Inside the small set aside for the injured, Fex's eyes twitched open. He woke to the cool touch of Aurora's hands as she tried to ease the swelling on his face and body.
Practically no first-year student could use essence to heal, and there was little she could do for any internal damage. Still, she worked on him anyway, her touch careful and her expression intensely focused.
Fex groaned and tried to sit up.
"Stay still," Aurora said softly. "You're not going anywhere yet."
"What happened?" Fex muttered.
"You got your ass kicked, that's what happened." The voice came from a bed a few feet away.
Fex turned toward it and found none other than Malakai Blackwell.
Kai sat shirtless on the edge of another bed while a girl worked on him. Bandages were wrapped tightly around his midsection, covering his ribs and abdomen, the white cloth faintly stained. Another strip circled his upper arm, while his forearm and wrist were bound in layered wraps. Bruises and shallow cuts traced across his shoulders and torso, but none of it seemed to bother him.
"Thanks. I think I'll be okay from here," he said quietly to the girl beside him.
Her face turned bright red, though it had already been flushed before. Ever since he had arrived for treatment, she could barely meet his eyes. More often than not, her gaze drifted toward the sharp lines of his bruised torso, which probably explained the state she was in.
She hurried off immediately after making a sound that was barely an "okay."
Kai slid off the bed and walked over, one hand casually slipping into his pocket despite the bandages restricting his movement.
"Sheesh, he got you good," Kai said, leaning in slightly to inspect Fex's swollen eye.
Fex did his best to ignore the obvious attempt at ragebait.
"At least I got my ass kicked fighting that insanely powerful lunatic," Fex shot back, his eyes narrowing as he looked over Kai again. "What about you? You look even worse than me"
"Me? Well, I turned Marcus into a bomb."
"And then he exploded in my face,"
The statement made Aurora jolt, and she nearly dropped the needle she had been using to stitch up Fex.
Fex slowly pointed outside toward the ruined castle.
"Y-you did that?"
Kai tilted his head.
"I mean… depends how you look at it."
"And isn't Marcus on our side?" Fex added.
"Was" Kai corrected
"Him and his friends thought it'd be a good idea to betray us and try to kill Alexandria."
Kai's expression didn't change.
"And well… it'd be really hard to betray anyone when you're hacked to pieces."
Fex stared at him for a second longer.
"Damian might not be the only lunatic I'm meeting today," he thought.
Aurora stared at Kai, disbelief clear in her eyes.
"The energy output of that blast was extraordinary. It's a miracle you're even standing right now."
Kai gave a small shrug.
"Lucky, I guess.'
Fex exhaled slowly, then extended a hand.
"I don't think we've been properly introduced. Fex. Fex Caster. The guy who underestimated Damian and paid for it"
"Kai," he replied, shaking his hand.
"The guy Damian underestimated and paid for it."
His gaze shifted to Aurora.
"Aurora," she said. "I'm friends with…Rebecca."
Kai's brows lifted slightly.
"Is that so? Well, a friend of hers is a friend of mine."
Alexandria stepped into the room, her presence immediately shifting the atmosphere.
"I'm glad the introductions are out of the way. We have bigger problems."
"But first of all, Kai, go put on a shirt."
Kai looked down at his bare chest, then back up at Alexandria
"Too distracting to you?"
A faint smile tugged at Alexandria's lips. It was a trap.
Say yes, and she gives him the satisfaction.
Say no, and he has no reason to wear a shirt
So instead, she simply folded her arms.
"Don't make me repeat myself."
"Alright, alright," he muttered, beginning to put his armor back on piece by piece.
"We failed to take Vanguard head-on. Their coordination… their preparation… it was far better than I expected. Isaiah planned this out thoroughly."
He exhaled lightly.
"He wasn't nearly as apathetic as I would've liked."
A brief pause.
"But it doesn't matter. We hold them here and buy enough time for the Kingslayers to take Isaiah out."
Aurora scoffed.
"The Kingslayers? The last time you believed someone could beat a monster like that, I was the one stitching them back together."
She glanced toward Fex.
"No offense."
"None taken," he replied, though the slight tightening in his jaw said otherwise.
Aurora turned back sharply.
"And what about Damian? How exactly do we stop him from blowing a hole straight through our walls?"
Her voice rose, frustration bleeding through now.
"And now I'm hearing some of our own people are working with Vanguard? I don't understand how you're this calm… or why you're still clinging to the original plan when everything else has already gone to hell."
Silence settled over the room.
Her outburst caught everyone off guard.
Alexandria studied her for a moment.
"You seem to have a lot of doubts, Aurora. That's understandable."
She straightened slightly.
"I never claimed to be perfect. I never claimed my plans were flawless. But if you believe you have something better, I suggest you say it now… before we move forward."
The two locked eyes.
A brief, tense standoff.
Then Aurora spoke.
"…We use Kai as bait. Lure Damian away from the walls and isolate him. Take him down separately."
She inhaled.
"It gives us a better chance at holding the line."
