"Who are you?!"
The moment he entered the classroom, Zenobia, Thadeus, and Shiro jumped to their feet, drawing their wands glistening with mana gems to protect the wounded dean.
Fortunately, before the situation could worsen, Shepard's weak voice resounded.
"You made... Cough..."
A fit of cough seized the man, shaking his wounded body as he clutched his ribs with an agonising grimace distorting his lips. His elegant, even extravagant, robes covered his body in tattered stripes. The colorful embroideries were gone, replaced by large bloodstains, and the magic engraving enchanting the clothes melted into oblivion.
"Yeah, I crafted the puppet. I'm now free to move as I wish, too."
He gazed at Shepard's terrible state, his eyes dimming. Even the arcanist's youthful face disappeared, showing his actual age and shattering the pride he had built for so many decades.
