Enchanted University of Magemenos

Chapter 81:The exit

I narrowed my eyes at her, gripping the badge a little tighter. "Won't you fight me?" I asked, my voice steady but cautious.

She tilted her head, amusement flickering in her gaze. "Should I?"

"Honestly, if it were someone else, I would," she admitted, her voice softer than before. "But I saw something in your eyes—desperation to survive, even more than my own. And I know I can trust you if I give you a chore to do."

She hesitated for a moment before looking at me with an almost childlike innocence.

"Will you?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

I exhaled sharply, gripping the badge tighter. "No... because you're taking this."

Before she could protest, I shoved the infinity badge into her hands. "You practically saved my life. If you hadn't, I would've been dead by now. So—"

"Alyssa, please, don't do this," she cut me off, her voice shaking as she forcefully pushed the badge back into my hands.

After what felt like an eternity of arguing, she finally decided to use the stone and move out.

I knew I couldn't let someone die—especially not the person who had saved my life when I should have been dead. This wasn't what my parents taught me. Fine, I hadn't found their killer yet, but at least I could save someone. That meant more than revenge. At least, when I die, I'll have one less regret.

She placed the stone onto the door. With a slow, grating steel sound, it creaked open. The exit.

"I hope you get what you want," I said, my voice barely steady.

She stepped halfway through, then turned to look at me. A soft smile played on her lips.

"I'm really pleased to have found a friend like you," she murmured. "And I'm sure my brother would have loved to have another sister like—"

Her words cut off.

"Look back!" she screamed.

Before I could react, she lunged in front of me.

A knife plunged deep into her chest.

My breath caught in my throat as she gasped, blood spilling from her lips. With the last of her strength, she shoved me through the exit.

The door slammed shut.

"Nooooooooo!" I pounded against it, my screams echoing in the emptiness. But it was too late.

She was gone.

I cry like a child lost in a storm, my hands trembling against the cold, unyielding door. My breath is uneven, my body shaking, my mind refusing to accept what just happened. The horrifying image of her blood-stained body flashes before my eyes.

And then—I see him.

Through the blur of my tears, a figure catches my attention. My heart stutters.

Nathan.

Lying there, his body soaked in blood. His sharp eyes—usually filled with arrogance and defiance—are now hollow, fixed on me like a silent scream for help. But the worst part? The knife. Buried deep in his abdomen, the blade almost entirely inside him.

People surround him. Some whisper, some gasp, others just stare. A few try to help, but no one dares to touch him. The tension is thick, suffocating.

I don't hesitate. I run.

"What happened?" My voice comes out shaky, barely above a whisper.

Nathan doesn't answer. His jaw is clenched so tightly I can see the muscles twitching. His forehead is damp with sweat, his breathing shallow, his body trembling—yet he still wears that damn mask, pretending he's unfazed.

A guy standing nearby scoffs. "He stabbed himself."

The world tilts.

My head snaps toward Nathan, my mind reeling.

He stabbed himself?

Why?

I knew I could ask him questions later—right now wasn't the time. Even though the curiosity inside me was eating me alive, demanding answers. Why did he stab himself? Was it... suicide?

But I push those thoughts aside.

I kneel beside him, my hands hovering uncertainly over his wound. His sharp eyes track my every move, dark and unreadable, like he's searching for something in my expression.

"Are... you okay?" My voice wavers, barely above a whisper.

Nathan exhales slowly, his forehead creasing as his jaw tenses. Even in pain, he had that damn effortless way of looking good—veins flexing, lips slightly parted, his usual arrogance replaced with something raw.

He swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing, and then—ever so slightly—he nods.