"No."
The rejection came instantly.
Aurora frowned. "No? Why?"
Kai tilted his head slightly.
"Yeah… I'd like to hear that too. I'm not exactly scared of Damian, and it sounds like a solid plan."
Alexandria's gaze shifted to him.
"That's because I have a different role for you."
She took a step forward.
"While I was outside, I identified the one coordinating this siege. His name is Grant Oliveranda."
Her tone sharpened.
" I did some digging and found out his sword allows him to boost the physical ability and morale of anyone he considers an ally within range. Quietly, constantly, without any of them realising it. He's one of the main reasons we're losing this war."
A pause.
"That's…" Fex started, then stopped. "That's a big problem."
"Huge," Kai added.
"Indeed" Alexandria said facing Kai
"I want you to kill him."
"And i want you to bring his sword to me"
Kai was quiet for a moment
"I don't know, Alexandria," he said. "Damian should still be my priority right now."
"Hmm." She tilted her head slightly. "Did I mention he's an exceptional swordsman?"
Kai said nothing.
"You haven't been attending battle classes for a while now, so you may have missed it. But from what I've heard, Miss Eris believes he's the only swordsman capable of rivaling Isaiah."
The reaction was small, barely anything. Just the faintest twitch at the corner of Kai's eye.
Alexandria let the silence sit for exactly a second longer than was comfortable.
"Don't you want to prove her wrong?"
From across the room, Fex watched the whole thing unfold with quiet disbelief. Damn, he thought. She's good. Poor guy didn't stand a chance.
The look that had settled into Kai's eyes already told everyone what they needed to know. Whatever reluctance he'd had a moment ago was gone.
"Fine," he said. "But if I'm doing this, why bring the sword to you? You don't even fight."
"True," Alexandria said, unfazed. "But Grant introduced himself as the commander of the frontlines. I believe Charmcaster's ability may be tied to a position of authority rather than the wielder alone."
She paused.
"It's a theory. But I don't leave stones unturned. Bring it to me and we'll figure out the rest from there."
Kai held her gaze for a moment.
Then he looked away, which was as close to an agreement as he ever got.
Then she turned back to Aurora.
"As for Damian… the one who'll play the biggest role in dealing with him is you."
Aurora blinked.
"Me?"
"You're an emitter, just like he is and I haven't seen it firsthand, but I've heard enough about the Winterborne Gift. It's highly effective in combat support."
She continued calmly.
"I already have someone prepared to engage Damian. I want you backing him up."
A brief pause.
"Can you do that?"
Aurora hesitated.
"I… I'm not sure—"
"I'll help too."
Fex's voice cut in.
"I couldn't beat him on my own. I'll admit that."
He looked up, resolve settling in.
"But with proper support… maybe I can finally put that living fuse box down."
Aurora stayed silent
Her gaze had drifted around. She was already running through possibilities, outcomes and worst-case scenarios
"Are you sure about this, Alexandria?" she asked.
"No," Alexandria replied, without hesitation and without apology.
"But I believe it's the best move we have."
"And if there are no further questions, then I need to all to get ready"
Meet me at the castle walls." She glanced across the room one last time. "You have two minutes."
She turned and walked out.
Then, almost as an afterthought, she paused at the doorway without looking back.
"One more thing. Regarding the Kingslayers." A brief pause. "If I'm not mistaken, their plan to take out Isaiah should be starting right about now."
"So in your own little ways, wish them luck. They are definitely going to need it"
She left the words hanging in the air and walked away, offering nothing else.
----------
"A barrier?"
"Large enough to cover the entire castle and its walls," the messenger confirmed, standing a few paces from the throne. "And from what we've seen… not even Damian can get through it."
Isaiah was quiet for a moment.
"Hm. Maybe I've been cooped up in here for too long."
He rose from the throne.
Isaiah rolled his neck to one side, then the other. Two soft cracks. He stretched his arms out wide, then rolled his shoulders, working through each joint like someone who had done this ten thousand times before.
Then he reached for his sword.
"It looks like everyone out there is giving everything they have,"
"And I've been sitting on a throne."
His eyes drifted toward the doors.
"There are a few things I've been working on as well." He thought
"What better place to test them out than here?"
He began walking.
He had made it perhaps halfway across the floor when it appeared, a ring of energy, tracing itself into existence around his feet like something that had been waiting there all along. It spread outward in a perfect circle, humming faintly, the light it cast throwing thin sharp shadows across the stone.
Isaiah glanced down at it.
His expression didn't change
"Oh?"
The ring contracted slow at first, then it began faster pulling up past his boots, past his legs, swallowing him inch by inch
The Vanguard members inside the room froze.
A few reached for their weapons.
By the time the last trace of the ring closed over the top of his head, Isaiah was simply gone. No sound. No impact. No indication that anything had happened at all, except for the faint scorch of the circle still glowing in the stone where he had just been standing.
The room was very quiet.
Someone exhaled slowly.
"...Where did he go?"