Question

Luke had taken Clare away. He was training in the forbidden forest and heard a loud bang. He thought it was a battle between two monsters so he didn't care, but when he saw the light suddenly flashing, he became curious. And sure enough, he saw Clare change. At that time he just watched, saw how powerful Clare really was and almost killed Vrochis. Still, Clare lost and Luke had to take her away. Even an immortal witch lost against Vrochis, what about the others?

Luke continued to dash to safety. The sun was about to show its rays, Luke continued to dart carrying Clare in his arms away from Vrochis. He couldn't go back now because Clare's condition would put everyone in danger.

Shortly after moving away from Vrochis, Clare suddenly broke free and floated in the air with a strong killing intent. Luke stopped suddenly and blocked Clare's sudden attack then dodged Clare's second attack.

Clare doesn't remember anything at the moment because it wasn't the real Clare. Her consciousness was sinking and she was controlled to the point of not knowing enemy or friend.

The fight continued, Clare had landed back and attacked Luke with a strong force. Luke just dodged and resisted her attack, basically Clare's current strength is much stronger and makes Luke fly in the air and just blown away. Luke didn't fall or get hit, he managed to hold on to his body and darted towards Clare and held her back. Luke tied Clare's body with the rope he made until Clare went numb.

"Let go!" Clare roared in anger. She was completely unable to move and use her strength. Luke's powers are paralyzing, so of course he should have something to completely paralyze someone. The rope is only a small part and is nothing. The current Clare wasn't thinking clearly and only knew how to kill, so there was no time to think about how to escape with a dead body. The more Clare struggled, the tighter the ropes tied until Clare's wound grew.

Luke doesn't have the talent like Zoya to calm someone down. So he couldn't bring Clare to her senses quickly. So, he had to think of a manual way.

"Clare wake up, it's not you!" Luke shook Clare's body which kept on fighting. He couldn't see Clare keep hurting like that, Clare could be in a coma!

Clare's powers take over because of Clare's mental breakdown. The only way is to calm him down, but it's hard to calm someone who's gone crazy like this. There was no way Luke would call Zoya right now. The girl was still sleeping and would ignore Luke's calls.

"Go… I don't want to hurt you." Clare softened. It seemed like half her consciousness had returned but she still couldn't control herself.

"GO!" Clare screamed. She was still struggling with the ropes that were getting to her.

Luke didn't go, he couldn't leave Clare like this in the woods alone. While Luke was heartless, it wasn't entirely true for Clare. Right now in front of him is not Clare, but it is Clare's body and her soul is disturbed. Luke couldn't leave her.

"Clare calm down. We have to go back to the academy and you have to calm down. They'll know about you, you won't be safe."

Clare remained silent, staring at him intently and warily. She was like someone who was frightened yet her intent was full of killing intent. It would be difficult to calm her down unless her soul recovered.

Luke hugged her and stroked Clare's flowing hair. He couldn't think of any other way to calm someone down, he wasn't experienced at being sedative.

Clare just stood there blankly. Her half-consciousness of winning had returned, that's why he didn't fight back. Her body was still shaking and her killing intent was gradually diminishing. Her mind went blank and she let out a single tear.

"You're safe. We will return to the academy once you calm down. There's nothing to be afraid of." Luke spoke in Clare's ear.

After a while until the sun finally began to show signs of coming, Clare who had been empty was unconscious. Luke saw it and breathed a sigh of relief. Clare finally calmed down and now that he had passed out, he only hoped that Clare would regain consciousness after being at the academy.

Luke carried her and immediately sped towards the academy. Vrochis was no longer seen, and Luke only needed to dodge the less powerful monsters along the way until he finally arrived at the academy.

***

Clare opened her eyes. It was like waking up from a long sleep. She sat down and stretched his stiff muscles, only then did she realize that her body seemed to have been crushed and everything was fine.

Krakk

Her bones creaked and the pain made Clare limp. Clare groaned in pain and went back to sleep, she didn't even dare to get out of bed even a single step.

