EQUINOX || The Catalysts Series, #3

XXXVII

Lena thinks she's heard wrongly. What exactly does she mean by demons?

Then Viktas steps forward to command, "Clear out!"

The students need no second prompt. They scatter, pushing one another until they form a semi-circle where Viktas now stands in the very centre of the opening. When he deems there is enough space, he steps to one side and taps something into his integrated database. The ground gives way only for a contraption to build in place.

Lena wonders how the authorities had managed their hands on so much ground here on Arcane Academy. The fifth dimensional space is one thing special about the school, but the fields are also layered with different underground equipment for training purposes, easily controlled and called upon by the professors here during lessons. To think access is now allowed for the authorities... Lena doesn't feel too comfortable about that. She looks to Professor Burgundy, who hasn't moved an inch, and who isn't giving the calls. No other professors are nearby except for their Combat Training teacher whose hands are tied—literally, if he still has his suppressors forced on—and the field is populated by a mix of maroon and silver uniformed authority figures. The students are on their own and at the mercy of the authorities; this is entirely out of Arcane Academy jurisdiction.

In the centre of the field now is a raised, four-sided walled contraption the size of a small room. As the metal grates raise, Lena can clearly peer through the transparent glass walls.

A glass cage containing the very same wolf-like demons that Lena had encountered her first day in Arcane Academy—the ones associated with Lucifer.

They flicker like shadows, their bodies the dark embodiment of night. The creatures have slitted red eyes that represent the other world's demons, and they bang their snouts on the obviously crack-proof glass surface of the wall upon sensing the students. There are six of them in the containment cell.

Everyone clears out further. The students nearest to the contraption now seem to back away.

While every single student here is no doubt capable enough to handle low- to mid-level demon threats, no one is keen on seeing these demons now presented before them—not on Arcane Academy, not by the hands of the authorities.

Apart from Lucifer's incident, Arcane Academy has never been breached by a demon attack. Its grounds are safe and sacred, and besides the ones brought in for training purposes, the junior students' curriculum is focused on mastering their abilities before specialization. From year four onwards, when the students select their own specific fields of study, some of them may train against recaptured demons at appropriate levels, all authorized by Arcana and the professors. Unchartered threats are never allowed because demons are unpredictable.

Despite the laws enforced in place for non professional Catalysts to avoid engaging in demon attacks, students from Arcane Academy are known to be on the news if they ever encounter such a situation. It's not always about flexing their abilities—though they indeed do so because of fame, taking any available opportunity—but they do it because they are actually capable of neutralizing a demon and protecting the general public, especially those who do not have abilities to defend themselves during an attack. Lena thinks back to the time on the Aerotrain with her new friends when a high leveled threat appeared before them, forcing them to act by using their abilities to prevent further damage and casualties before the professional Catalysts arrive to control the situation and eradicate the demon for good.

It is why Lena notices the obvious difference in behavior among the students. She'd learnt the moment she arrived at the academy that every single student here likes to prove themself through the strength in abilities. After all, power is equivalent to respect in this city. And yet, in a situation where the demons are brought before them, they are all quiet and passive. Lena has no doubt that most students here are more than capable of handling these demons, but in this setting, it's as if they are forced to play the authorities' games.