Legend | Celeste Academy Series BK #2

Chapter 34 ♕ A Child at Heart (pt. 2)

"Stop him!" Charles exclaimed.

They all ran forward with Zevlin tripping a little. Faolan fought Elfre off and kicked Raziel away before he burst into a speed that left only his afterimages.

Zion showed a hard time running in a dress—which he complained about the rest of the way while pulling the skirts and hiking it up to allow him to move freely. When he got full of it, he ripped it to shreds, letting it fall around his mid-thighs that showcased his muscular legs. He then ran after the others, who already were more than few steps ahead of him, and joined the chase.

Faolan, however, broke into Asthore's room as fast as his feet could take him. He banged through the doors to see Asthore being held captive by Genevieve and Aden. The mere sight of the girl being bounded by ropes and gagged made him feel angered, so he rushed forward to set her free.

Genevieve, however, readily intercepted him. She moved to block his path, bringing out her weapons as she motioned for Aden to take Asthore away. She drew the long sword she specialized in and attacked the demon head on, letting her ferocity seep into each of the strikes as her weapon collided with his.

"Aden! Go!"

"No! Unhand me this instant!"

Aden nodded and hauled Asthore, slinging her over his shoulders as he moved away. Faolan attempted to go after them but Genevieve forced him to stay in place.

"You are not going anywhere!" She exclaimed, forcing his attention on her solely.

Faolan growled at Genevieve, recklessly letting her weapon sink into his flesh before calling upon his abilities. He pushed her away with a blast of wind, making her gasp as she hit the wall. The demon pulled out the blade that bit into his flesh before throwing it at Genevieve's direction, who bit back a shriek as it missed her by mere inches. The blade had sunk into the wall, vibrating slightly.

Genevieve had her breath caught in her throat.

The demon rushed after Asthore. The younger twin speedily recovered from the life-endangering experience. She rose and pulled her weapon free before running after them, stumbling slightly as she followed the trail of blood that Faolan left behind on his pursuit.

"Genevieve!" Zevlin exclaimed, running up to meet his sister.

"I'm sorry." She said, pausing to look at him as the others arrived. "It looks like I'm no good working alone."

"I knew I shouldn't have left. I'm sorry." Her brother told her.

"Never mind." Said Charles, pushing the two apart. "Where did they go?"

"The trail of blood." Genevieve said.

"It'll be idiotic to chase them in a group. We'll split up. Rowe and Aneeka, go after them now."

The two didn't need to be told what to do any further. They ran to the direction where the trail led.

"Alright . . . Zevlin, Genevieve, you go right." Charles told them. "Make sure to block all the possible routes they can use to escape."

The twins nodded before heading off towards the direction they were told to take.

"Elfre, drag Zion away and guard the area around the stairs."

Elfre glared in complain. "Ugh! Why do I have to—whatever." Seeing as this was no time to argue, the girl merely rolled her eyes before going back to the direction they came from and meeting Zion—who was a little late—and pulling him away. When the guy started asking questions, Elfre merely hit him to get him to shut up.

"Raziel, go and find Corvan and the others and meet me outside. I'll go and fetch Valeriana."

"There's no need." Said a voice.

Raziel seemed momentarily shocked by the sudden appearance of the first-ranker. Charles speedily changed the command.

"Go fetch Valeriana and the others instead. Take Keelan with you." He said, before turning to Corvan as Raziel went off to obey his instructions.

"We're gonna see Valeriana?" Keelan beamed with childlike enthusiasm before he jogged after Raziel to catch up.

"Good for you to join us." The fourth-ranker said, eyeing the ones who recently arrived.

"It was easy enough breaking out." Corvan told him coolly, flicking back his slightly messy hair and brushing his stained clothes. "Only a barrier will be able to keep us in. Sealing enchantments are nothing." He then gave Charles a glare. "What about Valeriana?"

"Mm." Charles hummed. "I asked her to find Tamara and Courtney."

His brows shot up. "So she wasn't taken?"

"No. She found a way to escape and came to tell us everything. Not really how I planned it to be, but still convenient—especially when I figured that Rowe actually sent Courtney to join you. There's a reason why I divided the groups by even numbers, you know."

"I figured that Rowe meant for Courtney to join us when he sent an empty package." He said. "I know the problem between Valeriana and Courtney is quite unsolved, so I guess he must've been trying to find a way to get the two to at least dissolve their misunderstandings."

"Anyhow, it doesn't matter." The other replied. "Although things didn't go quite clearly as you planned."

"No. It didn't."

"Now, we should get going." Charles began to move. "We've been playing with that child long enough."

"I'll take the pleasure of letting him know how hard it is when we're actually serious." Corvan answered, his eyes glinting with eagerness and a hint of malice.

Charles gave him a smile of his own. "It's time for the main part of the show."