As I arrived behind the fifth-year students' dorm, the dim light of the setting sun cast long shadows on the walls. The air was thick with tension, the quiet hum of the wind doing little to mask the unease that coiled in my chest. Standing in the gloom, I spotted Alad first, his arrogant smirk illuminated faintly by the fading light. Beside him stood Werk, his towering frame imposing, flanked by two other men whose faces bore the hardened expressions of those used to trouble.
"Oh, you actually came? Is Crestia truly that important to you?" Alad called out, his voice dripping with mockery as he folded his arms across his chest. His eyes gleamed with cruel amusement, studying me as though I were a caged animal.
I met his gaze without flinching, my voice cold and steady. "Where are they?"
