Maximus woke up slowly from the unintended loss of consciousness.
His eyelids felt heavy and sticky from the tears he had shed earlier.
His head throbbed with residual pain, and he clutched it with one hand and forced himself to sit up on the couch beneath before letting out a low groan.
As his vision cleared, seven distinct figures came into focus, sitting close together on one side of the room and silently watching him.
Their faces were tense, some worried, some irritated, and some simply curious.
"What the hell...?" Maximus muttered in a muffled voice, but as the words left his mouth, memories rushed back into his mind, and his expression stiffened.
He tried to stand up abruptly, and panic flashed across his face again.
But before he could take even a single step, the large hand of Galeion pressed firmly against his shoulder and forced him to sit back down.
"Calm down, Maximus ", Leila said in a firm tone which did not sound harsh.
"Yes, human, tell us what happened," Kara added, crossing her arms and looking at him intently.
"Don't cry like a bitch, shithead," Katherine clicked her tongue in annoyance, "my ears are still hurting from your earlier bawling."
Ethan let out a slow breath and approached Maximus from the front, crouching slightly so they were at eye level.
"Buddy, begging the guard to let you leave the campus won't help," he said calmly. "Tell us what happened. Maybe we can actually help you."
Maximus finally stopped resisting and leaned back against the couch, his head tilted upward as he stared at the ceiling.
His voice came out hollow and tired.
"I have no idea what's happening anymore..."
He slowly began narrating everything that had happened to Lia, starting from the attack on her and the sudden disappearance that followed.
His voice trembled as he described the fear and confusion that had consumed him.
He carefully avoided mentioning his meeting with the cultists and his burning desire for revenge, keeping those thoughts buried deep inside.
Instead, he spoke about the strange butterfly, the scroll, and the letter it had delivered.
As he finished, silence settled heavily over the room.
"Eternal Sovereign?" Katherine finally spoke, "What a fancy name."
"Yeah," Seraphine agreed quietly, her brows knitted together as she heard the name again.
The expressions on everyone's faces were grim now, the weight of the situation finally sank in.
"So that letter means Lia is somewhere in the south?" Desmond said slowly, his voice was tense, "And she's in danger. And the mysterious letter clearly points toward the demonic cults."
Everyone turned to look at Desmond and then Katherine, the implications settled over them as they heard the mention of South again.
In the southern regions, there were only two major empires: the Bloodveil Empire of the vampires and the Klembred Empire of the dwarves.
"Shit," Katherine muttered, her jaw tightened. "I never thought something like this would happen under Mother's rule."
Then her blood-red eyes lifted sharply to meet Maximus's gaze.
"But why should I believe you?" she asked coldly. "What if you're lying?"
Without waiting for anyone else to react, Maximus clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. His voice shook, but his expression was resolute.
"I swear under the name of the heavens that everything I said is the truth," he declared.
"Except for one thing."
He swallowed hard before continuing.
"Lia was not just my friend as I told you all initially," he said hoarsely. "She is the love of my life."
Everyone's eyes widened in shock.
To swear under the name of the heavens was not something anyone did lightly, and the desperation in Maximus's voice was unmistakable.
The group exchanged looks as the weight of his words settled over them.
"I will go with you," Kara suddenly said, her tone firm and unwavering.
Everyone turned toward her in surprise.
"I will go too," Leila added immediately, nodding. "We need to save Lia. And we also have a score to settle with the demonic cults as well"
"But Leila," Ethan said in a worried tone, "we're only A or B ranks right now. How do you expect us to go against cultists clearly above our level?"
Leila's eyes hardened. "I will contact my father," she replied without hesitation.
"There will be no need for that," Katherine interrupted, stepping forward. "I'm going too. I'll talk to Mother."
"Me too," Seraphine said firmly. "I will call my master and my mother as well."
It was clear the girls had already made up their minds.
The boys looked at one another, realising they could not refuse anymore without looking like cowards.
Galeion did not even need to say anything. Everyone already knew his nature. Wherever there was a chance to fight, Galeion would always be there.
"By the way," Desmond suddenly asked, scanning the room, "where is William?"
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"He went out of the academy on a mission," Katherine replied, glancing briefly at Seraphine, whose expression immediately darkened with earlier thoughts of him going behind her back.
"I'm sure if he were here," Kara said thoughtfully, "he would already be cooking up some crazy plan with that foxy brain of his."
She then shook her head in disbelief. "I still can't believe how he strategised the entire resistance during the academy trial in minutes, convinced hundreds of people to follow him, and then fought that half-demon alone."
The others nodded quietly.
Ethan's expression turned complicated.
He still believed that William knew about his secret talent, but no matter how much he talked to William afterward, he could not find any evidence pointing toward it.
The only thing that reassured Ethan was William's pure, unfiltered hatred toward demons.
Otherwise, not just Ethan, but even the academy staff and the spectators in the control room would have suspected him of being linked to the cults.
The level of hatred William displayed toward demons made it impossible to doubt its authenticity.
"So how do we leave the academy?" Maximus asked, his voice was steadier now.
"Huh?" Leila raised a brow. "Just like William did. We'll take missions and leave the campus for that purpose, then regroup outside."
She looked at him with mild pity. "Honestly, you're too innocent."
"I guess you guys don't know," Maximus sighed, rubbing his face in frustration.
"What?" Leila asked sharply.
"Taking missions for first years has been prohibited indefinitely by the principal," Maximus replied. "I tried the same thing. The receptionist told me it was impossible."
As his words sank in, Seraphine's eyes widened.
"Then how did William take a mission?" she asked quietly.
"No idea," Maximus replied.
A dangerous expression appeared on Seraphine's face.
The possibility that William had left to meet another woman suddenly seemed much more real in her mind.
Without saying a single word, she stood up abruptly and walked out of the room in long, determined strides toward the mission hall.
Everyone noticed the tension instantly and hurried after her.