Chapter 19: The Zostrel Aeoub Mountains

"What do we do about her?" asks Arthur, staring at Amanda.

Azrael looks at her mournfully. "I was ordered to kill her if she presented herself as an enemy. This attack will give the academy's council more reason to execute her."

"But will you do it?"

Azrael continues staring at her unconscious body. Alora and Chari tie her up with some rope they found in Ubel's office. "Even now I can feel how bloodthirsty she is towards me. I don't know why she would work for Azazel, or why she harbours such hatred towards me. But she will not stop attacking me or Class 1A."

"So, you will kill her?"

He shakes his head, "Even if I wanted to, I can't."

"You can't?"

"There are only so many ways to kill a vampire, and without my power over death, I can't kill her soul."

"What do you mean, 'kill her soul'?"

"To kill a vampire, you cannot kill the physical body. Their bodies are vessels holding immortal souls. To kill a vampire, you must kill their souls."

"I see. You said there were a few methods, correct? Can you do it with one of those methods?"

"No, it would take too much effort to do this. I'd need to find two individuals with soul magic and holy magic, respectively. They must have a godly mastery of their magics and equal mana pools to perform a complicated spell that takes decades to master. It would be faster to unseal my powers."

"Or convince her?" he asks. "Do you think it's possible?"

He watches Chari and Alora struggle to carry her into Ubel's office, and says, "If at all possible, I would never choose to kill a human being—let alone a student of mine."

Arthur smiles, "Of course you wouldn't."

"Are you making fun of me?" he asks, annoyed.

"No, just happy you are still you." Azrael looks at him confused. Arthur shakes his head, "It's nothing."

"Professor Azrael!" yells Calliope, teary-eyed and on wobbly legs. "It's... Tyson... He's..."

"I know about Tyson. I found out where Albert sent him but I don't know where it is exactly."

"You know? Where is he? We need to—"

Azrael raises his hand, interrupting her, "There's nothing we can do at the moment."

"What do you mean? You're not thinking of abandoning him, are you?"

"No, I want to rescue Tyson as much as you do but we can't do that now."

"What are you talking about? The longer we spend doing nothing, the higher his chances of dying are!"

"Calliope," says Arthur, "calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down!" she snaps. "Our great Professor Azrael is giving up on one of his students! On your friend! On our friend! Do you feel nothing?"

"Of course, I want to save him too but—" He looks down at Azrael, who remains silent.

"But what? Is there something you're both hiding? What is so important that you would leave your student for death?"

"Calliope," says Alora, interjecting. "Can you not see the state Professor Azrael is in?" She looks at Azrael and notices him breathing heavily, with gaping wounds all over his body. "Professor Azrael is not in a state to rescue anyone. He should rest first."

"But—"

"If even Professor Azrael is avoiding the place Tyson was sent to, don't you think it's someplace perilous?"

"Then, Tyson—"

"We can only pray that Tyson survives until we can anchor ourselves. Rescuing Tyson will be our top priority once Professor Azrael heals. Isn't that right, Professor Azrael?"

Azrael nods his head. "I've nearly emptied my nether energy supplies. If the fight with Albert lasted any longer, I would not be sitting here, alive." I'll have to thank Orion when I return to the heavenly realm. "Of course, I want to rescue Tyson right this instant as well but we will only venture on a suicidal mission. As Alora says, we need to rest first."

"Where was it that Albert sent Tyson?" asks Arthur.

"Some place called, the Zostrel Aeoub Mountains."

"Zostrel Aeoub Mountains!?" Calliope nearly faints just hearing the mountain's name. "That—"

"Professor Azrael, are you sure you heard Zostrel Aeoub Mountains?" asks Alora, trembling.

"Yes," responds Azrael, confused. "Is something the matter? You all look like ghosts."

"The Zostrel Aeoub Mountain Range is the most dangerous mountain range on Gaia. It's home to the largest den of black dragons on this planet. But it's not only what lives there that makes the mountain dangerous, it's also the climate."

"The climate?"

