Void Dragon - A God among Gods

- "...D-damn… are they looking for… Aurëalis?" I murmured as I looked at her.

- "...Shit… shit… If they find out I'm here, and with Aurëalis sleeping… I'm dead…" I thought, distressed.

- "...Damn… the only thing I can do now is lie down here and try to think of another way to get her to her room without anyone noticing me…" I thought, watching the movement below, hidden.

- "...Tsk… why don't I just wake her up… that way, all this trouble would end, and I could leave to sleep… it just… doesn't make sense…" I thought.

But something told me that waking someone from their sleep, especially when that person was sleeping so peacefully, was something I, who had gone through it countless times, would never let someone else experience. So, I began thinking of a plan to go down and get past all those guards without anyone noticing me.

- "...Tsk… damn… but waking her up… she looks… so peaceful…" I thought, glancing at her in my arms.

- "...ARGH… Okay… let's think of another way to get her to her dormitory and hand her over to her dormmate…" I thought.

- "...Sigh… let's see… a maid went to call the teachers and the headmaster, but their quarters are on the other side of the school, so it'll take some time for her to get there, which gives me some time to act, because as soon as they arrive here, they'll probably find me." I thought.

- "...So, if I'm going to act, it has to be now, and I must take the shortest route possible to the board with the names and then, without being seen, head to her dorm and leave her there…" I concluded.

- "...Okay, the plan is set. Now, how can I do this quickly and without being noticed?" I asked myself.

After a few seconds, I found an answer.

- "...Got it… ARGH… this ability is going to use up an immense amount of energy… but… it's worth it to keep my peace intact…" I thought.

At that moment, after thinking for a few seconds, I remembered one of my abilities, though I'd used it very little due to its high energy consumption. This ability was called Shadow's Embrace, and with it, I could vanish into any shadow I touched, as if camouflaging myself or disappearing entirely. Anything I touched would also disappear along with me, blending into the surroundings. However, due to its massive energy consumption, I had a maximum time limit to use it before the ability drained my energy and left me unconscious from exhaustion. The last time I tried timing how long I could sustain this ability, it was around 10 minutes, which, for me, would be enough to complete this journey, as long as no unexpected events occurred.

So, I activated the ability and began executing my plan.

- "...Okay… this ability uses up immense energy… but… necessary for moments like this… huh?" I thought.

- "...Alright… Sigh…" I sighed before activating the ability.

- "...3…2…1… SRIATH…" I said in the Void Dragon language, thus activating the ability.

...Fwooooshhh...

- "...Okay… now it's a race against time. May the heavens help me…" I said before starting to fly.

At that moment, I took a deep breath and, in the blink of an eye, flew so fast that no one could even hear the sound of my wings beating, feeling only a powerful gust of wind as I passed them to enter the school. Inside, things were no different, as, as I said earlier, every second counted.

Probably, since the news of the princess's disappearance and their inability to contact her was still very recent, the guard movement inside the school was smaller than I had anticipated, so most of the way was surprisingly easy.

- "...Okay… we're almost at the board with the names and room numbers…" I said as I flew quickly inside the school.

- "...Here… let's see…" I thought as I reached the board, searching for Aurëalis' name.

However, to my surprise, her name was not accompanied by a roommate but stood alone, just like a few others. Likely, it was due to the fact that Aurëalis, being a princess and having such a respectable title and parents, had been granted the best room in the entire school, equipped with unimaginable luxuries. A room where she could stay alone, thus avoiding any risks.

- "...AHA… found it… b-but… her name is alone… not accompanied by a roommate?" I thought as I looked at the board, hiding in the shadows with Aurëalis.

- "...Hmm… yes, it must be because of who she is…" I thought, glancing at her in my arms.

- "...Yes, it's not hard to imagine… that she'd have a room to herself, maybe to avoid any risks… since she's a princess, huh?" I concluded.

- "...Well, but that doesn't matter now. I need to move quickly before the teachers and the headmaster get involved in all of this…" I thought as I began flying toward the female dormitories.

From then on, I had entered the most dangerous place for a male to be in the entire school: the female dormitory area. If any male were caught there, they would likely be killed by the females or face extremely severe penalties from the school. These penalties ranged from suspensions to even imprisonment or expulsion. Even though I didn't mind being suspended or expelled, imprisonment was still a bit extreme, so I didn't want to be caught, especially not with Aurëalis sleeping in my arms. That would undoubtedly create a new, unprecedented punishment: the death penalty.

