High above the island, Seventeen was having fun with his hand.
"So cool!", he exclaimed like an excited kid as his hand turned into different forms.
His eyes sparkled as his hand morphed into realistic-looking bones, a three-pronged metal claw, a hand made of ceramic, a cannon with a muzzle that glowed blue, and eventually a wicked-looking sword with glowing runes.
Seventeen was very impressed with his body. He grinned at the glowing sword, "This is awesome!"
"That is freaky.", Vanessa remarked with an uncomfortable voice, clearly spooked out by the bizarre transformations.
"Not as freaky as trying to sneak into Arthur's room with a hungry look on your face.", Seventeen raised an eyebrow and looked at her.
Vanesa blushed, "It has been a long time since I drank from a half-blood. He is the easiest to approach when he's asleep."
Seventeen rolled his eyes, "Oh goodness."
"You could've asked Ruth or Ray for their blood. Both of them are half-bloods."
"I meant the blood from a dragon half-blood.", It was Vanessa's turn to roll her eyes, "Besides, I bet Ruth would hesitate to give her blood."
Seventeen chuckled, "Now I wonder what would she do if I was a vampire?"
"Oh, she would wait until you are close to death from blood deprivation before giving away her blood with a smug face."
Both of them laughed heartily in the sky.
Still laughing, Seventeen looked at Vanessa and his face morphed into horror.
"Vanessa! Your face!", he cried out, startling her.
Black liquid flowed like blood from her nose, ears, the corners of her mouth, and her eyes.
The Vampire Queen wiped her nose and looked at the black liquid calmly but Seventeen could see a haunted look in her eyes.
"Ah. I am afraid it is that time of the month.", she said in a daze.
"Your curse?", Seventeen asked.
She nodded, "I must ask for that one week's leave."
"Okay. So how powerful is the magia released when your curse does its thing?", Seventeen inquired.
She looked at him, "Powerful enough to wipe Crystalia off the map. And that is from a single wave of uncontrolled magia."
"Oh.", Seventeen gulped, "You can take the week off. But won't you miss the Battle Festival?"
"Don't worry about that.", she assured him, "I will be able to show up for the last day if things go well."
"That's a big if."
She smiled with a wink, "Relax. I will be fine. Show your hand."
Confused, Seventeen did what she asked. Vanessa held his hand and drew a rune on his palm.
"This will enable you to pass through the barrier around my island in case you wish to visit me.", she told him and smiled, "I will be happy to welcome you to my palace."
Seventeen blinked, "Your palace?"
"I'm a queen, so of course I will have a palace. I told you about it.", she said, black blood still flowing out of her eyes and nose.
Vanessa suddenly doubled over and yelled out in pain.
A terrifying wave of magia burst out of her, almost knocking Seventeen out of the sky. In a split second, he recovered and cast a barrier around them to prevent anyone from detecting the magia.
The magia hit the barrier and Seventeen winced as the barrier cracked and started to crumble after coming in contact with the powerful and ancient magic of the Vampire Queen.
Vanessa muttered curses in an ancient language as she recovered and looked at Seventeen, black veins spreading along her white skin and her sclera.
"I must go.", she told him and started to fly away.
Seventeen nodded, "Go on. I'll inform the others."
"What about the pests that I sensed a little while ago?", she asked.
The android gave her a sinister smile, "Oh don't worry about that. I will take care of that."
Vanessa nodded with a pained smile and disappeared in a swirl of purple petals.
"Will she be fine?", Seventeen spoke in a worried tone.
(I doubt it. The curse will certainly wreck her mentally. I am amazed that she is still sane after everything she experienced for the past 3000 years.)
Seventeen looked down at the island, particularly at the eastern side which has a huge mountain whose foothills are a small distance away from the black tower.
Only a handful of powerful students were teleported to the area near the foothills and none were teleported to the other side of the gargantuan mountain that dwarfed the black tower.
So there shouldn't be a single soul on that side of the mountain and none of Zephyrus's broadcasting wind spirits are present in the woods of the mountain.
"How convenient.", Seventeen murmured and flew to the mountain. There appears to be a small group of interesting characters on the side of the mountain facing the sea.
Somehow they managed to bypass the security measures and vigilant eyes of the supervising warlocks.
Seventeen smiled as he descended, "I wonder how strong are the Fallen ones?"
*******
The thick canopy of the mountain forest subjected the eastern side of the mountain to constant shade.
The carpet of dead leaves on the forest floored scattered and swirled around as Seventeen landed softly on the ground.
The sounds of battle faded away as soon as he entered the woods and an eerie silence surrounded him.
But the silence was only short-lived as his ears picked up the sounds of rustling and chattering.
He followed the noise and eventually reached a clearing surrounded by boulders.
"What do we have here?", he muttered as he erased his presence, became invisible, and stood behind a tree.
In the middle of the clearing were four young women in their late teens. They were incredibly beautiful despite their ashen grey complexion, faded hair, black sclera, and black cracks on their skin.
