use a certain spell.
Lucien pushed up his glasses, smiling as he listened to the debate.
Aciel scowled, "Although I agree that magic spells themselves are powerful, if they were combined with body tempering techniques, the performance in battle would definitely be elevated more than a notch."
Eden nodded, but still disagreed with her overall. "That's easy to say, and even easier to see, but it's only in theory. Most people just aren't able to multi-task that well, so doing both things at once would be detrimental to the situation. For example, Brooke would definitely fail and miss as he tries to concentrate on doing two things at once."
Brooke, who had been nodding all the while abruptly exploded when what Eden said registered. "Hey!"
The group grinned, sending him teasing grins as he raged on about how he wasn't that simpleminded. Their teasing just made him rage harder as he tried in vain to prove himself.
"Lucien can do it perfectly fine, though?" Deltan said, recalling the memories he had of sparring with the bespectacled man. He suppressed the shiver. The other man was a menace on the field. It was almost as bad as facing Nine in a spar. Almost. Nine still won by miles, of course.
Eden rolled his eyes. "Lucien is a monster," he said matter-of-factly.
The rest of them paused and adopted a thoughtful look, ultimately agreeing.
"Fourth Brother can do it as well," Deltan said, his eyes aglow with pride.
Aciel scoffed. "Of course he can. Teacher's a genius just like Lucien. He's only fourteen, but he's already left us in the dust long ago!"
Lucien just looked at them with a wry smile. "I'm sure you can do it as well, Aciel. If you'd like, I'll help you after class."
"Really?" Aciel said, her eyes lighting up.
Brooke nudged Eden, exchanging grins with him and Deltan. Lucien and Aciel dutifully ignored the three other idiots in their group.
In the midst of it all, Deltan exuded the most passion. His eyes seemed to glow and glimmer as he exchanged ideas with his friends. Seeing this, Nine felt a tad more relieved as compared to before. She knew Deltan hadn't been doing too well before she left. It seemed like spending more time with his classmates had allowed him to discard all the worries in his heart. Nine wasn't good with words, so she had left the task to her other students.
With her worries dispersed, Nine flicked her finger, causing the door to shut with an audible sound. The room immediately dropped into silence.
Instantaneously, twenty pairs of glistening eyes were directed at her. Nine didn't let them affect her as she nonchalantly started her lesson. She was going to grill them and make sure they hadn't slacked off during the time she had been away.