The soft, scuttling sound was the first thing René noticed in his half-asleep mode. Then a gasp.
"Nihara?" he muttered groggily.
She was sitting up on the floor, her blanket pooled around her, staring down at her arm. A small creature darted up her sleeve, its tail flicking as it scurried toward her shoulder.
"It's just a rat." Nihara said.
"A what?" René scrambled backward. "There's a rat in my room?"
She pinched the creature by its tail and lifted it up for inspection, "there was a rat in your room. Now it's mine."
The rat wriggled frantically, its tiny claws flailing in the air. Nihara, utterly unbothered, tilted her head to the side, studying it with a small, amused smile.
"You're keeping it?" he asked, his voice cracking slightly.
"Of course. He's perfect."
"Perfect for what? Diseases?"
She ignored him, cradling the rat in her hands as if it were a precious treasure. "I'll name him… Voidling."
"Voidling? You're naming a rat 'Voidling.'?"
"Yes. He's part of the team now."
René groaned, flopping back onto his bed and throwing his blanket over his face. "It's too early for this. Way too early."
Meanwhile, Nihara gently placed Voidling on her shoulder, where the rat nestled into the fabric of her cloak as if it had found a new home. She leaned back against the wall, a satisfied grin on her face.
"If that thing touches me I'm evicting both of you."
"Relax."
René sighed deeply, already regretting letting Nihara in his room.
"Funny how a rat appears the night you're in my room..."
"I took a bath last night, its not like I'm unclean... just a coincidence."
"What are we going to do today?"
"A visit to the garden would be nice."
With no questions asked, he walked to the garden with her. Along the way, they spotted a group of men hanging around at the library entrance. They looked a bit old to be alumni or students. Certainly too young looking to be parents visiting. And definitely not staff members. Sure, it was possible for any age to come back to the academy, but their outfits, the fact Rene had never seen them before... it made him suspicious. But he paid them no mind. One man looked at Nihara without her noticing, his eyes slightly widening.
The garden opened before them, a lush field of greenery encased by tall stone walls covered in vines. Nihara got on her knees, smelling the flowers carefully. Rene leaned against a low wall nearby, looking at the rows of unique plants. She laughed and twirled as if she was a child.
"You seem really happy."
"I am. These plants are just so pretty and smell so good..."
"I'm happy that your happy, then."
After an hour they decided to head back in. But as they walked Nihara froze. The happiness she felt seemed to turn into dread.
"Nihara?"
Without a word, she jumped onto René and pushed him onto the floor with her. He was confused, wanting to say something, but trusted this was for good reason. She held him tighter and used her wings to cover him as much as possible. Then there it was.
Crack! Boom!
The ground trembled. Walls crumbled. Dust scattered.
An earthquake? he thought. The academy has special energy protecting every wall. No way it was an atta-
"There's been an attack." Nihara said.
Wha?!
Immediately she dashed inside, confronted by cloaked men the second she stepped in.
"Guess I'll have to fight in these robes..."
Rene scrambled to his feet, coughing as the dust from the explosion filled his lungs. His mind raced, but his body froze, standing there as Nihara faced the cloaked men who had broken in.
The first man lunged toward her with his blade straight. Nihara dodged and blasted him into a wall. Another cloaked figure was already rushing in, swinging a jagged axe. She ducked under the swing and drove her elbow into his ribs, sending him stumbling back with a wheeze. A third charged at her, this one holding a spear. He thrust it forward, aiming straight for her chest. She simply blasted it back to him, the wooden part piercing him just as much as the tip would've.
The other cloaked men hesitated now, eyeing each other warily. One of them growled and stepped forward, raising his hands. A flicker of red energy formed between his palms, crackling like fire.
The mage hurled a ball of fiery energy at her. She dove to the side, rolling smoothly and coming back up on her feet. The flames exploded behind her, burning the hem of her robe. The mage conjured another attack, but this time Nihara didn't give him the chance to fire it.
She sprinted forward, pushing between two of the other attackers as they tried to grab her. The mage panicked and released the spell too early—it flew past her harmlessly and scorched the wall. Before he could cast again, she closed the distance and drove her knee into his stomach.
The mage crumpled, but Nihara didn't stop there. She spun behind him, using his body as a shield as another attacker threw a dagger. The blade sank into the mage's shoulder, and he screamed before collapsing completely.
"Who's next?" she asked.
The remaining attackers hesitated. There were four of them left, but they weren't stupid. They circled her now, each trying to find an opening.
"Fine. I'll come to you."
She dashed toward the closest man, who raised his sword in a panic. She punched him in the side of the knee, followed up with a kick to his jaw. A man lunged from behind, but Nihara's wings snapped open, knocking him off balance. She spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to his forehead, sending him to the ground.
The last two attackers rushed her together. One swung a mace while the other wielded a curved blade. Nihara dodged the first swing, the mace smashing into the floor where she had stood a second earlier. The man with the curved blade came in fast, aiming for her neck. She raised her arm, the blade slicing her sleeve but missing her skin.
With a quick twist, she grabbed his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder, slamming him into the ground. The last man hesitated, his mace trembling in his grip.
"Go ahead, try it. Since your the last how about I have some fun?"
For a moment he gave in. But something within him told him he shouldn't. It was obvious he was going to lose, but he had to do it. He raised his weapon, but in an instant, he was blasted through dozens of walls.
The fight was over.
Nihara stood in the middle of the carnage, her breathing steady but her body tense. Her robes were torn and dirtied, but she didn't seem to notice. She turned to Rene, who was still frozen in place.
"Nihara.. are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." she said quickly, brushing some dust off her robes. "We need to move. There's more coming, and this was just the warm-up."
René grabbed onto her sleeve.
"Please don't tire yourself too much!"
"My wish is to keep fighting until I can't anymore. If at any point I lose consciousness, you may take me away from here."
She walked over to grab a blade from one of the men, giving it to him.
"Defend yourself. I'll go kill as many as I can."
He nodded and ran off to the council room. This was where the High Council, led by the Headmaster, resided in. He burst through the doors, meeting an armored individual. There the council members were. Tied up. Mouth covered.
"Why are you raiding the academy?" René asked.
"We are in search of the Void Angel."
His eyes widened. And now a single thought was stuck in his head. Am I able to take this guy down?
It was unlikely. He had a normal sword, and certainly not enough power to fight someone who captured the council. There was no simply walking off either. He threw a ball of light across the room, fleeing while the man was blinded. Then something felt strange. He felt his body weaken. When he tried to form a ball of mystical energy, it failed. This distraction gave time for the armored man to slash René's back. Knowing there was no escape now, he played dead. But he stabbed again. He wasn't going to let himself die without a fight, so he rose and slashed at him.
"You can't fool me."
They dueled, blades clashing relentlessly. However, as he expected, he wasn't strong enough. The man stabbed through his torso.
"Fight me again."
"Huh?"
He put his hand on the wound, healing him. Why was he asking him to fight him again?
As he got up, the armored man stepped back. He counted down. Again, their blades clashed. René got a hit on the helmet, but he stabbed his side. He fell to the floor.
"Wasn't worth the fight. I wanted a rematch to see if you were any better. You are weak. You don't have a clue how to fight, do you?"
As pain consumed him while blood poured out, he thought back to the war. He was skilled at using the Dusk Blade, right? Or was it only lending power? Without that weapon was his fighting skills nothing? Maybe he couldn't save the academy, nor the council. But he could run away. The wound wasn't as bad as the ones from the first fight, and he let him live. With his remaining strength, he pushed himself up. Slowly, he walked away...