CHAPTER 26: I’M LEAVING MANHATTAN

"What is that? It looks like a student!"

A freshman gasped as she watched Siegfried drag what appeared to be a mummified human, but instead of white cloth, the body was wrapped in thick webs. Orwen and Maldred walked beside him, their shadows stretching long under the dim light. It was already late, past seven, and the sun had gone down.

The streetlights, however, lit up the footpath with soothing, bright orange light. Yet the sight of a student being abducted right before her eyes unsettled her deeply; she could almost picture herself in the place of that unfortunate victim.

"Let’s go. What they do doesn’t concern us. It’s the fault of whoever is in that web sack for provoking people like that," her friend whispered harshly, tugging at her arm, trying to pull her toward the female dormitory before Siegfried spotted them staring.

"Are we taking him to the usual spot?" Maldred asked, his tone casual though the image of an unfinished building at the far, isolated edge of the campus burned in his mind.

"Of course," Siegfried replied with a wide grin.

"We should hurry," Orwen muttered, yawning, only for his eyes to suddenly freeze wide open. At the other end of the footpath, a tall figure stepped into view, carrying a plain white bag. Under the soft orange light, his features became clear, it was Number Three, Percival.

All three of them stopped cold, their eyes tracking Percival as he walked calmly and turned right at a distance. The waist-high flowers planted neatly along the sides of the footpath blocked his view of Godfrey, wrapped up in the web sack.

"Drop him."

Percival’s cold tone cut through the air like a blade, and the atmosphere instantly grew heavy. The weight of his gaze pressed down on them, his mana flooding the path with suffocating pressure. None of them could move.

"Dale sent us!" Siegfried bellowed, veins bulging at his neck as if trying to withstand the crushing presence.

Percival scoffed, his lips curling faintly. "Am I supposed to be afraid of a sophomore? Your actions can get you suspended, or even expelled." His eyes gleamed sharply. "Scram."

Siegfried exchanged a look with Maldred and Orwen. None of them dared to stay. With clenched jaws and fists, they slowly backed away before turning and retreating into the night.

Percival approached the sack, his gaze stern as his thoughts burned. ’A King Tier? What a joke. Cecil’s plan will only end up making your life miserable. You’re no King Tier. A real King Tier wouldn’t lose a fig—’

He tore through the thick webbing, only for his words to die in his throat. His eyes widened as he saw the gaping puncture wound in Godfrey’s chest, left by the Diamond Scorpion’s stinger.

"...This!"

***

The door to the nurse’s office swung open, slamming against the wall as Isolde stormed inside. Her sudden entrance startled those present, Teacher Edwin, the school nurse Julia, and Percival himself.

"Isolde, you’re not supposed to be here. It’s late. Come back tomorrow!" Edwin barked, but she ignored him completely.

Her steps carried her straight past him. She pushed the curtain aside with force, revealing Godfrey lying on the sickbed.

Her eyes widened at the sight of the bandage wrapped tightly around his chest. Normally, the school nurse could heal any injury in minutes, an hour at most. Even broken bones would be mended in record time. But here, she could feel it, the destabilized mana at his chest. The wound was still there.

"Why isn’t he healed?" she demanded sharply, turning to Julia.

The nurse kept her voice steady, though her hands tightened slightly around her clipboard. "He was afflicted with the venom of a peak Elite Tier summon, a venom strong enough to knock out summoners between Tiers 6.0 and 6.5. It will take time for my summon’s healing abilities to neutralize the poison and mend the wound."

Isolde’s expression hardened, clearly unsatisfied. Edwin quickly stepped in, his tone firm but calm. "The venom isn’t life-threatening. It has shut down all his senses, but it won’t kill him no matter the dosage. All it requires is time. Godfrey will recover. However..."

He sighed heavily, lowering his gaze. "...He may not be able to participate in the semifinals against Dale tomorrow."

Isolde’s face distorted, her fury visible in every line of her expression. Mana burst from her body in waves, more raw power than Julia, a woman in her early thirties with a 5.0 summon, had ever held in reserve. The air trembled.

