As the student counsel left the tent, I was still being treated by the medical professionals. They were in the process of putting a cast on my broken arm.
They said it'll take a week for the arm to heal so for now I just needed to rest and visit a hospital to take a second test on my condition.
"..." in front of me was secretary Sherry who was avoiding eye contact with me. I could still tell that she was angry…and I couldn't blame her for being so.
"...I'm sorry." I said as I look to her.
"...Why are you apologizing?" she asked while still avoiding my gaze.
"Because of everything that I did. I was just scared that the demon cultist would have had the chance to run away."
"...and yet you were able to stop them…or so you say you did."
"..."
"Listen…I'm not mad at you…wait, maybe I am. But I'm only mad because of what you did. You could have died and I wouldn't have the chance to save you because I wasn't there…I wasn't fully prepared."
"..."
"I care for my juniors…especially since I'm actually in charged of you." she said as she smiled my way. A soft smile that felt comforting…it was very conflicting of her character as a harsh senior of the school.
"...Thank you Secretary Sherry." but I said my thanks…and I felt like we came to understand one another in this time…this short time of an event.
As we appreciated this time, one of the people suddenly calls out to me.
"Hey boy, looks like someone is here looking for you." said one of the guards.
"Hmm?" when I turned my head, I was met with a very familiar face.
"...Evangeline?"
"...Your alive." she said this in a soft and surprised tone.
"W-what are you doing here?" I asked.
"...I wanted to see if you were okay." she said as she carried her sniper by her back. And from the way she carried her weapon, it could only mean that she was fighting against something…or someone.
When she went closer to me inside the tent, I was a bit flustered since I didn't know what to say.
"..."
"..." but she just stood there and smiled as she saw me breathing.
She was genuinely happy that I was okay.
And without any sense of distance, she walked closer and closer until finally she came and hugged me.
"...Uhh, is everything alright?" I asked.
"...Y-yeah." she sounded like she chocked for a bit…but her words came through to me.
It reached me.
When I looked to Sherry to find out what was going on, she just sat with a straight face.
Not long after, she pulls herself away from me and I can't help but feel a bit awkward after this.
She simply stood and continued to look at me.
As we stared at each other, Rebertha and Sofia came into the tent. Looking at Sofia, she seemed fine. So I was relieved. Their appearance made me change my focus.
As they both approached me, Evangeline noticed them and moved a bit away so that the two could approach me.
We talked during this time…and they asked why Evangeline was in this tent, and in return I answered truthfully.
They understood her concerns and it seems as though Rebertha seemed a bit uncomfortable compared to how she was when she assisted me into this tent a while back. Her face had that same competitive expression that she would make whenever she was training in Mr. Hoffman's class.
It didn't really bothered me that much, but I still wondered why.
***The Next Day***
At the very next day, the school entrance was completely filled with a few news reporters who weren't allowed into the academy. They were stopped by the guards to avoid any type of information getting out just yet.
The students on the other hand were passing through the gate a bit curiously as they could see the damage done to the front of the gate. On its front were a couple of bloodstains and bodies of skinwalkers piled up on a truck that was owned by the hunter's association.
It was only now that the hunter association was able to cooperate with the damages to the school.
When all of the students were finally inside the academy, the gates were locked and no outsiders were welcome.
It seemed like the day wouldn't flow so smoothly today…with that said, all of the members of the student counsel was called in by president Ethea for a meeting in such an early time.
Even if me and Sherry were still injured, we were complied to attend.
"Good morning everyone, as you may all know, the academy was attacked last night by a known cultist group that worships the Demon king."
"..." all of the members were aware of this.
"I called you here today to announce that the school will have an Off-day for about a week. The head-principal has told every teacher about this news so its pretty clear to say that there will be no classes for the rest of the week."
"How does this affect the school? From the looks of it, the school is still functional aside from the dorm that we stay in and the training center, so I don't think we should cancel the classes at all." said one of the members.
"This choice is not for us to decide…the head Principal has made his choice, we must respect that. And actually, there were some damages to the school…around the first year's building, four classrooms found wrecked by signs of an attack of a giant beast. Some guards reported that it was a golem who was found crashing down to that area. It'll take at least a week to fix the damages."
"Have we found any clues regarding the Demon Cultist who burned the training center down?" asked Secretary Sherry.
"...After a thorough investigation, it was deduced that burning the training center down was simply another distraction from their plans of silently capturing potential students from the dorm." said the president.
"..." Sherry was unsatisfied with this explanation but it sounded like it was simply a plan that was thought of in such a short time.
"So for the Dorm, no one is allowed back there until construction is done. With that said, it is advised that the students will go to their homes for a 7-day vacation. This order also applies to us…we will use this time to heal ourselves from the battle." said Ethea, hinting at me who had a broken arm.
"This is all that I can tell you for now, so you guys are dismissed."
As the meeting was over, President Ethea called out to me after everyone had already exited the room aside from Jo and Ethea.
Having approached her and Jo, she looked at me with a calm look.
"Hamil, about the investigation about the unstable gate."
"Did you find anything?"
"...No, most of the camera's leading to the scene at the front of the student dorm and most of the hallways inside the dorm was wrecked by the cultist. It gave us nothing but a limited amount of information regarding the start of the whole infiltration to the student dorm."
"...Hmm, if that is the case, why did you call for me?"
"I just wanted to ask if you were capable of creating a golem on your own?"
"What?"
"I figured that since you were talented in bending rocks to your will, I thought it might have been you who made that "Golem.""
"...Golems are hard to make…hell, their pretty confusing whenever I tried to look into its formula at the books at the library. Whoever made that Golem must have been a third party or something?"
"A third party?"
"I don't know…I'm just saying whatever."
From the looks of it, it seems like the two were suspicious of the creator of the golem, thankfully, the common sense of a Golem's creation was as complicated as that of a genius trying to solve of the analytical problem on making an AI comparable to that of a simple human brain in the computers. Common sense will be my hiding savior. And since I'm implying that a third party was involved in that event, it might give them the idea to sway away from the thoughts of my involvement regarding the uncommon strength and power I had at a young age.
Having said my piece, I went my way…but before I could leave the room, I turned back to face them yet again.
"...What's wrong?" asked Jo.
"Umm, its about after the seven day break off school."
"What about it?"
"I'm…no, nevermind." I hesitated. I couldn't tell them that I would be gone for a while.
"...Hmm, you should get going to your classroom."
As I left, I could feel the two of them staring at my back as I made my way out of the room.
They were still cautious no doubt.
Minutes later…
As I walked into my classroom, I was met with a lot of curious gazes from my classmates. Their curiosity was as clear as day.
"..." I simply didn't mind their stares and instead I simply went to my seat to sit down.
But as I did, Remmy suddenly stood in front of me.
"Hamil." his eyes darted from my face to my cast arm…and from the reaction he made from his eyes alone, I could see that he was scared.
"Whats up?"
"C-can you tell us what going on in the school?"
"...I can't say anything right now, but I know that when Ms. Eva comes into this room ,there will be an important announcement to make."
"...I-is that so?"
"Yeah, so just wait and see."
As I said this, Ms. Eva suddenly walks into the room with and looks to me with a worried expression.
"..."
"..."
As we looked at each other, I could tell that she was guilty of something.
I can probably guess that she was guilty of not having been here in the school when the attacked happened, but I couldn't really blame her for anything. After all, she doesn't live in the school dorms like how the students would.
After a second of looking at each other, she made her way to her desk and looked to the other students with a different look.
"I have something to announce."
"..." all of the students attention was on her.
"...As of last night, the academy was attacked by a known cult that worships the Demons. With that said, the academy did their best to fight off the intrusion, from the guards to the student counsel members… I'd like to give my thanks for their efforts." she said as she looks to me.
"..." but all I did was stare in silence.
"With how much the school was damage, it was decided that there will be no classes in the academy for 7 days in hopes of fixing the damages to the school."
"...What will we do by then?" asked Sofia.
"Nothing, I want you all to take the time given to you to rest from this tragedy. You either train, or have counseling done…especially the students who were involved."
She must have been referring to the fear instilled by the S-rank demon.
It was no joke to say that looking or even being in the presence of such a being could give a student nightmares. The bloodlust and dark atmosphere it gave during the fight was a trauma that needed to be faced by students but not yet at the level of the first years…if anything, facing a S-rank demon should come to the time when fourth year students could handle it well.