- "...Tsk… this place… this is the entrance to the female dorms… once I go in, there's no turning back… either I get out as quickly as possible, or I'll be killed…" I thought, looking at the stairs leading to the female dormitories.

- "...Damn… why am I even doing this?" I murmured.

- "...Sigh… I'm already here… let's just keep going…" I thought as I continued flying quickly to the next floor.

Upstairs, I needed to find, coincidentally, room 888 - E, which was Aurëalis' room. The "E" before the room number indicated it was exclusive, belonging to someone extremely important. This realization only added to my anxiety.

- "...Damn… 888 - E… she really has a pretty special room… but it's so far away, huh?" I thought as I flew quickly.

...After a few minutes...

- "...Found it… room 888 - E… there it is, finally, I can end all of this at once and get rid of any headaches…" I thought, relieved.

However, I had forgotten something. Since everyone was looking for Aurëalis, of course, some people would stay in her room in case she returned. As I approached her room door, I could hear at least four people inside, all of them female. Among the four female I heard, I recognized three, even though I hadn't spoken to them before. One of them was Aurëalis' friend named Seraphine, another was Aurithen, and the last one I recognized was, surprisingly, Lyrielle. As for the final voice, I didn't recognize it, but I could tell it belonged to a female.

Upon hearing all those people inside the room, I immediately knew leaving her there was impossible. However, since I had already made my way to her room and could tell from her friends' voices how worried they were — and how well they would likely take care of her — I gently removed her from my arms and carefully placed her next to the door, leaning against the wall in the corridor.

Despite everything we had been through, she still hadn't woken up. No amount of noise or movement during our flight seemed to disturb her. This only proved that she was an incredibly heavy sleeper and likely hadn't been sleeping well prior. On the other hand, I envied her ability to remain unaffected by her surroundings while asleep. If I could sleep that soundly, I might have been far more rested myself.

- "...Alright... sounds like there are people inside... tsk... and judging by the voices, they're her friends, huh?" I murmured, listening to their conversation.

- "...Aurëalis, it seems this journey ends here... this is where we part ways…" I whispered as I carefully leaned her against the wall.

- "...They'll take good care of you now, and I... I need to get out of here…" I thought.

- "...Farewell, Aurëalis…" I murmured as I cloaked myself in shadows again. Then, finally, I knocked on her door to let her friends know she was outside.

…Knock…Knock…Knock…

- "...Huh? …Someone's knocking on the door... let's see…" said one of the girls.

- "...Sigh... it's done. Now it's time to get out of here…" I thought as I left Aurëalis there and headed back to the male dormitories.

Afterward, I flew at such extreme speed that the corridor walls trembled as if a small earthquake had occurred. On my way out of the female dormitory area, just as I was thinking that I only had a few more steps to safety, an unfortunate encounter occurred.

- "...Sigh… Finally, I'm just a few steps away from no longer being in danger… haha," I said, relieved, looking at the staircase leading out of the female dormitory area.

- "...Alright, let's go down and get back to my dorm... I'm exhausted, and on top of that, my ability... it's nearly depleted... I don't want to pass out here, so I need to move quickly... I'm already starting to feel the effects of using it for too long..." I muttered.

Just as I was about to descend the stairs, I heard the sounds of several people ascending.

...Sounds of people coming up the stairs…

- "...D-DAMN IT... PEOPLE ARE COMING... I BETTER HIDE... UGH…" I thought as I found the shadow of a nearby lamp on the upper floor, close to the stairs.

- "...Tsk… I-it's the professors and the maid who went to call them. They're heading towards Aurëalis' room, probably... maybe they've already received word that she's safe…" I thought.

At that moment, however, a question struck me.

- "...But... where's the principal? Where cou—" I began to think when, out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something that stopped me mid-thought.

There he was — the principal — standing at the top of the stairs with his hands behind his back, gazing in the direction the others had rushed off to. Suddenly, he turned slowly toward me, locking eyes with mine. With a subtle, almost imperceptible smile — perhaps one of relief — he gave a quick wink, as if to signal he knew I was there. Then, without a word, he turned back around and resumed walking in the direction of Aurëalis' room.