What happened?

Clare couldn't remember what happened last night. She only remembered that Vrochis suddenly raised her claws right at her body like he wanted to stab her with those long nails. After that, Clare didn't know what happened. She vaguely saw a male figure and no Vrochis, but she couldn't control herself or do anything. She didn't even know what she was doing. It frustrated her

Clare groaned in annoyance and pulled back the covers. Then he remembered what Vrochis said about Immortal Blood and immortal witch. Also about friends and family. Just remembering it made her more stressed but she was still curious. Regarding refining, Clare was sure it was for her own good.

But regarding the lies of her friends and Professor Armstrong, Clare hoped it wasn't true. Even if it was true, she wanted an excuse. But still she couldn't tell them what Vrochis said last night. Clare had to act normal and pretend not to know.

The door opened revealing Jules who was surprised to see Clare was awake. She rushed over to Clare and sat on Clare's bed watching her worriedly.

"Clare, are you all right? Luke says Vrochis attacked you and was badly injured. The doctor examined you this morning, he said you must rest fully or your wound will open again."

"What about the plan? I can't ignore that." Clare refused. She felt fine, so it wouldn't be wrong if she started carrying out the plan. Clare doesn't feel any trauma either, she just needs to rest for a few hours and will recover.

"Better to postpone it for a few days. You should rest until you recover."

"Just need a few hours of rest. We have already taken leave, we cannot extend the leave any longer. I am your representative, so you must obey."

"But Luke is the leader. Luke says you should rest until you get better. Don't waste other people's kindness, this is Luke's first time doing good for someone."

"First time?" Clare couldn't believe it. Isn't Luke always helping her? Why does Jules say it's the first time to do good? Jules always exaggerates the truth.

"Luke is cruel. He's never even been nice to me. He's only good to you. Sometimes I envy you getting noticed by Rising Star Academy."

Clare stared at her blankly like an idiot. Isn't that what friends usually do? Clare only thinks about the social part. She didn't think about that person at all.

Since Clare didn't want to talk about the same topic again, she sighed and wanted to get serious. "Jules, you know about refining? What is it?"

Jules was stunned for a moment. Why did Clare suddenly ask something she shouldn't have asked? Did Vrochis say something? Jules thought it looked like Clare wanted to test it. "Didn't I tell you before but you refused? Whose fault is it?"

"Right," Clare muttered for a moment. It was her fault not wanting to know more and couldn't blame anyone for not telling her. "But now I want to know."

Jules sighed and flicked Clare's forehead. "The process of refining or freezing is done to purify one's mind and heart. After refining, the power will be sealed and become cleaner from dirty things. It can also change one's attitude and behavior to become more pure and innocent. As you're going through right now, you're so stupid and naive, it just pisses me off," Jules explained. "Then, refining can only be done by some people. Only a few can bring out that power like witches and ice controllers. It's very rare to be able to do that. If one of them is missing, then it is an ancestral inherited power. It could be that the ancestor is a witchers or an icebender."

Sitting and leaning back, Clare spoke. "So… My ancestor was a witch?"

Jules was stunned. Clare's words were right on target but Jules didn't know that Clare already knew everything. Jules also doesn't want to be seen as lying or anything so she's just making excuses. "Maybe yes, maybe no. It could also be that your ancestors were ice controllers or witch. No one knows. Since the Marines can do it, maybe you can in the future too."

Jules' words were not wrong and did not lie. Just didn't tell him clearly even though Jules already knew that Clare's ancestor was an immortal witch. Clare didn't mind it either because Jules was telling the truth.

"Come on, why are you even talking about something that doesn't feel good to be the subject of conversation? I prefer gossip!" Jules started the conversation excitedly. "You know when you and Luke came back that time? That is a rare thing. Usually Luke would return to the dormitory alone after practice. It caught the eyes of the students already around the academy. Although not all, but it quickly spread. Luke carried you who fainted and went to the dormitory, he also quickly told us to call the doctor. At that time we all panicked to see you covered in blood. It was terrible!"

