Under the ray of the burning sun.
A place protected by towering walls stands tall amongst the city that never sleeps.
Hundreds of men learn in such a place from people who have trained and battered their bodies beyond the limits of what a mortal can achieve.
All for the purpose of protecting a crown that halters the enemies beyond the sea.
But unbeknownst to the future protectors.
At the very top,
Where the people who nurture and teach reside.
All had their mouths wide open, and sweat running down their backs.
As someone,
Through their heightened senses beyond the limits of mortality.
Through the high walls and countless eyes that do not blink.
Through their mages and their knights that guard each dusk and each dawn to every corner and every brick of their renowned academy.
Blood was still spilled.
Miranda Tesla, with clammy palms, could not stop playing with her blonde hair as she watched the footage in front of her.
A man clad in dark cloth slowly opens the door of Carn's office.
With his hands cloaked in black gloves, he carries the weapon forged from special steel that the deceased professor wields.
Slowly he turned his head, towards the eye that never tires.
And an unknown mask of metal stared upon her through the tablet in her hand.
Miranda instinctively swallowed her saliva as her eyes set upon it.
"That mask..."
Raising the sword of adamantium from his hands, he threw it, and the last thing that the eye that never blinks saw was the sharp edge of a green blade.
As the footage turned static.
Miranda sat there in silence.
Holding her head with her arms.
Her mind raced with thoughts,
"How did this person, avert my eyes?"
"My inventions?"
"I checked all the other cameras but he only appeared on this one,"
But before she could delve deeper a noise snapped her out of her thoughts.
With bulging muscles and a presence of authority.
Braum Tyresia, the president of the entire academy had entered the room.
Hiding the scars beneath the black suit that he wore, he sat on the sofa.
"What the progress, Miranda?"
The blonde-haired woman composed herself and soon stood up and approached Braum.
"Sir, the investigation team has recovered the footage from the camera outside Carn's office."
"Did it get a look on our perpetrator?"
"Ye-yes sir, but."
"But what?"
"But the killer was wearing a mask and we couldn't identify his face."
"Show me the footage,"
Miranda took the tablet she had set on the desk and gave it to President Braum.
While watching the footage.
Braum's eyes narrowed.
"Dark trenchcoat and a metal mask."
"Although that article never showed what he looked like,"
"This seems to be the same assassin that infiltrated the Coldfeathers,"
"Hmmmm..."
"Miranda I will be honest with you, I have no idea what the right course of action to do here."
"What do you mean, sir?"
"Professor Carn did buy illegal substances from the black market and secretly put them into his students which is extremely unacceptable that a part of me wishes he's still alive so I can beat him to a pulp,"
"But the fact still remains, that we are the academy that teaches how people to protect the very crown that lies in the heart of our institution."
President Braum let out a sigh as he gave the tablet back to her trusted aide.
"How are we supposed to protect the crown if a mere assassin was able to get through beneath our eyes,"
"This whole situation is an embarrassment to our reputation."
Miranda's face contorted as she saw how stressed Braum was.
So she spoke trying her best to cheer up the old legend.
"Sir, don't worry we have uncovered more things about what happened last night."
"Elaborate."
"Upon further investigation, we have learned that a student was the last to see Professor Carn alive."
"Hmmm? Who was the student?"
"Troi Leobrera from the first-year Honor Class, sir."
Caressing his chin, President Braum tried to remember the name for it was quite familiar.
"Wait, I feel like we have talked to that student before..."
"You're right, sir, we interviewed him a couple of months ago about what happened with the Sword of Sanguine."
"Do you think this is mere coincidence, Miranda?"
"I currently do not know, Sir,"
"Hmmm....."
"Call him here, let's have a chat with him again,"
"Will do, sir."
Miranda made her way out of the door to look for the student for she wanted to see him face to face.
But her mind could not seem to forget about the metal gaze that seemed to stare at her very soul.
"That mask,"
"Where did I see it before?"
She soon shook her head.
Trying her best to forget the metallic veil worn by a person even her senses nor inventions could not detect.
Yet no matter what she did her mind drifts,
Back to its piercing gaze.