Chapter 101: The Banquet [2]
[Just calm down. You died once after all.]
'This doesn't help!'
We were standing inside the main building, in front of a large gate that led to the banquet.
Beside me, Zephyr took a deep breath as guards began to check both of us and even Glutton.
"Sorry but some of those items will stay with us." The guard gave me a sharp look. "I really wonder why you would keep those poisons and weapons with you at a banquet."
'Because you fuckers can't do your job properly!'
I scratched my head. "I'm homeless currently. Where would I keep them if not my spatial ring?"
The guard's expression turned into sympathy as he opened the gate. "I see. You can enter now. All your belongings will be waiting with me."
I nodded to him as I entered the banquet hall with Zephyr. Immediately, my eyes opened wide.
The hall seemed to be made entirely of pure silver — from the walls to the floor and even the tables that filled the entire hall.
Looking up, I didn't find a roof, but a black sky shimmering with stars.
"Is this the real sky?" Zephyr asked with an open mouth.
"No time for this." I whispered to him as I began to scan the hall.
There were hundreds of students already in the hall. There was a huge table in the centre with all types of foods and drinks which many of the students were standing beside.
The majority of the students were standing in an area made for dancing. Most of them held their partners as they danced together with the calm music rhythm.
Other than the students, there were some adults such as Lunara and Kyle.
For some reason, Kyle noticed me immediately and glared at me sharply, but I ignored him.
Other than a few more people like Ivan and Alexia, there was no one else I knew closely, so for now, we stood close to the dancing area and continued scanning the hall.
The announcement of the rankings would start exactly at 12am. We still had some time.
Minutes had passed without anything happening, until suddenly, 6 girls and one man entered the hall together.
The girls wore elegant beautiful dresses as they walked with grace and confidence into the hall, capturing the attention of most of the students with their beauty alone.
Some students kept murmuring stupid things like:
"They are too beautiful!"
"Tsk, showing off."
"Am I dreaming?"
"I'm in love."
Yeah, it was the cheap scene that shows how beautiful the heroines were with some jealous girls and simp men.
Those heroines were Elara, Liora, Selene, Celestia, and what surprised me, Thalia and Morgana.
'Wait, when did they meet?!'
Thalia was a brunette little dwarf with big round glasses that covered her brown eyes, holding a shy smile on her face. She was talking happily with them as if she knew them for so long
"Why is that fucker with them!" Zephyr suddenly hissed as he looked at the man beside them.
He was Arthur, walking with a red face while holding Elara's hand. His golden wings were the main reason why everyone noticed the girls.
I calmed Zephyr down. "Don't overthink. He is with Elara, not with them, and definitely not with Cel."
Zephyr just crossed his arms as he looked at Arthur sharply.
Finally, they noticed us and started walking to the dancing area.
Selene was the first to approach me. She shook my hand aggressively as she said: "Congratulations in advance. You will definitely be in the top 10 in a profession."
A small smile tugged at my face. "Thank yo—!"
*Bam!*
Suddenly, the hall shook for a brief moment.
"...."
A chilling silence lingered through the air as the hall shook again.
"W-where is the principal?" Someone said with a shaking voice.
I scanned the hall, and my heart almost skipped a beat when I didn't find Lunara or Kyle.
Suddenly, Lunara's soft voice rang through the hall.
"Continue what you were doing. We just have a small problem that needs to be fixed."
*Bam!*
"We'll be done before midnight. Don't mind us."
"...."
[I think… Maybe the problem is being fixed?]
I didn't answer, but inwardly, I felt some relief that everything was going smoothly.
Maybe I had really changed the plot! There was a hope that no troubles would happen in the academy arc, right?
Now I only had to kill those 4 traitors and get stronger.
The music suddenly turned on again as the people continued talking as if nothing happened.
Zephyr gave me a hesitant look, but I just shrugged at him.
I didn't know what happened, but I wouldn't complain.
I looked at Glutton on my shoulder and mentally said: 'Glutton, keep watching just in case.'
Suddenly, I felt a familiar presence entering the main building.
'You are finally coming, my dear sister?'
….
'Still not answering? I know you can hear me!'
Using my bracelet, I kept talking to Aria as I felt her presence getting closer to the banquet.
She never talked to me since my combat test. I kept talking with her mentally and even sent messages to her, but she never answered.
Finally, the gate opened wide as Aria entered the banquet.
A happy smile tugged at my lips as I finally saw her face after all those years.
Even though it was… a little angry.
•••
"They were really planning an attack, in our presence!" Kyle chuckled as he looked at the corpses beneath him.
In a dark secret space, Kyle, Lunara and Yami were surrounded by dead demons.
They tried to trap Lunara who was in the banquet, just to find out she was an advanced illusion that Kyle had made specifically for them.
After their failure, it was a one-sided massacre.
"I stored all their souls." Yami said indifferently as he moved away from the corpse.
"We still have to report this problem." Lunara sighed. "They really have found a way to hide from my spatial awareness. I can't protect the academy alone anymore. Who knows how many hiding places are still there."
Lunara suddenly frowned. "Additionally, something in their behaviour wasn't right… Their plan was very cheap even for them."
"Can you…" Kyle hesitated for a moment before opening his mouth. "Can you tell the government that Elyndra isn't safe for Selene anymore? I can't keep an eye on her all the time…"
Lunara shook her head. "I'll try, but that will be their decision."
Yami turned into a snake and returned to her neck. She let out a yawn as she said. "Huaah… let's return. We will thank the vampires later after the banquet."
As the space began to shatter, her black eyes landed lazily at a man with scary purple eyes.
He didn't seem to notice this, but a few days ago, something changed in his presence. Only the people close to him dared to approach him normally.
Lunara noticed how a short dwarf and a green-haired girl weren't comfortable in his presence, as if they didn't want to make anything that would anger him.
Lunara knew about his pressure of fear, but that presence was something else.
'Maybe something hidden about his trait? Those machines aren't accurate after all.' She wondered as she made up her mind.
"Kyle." Lunara called as she patted Yami's head. "I'll take him as my student today."