'Is everyone in this world kind of good-looking? Even the Fallen are looking fine.', he wondered.
(What did you expect Fallen to look like? Blood Feasters?)
'They're quite strong.', Seventeen measured their power. Three of them are high-level CAT 2 and are quite good at concealing their presence.
He found it hard to figure out the fourth one's power as hers was masked by the other three.
His eyes narrowed when he noticed what they were wearing, the combat uniforms of Cardinal Academy.
'They're students?', Seventeen thought. It is hard to believe that students are dabbling with black magia.
(It is not impossible. Some crave power and some may have been forced.)
He then heard a snippet of their conversation.
"I can't wait to go to one of the famous cafes in Cardinal Town.", a Fallen with brown hair and green irises chirped excitedly.
"Why? You hate coffee.", her friend with short indigo hair and irises said drily.
"It's the experience! Clara!", brown hair huffed, "The ambiance of a busy cafe, the constant chatter, the smell of delicious food, and all the good-looking people.", she said dreamily.
Clara frowned, "What if you don't like the experience, Jaimi?"
Jaimi gave her a crazy smile, "Oh I'll just kill everyone and destroy the cafe."
The third girl spoke up, "I heard there is an ultra-handsome instructor who joined the academy."
"Really?", Clara and Jaimi looked at her, "How handsome is he, Aya?", the latter asked.
Aya, the Fallen with blonde hair and amber irises grinned, "I heard he is the perfect man, almost like a doll."
"A doll!", Jaimi squealed, "I want to string him up and slice him!"
"Hey! Don't take him for yourself! And stop with the slicing stuff! You know how many handsome guys you have disfigured?", Clara protested.
"We can take turns having him.", Aya suggested, "Since we will be disguised as very beautiful girls, it will be quite easy to lure him in."
She pointed at Clara, "First you, then me, and finally, Jaimi. How does that sound?"
Jaimi scowled, "Why am I last"
"I know you will slice him.", Aya replied, "Don't worry. I and Clara will not damage him."
The three Fallen talked with each other about the other 'exciting' things they wanted to do in the Academy.
Seventeen shuddered, 'These girls are bat shit crazy! Any chance they are talking about another extremely handsome guy?', he asked Prime worriedly.
(They are definitely talking about you. I must say. You are so hot that even Fallen are talking about you.)
'Not helping.', he grumbled and thought about what to do.
"Enough, you three.", The fourth Fallen's voice immediately silenced the other three.
Seventeen focused on her. She is a tall young woman with an athletic figure. Unlike the other three, her skin lacked the cracks and had more color to it.
Her long glossy black hair swayed in the wind and her glowing red eyes stood out from her blackened sclera.
Now that she is away from the rest, Seventeen can see that she is the strongest of the four, at the same level as Alice.
And the way she silenced the other three and her presence...
'She is definitely the leader.', he concluded.
(No shit Sherlock.)
"Who's Sherlock?'
(Check my memories.)
The Fallen's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Should I spell out the meaning of undercover to you three?", she snapped at her subordinates, "Do not do anything that would jeopardize the mission."
"You do not want to anger me, or our master.", She looked at Aya, Clara, and Jaimi in turn while releasing her presence.
"Do you understand?"
Jaimi raised her hand, "But Nichole. We've been cooped up in Ethereos for a long time. Can't we let loose a little?", she pleaded.
"Do you understand?", Nichole repeated and increased her presence, shaking the trees and causing the other three to tremble.
"Yes, Nichole.", they said in unison.
Nichole sighed and stopped releasing her presence, "Good."
The glow in her eyes faded and her face softened, "Have you three found your targets?"
They nodded.
"Good.", Nichole crossed her arms, "What will you do when replacing them?"
"Listen to their screams as we kill them in the most painful way possible?", Jaimi offered, garnering sharp looks from Aya and Clara.
Nichole's eye twitched, "Jaimi. Were you not listening to Master when she gave us our orders?", she asked in a dangerous.
The green-eyed Fallen rolled her eyes, "I was. Kill them swiftly and silently. I got it. You are such a party pooper."
Nichole massaged her temples, "I'll let this slide."
She looked at them, "Master's orders are clear. We kill four students and take their place in the academy. Then we must find the vessel of Inferno and gather critical information about the Academy's weaknesses."
"Any questions?"
Nichole narrowed her eyes when Jaimi raised her hand again, "This better not be stupid or I'm cutting off that arm.", she warned.
Jaimi pouted, "This is not stupid. I just want to let loose in the academy. Can I please have a little fun?"
Nichole looked her in the eyes and then at Aya and Clara. She sighed, "Fine. As long as you don't cause any unwanted attention."
The three of them cheered and Seventeen saw a faint smile on Nichole's face.
"What a simple yet amazing plan.", he said and his lips curled into an evil smile.
"It will be a shame if someone ruined it."