CHAPTER 177: CHAPTER 176- WE ARE IN THIS TOGETHER

The aftermath of the war was nothing Adrian had anticipated—nor was it something he was ready to accept.

The spellcaster who had sealed the academy had escaped, along with many Acolytes who had been stationed as backup.

Juggler was missing, and Abraham had succeeded in obtaining Adrian’s blood—after thoroughly demonstrating the vast gap between their abilities.

Adrian had never stood a chance against him. Abraham had reached the pinnacle of wizardry in this generation, a feat made possible by the simple fact that he had lived for over four centuries.

The golem he faced had the strength to shatter a stone pillar with a single punch. And yet, Abraham—supposedly a magic specialist rather than a brawler—had managed to fight it head-on.

More impressively, his spells eventually began to take effect on the golem. And if Forgelet, the one who created the golem, was to be believed, then Abraham’s magic could even nullify bullets.

’This is fucked up... I’ve caught the attention of a villain I’m nowhere near ready for,’ Adrian grunted, forcing himself up from the ground.

"You shouldn’t move," came a familiar voice from his left.

Adrian sighed, recognizing the tone. "Shouldn’t you be resting at this hour?"

Elana sat there, her expression unreadable—but behind that blank look, Adrian caught the agitation flickering in her clear eyes.

"I spent the whole time trying to break that barrier... and failed," she muttered. "I don’t need rest. I need to be useful."

Adrian gave a dry chuckle. "There was nothing you could have done, Elana. It’s not your fault."

The spellcaster had only one job—maintain the barrier—and he had help. Running out of mana was never a concern.

Breaking that thing would’ve required someone on the level of a third-grade light element user.

And light magic... It’s the natural nemesis of every form of sorcery.

Elana lowered her head, her voice barely a whisper. "When I heard the explosion, I thought—maybe fate kept me here so I could help. That I had a role to play. But I was wrong. I just... I was foolish to think I was anything special."

Adrian let out a slow breath. He understood. Not just her—Allen, and countless other students must be feeling the same helpless frustration... Unable to fight when it truly mattered.

He placed a comforting hand on her head and said softly,

"One failure doesn’t define who you are. There might come a day when everyone else has given up—when even I’m on my knees, ready to accept death. And maybe, just maybe, it’ll be you who finds the strength to rise again."

Elana bit her lip, her fists trembling in her lap. "But I’m not that brave, sir."

Adrian smiled gently.

"In your eyes, maybe not. But in mine... You are my bravest student, Elana."

Elana turned still, tears welling in her eyes.

....

"This is fucked up!" Ruby yelled, hurling the vase across the room in frustration.

The crash jolted Annabelle awake. She shot up from the bed, eyes scanning the room in alarm.

"What happened?"

Ruby didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she grabbed a glass of water and downed several gulps, trying to steady her breath.

Annabelle watched closely. It was rare for Ruby to lose her composure—so whatever had happened, it was serious.

The black-haired woman got up from the bed and gently took Ruby by the arm, guiding her to sit down beside her.

"Tell me," she said softly. "What happened?"

Ruby exhaled sharply, her voice laced with bitterness.

"Runebound Academy was attacked last night."

Annabelle’s brow furrowed. "The same place where your friend works, right? But... weren’t you just there yesterday?"

She remembered Ruby mentioning she was going to learn from a Runesmith. What was his name again? Adam?

"Exactly," Ruby hissed. "And those bastards waited for me to return to Grimvale before launching the attack. When I heard the news and rushed to go back, the portal admin said the Light user is missing."

Annabelle’s eyes narrowed. That wasn’t just bad—it was suspicious.

"Isn’t this the second time something shady has happened at the teleportation portal?" she asked calmly.

Ruby’s head snapped up. "Wait, how do you know about the first time?"

Annabelle blinked, confused. "Didn’t you tell me?"

"I thought I was just talking to myself while you were sleeping."

Annabelle shook her head. "Maybe. Doesn’t matter now. The real issue is—those Acolytes aren’t fighting on the battlefield anymore. They’re slipping into our homes, rotting the system from the inside. They’ve abandoned all sense of honor... and now they’re playing dirty."

Annabelle rose from the bed before asking, "Let’s go."

Ruby blinked in surprise.

The raven-haired soon added, "To the Runebound. I think it’s time to investigate this matter and eradicate the cause."

"..." Did Ruby make a mistake?

....

"Guh..." Ariana groaned as she slowly woke up from her slumber.

After fighting for so long, she nearly depleted her mana and lost consciousness the moment she hit the bed.

"You are awake?" Asked a familiar person.

She got up and took the cup from him, "Barely." She said, and took a sip of the warm honey water.

"How long was I out?" She asked as she saw Adrian taking the chair before her.

"Two days. I also woke up last night."

Ariana looked at him all over briefly before asking, "So it was just mana depletion, after all?"

She was worried when she saw him. Pale, breathless. However, the nurse said he had just depleted his mana and there were no visible injuries on his body.

"I fought something I wasn’t expecting to show up,"

Adrian muttered under his breath.

"That same creepy sorcerer from before right? He has taken an interest in you." There was amusement, just concern in her voice.

Adrian sighed, "Well, there is nothing we could do to track him down. We should focus on calming down those parents who have lost their children."

Ariana’s shoulders dropped, "Davis and...Kaylie."

Davis’s body was found in his room, inside the cupboard. And Kaylie turned out to be a mole so her death was justified.

But their parents had nothing to do with this.

"Don’t worry, I have got this-"

"No, Aria." Adrian stopped her, "We are in this together. Don’t you dare take everything upon yourself."

The silver-haired woman looked at her fiancé for a brief moment before chuckling, "Thank you."

°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading.