CHAPTER 96: MORE MYSTERY!

A couple days had passed since then and the villa they lived in had grown louder in that time, an organized rhythm appearing that hadn’t existed before.

Seraphyne’s silky laughter would always drift through the halls followed by Gwen and Diona’s chuckles, as the Vampire Duchess had taken an active role in not only protecting, but forming a relationship with them.

On one of these days, Albedo returned from a training session to find Seraphyne perched cross-legged on the balcony railing like some elegant predator, a crimson goblet in hand, watching the eight assassins, Kaela and her band, struggle through sparring drills on the grass below.

Gwen sat beneath her, legs tucked under her as she read a book while Diona ate cookies she had ordered earlier and watched the show the assassins were putting on for them.

"Again," the vampire duchess had drawled, voice smooth but carrying a hint of threat, "Kaela, your mana always hitches at the final blow. It’s astonishing you became an assassin like this."

"You need to forget your past, all the things that make you hesitate, remove them from your decision making process in battle. You can thing about them later, but not now,"

Seraphyne said, and Kaela’s fox ears twitched, her expression flashing as memories of her past ran through her mind at millions of miles per hour, but she tried to push them away and obey.

It had been a couple days of training for the group under Seraphyne’s tutelage, which was mostly filled with physical training.

The body was the foundation of all strength, so over half of their training every day was purely physical, with Seraphyne wanting to push all of their bodies to the absolute limits, and beyond.

Albedo watched for a while before leaving, heading towards the Academy, where the campus was quieter than usual due to the break. He could see the occasional student who remained on Campus, most of them walking alone or with only 1 friend.

Soon, he arrived at the Beastarium Spire.

He wasn’t here for the training grounds or the sprawling vaults of knowledge on magical creatures, it was just the quickest way to reach someone he hadn’t checked on in too long.

The air hummed with mana, thick with scents of fur, feathers, and scales. Cages large and small lined the walls, though most were reinforced with enchantments so subtle the naked eye could hardly catch them.

Albedo could spot a baby Thunder Griffin chick trilled in a nest and on the opposite side, he could spot a shadow hound catching some Zzz’s behind bars that rippled like black water.

There was a higher concentration of students here than other parts of the Academy, most of them in green robes taking notes, scrubbing cages or feeding various beasts.

But none dared obstruct Albedo as he made his way upward. His pace was unhurried as he arrived at the Forth Floor, arriving at the door to Luna’s office.

The door was already slightly ajar, so he just knocked twice and then let himself inside the office, spotting Luna standing next to a tall window bathing in the rays of the sun.

"Hmm?" She hummed as she sensed him enter, looking up from the school before her eyes softened with recognition, "Oh, Mister Neverwinter,"

She said, her voice carrying its usual cool poise, though her lips quirked almost imperceptibly, "I was beginning to think you’d forgotten where my office was."

"Not forgotten," Albedo replied with a faint smile, "Just busy."

Before Luna could respond, a low hum resonated through the air. Water droplets trembled in the air around the far wall, coalescing as the air rippled.

From that shimmer of condensed mana, Nymarielle emerged, her form smaller than the towering majesty he had once seen.

In her medium form, she looked more like a sinuous dragon adorned in oceanic sapphire scales streaked with obsidian, her sea-glass eyes flecked with starlight glowing as they fell upon him.

The Leviathan tilted her head, an unmistakable warmth rippling through her gaze. "You return," her voice thrummed, layered with the deep echo of tides, "I wondered how long it would take before you came to see me again."

Albedo inclined his head, genuine relief easing into his features, "I owed you a visit. How have you been settling in here?"

Nymarielle’s body undulated, the glow of runes along her scales brightening faintly, "It is quieter than the Echoing Deep, but Luna has helped me adapt to these waters quite well. I rest in the waters beneath the Spire when Luna allows,"

Nymarielle’s gaze flicked toward the elf, almost fond, "She is strict. But kind."

"I am not strict," Luna interjected smoothly, though there was the faintest trace of a smirk tugging at her lips. "I simply refuse to let her flood an entire wing when she’s bored. You don’t understand what raising a Leviathan is like, her brain is wired so differently,"

Nymarielle gave a sound that might have been a chuckle, like waves breaking against stone, "I simply see the world on a higher plane, the lives of most beings are insignificant to creatures of my level,"

Albedo chuckled too, shaking his head lightly, "I see you two have been getting along."

"Getting along is one way to put it," Luna replied, rolling the scroll closed with graceful precision, "She’s adapted far faster than I expected. Though... she remains an enigma. The weather changes depending on her mood,"

Albedo nodded and Nymarielle continued, "At my level, even from birth I am connected to the primal laws and have my own domain, just my thoughts influence the surroundings around me, which is why I train to remain calm and adapt to here,"

"What about you?" Luna finally asked, "I heard about the exam and what happened, everything okay?"

Albedo met her gaze steadily as he responded, "Yeah, a-lot has happened since our last meeting. I’ll be catching up to you soon,"

Luna let out a chuckle at what he said, leaning against the edge of the desk with folded arms as she spoke, "I look forward to seeing you on my level of strength. Without you, Nymarielle might never have made it here alive."

There was a rare softness in her tone as she said that, and Nymarielle’s fins rippled faintly as though acknowledging the truth.

Albedo’s lips quirked into a faint smile, "I didn’t save her so she could just stay hidden here forever. She deserves a chance to live, not just survive."

At that, Luna’s silver eyes flicked toward him, sharp but thoughtful. "Then perhaps one day she should leave this office and join you in your... storms."

The Leviathan rumbled at that suggestion, amused but noncommittal. "Perhaps. When the tide calls."

~BUZZ!~

A sudden crackle broke through the easy rhythm of their exchange. The small brass telecom box fixed to the wall lit with a pale glow, followed by a voice that buzzed faintly with static.

"Professor Evervale, your presence is requested in the Medical Wing immediately. Another case has just been reported. I repeat, your presence is requested in the Medical Wing immediately."

The words lingered like a stone dropped in still water.

Luna’s expression hardened, her lips pressing into a thin line. She exhaled softly through her nose before straightening from the desk, one hand brushing an invisible crease from her robe.

"So it continues," she murmured, almost to herself, before pressing the rune to respond, "Understood. I will be there shortly."

The light dimmed, and silence returned.

Albedo raised an eyebrow, "Something’s happening?"

Luna’s silver eyes flicked toward him, weariness hidden beneath their cool surface. "Dozens of students have been falling ill these past few days. At first we assumed it was nothing more than the change in season, but it’s spreading too quickly. The Medical Wing is running out of space."

"Sounds like a sickness bug," Albedo said, his voice low.

Nymarielle shifted on her coils, scales rasping softly against the stone floor as she arched her neck downward, "We believe so too, but this is quite the bug, it’s spread very suddenly,"

Luna gave her a glance that was equal parts exasperation and fondness, "It worries me. Too many falling sick at once is rarely so simple." She lifted her staff from where it leaned against the wall, the crystal inset pulsing faintly as though in sympathy with her thoughts.

Albedo leaned back slightly, his mind already wandering. Dozens of students... illness spreading rapidly across the Academy... It seemed like nothing more than an inconvenience on the surface, but instinct told him otherwise.

This never happened in the Novel either, it was like mystery after mystery, and his thoughts centered around 1 singular person who he had met and was also sick just less than a week prior.

Elara.

He hadn’t gotten an update since he met her earlier that week and given her the Nature Blossom technique, but he decided to contact her soon and see if she was okay if the sickness bug was widespread throughout all students at the Academy.

Thinking that, he pulled out his phone and quickly called her.