After leaving their house, Ian and Emmett made their way to Liam's place. Along the way, the pair got a view of Ellie lecturing Kevin.
Kevin looked extremely defeated. He was sat down on his knees, he had his hands on his lap, and he had his head down. His face looked as if he were caught doing something wrong and was being scolded by a parent.
Ian and Emmett felt bad for him. They knew he had messed up and was now going to pay the consequences. They wished they could help him but they both knew it wasn't a good idea to get on their sister's bad side.
While the two brothers walked by at a distance, Kevin managed to catch a glimpse of them. He turned to meet their gaze and immediately tried calling out to them.
Ian and Emmett saw that he noticed them and turned to ignore his pleas for help. They didn't want to get involved so they hastened their pace.
Seeing that Ian and Emmett weren't going to help him, Kevin yelled out, "You traitors! I'll make sure you pay for abandoning me!"
Before Kevin could yell anything else, Ellie grabbed him by his leg and dragged him away. As he was being dragged away, Kevin kept screaming threats at Ian and Emmett. Eventually, the two brothers were far enough to where they couldn't hear Kevin anymore.
After walking for a couple of minutes, Ian and Emmett finally saw Liam's house in the distance. However, as they got closer, the two of them could hear some noise emerging from within the house.
At first, they couldn't tell what the noise was but as they got closer, they slowly began to hear the noise more clearly. It sounded like a drum in the beginning, but once they were only 10 meters away, they could tell it wasn't a drum, but the sound of something moaning and grunting. Whatever it was, it did not sound like a human.
The two brothers were worried. They didn't know what was going on inside that house but whatever it was, it was intense.
Once they were in front of the main entrance, the noise became extremely clear. They were definitely hearing the moans and groans of something. But they also could hear the faint sound of something squeaking.
The different noises made the pair worry, but what had them in a cold sweat was the intense presence coming from inside. The intense pressure that washed over them made them feel like they were small. The only other time they've ever felt like this was when Erik used his full power around them.
Ian and Emmett had no idea what they were getting themselves into. However, they were already there. They weren't going to turn around now and waste their time.
Ian went up to the front door, ever so carefully. He lifted his hand up and rang the doorbell.
The moment the doorbell went off, everything stopped. Moans and groans went silent and the terrifying presence vanished.
From outside, the pair could hear the voices of two people talking but they couldn't make out what they were saying. After a few seconds, the talking stopped and the sound of someone walking could be heard.
The two listened carefully as the footsteps moved from upstairs to the front entrance. Afterwards, they heard multiple locks begin to be unlocked. Finally, the front door was opened and what they saw was shocking.
Standing in front of them was Liam, but he looked awful. He wore only a pair of boxers and looked skinnier and paler than usual. It almost looked like he had the life sucked out of him. His knees were shaking as if they were going to give up on him at any moment.
Ian and Emmett got extremely worried when they saw him. They were going to ask if he was okay but before they could, Liam said, "You have to help me. I don't know how much longer I can last."
Ian and Emmett weren't sure what Liam meant until they heard a woman's voice in the house say, "Oh Liam! Are you ready for round 37? Don't keep me waiting."
After hearing that, the two brothers finally understood. Liam was in danger and they had to help him. They didn't have much time so they had to react quickly. Ian and Emmett each placed one of Liam's arms over their shoulder before running at top speed away from Liam's house.
Once they were around 100 meters away from his house, the three of them could hear a woman's voice in the distance call out, "Liam? Liam? LIAM!?"
The cries for Liam only help Ian and Emmett to quicken the pace. Soon they would reach the safety of the village.
After finally escaping into the village, Ian and Emmett took Liam to one of their hangout spots so they could rest.
While there, the two brothers looked at Liam and finally realized his lack of clothes. Even though they got a look at him at his house, they hadn't processed it. Liam was only in his boxers which looked torn. They must have gone through a lot.
Liam was too out of it and exhausted to the point where he was barely able to stand. Even he didn't seem to notice his lack of clothing.
Ian and Emmett wanted to help him but they couldn't have him walking around looking as he did. They needed to get some clothes for him first. However, they couldn't go home to grab some clothes for him or else they would face interrupting their parents. And they couldn't ask Kevin since he was too busy dealing with his problems.
The two thought for a moment. They didn't have enough money to buy Liam some clothes and they couldn't get any of their clothes to lend him.
After a few minutes, Emmett finally said, "Oh, I completely forgot that I have some clothes over at Zoey's place that I can lend Liam."
"Great. That should help us with thi… Why do you have clothes at Zoey's place?" It took Ian a moment to understand what Emmett just said.
Emmett himself took a moment to process what he said. He was too focused on helping Liam so he didn't hesitate when making the suggestion. After he processed his mistake, Emmett said, "That's not important. Right now we have to focus on helping Liam."
Ian was going to say something more, but he was cut off by Liam saying, "I could also use a meal. I haven't eaten anything in almost three days." Hearing that was enough to stop Ian from asking more questions.
Afterwards, the two brothers once again carried Liam and took him to Zoey's. However, they couldn't have him be seen in his current state by everyone so they took a lesser-known route to the restaurant.
Once they got there, they entered through the back of the restaurant and took him upstairs. They sat him down in the living room while Ian and Emmett split up to do their things.
