The principal closed his eyes in disappointment.
"Professor Sylvia… do you understand what could have happened today?"
Sylvia bowed deeply, shaking. "I… take full responsibility, Principal. I should have checked. I apologize."
Cecelia and the others felt a weight in their chests.
Elysia stiffened.
Nathan watched quietly.
Kael's brow furrowed.
The principal sighed.
"This matter isn't finished. I expect a full report by tonight."
He turned, looking once more at the wreckage, the wounded students, the destroyed training field.
"…Someone did this intentionally."
Kaigaku, hiding far away in the shadows, trembled.
That night!
Tonight was the Night Market Festival, an annual celebration hosted by the city's guilds.
Music, shouting vendors, clashing cookware, bursts of magic-light fireworks… everything overlapped into a warm chaos.
Kael Ashford hated chaos.
He stood before the Academy gates with his hands in his pockets, scowling at the festival banners flapping wildly.
