Chapter 15

Taegen had received the Code Black message by three in the morning. He got up quickly, startling Reginald.

"Is there a problem?" Reginald asked, scratching his eyes while sitting up.

"We have a Code Black," Taegen replies, A bright light shone, and Taegen was wearing armor.

"The Dark Realm," Reginald said, and he too quickly stood up.

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Ethan woke up feeling a bit groggy, and he sat up and stretched. The light was still on, and he looked over to his side and saw Hadrian laying his head at the edge of his bed. He must have been taking care of him through out the night; this made Ethan feel a bit bad. So he taps Hadrian, who woke up almost immediately.

"Sleep next to me," Ethan said, pulling his arm.

Hadrian immediately refused. "I'm fine here," he said.

Ethan wasn't going to listen to Hadrian say that laying his head at the edge of his bed is comfortable.

"Don't make me repeat myself, Hadrian," Ethan said coldly.

Hadrian gave Ethan a helpless look and complied, climbing on the bed and lying next to him. "Isn't that better?" Ethan asked.

Hadrian nodded in response and yawned, slowly closing his eyes as Ethan watched.

Ethan didn't return to sleep. He began to wonder about a few things. Like, what would happen if Flora died? Although he doesn't remember her, the people who knew her, like Hadrian, would be sad. Especially if she dies a meaningless death.

It is obvious that she knows that she wouldn't be able to stop the master, so why would she go out of her way to try and fight a losing battle. He doesn't know if she's courageous or just plain foolish.

He wishes to admire her, but he won't admire someone who died a meaningless death. She'd better not die, or else she wouldn't be forgiven even after fifteen lives.

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Taegen and Reginald arrived in Silver Field before the break of dawn. The heads of the school, the arcs, teachers, and the selected few chosen to defend the school were waiting for them.

They were all standing around a table filled with a lot of water. Taegen walks in

"Apologies for being late," Reginald said, politely.

"It doesn't matter," Malekith said. "You are here," he said. "Delphine, create a map of the academy, inside and out," he said.

Delphine nodded and touched the water. Almost immediately, a 3D image of the academy and its surroundings appeared. The academy was located in a valley surrounded by mountains, and behind them was the sea.

An outline of the inside of the castle appeared, showing all the class rooms, halls , libraries, secret passageways, and exits.

The exits led outside the school, into the mountains and the sea. Most of the students present, apart from the arcs, didn't know the academy had so many secret passageways, and exits.

They've never seen the exit or entrance to the school before because they were always unconscious once they got to the area close to the academy.

Looking at the exits, they wondered a few things. For example, how was Hadrian able to get away?

"Before we begin the meeting, I'd like all of you to know that it isn't compulsory to participate in this battle," Richard said seriously.

"If you don't wish to participate in this, we won't force you to. This isn't something you must be a part of," Delphine said.

"Because in this battle there's a probability that some of us might not return alive," Taegen said, His voice was cold and sharp, surprising a lot of students, because Taegen is known as the most carefree teacher in Silver Field.

"This applies to everyone," Malekith said, looking at everyone, watching their emotions. There were those who were afraid, and he points them out. "You three," he said, pointing at three students. "You aren't ready for this battle; leave," he said.

One of them wanted to argue, but the glares he received from almost every head were terrifying. He nodded, and all three of them left the meeting room.

"Forget this meeting," Delphine said, using her Siren's voice as they left. "We can't let them know about the exits, now can we?" she said.

"Let's begin already," Ebenezer said. "We don't have all the time in the world."

All the heads gave him a blank look, and he scowled at them.

Malekith cleared his throat and said, "The day we feared is coming. The Dark Realm is coming to attack us."

"We know very little about why they are attacking. They've attacked once before in the past, and we barely got our victory," Malekith said. "We, the heads, know the reason they are attacking us, but we can't tell you the reason for now.