"This was Dale’s doing?!" she hissed.

"Isolde, stop—" Edwin tried to calm her, but Percival interjected, rubbing his temples with a tired expression. Hard lines cut across his forehead as he spoke.

"It was Siegfried, Orwen, and Maldred. They planned to make sure Godfrey couldn’t participate. Siegfried admitted it to me himself and he said Dale sent him."

Isolde stormed toward the door, but Edwin grabbed her wrist. His tone was sharp, almost pleading. "Your mother gave strict instructions, that you leave matters like this for the school’s authorities to handle. Those orders are not to be discarded."

Her eyes burned with defiance. She pulled her wrist free and walked off, though Edwin could only hope she wouldn’t take matters into her own hands. She was already as powerful as many fourth-year students, and in her current fury, one reckless move could be catastrophic.

***

Godfrey’s ocean-blue eyes opened slowly, staring blankly at the white ceiling above him. Sunlight streamed in from the tall glass wall beside his sickbed.

He sat up suddenly, grimacing as his hand flew to his chest. But to his shock, there was nothing. His chest was completely fine. The pain he remembered, the Diamond Scorpion, the venom, it was all gone. It almost felt like a dream. And yet it had been far too vivid to be one.

"You’re awake."

The nurse stepped through the curtain with a soft smile, though her gentle tone offered him no comfort. "I was growing worried."

"Has the contest begun?" Godfrey asked immediately, his voice low but urgent.

The nurse’s eyes flickered briefly, betraying a secret, before she answered. "You’ve been unconscious for 48 hours. Since you couldn’t attend, you were awarded third place."

Godfrey’s expression darkened, his fists tightening on the sheets. "Are they aware it was my classmates who put me here? That it was Dale who sent them?"

She nodded softly. "They were severely cautioned and will never try it again."

"That’s it?!" His voice exploded, his face twisting in anger. "They’ll never try it again? That’s what the school wants to feed me after what I went through?!" His fists clenched tighter, his eyes burning with fury. "Tell them I’m done with Manhattan."

The nurse lowered her eyes, though inwardly she thought, ’That would be for the best.’ Outwardly, she only nodded before slipping out of the room to make a call to Edwin.

"I see. I’ll let the headmaster know before I proceed," Edwin muttered after lowering his phone. Across from him, the combat instructor sat frowning, his arms crossed tightly.

"What did you expect?" the instructor asked bluntly. "That kid isn’t the type to bow his head. He never has, and he never will."

"We can’t suspend Siegfried, Maldred, Orwen, and Dale," Edwin replied with a weary sigh. "They are promising students, true talents of the sophomore class. The school won’t allow it. It’s unfortunate for Godfrey, but that’s the hard truth. His stubbornness will only carry him so far."

Edwin rose from his chair, but the instructor followed, his voice firm. "I’m coming with you. Godfrey is also a promising student, and Dale did go against the school’s rules. He was rewarded for it simply because we can’t afford to lose him."

"Their field trip is in just a few days," Edwin countered. "It’s one of the greatest opportunities for sophomores to grow stronger alongside their summons. Most of them will return far more powerful than before. If these students are punished now, they’ll lose a critical chance for development. That’s why the headmaster won’t even flinch at Godfrey’s threat of leaving."

***

"Godfrey said he’s what?!"

Evangeline rose from her seat in shock, her eyes wide with panic when Edwin delivered the news. Both he and the instructor froze at her reaction. Why was she so shaken?

Without hesitation, she rushed to the headmaster’s office, throwing open the door without knocking, something that left the teachers even more bewildered.

"Godfrey wants to transfer!" she exclaimed.

"What?!" Sebastian’s glare hardened, his sharp eyes turning toward Edwin and the combat instructor. "Where is he?"

....

A/N: Another Chapter will be out today, probably in a few hours. It takes me a while to write a Chapter so once I’m done with stuff, I’ll go back to my writing seat.

Thank you for reading!