"You can put me down.", Seventeen told the guards who lowered him and sat on the pavement.
Soon he, Zephyrus, Marcus, and a few guards were present in front of the ruined dorm building.
"You seem very beat up.", Marcus remarked as he stood beside Seventeen. The latter shrugged, "I did a pretty amazing thing. And now I am suffering the after-effects."
"Some amazing things come with a cost.", the demi beast told Seventeen who chuckled, "You can say that again."
He looked up at Marcus, "Are my students safe? I heard two of them got injured."
"Don't worry, Seventeen. They are safe in the classroom. The ones who got injured are fine now and are resting in the infirmary.", Marcus reassured him.
Seventeen sighed in relief, "Thank you, Marcus."
Marcus smiled, "Happy to help a fellow instructor."
"I heard rumors that the students were instigated by Marvin. Is that true?", Seventeen asked, watching Zephyrus giving instructions to guards and student volunteers.
Marcus's smile faded, "Let's not talk about it right now. Otherwise, I will find that guy and get into a fight with him.", he said with a serious face. Seventeen had never seen him like that.
He heard footsteps behind. "Headmaster! Seventeen! You are back!", Ruth's voice exclaimed as she ran to them. Her eyes widened when she saw Seventeen sitting on the ground and looking battered.
"What happened?", she went over to him and knelt beside him to look him in the face. "Oh just a small skirmish.", Seventeen said in a cheerful voice.
"Just what kind of skirmish were you involved in?", she asked in concern and glared at Zephyrus who was watching them. The Cardinal blanched and he had an immediate fascination with the sky.
"Tell me what happened, Headmaster.", She demanded Zephyrus. "Don't worry your head over this, ice queen. I am fine.", Seventeen tried to reassure her.
"You are not fine!", Ruth exclaimed.
"Worry about me later. How are the students?", Seventeen changed the subject.
"They are fine. I believe Marcus already told you.", Ruth replied.
"What about the ones in the infirmary?"
"Robin and Rhea.", Ruth answered. Seventeen immediately understood, "They activated their attributes at the same time?"
Ruth nodded, "They had to since the perpetrators gave no room for error. They are fine but that is not the problem right now. Arthur is missing!"
Seventeen almost listed to the side, "He's missing?"
Ruth nodded, "He accompanied me to the infirmary to check up on the twins and left early, saying he had something to do. I had assumed it was something in the classroom. But when I checked a few moments ago he wasn't there and the others had no idea where he went."
"We were searching for him when the news that both of you returned reached me. I ran to inform you of that only to find you looking like you fought a huge battle. Just what happened?", she asked again.
"Nothing.", Seventeen said with a note of finality. He now has a bigger worry than his condition.
He slowly got up and walked toward Zephyrus. "Headmaster. Can you look after things here? I need to go search for Arthur."
"In this condition?", the Cardinal asked with concern. Seventeen gave a weak smile, "It's fine Headmaster."
Zephyrus was still worried, "You promised not to push yourself too hard."
"Just this last time. I have to find my student.", Seventeen begged. Zephyrus looked at him for a minute and then sighed. "Very well. But don't do anything crazy."
He turned to Ruth, "Please take care of him.", he requested. She nodded and went forward to grab Seventeen.
"Suddenly, I am thankful for my injuries.", Seventeen remarked with a smile. "Shut it will you?", Ruth said as she supported him. Seventeen could see that she looked flustered and faltered when her hand touched the hole in his side.
"Where's your side Seventeen?", she asked with narrowed eyes.
"Hehe.", Seventeen chuckled nervously.
"Oh, buddy. You have a lot of explaining to do.", Ruth said in a scary voice. Seventeen gulped nervously. 'Why did I think this was going to be a pleasant situation?', he thought with a sigh.
They looked all around the campus for Arthur. Seventeen had quickly changed into new clothes in the staff room. The dorm building had an enchantment that would teleport all belongings to the classroom if it gets destroyed.
"Damn. I feel useless.", Seventeen sighed. He can't use magia to search for Arthur or anything else.
"That's what you get for achieving Magia Singularity without proper practice.", Ruth said as she walked beside him.
Seventeen had told her about what happened in the Silent Mountain, including their encounter with the Vampire of the Purple Rose.
He knows that Ruth can be trusted with the information since she would find out even if he didn't tell her. The young lady would make a good detective or interrogator. Seventeen shuddered at the thought of her being the latter.
But he excluded the parts which showed his true identity as an android. He doesn't know how Ruth or anyone else would take the news.
"Are you sure you don't want to go to the infirmary?", Ruth glanced at him. Seventeen shrugged, "I heal pretty fast."
"You are lucky to have a body like that. It would usually take about 6 months for a warlock to recover their magia system after achieving Singularity. But you can recover in a week. Sometimes I wonder if you are even human.", Ruth said, looking him up.
"Well. Just like you said, I am special.", Seventeen grinned. Ruth rolled her eyes and continued to walk and look around for Arthur.
