A snake approached the art professor.
"Bodin was defeated? By the deserter and someone else-this could pose a problem."
That was the one that injected Bodin.
The snake hissed at their location.
Crap, we gotta move. He burned magic and rubber trying to get them out of the building, but when they reached the exit, Candy asked him to let her go.
"Hold on, plans changed, I can't leave you with her."
"I-I know, but," popping her goosebumps. "She can't get away with this. I can't beat her, but you and Ainsley can if they'll learn the truth."
His eyes wavered left and right. "They could be in on it too, but they'll have just as many answers. No, I can't hold back anymore," slapping himself. "If anything happens, I'll get you back safe and sound."
She nervously nodded and left him, spotting Principal Luminite and offering a tour. As she did that, Sehki spotted Ainsley, coming through a portal, dazed and enraged.
Starlight? Professor Delta caught the young heir's attempts to attack her, thrusting them aside with no difficulty while Sehki got closer enough to hear.
"I don't need your help!"
"I heard going to office hours improved your physicality, yet you're rusty," catching their swings with just her legs and headbutting them with her horns. "Haven't you been taking your medication?"
"Leave, sheep," throwing a wave of earth she countered with a wall that reached them first, sidestepping their effort with ease.
"You heirs love forsaking your own, don't you. Amongst the five of you, you have the second highest potential, and yet, you're withering faster than you think," covering them with wool. "At this rate, you'll die."
"I'm not like Sehki!"
That's it, dashing into his shadow pool and tackling Ainsley, taking them back with him into the building while Delta glanced.
"Took him long enough."
"Where am I? Get me out, get me out!" They launched pillars from the ground stabbing into the ceiling in veins attempts to hit the mobile shadow, who stood still to see his hypothesis of being intangible to pain in this form be proven correct.
"Fine," kicking them out. Ainsley summoned a flood of the hallway's accumulated dust and dirt at him. Taking a page out of Candy's book, he launched a fireball at it. In the smoke, Ainsley attacked what they assumed was his body.
They paid the price when the shadow block was in place for Sehki's kick to blow him back.
"I've beaten assassins after me before and I'll do it again!"
"I'm not here to kill you," hurling a whip of water at their arms and pulling them back to punch him. "Just to break you."
He covered and lifted the lights in the hallway with the shadow back and forth, mimicking flickering while seeing Ainsley sweat.
The punched fists of rubble at him. "I'll bury you underground!"
"You're fighting more like the others," stirring up the air for the shadow fists to break through the easier. "Reckless, brutish. Where's your traps and constructs? Oh, are you just the other heir's whipping child desperately trying to fit in with the kids who'll never love you?"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Sehki ducked under their two dust hands, his darkness grabbing them by the leg and hurling them towards a nearby room. Ainsley slipped in there to retreat.
They finally summoned the arms of a golem to ensnare Sehki, only to make a dark platform to jump over them, bouncing off the walls and dropping them to the floor with a heel stab.
Ainsley punched the ground and aimed their arm covered in a rock shaped blade inches from his throat.
The shadow's claw did the same to them while Sehki's hand flared at their neck, smiling.
"And here I thought that training made me stronger. So close to another W. Ties aren't that bad."
"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't slice off your head myself!" The color of his eyes flickered back and forth.
What would make the biggest impact on them? Aha!
"Because I need you to answer me a question. If my death freed you from the Void burden, why are you so broken right now?"
"I've never killed anyone!" Then their face expanded. "Sehki? You're alive?"
Both of their guards and weapons dropped. He laughed in their face, inching closer.
"You can call me the future Demon King. And I'm back to kill," watching Ainsley's body question everything, "your fragile little pride," whispering in their ear, spotting the bite mark. "So you haven't been brainwashed. It just unchains the wicked side of your ambitions."
"How- how did you survive?"
"I'd say plot armor, but to you, I'm the villain you tried to stop from gaining power. Yet, it looks like you're the bigger threat than me."
"What are you talking about?"
"Professor Gorgon. I know about the mandate for Earth Zodiac fae. I can find beauty in terror, but using your own people as secret test subjects?"
"The Voids rampaged our ancestor's own world," barking at him and pulling his collar. "They're just taking this seriously!"
"Is that what you're trying to do? Become a test subject for power? Did you know about this before or after you came to Celestial?"
Ainsley let go, blinking constantly. "Before. I told my parents it wasn't necessary if we were strong enough to handle it. But," biting their lips, "someone visited Tellus months back with recruiting people for the Astrovoids."
"So the queen and king got paranoid and restarted the project. But why were you always encasing Candy, Bodin, and Sven in mud?"
"I told you before. Since you left, we had to train every day to regain the magic strength we had before. My body isn't built for that like the others! All I wanted to do was create. The more we focused on being the next rulers, the less time I had for that."
"But Calypsa said you guys went to school and everything."
"Rigal and Taylor fell for that the most. Xia had some shackles removed, but they took years convincing my parents to get me out of the castle. When I had to recruit those three, they all had a passion I always strived for."
The hell did Sven provide? "Candy's fashion, Bodin's painting, and, uhhh."
"Sven's modeling. Muscas tend to be reviled for being more unattractive than a Void."
Huh, he never really transformed into a giant fly creature. "So what, you were trying to drain them to learn about their skills? Dude, just ask them for advice."
Ainsley shook their head, giving commands. A door opened up beneath them.
"Come, I'll show you the truth before I kill you."
YOU ARE READING
Celestial University: A Bully Romance
Romance"A bully romantasy about finding your greatest strength in the darkest of times." Trying to save his younger brother from his abusive father, a deadly fire leads Shemar Thomas separated from him and teleported to another world. Finding out he's the...