"The Dark Realm has what are considered some of the most powerful races that ever existed. But we managed to get to their weaknesses during the last battle," he said. "We know there are three major races in the Dark Realm: vampires, demons, and dark elves, but we must never forget any of the other races from the Dark Realm. Orges, orcs, and goblins are to be watched out for. Although they are normally portrayed as the servants of the Dark Realm, they are also incredibly powerful. And although they aren't the smartest, a blow from one of them can shatter a shield made from the most durable material."

"So if you want to defeat them all," Taegen said. "You have to be agile and smart. They have thick skin, and their only weakness is their neck."

"And here comes the third issue: if you are afraid to kill, leave this place immediately; you aren't ready."

Malekith watched everyone, looking for reluctance; he didn't find any, and he nodded for them to continue.

"You will be handed special weapons. They are made of silver and soaked in pure light. These weapons are for when you encounter any of the major races. Vampires are weak against silver, and demons are weak against pure light," Richard explained.

"You are allowed to choose whatever weapon you are comfortable with," Ebenezer said. The students were excited. They know that once they are handed these weapons, they is going to be theirs permanently.

"Now let's begin with placements," Malekith said. "Victory, Michael, El, Bellatrix, Akiva, Alexander, and Dustin," he called seven names, and the arc of defense, as well as two students, and four teachers, stepped forward. "You seven are in charge of defense. You will create a force field around the castle. You are going to be blocking all the exits and passageways, from the tallest tower to the lowest exit. You are going to block everything. Nothing gets in and nothing gets out," he said.

"Reginald, Eli, Ezra, Block, Scarlette, Crystella, and Isla," Malekith called out two of the arcs: the Arc of Focus, and the Arc of Mind. Crystella and Eli. He also called out two warrior teachers, and a student. "You six are going to the east, into the forest; you will ambush the enemies there."

"Delphine, Aquamarine, Alma, Aegir, Delta, Hali, and Kendra," he said, Delphine, the Arc of Heart, Aquamarine, two students, and three teachers stepped; all seven of them were from the Oceanic Realm. "You seven will be assisting us from the sea."

"Ebenezer, Mira, Agnes, and Serpentess," he said, calling Ebenezer and the three teachers. "You four are going to defend the west."

"Taegen, Jasper, Dandelion, Edmund, Alexis, Nathan, Castiel, Levi, and Hansel," he said, calling Taegen, the Arc of Strength, Jasper, two students, and five teachers. "You guys are going to be fighting in front of the academy."

"Jedidah, Gabriel, Aether, and I would be fighting from the sky, " he said, calling the Arc of Speed, Jedidiah, and two teachers.

"If you have any ideas on how to improve this plan, speak now," Malekith said, looking at everyone in the room.

Nobody commented, and then he nodded to Richard. "There's going to be a reward for everyone who participated in this battle; your name will be written in the school's history books so you won't be forgotten, and you will be honored in front of everyone in the academy and given medals of honor," he said.

"You may go and prepare your minds; we go into battle tonight," Delphine said.

And before they all left, Taegen said, "And may the gods be with us."

After everyone left, leaving all the heads alone in the meeting room. "Where's Ethan?" Ebenezer asked.

"He has a fever, so I didn't bring him," Taegen replies. "Also, we all know why the Dark Realm is attacking all of a sudden," he said. "It would be best if we didn't involve him in this fight."

Ebenezer didn't argue with Taegen, but he said, "Do you remember my prophecy from fifty years ago?"

Taegen nods. "Yes, I do," he replies. "But you also said there's a possibility that wouldn't happen," he said.

Ebenezer sneered at Taegen. "That possibility was if we hadn't accepted Ethan into this academy," he said.

Taegen laughed out loud. "You know we can't disobey the commands of the gods, and I don't regret their obeying their orders; he's a good child."

Delphine coughed out loud, trying to cover up her laughter, and everyone else stared at Taegen with disapproval. "What?" he asked. "Isn't he a good boy?"

"He's a little terrorist in the eyes of the students," Malekith said.

Taegen laughed out loud and said, "Just like his caretaker."