"The Zostrel Aeoub mountains have the coldest climate on Gaia. It's so cold that there have been reports of proficient fire magicians frozen in solid blocks of ice. The climate is inhospitable for humans—let alone someone who's not a fire magician like Tyson. I'm afraid to say it but—"

"Tyson's still alive," interjects Azrael.

"How do you know that? You've never been to that mountain range, have you? You don't know what it's like to be one of its victims. If Tyson manages to survive the climate, he'll still have to deal with the dragons. There's no way Tyson will survive until we set out to rescue him."

"True, I've never experienced the Zostrel Aeoub mountains but I have faith."

"Faith?"

"Faith that Tyson will survive until we rescue him. If you can't have faith in his luck, have faith in his tenacity. Tyson will survive. He's not weak enough to die by something this measly."

Alora, who's been in a foul mood since Azrael mentioned the Zostrel Aeoub mountains, sighs. "You're right, I can't have faith in his luck. But, I would like to believe in Tyson. I don't want to lose yet another classmate this year, if at all possible."

"Good. Then once I rest up and recover my nether energy, we will rescue Tyson." That said, it will take at least a week for me to recover enough nether energy to venture into dungeons. After that, I need to restock on catalysts. This 'Zostrel Aeoub mountain range' sounds like it would be a rough journey. "Speaking of, where is the Zostrel Aeoub mountain range?"

"That's..." Alora looks away, all hope she mustered up disappears.

"It's on the dragon continent, Dagonr."

"The... dragon continent? Why is it called that?"

"The Zostrel Aeoub mountains is why," says Arthur. "Despite Dagonr being the largest continent, the mountain range covers ninety per cent of the continent. It's called the dragon continent because anyone who lives... or anyone who lived on this continent was attacked by dragons every day. For this reason, humans have moved to other continents."

"I see. And how long will it take to travel to Dagonr?"

"Eight months if we're rushing. About a year if we're not."

Eight months? That makes this tricky. Even though I said we should hold out hope, I don't know if Tyson can survive there for that long.

"You're not giving up on Tyson, are you?" asks Calliope, dejected. "If you are, I will go alone if I must."

"I never said I would abandon him. It's just..." If I take time to rest, Tyson's chances of survival will plummet even further. We'll have to leave right away to even hope of saving him. "To save him, we'd need to leave right away but..."

"You're in no state to move right now," says Arthur after a momentary pause. "And with everyone sleeping, despite Albert and Amanda's defeat, we can assume they were working with someone else to produce this spell."

Azrael looks at Alora and says, "You are well-versed in this field, do you know about anyone who has the ability to do something like this?"

"Someone who can put an entire school to sleep? I don't... Actually, I may know who it is."

"Who?"

"He's popular in the underground scene. Someone I've had many dealings with before. His name is Rasui Joseph, 'The Sleeper'."

"The... sleeper?"

"Not many individuals have encountered Rasui and those who have, can only remember falling into a month-long sleep-induced coma."

"Yet, you've had many dealings with him?"

"It's because... he's something of a childhood friend. And he trusts me."

"I see. Can you get in contact with this Rasui person and encourage him to awaken the school's students?"

"I'll do so."

"Good." Azrael, with great effort and struggle, gets onto his feet. Thanks to this body's natural healing factor, my body has healed enough for me to stand on my own. Though, it does hurt quite a bit. "I'll have to take it easy for at least three days. After that, we will depart to save Tyson from the Zostrel Aeoub mountains."

"But, Professor Azrael, your body—"

"Will be fine. I can't rest well knowing my student will need to wait an entire year to be saved. Tyson takes priority over my well-being."

"Fine but I'm coming with you," says Arthur. "If I have to leave the academy to do it, I will."

"There's no need to do something that drastic, Arthur."

"But he's got a point, Professor Azrael. It will take eight months, at best, to reach Dagonr. If you depart without notice, you will be fired. The only way you can depart on an extended leave is through communication with the academy's council."

The academy's council? I've never met them but I already have conflicting emotions about their authority over this academy. What kind of people are they, I wonder?