Chapter Twenty: Reporters
Zenith cleansed his clothes with a separation spell and morphed the blood he separated from his clothes into a water snake that'd keep him company later. He left the water snake in another dimension.
"I should head back to…"
He heard the assassin groan, while walking out of the building. He rubbed his temples tiredly. "You'd not be letting me go, would you?"
Wouldn't she give up already and understand that she couldn't touch him? He hadn't even broken a sweat and barely moved from his spot.
"I said to stay down." His left iris returned to their normal shade of blue. "I don't even find your skills interesting enough to copy. You're boring me."
She stood straight, supporting her aching back with her scythe. Blood streamed down her forehead but her lips had a confident smile. "I'd give it to you. You are deserving of being an endangered species."
"I know." Zenith said flatly. "And I have class soon."
She twirled her scythe before placing it behind her. "Fine, fine. You were good exercise so I'd leave now. If you handled me in your full power, I may not still be alive. Were you being considerate?"
Zenith looked away. She was far from it but it didn't matter what she want to think.
"Since you're being respectful, I'd add. You expend a lot of essence. Your rank is based on the essence you have but with the way you use it, a conservative S-Rank might do a number on you. Be careful with it."
There was silence between them, before she nodded slowly. Having a random lesson from someone she fought wasn't a normal occurrence. "You really treat all Mages equally, even if we aren't on the same side."
Zenith rolled his eyes and turned away. "Dark Mages or not, I can handle them, so why discriminate? As long as you don't bore me, I'd fight you."
"Did I bore you?" she asked playfully.
"Yes."
Her confident smile dropped and she rolled her eyes back, but there was also a satisfaction she felt.
She felt lucky that she didn't use her early plan of claiming to be after his life, he probably wouldn't have allowed her to make any effort, before killing her.
She had fortified her element and honed her skills to avoid his famous Word's Will having an effect on her magic but he seemed to have other skills up his sleeve. That Copy skill was a dangerous one.
She took one glance at his retreating figure before leaping away. She'd be back and probably get her ass handed to her again, but not as easily.
***
Zenith made a mental calculation of what his change will be if he bought six pieces of the panda bread and gave five thousand gaads. He planned to go straight to the stall before returning to his office.
He sighted vans belonging to the press outside the school. It didn't interest him, he specially hated them, mostly the ones ran by non-mages that couldn't hide their jealousy over Mages.
One amongst the team of reporters spotted him and ran towards him with her team of cameramen and those holding mics.
At first, his presence suffocated them but as reporters, they had magical items that helped them resist those even if they weren't Mages.
This helped them be able to have interviews with high ranked Mages without blacking out.
"Sir Zenith! Sir Zenith! He's here!"
On hearing 'he's here!', Zenith had flashes of all the boring things they'd make him do and how it'd clash with his plans to eat and teach later. "Not happening."
They found themselves moving back to where they moved from and Zenith walked past them while they were confused.
One of them cursed and yelled. "You use your magic on anyone without permission and that's how you almost killed students at Gaden High! What do you have to say for—"
The man's body slammed on the van, and his eyes rolled back but he was still conscious.
"Almost killed students?" Zenith raised a brow. "When did that happen?" Did these people wake up from nightmares starring him and decide to publish them as real incidents?
The others moved back, shaking in their clothes. The cameraman took the camera down so it wouldn't get blasted off. Zenith walked away and the man was released. He fell from the van, landing on his face.
Zenith stopped in front of the gate and noticed it had been fixed, and through transmutation. He knew who had been responsible for this. He touched the gate and patted it lightly. "I should pay them later."
He walked in and immediately sped to his office. In there, he wore the bands and returned his presence to S-Class. He exhaled when it was all over.
His mind went back to those press and he shook his head. They were the bad ones for attempting to harass him in a school where he taught.
The door to his office opened and Sir Bennett screamed on seeing him. He regained his composure and narrowed his eyes at him. "Sir Zenith?"
Zenith tilted his head. Did something happen? The teacher looked at him fearfully again. He remembered. "I should go to the stall now and have a meal—"
"I'd buy it for you!" Sir Bennett offered. "P-Please, don't move around anymore. It… it affects some…"
Zenith frowned. His presence affected someone? At S-Rank? "Are you feeling okay now?"
His change in tone made Sir Bennett swallow down his remaining words. The teacher remembered the Principal going class to class and telling the students not to panic as a report was made that a Dark Mage attacked a district and controlled all the inhabitants to move.
Sir Zenith had only left to handle it so his actions were commendatory and not meant to put anyone in harm. She obliged them not to inform outsiders and protect Gaden High's reputation, along with its teachers.
Sir Bennett remembered how the students of class 11-B had been so relieved when the panic died down later. He cleared his throat.
The presence of such a powerful Mage in their school would cause cases sometimes but it's all to their advantage at the end. The students had more to gain from him as he had experience.
With that in mind, Sir Bennett wanted the Mage to feel as comfortable as possible here so he'd stay for long. "No, nothing. I mean, I want to help you buy it."
Zenith's frown released. That was suspicious. "Well… okay..." He studied the man then added. "Thank you."