"I am surprised to see that you believed in my story.", Seventeen told her. Ruth just shrugged, "Well, You were able to remove the curse of my family, which was believed to be impossible, so I'm not surprised by your story."
"The Dragon Knights had existed for a long time. There are actually several records of them. A single Dragon Knight is stronger than a Squad Captain. And you faced their commander, who I believe is slightly stronger than a Cardinal.", Ruth said.
"About CAT-1.", Seventeen said, remembering his analysis of Vicaris. Ruth nodded, "That is the power level of a Cardinal when they go all out."
"It was not the guy's power level. It was his insane durability. I had to achieve Singularity to defeat him, which led to my damaged magia system.", Seventeen sighed.
Ruth smiled, "Well, at least you are safe. That is the important thing."
Seventeen had a sly smile, "Wow. Didn't know you cared this much about me."
"Of course. The students adore you. They will be devastated if something happened to you.", Ruth replied, a bit flustered.
"So you say.", Seventeen said with a chuckle. They reached the outskirts of Cardinal Town and something caught his eye. Well, someone.
"What is she doing there?", he muttered as he proceeded to a bench under a tree. Sprawled on it was Vesta, flicking a knife with finesse.
"Oh, instructors.", the knife disappeared and she sat up, "It's a pleasant surprise to see you.", she greeted them with a smile.
"I thought you never left Arthur's side.", Ruth said as they stood in front of the Shadow. Vesta shrugged, "Well. My superiors in the Sect always said I am pretty laid back for a Shadow."
Seventeen narrowed his eyes, "Did Arthur tell you to stay here?"
"Uhhhh.", Vesta looked around and started to fidget, "Maybe?"
"Vesta.", Ruth crossed her arms with a frown. The instructors looked at the Shadow with narrowed eyes.
"Alright alright. Arthur told me to wait here.", Vesta finally relented under the pressure. "Where is he?", Seventeen asked.
"Some of the students who attacked the dorm had escaped into the Lost Woods. He decided to go after them.", Vesta replied.
"And he told you to not accompany him.", Ruth guessed. She became worried, "That is reckless."
Seventeen nodded, "It is but I believe he is capable of dealing with it. Otherwise he won't tell Vesta to stay back.", he turned to Ruth, "You know his strength right?"
Ruth nodded, "Yeah. In terms of combat skills, Arthur is the strongest in the class, and his senses are honed to perfection, not to mention his perfect magia control."
"Well. He did train extensively with me for 14 years. He's the perfect combat machine.", Vesta said with a smug smile.
"Why do you sound so proud of that?", Seventeen asked in a worried tone.
"How long was he away?", Ruth asked. Vesta thought about it, "About half an hour. He must be back by now.", she looked over at the woods and smiled, "Speak of the devil. Right on time."
A figure appeared from the woods. "That's Arthur?", Ruth asked in surprise.
He looked battle-worn and his face was hidden by a smiling mask that had specks of blood splattered on it. He held Ghost in his right hand and a knife in his left. Numerous cuts were seen on his clothes and some of them were bleeding. Apart from these, no other injuries were seen on him.
Ruth got chills when their eyes locked for a brief moment. His eyes behind the mask were cold and ruthless.
Seventeen chuckled, "Looks like the Trickster struck again."
"No way", Ruth looked at him in disbelief. She had heard whispers about the mysterious warlock who uses advanced combat skills to defeat stronger opponents during her visits to Lunaris City.
She had her suspicions. Ruth had seen Arthur in combat and had figured that his moves were exactly like she imagined would be the Tricksters. But she was still surprised by the fact that Arthur was in fact, the Trickster.
"Instructors? What are you doing here?", Arthur asked them as he took off his mask, looking puzzled.
"What are we doing here?", Ruth raised her eyebrows, "Probably worried about you disappearing from the class?"
"Ah.", Arthur smiled nervously as Ruth loomed over him. He glanced at Vesta who shook her head helplessly.
"Glad to see you are fine Arthur.", Seventeen came between them and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll escort him to the infirmary to treat these cuts. How about you and Vesta get the poor souls in the Woods.", he asked Ruth.
The instructor was still glaring at Arthur and then sighed, "Alright. I hope those students are okay."
Arthur shrugged indifferently, "Don't worry. I didn't kill them. But I believe they will be unable to do anything for a week and I think I may have inflicted some emotional damage on them.", he said with an evil grin.
"Goodness. Just what did you do to them?", Ruth shuddered and turned to Vesta, "Are you okay with leaving your charge alone?"
The Shadow glanced at Seventeen who gave her a meaningful look. She shrugged, "Well. He is with instructor Seventeen, so it is fine.", she said and proceeded to the woods, "Time to clean up Arthur's mess."
Seventeen nodded to Ruth and she followed Vesta into the Lost Woods. As soon as they were swallowed by the trees, Arthur stumbled and Seventeen caught him, almost falling himself.
"So much for the tough guy act.", Seventeen said with a smile. Arthur grinned weakly, "It was good right?"
Seventeen nodded, "Let's take it slow.", he supported Arthur as they walked slowly to the Academy building.