Horace Netherwind laughed and smirked at me, thinking he was untouchable.
"Now, are you going to let me en-"
"My God... shut up! Your voice is incredibly annoying" I yelled at him while making sure that Silva Traltrae was behind me.
"Tch" the teacher clicked his tongue "You really can't be polite with these filthy trash"
"Hey... run away. I'll be sure to make him regret doing what he was about to do"
I got no response from the female student. She probably was paralyzed because of what she just experienced.
It seems we've hit a stalemate with that teacher.
We're both without our weapons. He can't chant any incantation because I can easily stop him before he finishes, and I need to protect Silva.
"Ha, now I understand why you beat those other two students in your duel. You don't just run head first into a battle without a plan. You know that a more passive approach based on countering any attack is better"
"I don't take anything you say to me as a compliment, quite the opposite, in fact. I feel like you talking to me is extremely offensive"
"Your attempts at trying to get me to act first won't work, kid. I've heard way worse things being said in my life"
I could just cast sandstorm and take the girl out of here.
I don't think I ca-
Maybe I can fight and beat him?
I need to think about my options carefully.
________
"I swear, I'm going to beat that teacher to death" a tanned redhead said as she sat on a bench near the Black Lizard house, the house for all E class students.
"I-it's not that important, Yani... I swear" the yellow eyed protagonist of the game said to her friend.
"No! He said so many horrible things to you, and he even talked shit of me just because I'm your friend"
"He also used that leather tawse in my cheek" Cole rubbed his cheek that was still red from that day's lesson with their homeroom teacher.
"And he purposefully broke my sword to make me fail on the infusion lesson" Tirino also complained about their E class teacher.
"I know that you don't want to make a big deal about what others do to you, Kaida. But the hate we have towards that teacher is personal"
"Yea, I'm sure you also hate him despite what you say" Tirino said while looking at the Black Lizard house.
"W-well... yea... I don't like him... but not because of what he says about me... I don't like him because he also attacks other people" Kaida confessed with her gaze set on the ground.
"You should also hate him for what he does to you" Yani looked at her friend with a poker face.
"I-I'm already used to it" Kaida tried to joke her way out of the spotlight she was in with her friends.
"He does one more thing to us, and I'm looking into him to get him fired, I'm telling you" Tirino raised his voice.
"It's as much of a surprise to me as it is to you, Tirino" said Yani "But I agree with you. He uses outdated methods like physical punishment and talking shit to his students. It's not something a teacher from Aurum Academy should do. And I'm a hundred percent sure that he has some dirt we can dig up"
"Weren't you and Kaida already looking into a teacher?" Cole said.
"He always disappeared before we managed to get any evidence" Yani crossed her arms.
"And I'm pretty sure that he wasn't a teacher" Kaida added.
"If we're looking into teacher Horace, we'd better do a better work" Tirino said.
"We could ask Alen for help. Remember how he followed those [The Crossed] bandits to their hideout? " Cole tapped his chin with his finger.
"I'm sure that Kaida'd love to ask for his help" Yani gave her friend a smirk.
"I-I don't think that he has free time to help us... he must have no free time now that he's top five in the first year" Kaida blushed and turned her head to the side.
"You didn't deny that you'd love to ask for his help" Yani poked her friend's back while using a mocking voice tone.
"Y-yani..." The pink-haired created distance between her and her friend.
"If we ask him, we'd better ask him when that princess isn't next to him" Tirino said as he looked away, squinting his eyes when he thought he saw movement.
"It's settled then, Kaida'll ask Alen to help us in following teacher Horace" Yani kept teasing Kaida.
"S-stop Yani"
"Someone is approaching!" Tirino took out his sword from its sheat and pointed at the person that was running at them.
The other three students followed up on Tirino's call.
"Help! Someone help!" A male and young voice that sounded tired from running around called out to the four E class students.
Once the student got close to the group, he fell to his knees as he tried to regain his breath.
"What's happening?" Yani was the first one to act.
"Help... you... you gotta help me!" The student had fear in his voice.
Tirino slapped the panicking student on the cheek, making him calm down.
"What happened?" Cole asked while helping the student stand up.
"Alen... from the S class... he's fighting against a teacher that was doing something horrible"
"What? What teacher? Where?" Yani asked as they all became more agitated at the mention of the famous student.
"It's teacher Horace Netherwind... from the dark arts class" the student said.
With no time to waste, Cole grabbed the student and began running off.
The three remaining students followed them while asking him to guide them to where those two were.
________
"What's wrong, not a single option you're thinking off works?" The slender teacher began circling me, looking for a weak spot I may have.
I kept my arm raised and pointed at him, ready to cast any spell to attack him if he decided to act.
I also moved with him, making sure I'm always in between him and the female student while keeping him in my range of vision.
"You also don't seem to have any way of getting closer to me"
I have no weapon, and he can not cast any spell because I can interrupt him.
The first move will dictate the flow of this fight.
The first one to make even the slightest mistake will be the loser.
I just gotta make sure I don't end up becoming the one that loses.
I think I'll have to go with option one. Cast sandstorm and run away.
Option two is fight, which doesn't seem like something I want to do as I have more to lose with the girl I have to protect.
"Netherwind!" A loud yell that came from a young man made both of us turn our heads around.
The tall teacher managed to avoid the plunging attack from the one who made a loud entrance.
The sword stuck the ground, creating a curtain of dust.
"Tirino!?"
What is he doing here.
Behind Tirino, someone jumped over him and did a stabbing motion with their thin sword.
It was Kaida, who managed to make some small cuts on the teacher's body.
"[Stone Snare]"
Just as Horace tried to jump backwards, the ground beneath him cracked, and small stone shards gripped his feet. Binding his feet to the ground and causing the teacher to trip and fall to the ground.
Without a second to rest, an arrow flew through the air and pierced the teacher's thigh.
"Agkh!" The teacher groaned in pain.
"Alen!" I looked to my side, and I saw Yani, Cole, and... Atro Siuco standing there.
It seems that Cole was left to the backlines to focus on casting that spell.
"What ar-"
"He told us that you needed help"
Yani interrupted me.
Both Kaida and Tirino held their swords pointed at the teacher's body.
"He said that our Black Lizard house was the closest one to this park"
How did Atro know about this? Did he follow me?
"You... you filthy... disgraceful... brats! What do you think yo-"
Tirino interrupted the raging teacher by hitting him on the head with the flat of his long sword.
"How does it feel, eh? Not so funny being hit and not being able to do anything in return"
The boy yelled at his teacher, clearly enjoying the change I power dynamics between them.
"This was all Kaida's plan... just so you know" Yani said as se stood next to me with a smile formed on her lips.
"Yea, she planned for her and tirino to distract him while I cast my magic" Cole said with a calmer expression.
"Uuh, nice work, Kaida" I told her from my position.
She said nothing, but I could see how the back of her ears turned red.
"..."
I felt someone gripping the back of my shirt and resting their forehead on me.
The hand was trembling, and the grip was strong.
"Thanks..." said the victim of this depraved teacher.
I turned around and finally saw what she looked like.
With long and curly brown hair, she was a full-blooded human girl with pale skin.
"You don't have to worry anymore... he won't attack you again... I'll make sure he won't"
I said and gave her a tight hug.
I heard her voice Crack as she began crying and returning my hug.
"[Thunder Shackle]"
It looks like Kaida had chanted the incantation and cast a lightning spell that binds the opponent and shocks them if they want to break free.
Yani started to stroke the girl's hair and say some words to her in an attempt to reassure her that everything would be okay now.