The ice that had been crawling up Melodie's body vanished in an instant.
"Two S-Class Espers bullying a lower class student? Really, boys?" The voice reprimanded Remington and Aslan.
Aslan extinguished the fireball in his hand and ground his teeth in chagrin as the newcomer came closer.
There was no feeling in Melodie's hands even though the ice on them were gone. But his crying and whimpering dwindled down. So much so that he was able to sit up and notice that a newcomer had arrived at the arena.
"Melodie?! It's you?!" The newcomer sounded surprised when he got close enough and saw that the 'lower class student' was Melodie.
"U-Uncle Jay?" Melodie's teeth clattered as he spoke.
The newcomer was a large bald man with a scar on his left eyebrow. He was dressed in an Esper's battle gear that consisted of a black top and a pair of blue-black camo pants paired with heavy boots.
As tough as he looked, the expression on his face when he rushed towards Melodie was filled with raw concern.
He picked Melodie up from the ground and engulfed him in a tight hug, the little student was squished against the large man's chest.
Now, with someone on his side, Melodie's cries happened to soar once again. Whether it was for attention or he was actually in more pain, no one could tell.
"Why the hell were you two bullying him?" The man questioned Remington and Aslan, his expression was direly ominous.
"We weren't bullying him, sir," Remington answered in a respectful tone, restraining his anger.
This man, Jay Anderson, was an A-Class instructor in Gifted Academy. And he wasn't only an ordinary instructor but also a top member of one of the strongest associations of Espers and Guides in Vinn Country.
As students, Remington and Aslan had to be respectful towards him despite their distinguished backgrounds because of the large amount of power Jay held on school grounds as an instructor.
But to Melodie, he was just regular ole Uncle Jay; one of his father's goofy friends that came around to hang out at his house.
"I know what I saw. He was on the verge of becoming an ice sculpture and Aslan was about to launch a fireball at him. You two must be insane to think the academy will condone bullying of this degree." Jay spoke with a menacing tone while patting Melodie's back in comfort.
"That little freak was stalking and writing shit about the two of us! Why wouldn't I launch a fireball at him?!" Aslan flared up without any regard for Jay's status.
"Is that the way you speak to your superior?" was what Jay said in response, brushing off Aslan's valid complaint.
Talk about abuse of power.
Melodie, who was crying but keeping an ear on the ongoing conversation, had that thought after processing Jay's words.
But since it was in his favor, he could overlook it. What if Uncle Jay hadn't come to his rescue at the right time? He would have been toast! Literally!
Remington and Aslan might be his idols but they went too far! Melodie sniffled, wiping his tear-stained cheeks on Uncle Jay's chest.
"I didn't mean to yell, but that little freak–"
"Call him that one more time and you'll find yourself in the probation center." Jay abruptly cut Aslan off with a threat.
The probation center…
It was located underground Gifted Academy; a place where disobedient students were punished or students experiencing rampage were held. The probation center was built with walls and floors that could neutralize the abilities of an Esper and that of a Guide.
And the special chamber built for rampaging Espers was an unspeakable territory.
Once detained in the probation center, the only way one could be discharged was if the higher-ups were sure that they had 'atoned' for their misbehavior. The time range could span from an hour to years, depending on how the higher-ups felt.
It was better to avoid being sent to the probation center in any case to limit the risk of falling under the unlucky chance of being held for a year or above.
"In fact, the two of you need to spend some time in the probation center. Since you both have the intent to justify harming a fellow student. I will–"
"Uncle Jay, no!" Melodie spoke up, breaking free from the larger man's tight hug.
The man wanted to send his idols to the probation center? No way! That meant he wouldn't be able to see them for an unknown period of time. Melodie couldn't allow that to happen.
"Mel, what do you mean by no? Weren't they bullying you?" There was a slight frown on Jay's face as he asked those questions to a still-shivering Melodie.
Melodie glanced at his male gods in helplessness before shifting his gaze back to Jay to explain himself.
He first shook his head in denial, then said, "They weren't actually b-bullying me. I was the one who troubled them. So please, don't send them to the probation center. They didn't do anything wrong."
Melodie didn't mean to speak with a soft and innocent voice that sent an arrow straight into Jay's heart which broke his resolve. The cute kid in tears was a heart-rending sight.
The man placed a hand on Melodie's head endearingly and said, "Are you sure? You don't need to be afraid. Uncle will punish them for hurting you."
"No, no!" Melodie removed Jay's hand from the top of his head. "I'm sure they weren't bullying me. I'm not afraid, I- I just want to go back to my room. I lost my way which is why I ended up here."
What a bunch of terribly-strung lies that came out from Melodie's mouth. But even with that, Jay still did as he asked, letting Remington and Aslan go.
Not without leaving a sound threat to send them to the probation center if he ever caught them attacking Melodie in the future again.
That was how Melodie was saved and escorted by Jay back to his dorm room. Thankfully, he didn't have a roommate who would have seen him in a miserable state at his return.
His clothes were dirtied from rolling on the ground. His hair was also disheveled, and there were dried tears on his cheeks. He looked like a dirty little rat.
Melodie was already beyond exhausted as he began to offload the junk in Helena's bag that he had almost forgotten to carry.
However, a strength from nowhere took over his body when he realized that he hadn't retrieved his camera and Helena's fanfic from Remington and Aslan!