Seraphina was walking down the street since hearing Elowyn had brought back bad memories, so she decided to return home, asking for leave on Saturday and to come back Sunday afternoon. Her father and mother weren't home as they were working on something that would take two months, but just being home already made her feel better.
Her parents had finally become mages a few months ago when she entered the academy, so she didn't want to bother them. They worked so hard for her, so it was good that they were doing what they loved, especially since they had dedicated their whole lives to taking care of her, especially when that incident happened. Her parents had no potential, but they managed to reach the fifth Circle, which is the average for mages.
Seraphina arrived home and went to bed to sleep. She knew Elowyn might be at Astrong Academy, but her plan was to remain in the lower classes unnoticed. She also wanted to become a good mage to make her parents proud, who trained in secret, but she had always noticed. After resting the entire day in that comfort, she returned Sunday afternoon but noticed the main members of Class B weren't where they usually were, so she decided to check on Valença and Kai.
"Enrico should return today, so maybe he can plan something..."
Walking to the infirmary, when she entered, she only saw the Elf inside looking at the ceiling.
"Where are the others?"
The Elf, upon noticing her, turned his face away, not wanting to talk, which worried her, and she started to insist, but no matter what she said, he wouldn't speak.
"Elowyn came... didn't she?"
The Elf's eyes shifted for a second.
"Tell me where they are. You must be scared, right? Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you said anything."
She kept insisting and noticed he was getting scared, but after a few more minutes of persistence, he finally spoke.
"They went out to the red forest behind the city... please don't tell them I told you."
Now Seraphina was certain about this Elf.
'Since they didn't take him, he must have accepted the oath'
She shook her head and ran outside, trying to find Professor Virelle, but apparently, according to the students, there had been a problem on the west side of the city. For some reason, high-level Nartheis of Faizes and Ranvil had appeared, so the teachers from all classes were split in all directions to guard the city along with the guards. That meant they had taken advantage of the situation to do this. Seraphina ran asking some students for help, but they didn't want to get involved in trouble with the princess, so Seraphina grabbed a paper and wrote on it:
"In the red forest behind the city, Princess Elowyn attacked Class A"
She gave the letter to a student from Class C who wasn't involved in the problem and, paying two of her three silver coins, asked her to wait for the teachers or Enrico and give it to them quickly. The girl accepted, as she seemed in need.
Seraphina ran and used her last silver coin to pay the magical bus driver and sat down, seeing that she now only had fifteen bronze coins left. That money was supposed to last until the end of the month, but she could get by with the academy's food. The important thing was getting there quickly, and after a few minutes, it stopped, and she got off running.
She ran, but the closer she got, the more her legs trembled, and she lost speed. She felt suffocated, especially at the thought of seeing Elowyn's face once again. Stopping at the red forest, which was part of the city, there should be teachers guarding here, but they were probably where the forest ends, so maybe it wasn't possible.
Seraphina took a trembling step forward, clenched her hand, and entered. The deeper she went, the more anxious she felt.
'Come on, you can do it, Seraphina…'
Seraphina saw in the distance what looked like people fighting and approached. Getting closer, she saw Serenya injured, kicking Lan's arm and sending him flying, then defending herself from a wind magic attack from Diana, Lan's subordinate.
On the other side, Kai, who could only use one arm, was clashing swords with Jorge, the other of Lan's subordinates. To the right, Valença and the Orc were fighting Narisse and Velka.
'I knew they wouldn't fall that easily'
She noticed Elian, Caelan, and Liam struggling to stand after a fight with Grark. A high-pressure jet shot from Caelan's palm but was blocked by the axe, which had resistance to magic.
Elian jumped over and concentrated magic into his two daggers, sharpening them even more. He launched off a tree branch and managed to slash Grark's thigh.
"Tsk, it didn't go deep enough."
Elian was about to be hit by the axe, but a water shield protected him, sent by Caelan, who could now summon a water shield for others, though only one at a time, so he was kicked and sent flying through a tree.
"Spectral Thrust!"
Another cut appeared on Grark's stomach, made by Liam, who then decided to retreat.
'We can't beat this guy head-on'
Liam was stopped, his legs sinking into the ground, then a painful blow from behind sent him flying straight to Grark, who raised his hand and closed it into a punch.
Before it hit, Elian managed to pull him away, and they both struggled back into a fighting stance.
"Humans, you should give up… you won't achieve anything against the princess."
Grark raised his axe to defend against a stronger water jet than before, but still within manageable levels.
"That doesn't matter. The three of us follow only one person."
Caelan stepped out of the broken tree, blood dripping from his arm. Elian nodded.
"That's right. We're the three most loyal to Lady Serenya."
Liam sighed, exhausted.
"I wouldn't say I follow Serenya. I'd be more of a follower of Kai or Enrico."
"And who said we were talking about you? Didn't you hear us say the three most loyal?"
Hearing Elian's words, Liam looked embarrassed.
Jorge was thrown toward Grark, who caught him by the shirt and slammed him into the ground. Jorge looked forward furiously, seeing Kai seriously approaching him.
"You're weak, human. He has a broken arm, and you still can't beat him?"
"Shut up."
Serenya, fighting two at once, tried her best to defend against their combined magical attacks.
"Lightning Spear."
"Celerean Gust."
Lan threw the spear, gaining even more speed with the wind magic. It sliced Serenya's arm, but narrowly, thanks to an order she gave herself to increase her body's reaction speed.
Serenya placed her hand on the ground, channeling control magic into it, then broke the ground beneath them. They lost balance and were hit by invisible platforms that threw them aside.
Meanwhile, Seraphina, seeing all of this, tried to find Elowyn and saw her sitting on a rock, seemingly displeased with what was happening.
Seraphina began gathering magic in her hand, waiting for the right moment to interrupt. She was scared seeing Elowyn again, but she wanted to do something.
"What do we have here?"
A voice came from behind, and she felt a blow that seemed to crack the skin on her back, sending her into the middle of the battlefield. Everyone stopped.
"Seraphina, what are you doing here?"
Serenya was the first to speak and ran toward her, but Lan and Diana appeared in front of her.
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Get out of the way, damn you!"
Seraphina began to get up, seeing Deymon, who was the one who had hit her with magic.
"I was bored because the princess asked me to stay on guard, but it looks like I found a little rat to play with..."
Suddenly, Kai appeared above Deymon without him noticing, sword raised, but a golden sword was created in the air and struck Kai, sending him flying. This magic seemed to have come from Elowyn, who looked at Seraphina, a bit surprised.
"Deymon, don't touch that girl because she's mine."
Seraphina looked at Elowyn in terror, who wore a happy smile at having found a lost toy again.
"Seraphina, as always, you have a light that irritates my eyes."