Lightheart Academy (Part 3)

"Five minutes earlier...

"Are you sure you can walk?" Nior asked worriedly.

Eizen let out a long sigh, not knowing how many times he had to answer this to ease Nior's worries. Since they started walking from behind the school, that was the only thing Nior kept asking, as if Eizen would drop dead if not attended to.

And she wasn't entirely wrong. Eizen indeed kept endangering himself, and he didn't know that Nior already knew what he did every night. Nior knew that right now he was actually badly injured. Not because of Edgar, but because of last night's incident.

That's what made Nior so concerned.

She couldn't imagine what if something happened to Eizen and he disappeared from her life; in that case, Nior might as well not live anymore.

She felt so happy spending time with this man. Nior didn't want anything, including death, to disturb their relationship. She didn't want to see Eizen continue to suffer due to a life so unfairly dealt.

If possible, Nior wanted to trade her life. He wished that Eizen could at least smile happily with his family. Eizen had spent too much time alone, taking care of himself to the point where his eyes no longer radiated the light of life.

"Nior suspected that Eizen's reason for constantly pursuing mercenaries was to trace the footsteps of his parents.

"I've answered it for the 12th time, Nior. I'm perfectly fin-"

Suddenly, a magical attack struck him, sending him flying backwards and crashing hard against a tree trunk. Eizen fell there, coughing while gazing at the figure in front of him.

Meanwhile, Edgar smirked contentedly with his friends.

He had been waiting for this moment to happen.

Fortunately, the headmaster and academy staff were inside the building, giving him the opportunity to pummel Eizen. Besides, no one would come to Eizen's aid. The headmaster himself didn't seem to care much, just giving him a few reprimands.

Nior called out to him, about to run over. However, two of Edgar's friends rushed to restrain Nior and led him to Edgar's side, where Nior yelled at him to stop all of this immediately and release Eizen, who had never once disturbed him.

"Release him? Never bothering me?" Edgar chuckled softly. "What has happened to you? Is his magic so strong that it has controlled your mind, Nior? Have you forgotten about your own childhood friend?"

"What do you mean by controlling my mind.." Nior looked around, realizing that Edgar intentionally said it loudly to start spreading rumors. "I'M NOT CONTROLLED, YOU BASTARD! I REALLY CARE ABOUT HIM!"

Edgar's heart felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives upon hearing that. However, he had to restrain himself to maintain his reputation. "You even stoop to saying such harsh things. I genuinely worry about you, Nior. This is why I asked you not to spend time with him. Who would have thought you could be manipulated like this?"

Tears streamed down Edgar's face.

He sobbed briefly, playing to the crowd, before wiping the tears away while concealing his grin. "Nior... How can you say that? I came here to save you from him. He's a bad influence."

"You've never seen him outside of the academy!" Nior snapped indignantly, still trying to break free.

"Oh? So, what does he do outside of the academy? Laziness? Wasting time? Engaging in wrongdoing?"

"You're wrong! He's the opposite of all that. He's even more diligent and kind compared to you, who's always just seeking attention! He does it to help, genuinely wanting to help. You, who've never even set foot in the slums, have no right to speak ill of him!"

"The slums? Did he control you there? Turn you into this?" He snorted harshly. "It suits someone like him. Someone who doesn't even have parents, deserves to rot there. And you, Nior, are just a foolish-"

Eizen suddenly appeared in front, striking his face so hard that he was thrown back along with a few of his friends. "I don't mind you speaking ill of me. But about her?" Eizen shook his head slowly.

The man wiped his mouth, clearing the flowing blood. Then, he stood up while laughing. "You're really playing with fire, Eizen. You should know your limits."

Edgar slammed the ground, lifting a large chunk and kicking it towards Eizen. The rapidly moving chunk wasn't something Eizen couldn't evade. However, to avoid it, he had to use dark magic he couldn't possibly use now.

Willing or not, Eizen remained there, trying his best to hold it back using his fire element magic, which unfortunately wasn't very strong. He was thrown backward, slammed several times, coughing out blood, and causing tears to flow from Nior's eyes.

His wound from last night had reopened.

He quickly pressed on the wound, using healing magic that unfortunately worked too slowly.

Edgar had already appeared in front, swinging his hand with a wide grin.

However, that grin vanished instantly upon seeing the figure in front. The white-haired figure easily withstood his attack, as if it were a child's punch rather than the strike of a Tier 4 individual.

Zent stood between them, staring sharply at Edgar. A gaze that startled Celine and the others, for they had never seen such an emotionless look from Zent. A look that only emerged when he had truly stopped playing around.

With a single push, Edgar was sent flying backward, losing his balance and falling down. His heart raced so fast, as if he had just faced death.

"Rio."

"Got it!"

Rio hurriedly used an even better healing magic on Eizen, giving him a broad smile to make Eizen feel safe and less wary of them.

Edgar stood up, looking around, realizing he had become the center of attention for so many people. He couldn't just back down like this; he had to make the figure in front of him understand that he was the number one here, at least.

However, his legs wouldn't move at all, rooted in place as a creeping sense of fear slowly overtook his heart.

"Why? Scared? You're only brave against someone much weaker than you?"

Hearing that, Edgar lifted more chunks of earth and hurled them at Zent. His smile widened, envisioning the man being shattered. Truly a mere fantasy.

Before those chunks could hit him, Zent suddenly appeared in front of Edgar, staring directly into his eyes. Powerful vibrations occurred, the result of the impact of the chunks that now churned up thick dust not far behind. And what the onlookers saw next was Edgar's body being forcefully thrown, crashing into a building with a strong tremor.

"Headmaster Verhatten, I know it was us who asked you to make us school representatives. But..." Zent glanced at him. "Don't expect me to tolerate bullying like this. If I see it again, don't blame me if I use my own hands."

The headmaster was actually offended by hearing this. Why did he, an adult, have to be warned by a kid who had just reached adulthood?

But that gaze...

The headmaster knew, he was dealing with someone dangerous.

He had encountered all sorts of people before. And only someone with deep darkness in their heart possessed a gaze like Zent's. Who would have thought that the young man could make his body shiver in fear.

He was starting to regret accepting Mary's request.

Knowing this, it would be better for him to give them what they wanted instead of asking them to become academy representatives. He was sure, Edgar's family wouldn't stay silent upon hearing this. They would definitely come seeking revenge.

Which the root is from... Eizen.

The headmaster looked over there, observing the young man who was currently being treated and pondered. Why could a student who had nothing captivate the attention of Edgar, the number one genius student?

Just because of love?

It was only natural for Edgar to face his karma.

The headmaster's smile widened as he observed the situation. Realizing that this way, he could get rid of the troublemaker. The Ravelthrone noble wouldn't be able to do much in front of Zent.

He had long wanted to remove him, but he had always been held back by Edgar's family, solely because he was a noble child, and they didn't want to tarnish the family name. Otherwise, Mary could be in danger.

That was also the reason they parted ways.

The headmaster didn't want his former wife, whom he still loved, to get hurt because of the foolish decisions he made in pursuit of his dreams.