SHADOW || The Catalysts Series, #2

VI || Unsettled

For the rest of the day, Lena finds herself wishing she can simply take the day off.

Lena had visited the school's doc earlier to clean up the scrapes from her duel. While the injury isn't much except for minor scratches here and there, her lethargy is unexplainable. Is this how a student survives here, by duelling and having combat exercises and simply carrying on with classes as if they haven't just exerted themselves to the maximum physical potential?

Having classes after a duel should be a crime. But when she thinks of the number of duels Arcane Academy has every day... never mind. The comfort she gets is that she only has one class left—she barely realises this but it is already near evening after the a long morning, the duel, and the stuff in Arcana's office.

She needs someone to talk to, to consult or even complain, but she hardly has any friends. After all, she's still considered new in Arcane Academy, and it's more than difficult to build bonds in such a lively Academy that is constantly kept busy by events of its own every single minute. Gods, she just needs to trash talk.

As she walks the hallway—through many wild abilities, occasional destruction, and crowds of chattering students filling in and out of their respective classes—she imagines making her way down a dark, narrow path alone with the world fading into nothing but silence. Truly, she has never felt so alone.

Lena thinks immediately of Neesha, but her friend was in a solemn mood after her encounter with the enemy. She worries for her, but Clarice seemed to be consoling her and to Lena's surprise, the stern girl is pretty soft when it comes down to taking care of someone. Maybe Clarice is genuinely worried for Neesha, too. They have both been called to Arcana's office earlier, so Lena heard. She just exited that depressing room, so she wants nothing to do with it anytime soon.

Worse, Lena thinks of Roen. Roen, who usually speaks to her casually in the hallways before classes, and walks with her to classes like a normal student. Roen, who plays and obsesses over soccer like a normal teenager in a normal high school. Roen, who despite growing up in the City of Leatia, still reached out to Lena who was a complete stranger to the City, trying his best to show her a sense of normalcy.

Lena's head pounds hard as she weaves through a crowded hallway, trying to push the depressing thought away. With all the crazy events that happen in the City of Leatia everyday, it's rather difficult to picture kidnapping as a crime in such an advanced world, even if the enemy overdid it by extracting a room entirely. Still, it happened, and in the top institute of elites for that matter, making Lena wonder if Arcane Academy has a precedent—and if it is as normal as a demon showing up in the City centre.

Unfortunately, she guesses not. Because even as she passes the loud, crowded hallway, she hears whispers regarding the taken students. The truth of how they'd been kidnapped has spread like wildfire, and it is already easily fogging over the fact that Arcane Academy just witnessed its greatest duel in present history. Thankfully, this means that Lena is but a student heading to class now, ignored and unimportant ever since the duel's significance has been replaced.

Lena can't help but wonder what Arcana plans to do about this situation. He'd already been pressed hard from the government and public because of the Lucifer incident. Now that three students are gone, Arcane Academy is sure to break the news again.

Lena surveys her timetable, crumpled in the pocket of her uniform. As her eyes scan the correct slot for the final period of the day, she sighs in relief when she reads 'Demon Knowledge'. Finally, a break from physical activities—she is beyond grateful she's already had Combat Training in the morning and doesn't have to face something like Ability Mastery or Weaponry right after the duel.