"Jurisdiction of the Solari Clan?" Headmistress Zanara's voice was sharp, cutting through the tense silence in the arena. "Master Helia, with all due respect, this is Aegis Academy. We are a neutral institution. The boy was enrolled here, under our care. He is our responsibility."
Helia turned to face them, her golden eyes unwavering. "Being neutral will not help you against him. That's because... this is all my fault."
A soft light enveloped Henry's unconscious form, lifting him from the stone floor to float gently beside her. "I will take care of him," Helia stated, not asked. "Don't worry, he will continue to attend his classes. I will simply need to be... around him. At all times."
"Explain yourself," Zanara demanded, her composure fraying. "W-what do you mean, your fault?"
Helia's gaze drifted to the boy, a flicker of ancient pain in her eyes. "There was a war between my clan and another. That clan had... an ugly creature in their ranks. With the help of that creature—my sister—we made... him."
A faint, musical laugh echoed only in Helia's mind. "Ugly creature? That's a new one, coming from you, sis."
Helia's expression tightened for a fraction of a second. Zanara, oblivious, pressed on. "You can't just take him and treat him like your son!"
"I can, and I will," Helia replied, her voice leaving no room for argument. "If it weren't for me, you both would be dead. Common magic is not effective against him."
With that, Zanara was left speechless, her mouth agape. Master Kael simply bowed his head in acknowledgement of the raw power he had just witnessed. Helia turned, and with the floating form of Henry in tow, walked calmly out of the arena, leaving the two professors in the fading light of her artificial sun.
"Oh, this just got interesting," Tsukuyomi's voice purred in Henry's unconscious mind, a tone of pure, wicked delight. "My old... rival... has come out to play. It looks like your school days just got a lot more complicated, my dear Henry."
And with that thought buzzing in his head along with the pain, Henry plunged back into darkness.
Zanara stared after the departing Solari master. "Was she really telling the truth?" she whispered to Kael. "She created him?"
The smoke professor nodded slowly, his form solidifying slightly as he processed the event. "It would seem so. I do not believe she intends to harm him. We can, however, keep an eye on her as well."
Zanara nodded, her mind racing. With a subtle gesture, she molded a piece of the shattered crystal dust on the floor. It rose, forming a small, intricate golem that immediately turned invisible. "Follow her," she commanded under her breath. The golem gave an imperceptible nod and scurried silently after Helia.
Master Kael ran a hand through his hair, which dissipated and reformed with the motion. "I will take my leave. I need to... rethink my lectures to accommodate him." He bowed and walked away, leaving the headmistress alone.
Zanara looked up at the artificial sun still hanging in the sky, a testament to a power far beyond her own. She sighed, the sound small in the vast, empty arena. "This is going to be a long year."