Ian went to Dave and explained the whole situation to him. Then he asked Dave if he could make something for Liam. Meanwhile, Emmett barged into Zoey's room where he found her changing.
Zoey froze in place when she saw Emmett enter. If it weren't for the fact that it was Emmett who entered her room, she would have screamed by now. But since it was him, all she did was get embarrassed and throw a pillow at him.
Emmett was so stunned seeing his girlfriend half naked that he didn't even get a chance to react to the pillow. When the pillow landed on his face, he finally realized what was happening so he said, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk in on you getting dressed. I just need to grab something."
"Okay, but can you at least wait for me to finish changing?" Zoey said. She was now getting angry since Emmett was still in her room staring at her.
Upon hearing her request, Emmett walked out of her room and waited patiently for her to finish.
Soon after, Zoey stepped out of her room with an angry look and said, "Now then, what is it that you need?"
Emmett quickly explained the situation with Liam to Zoey. Afterwards, Zoey let Emmett into her room. He quickly grabbed a pair of his clothes and ran to Liam.
Around the same time, Ian was cooking a quick meal for Liam after explaining the situation to Dave. However, he made sure to leave out the part of Emmett getting clothes he left in Zoey's room. A few minutes later, Ian finished cooking and served up the plates of food.
Liam was seated in the back corner of the restaurant with Emmett. He wore the clothes that Emmett gave him, but they were too big for him. Both the shirt and pants he had on looked like they were two to three sizes too big. But so long as he's covered up, it doesn't matter.
Once Ian reached Liam's table, he placed down the food and said, "Here you go Liam, a large bowl of light ramen, some rice, two bread rolls, some water, and a cup of coffee. I made sure to make a lighter ramen so you don't overload your body and send it into shock after not eating for some time."
Liam looked at the food and said, "Thanks you two, but I must apologize for what you're about to witness."
Ian and Emmett were confused. They didn't know what he meant by that, but in the next second, they were left horrified.
Liam dug into his food like a wild animal. He slurped up the noodles in a continuous stream, eating anything that got caught in them. After a few seconds, he finished slurping up the noodles, leaving only half of the bowl with the broth and a few other ingredients that weren't taken along with the noodles.
Liam clasped the sides of the bowl, lifting it to his lips. He gulped down the broth quickly, leaving nothing behind. It took him less than two minutes to finish the bowl of ramen but he wasn't done yet.
Next, he turned his attention to the small bowl of rice. As soon as he placed the ramen bowl down he reached out his hand and grabbed the bowl of rice. He opened his mouth and lifted the bowl up to it, dropping the scoop of rice into his mouth. In an instant, the rice was consumed.
However, the rice seemed to have dried up his mouth so he grabbed the cup of water and swiftly chugged it. All that was left were the bread rolls and his cup of coffee which was still hot.
Now that Liam had consumed most of his food and wasn't starving, he could finally relax. He grabbed one of the bread rolls in one hand and picked up his cup of coffee in the other. He took a bite out of the bread roll followed by a sip of his coffee.
When he took his sip of coffee, Liam's face filled with peace and joy. It was almost like all of the worries he had were melting away. He had finished his meal in under four minutes and was now enjoying what was left.
After a terrifyingly impressive view they had witnessed, Ian and Emmett finally composed themselves before saying, "Liam, we need to ask you a few things."
Liam was peacefully sipping his coffee when he said, "Is it about the academy?"
Ian and Emmett were surprised to hear this. They didn't expect Liam to have known what they were going to ask.
But before either of them could say anything, Liam said, "I received letters from the academy about everyone's emission."
"And what did they say?" Emmett excitedly asked.
Liam took another sip of his coffee before saying, "Out of the fourteen who applied for enrollment, all were accepted into the academy."
Upon hearing this, Ian and Emmett couldn't help but jump out of their seats and loudly express their happiness. Their sudden burst of joy startled everyone in the restaurant. They quickly realized their mistake and sat down.
However, before they could continue celebrating, Liam said, "Even though you guys got accepted, that doesn't mean it's over. You guys still need to get your power tested. And since I sent recommendation letters for you two, Ellie, and Kevin, they expect a lot from you all."
Liam took another sip of his coffee and finished one of his bread rolls before continuing, "And also, I sent a special letter to the headmaster of the academy explaining your situation, Ian. Due to your unique circumstances, they will most likely put you through the copper rank test but at a silver level. That test is usually reserved for top-tier copper ranks. I also told them about your gauntlets and why you need them. This way no one should question you for having them."
Ian listened carefully to Liam. He understood how unusual his situation was and knew it would cause problems for him. But so long as he manages to go to the academy and learn more about how to control his power and/or reasons for why it is the way it is, then he doesn't care how difficult things are going to be.
The three of them chatted for a while until Liam finished three cups of coffee. During their conversation, Ian and Emmett learned that they would be leaving for the academy in less than two months. They also learned that Liam and his wife would tag along with all of them. Since Freda worked for the academy, it made sense for her to go, but not Liam. The reason Liam was tagging along was mainly to teach many of the staff members about how Ian's gauntlets worked. This way they could help him when Liam wasn't available.
After talking for a while, the three of them left the restaurant and went their own ways. As Liam walked in the opposite direction, Ian and Emmett noticed that he had a limp. It was almost like his butt was hurting him.
The two brothers ignored the sight and went to look for Ellie and Kevin.