"So I would like everyone to go home starting now…"
As it was said, the day was over…or so I thought it would be.
Because the moment I stood from desk to walk out of the class, a screen in front of me suddenly appears and had words written that said.
[The Elemental Earth King has Invited you to their Domain.]
"..." I stared at this notification with concern in my eyes. It was weird to see that I was invited at this moment in time. Normally I would go instead of being invited, but for him to invite me meant that something must have happened.
And thinking about the invitation….the words of Agereos suddenly pulls into my thoughts. I remembered that he said that some of the Gods were curious of my existence as a Ruler and that one of the suspects that lead to that curiosity was none other that the Earth King.
First thing I had to do was find a quiet place for me to accept the invitation…and to my knowledge, I think the only thing that was accessible for me at the moment was the restroom.
"..." so with that, I made my way fast to the bathroom.
After occupying one of the rooms, I simply sat and accepted the invite.
I went into a deep sleep quickly and right after, my consciousness was sent to the sight of Gordeseus the Elemental Earth King, Dubbfrey the Meerkat, Semon the Gorilla, and a new face who I haven't seen, an Ant Queen the size of Semon's fist.
"Hello Ruler, It is my first time seeing you, but my name is Gerda." said the Ant. And from the looks of it, It seems like she had the same authority as Semon and Dubbfrey where they serve under Gordeseus.
"Nice to meet you Gerda, but I'd like to ask as to why I was invited during this time of day."
{...The Gods are on to you…they are getting close to knowing of the Ruler's return.} Said Gordeseus.
"What?...What do you mean?" the atmosphere in his domain was somewhat tense…I could tell that something was wrong.
{Listen Ruler…I don't have much time left today…in a few days…the Fire Elemental King will come to my Domain and see to it that I am not a traitor to the Gods.}
"...The Fire Elemental King?"
{...You have heard the Story of the Gods from Kither El…so you must know that I was one of the many divine graces who rebelled against the Gods…I was not exiled because of my role as a Elemental King…Still…my beliefs stand strong to this day…}
"I don't understand…what are they going to do?"
{Listen…The Fire King will come to chain me down to his Domain…I will be looked over under his supervision for a thousand years…keeping me away from you…}
"Chained…he will imprison you!?"
{You cannot do anything in this time…with the position you hold…you must remain hidden and you must become stronger…do you understand?}
"..." as I stood under the pressure of the situation, I know full well the stakes of this situation. If I disagree and become deny him, something bad will occur…so to safely conduct the situation to its end…I had to agree.
"I understand." I said with my head faced to him.
As kings there are a lot of responsibilities that needs to be considered for the future…and that future that I will be a part of is the future of my role as a Ruler.
{Do not worry for my sake…I am a King…and I will triumph through this Ordeal that they have bestowed upon me!}
".…." I couldn't find the right words to say at the moment…
{To keep you safe...You can no Longer return to this place…I forbid you…}
"...So this is the last time that I will come as a guest to your domain."
{It is…This will be the last chance that we will look to each other…be proud Ruler…you are a king.}
{And as a parting favor…the birds who you left to me, will follow you under my blessing as a king…they will become your very first knights.} as he spoke, the three owl birds who showed themselves had flown down to where I was.
They have grown to become quite big almost around the same height as me.
"They've grown well…I'll take care of them." I said as I look to him with a smile.
{When we will come to meet each other again…promise me that you will become more than what you are today.}
"I will." My fist gripped hard in the frustration of this situation…but I have a role to take.
{Farewell.}
As he spoke, I was beginning to get pulled away from my own consciousness…I tried to struggle…but to no avail, I was pulled back.
"!!" when I awoke, I was back at the bathroom…
And for some reason, the Owl Birds were there with me inside the bathroom. But that didn't matter, my mind was too perplexed by Gordeseus's words and warnings.
I know for a fact that It was my fault that he will be imprisoned by the Fire king…and to keep me safe from their suspicions, I was thrown out…
It hurts…
But it is what it is.
When I tried walking out of the bathroom, I was lucky enough to find that there were no students to see me come out with a couple of owls with me.
I can only assume that the students were already making their way home.
"...Hamil?" but as I stood in the front of the bathroom, a familiar voice called out to me.
"...?" When I turned around, I was meet with the look of a pair of diamond eyes.
"..Iris."