"What did I do at that time? Did Vrochis really hurt me?"

"Not completely. Vrochis did hurt you until you nearly broke your bones. Luckily your regeneration speed is excellent so it's not too bad when you get back or you have to be in the hospital for a few months with bandages! That time was really scary, your body was cold as ice and so pale, your clothes also had holes in it full of blood, I don't want to remember it anymore. It was me, Zoya and Blaire who replaced you with clothes. Can you imagine how terrible it was?"

Clare listened intently. If you think about it, it's truly terrifying and should be a battle between life and death. But Clare had absolutely no recollection of what attack she launched after Vrochis raised his claws. At that time everything was really dark in Clare's eyes. She only remembered she preferred to dodge Vrochis' brutal attack and fell from the tree. She also got hit and wanted to counterattack, but Vrochis gave her a painful mental attack after which everything went dark. Clare thought she was dead but ended up in the dorm. Clare didn't want to remember anymore.

"Did Luke tell you what happened then?" Clare asked.

"He just said that you guys fought it out. That was all he saw before finally taking you away when Vrochis wanted to unleash the final blow. By then you were already dying and took you straight to the academy." Jules wasn't completely lying. She just said most of it without saying what happened to Clare at that time. While Clare was still unconscious, they had a meeting and Luke said what he saw. Of course he didn't hear what Vrochis said from the start because Luke wasn't there at the time. Luke only comes when Clare changes.

Jules continued. "The bottom line was that it was awful. That's why Luke asked you to rest for a few days to recover. Don't argue, okay. I'm going to get some food for you."

Jules got out of bed and went to let Clare rest. After a while, the three friends came together to bring food to Clare for lunch.

After a few days of rest, they finally all left the academy in the vehicle that Rowler's lent. And even then Jules who had to persuade him and forced Rowler to lend him with various negotiations. After getting a car, they went together.

For several days Luke and Clare had not spoken to each other. Clare is only active in her room with her friends so there's no time to ask the truth. Although she was sure Luke didn't see it completely, but at least he knew Clare's condition at that time. She couldn't sleep because she kept thinking about it.

They arrived at the town of Auntumn. A remote city and has not as many people as the city of Neuvrost. It is also part of Aternum World and is bordered by the human world to be precise in Canada.

The car did not stop at one of the inns, but to a quieter place. More precisely, an abandoned and hot place. The sun was scorching hot right now and the place they came to was very open. It's suitable for fighting monsters like Vrochis. When Vrochis rained, then they would know Vrochis' position and attack him together.

They got out of the car and looked around. The sun is so hot that Zoya even brings a small electric fan.

"Good enough to take advantage of." Louis commented as he looked around.

Around him is a forest view that is not too shady like a forbidden forest. There are not too many trees around and most of them are dry. This made Clare remember her dream before meeting Vrochis.

For Zoya, Jules, and Blaire this is their entertainment destination before doing errands. After a long time they can finally get out of the city freely even though later they will be entangled in a heavy task. So, the three of them took advantage of it. They had invited Clare, but Clare decided to focus on her task first. Even Louis, Eryk, and Xavier didn't understand Clare being too focused on the task. They both enjoyed the trip together.

Clare walked towards the steep cliff which was quite a distance from where they were supposed to be. It's across from the trees connected to the forest and it's also an open place like before. Clare looked down, it was very tall and there were still even trees. Down there is much more full of trees than above, it's like a forbidden forest.

Liquid blood dripped onto the rocks and ground like drops of spring water. It came from Clare's own palm slashing to lure Vrochis to come, but that wasn't part of the plan.

Suddenly someone grabbed Clare's arm. It was Luke who pulled Clare from the edge of the cliff and saw Clare's hand which was bleeding all the time.

"What are you doing?" Luke was angry, but not really angry. He was angry at Clare's carelessness.

Clare just stared at him silently. They didn't realize that the blood that dripped earlier had turned black and dried up in a matter of seconds.