The ride back from Maple Academy felt lighter, though the memory of the twisted students haunted me. The air smelled clean again, the buildings gleamed, and guards no longer moved like hollow puppets. The restoration teams had done their work quickly; the corridors once soaked with corruption were now filled with laughter and chatter. Maple Academy had returned to normal.
I let out a deep breath as we crossed the final gates. Lyra's hand brushed mine. "It feels… peaceful again," she said, eyes scanning the courtyard.
I nodded, but my chest tightened. Peace was fragile. It was a candle flame, bright but easily extinguished.
"We did what we could," I said softly. "It's not over, but sometimes, surviving is enough."
Thorne grunted. "Surviving is good. Living to fight is better."
I allowed a small smile. Thorne might not be the sentimental type, but his words carried weight. I remembered something my father once told me, long ago:
"The strength of a warrior isn't in his blade, but in his heart. Keep it strong, and nothing can destroy you."
That quote echoed now. If we wanted to protect everyone, we had to act decisively.
---
Meanwhile, across the country, Amara, Elian, and Vex rode toward Norway Academy, known more commonly as the Warrior Academy. Rumors had reached us that something unnatural had taken hold. Students whispered of missing seniors, strange energy surges, and teachers behaving oddly.
Amara's hands glowed as she shaped protective barriers around the group. "I don't like this," she said. "Something about this place smells… wrong."
Elian nodded, his bow ready. "I've heard worse. But Lindon is clever. She won't make it obvious at first."
Vex adjusted his alchemy lenses, scanning for unusual energy signatures. "She's feeding them," he muttered. "The senior male students… demonic energy. Concentrated, controlled. And it's changing them."
"What do you mean?" Amara asked.
Vex swallowed. "I mean she's… manipulating them through… intimacy. Using it to stabilize the energy she's planting inside them. Their personalities shift slowly. Pride turns to arrogance, loyalty turns to obsession."
Amara's hands clenched into fists. "She's using them as puppets."
"Sometimes the strongest chains are invisible," Elian said quietly. "And only the heart can break them."
We arrived at the main hall of Warrior Academy, where everything looked ordinary. Banners hung, weapons glimmered, and students trained in the yard. But my friends could sense it immediately—the pulse of demonic energy beneath the surface, subtle but steady.
They split into teams. Amara, Elian, and Vex moved quietly toward the east wing, where the senior dormitories were located. Shadows twisted unnaturally, and faint whispers curled along the corridors.
---
Inside one of the dormitories, they found the first victims. A senior student lay on the bed, trance-like, eyes glazed. Soft tendrils of violet energy wound around him, merging into his aura. The moment Amara touched him with her mana, the illusion snapped, and he convulsed violently.
"Elian!" she called, and he fired a calming arrow, infused with his own magical signature, neutralizing some of the demonic energy.
Vex quickly analyzed the conduits. "She's been doing this for weeks. Maybe months. Feeding demonic energy during… intimate interactions. It's how she's stabilizing the power inside them. But it's changing them from the inside out."
Amara's voice was quiet but steady. "We have to free them. All of them."
But as they moved from room to room, a figure stepped out from the shadows. Lindon.
She smiled, a cruel and seductive curl. "Ah… the little heroes come to rescue their pets," she said, voice low and smooth, dripping charm. "Do you really think you understand what you're meddling with?"
Elian's bow twanged, sending a silver arrow toward her, but she vanished mid-flight, reappearing behind him. "Fools," she purred. "The ones I choose don't resist me—they serve me willingly. And you cannot undo what is bonded by desire and power."
Vex hissed, adjusting his alchemy vials. "We'll see about that."
Amara stepped forward, hands glowing. "You're not touching another student!" she shouted. The glow expanded into protective wards, forcing Lindon to retreat a few steps.
"Courage doesn't mean fearlessness," I thought to myself, imagining my friends. "It means acting even when fear is all around you."
They advanced cautiously, carefully isolating each student under her influence. But the process was agonizing. Every time a student resisted, Lindon's whispers tried to lure them back, promising power, pleasure, and dominance.
The transformation was both subtle and horrifying. Once-proud warriors became arrogant, controlling, and cruel. Some attacked their peers without thought. Others turned on instructors who tried to intervene.
Amara's wards held them back, but she was exhausted, her light flickering with strain. Vex muttered new concoctions to stabilize energy temporarily, buying them minutes. Elian's arrows continued to subdue rogue students.
And through it all, Lindon circled them like a predator. She would disappear, whisper into the minds of students, then reappear where they least expected.
---
By the time night fell, they had freed half of the students under her control. Lindon, realizing the tables were turning, retreated into the shadows, leaving a trail of corrupt energy in her wake.
Amara wiped sweat from her brow. "She'll be back. And she'll be stronger next time."
Vex nodded grimly. "But we bought them time. That's all we can do for now."
Elian added, voice calm but firm: "Time is what we'll use to prepare. And when she returns, we'll be ready."
Amara glanced at the remaining affected students, her eyes hard. "We can't save everyone. But we can make sure the ones who survive aren't lost to her."
"Even in the darkest night, one spark can light the way," I thought, remembering the lessons from Luminar.
---
Back at Luminar Academy, I received their report. The pulse of demonic energy was spreading faster than I had anticipated. Nox was still beneath Luminar. Van was growing bolder. Dox had shown his hand at Maple Academy. And now Lindon had taken control at Warrior Academy, twisting young minds into weapons.
I clenched my fists, feeling the weight of responsibility settle on my shoulders. "We can't let this continue," I said aloud, though only Zephyr heard me. The bond we shared pulsed with understanding.
The war had returned. Not quietly. Not slowly.
And it would test every ounce of courage, trust, and strength we possessed.