The students were standing near the carriages with their heads raised, looking at the incredible sight.
"I'm not the only one seeing those dragons, right?" Leon asked, his mouth wide open in surprise.
"Of course not," the girl standing beside him replied.
The teachers were also looking at the Blood Dragons that roared before descending with force. However, they couldn't do anything. After all, they had to receive orders from the Assistant Principal first before taking any action, and right now, she was sleeping—even with the noise the students were making.
Well, the students didn't even know they had an Assistant Principal, so they continued talking about the dragons without any fear of making noise.
Tessa folded her arms as she leaned on one of the carriages, looking around. 'I have a feeling that Chaos is the one controlling those dragons. Does that mean he's still fighting Alex?'
After regaining a bit of her strength, she had immediately left the battlefield, changed into her normal clothes, and killed some beasts. She made sure that at least a few students saw her doing so, just in case Alex was suspicious and decided to ask around.
Tessa furrowed her brows as she stared at the part of the forest where she had left Chaos and Alex. 'Why am I so worried...?'
However, she didn't know that Arin had already left Alex, changed back into the clothes he originally wore for the expedition, and passed through a different part of the forest to join the students outside.
Distracted by the dragons, the students didn't notice his return. Besides, his Extra's Cloak skill was activated, allowing him to blend in unnoticed. Well, except...
Riya stared at Arin with squinted eyes and folded her arms. 'Hmmm, he passed through the side of the forest to join them... Smart.'
Seconds later, everyone's eyes darted to Alex, who was emerging from the forest. His clothes were perfectly fine, and he was uninjured.
The moment Ben saw him, he rushed over, bombarding him with questions.
"What happened? Why haven't you come out of the forest until now? Were you the source of that aura and the dragons?"
Alex laughed lightly before replying, "I can do many things, Instructor Ben, but definitely not creating a dragon."
"Haha, I guess so," Ben said.
"Then what was the source of that aura?" another teacher asked, thoughtfully placing a finger on his chin.
"I tried to check it out," Alex said, "but before I could get there, all the beasts attacked me at once, and I had to fight them off."
'He's such a good liar,' Arin thought. 'Well, I guess I am too.'
"Master, you have to start thinking about how to consume blood," Seraphine said. "You can still stay without it for a while, but you'll eventually need it."
Arin sighed, folding his arms. "I know... I'll think about that later."
One of the teachers whispered something in the Assistant Principal's ear. A few seconds later, she walked to the front of the students.
She clapped her hands before speaking. "Alright, everyone get into the carriage meant for your class. We're leaving now."
All the students had finally entered their rooms, while some decided to go to The Area to chat about the expedition. The day was still bright, so it wasn't close to curfew yet.
But one person had a different destination.
Alex stood in front of Principal Orion's office, a deep frown on his face.
"I know you're there. Come in," Orion said from inside the office.
Alex instantly opened the door and walked in. Orion was seated, a stack of papers on the table in front of him.
Adjusting his glasses, and without looking up, Orion muttered, "Have a seat."
Alex's frown deepened. "I'm not here to sit, Principal Orion."
Orion finally raised his head and looked at Alex. "What has you so worked up?"
"Three unknown people tried to kill me during the expedition," Alex said. "And two of them were Vampires."
Orion's expression changed immediately. "Huh? Vampires? Why?"
"Are you seriously asking me that?" Alex snapped, his eyes fixed on Orion.
"Moreover, are we suddenly letting Vampires roam around? It's been about two years years since they last appeared. One of them suddenly showed up and killed Arthur, and now two others have tried to kill me. Are we really going to allow that?!" Alex added, his voice laced with pure anger.
Orion sighed and dropped the paper he was holding. "I think you should calm down, Alex."
Alex slammed his hand on the table, his eyes widening in anger, but Orion remained unshaken.
"Calm down?!" Alex exclaimed. "Everybody thinks nature is all chill, right? It's such bullshit! Everything is trying to kill everything else all the time, and every single thing has to kill to live. Killing is nature."
"What are you getting at, Alex?" Orion asked. "Are you really going to bring that up now?"
"I'll do it if I have to," Alex muttered, his brows furrowing.
Orion sighed once again and stood up. He walked toward the window, looking out over the Academy, with his hands behind his back. His office, located on the top floor, gave him a clear view of the grounds.
"I disagree with your view of nature, Alex," Orion said. "The strong should aid and protect the weak. Then the weak will become strong and, in turn, protect those weaker than them. That is nature."
Alex now had a deadpan expression as he stared at Orion. "Well, I don't care."
"Tch..." Orion clicked his tongue. "And I thought my wise words would get to you."
"Keep your wisdom to yourself," Alex said, frowning. "I just have one request."
Orion raised an eyebrow as he turned back to Alex. "And what is that?"
"Set up a meeting," Alex muttered. "I want to speak with the King....."