It had been a few hours since our little intro, and the dorm was finally quiet—except for the mysterious girl-in-black who just kept staring at the window like she was waiting for the Apocalypse.
Which, to be honest, I usually had a hand in.
Finally, when I thought I could RIP—figuratively or course, the redhead girl with freckles jolted awake like she had just run out of a nightmare—her breathing was sharp like she'd just witnessed something she wasn't meant to.
"You're still awake....or just refusing to sleep?" she said, her voice raw with drowsiness.
"I'm a Satan," I said, leaning back casually on my bunk, "and we don't need sleep. We simply recalibrate. Our minds fade to black, crafting the nightmares others fear."
For a moment, the air went still, and even the shadows in the room seemed to come to a halt.
Good.
It even made the drowsiness escape her eyes.
"Speak of yourself," the silver-haired girl said from the top bunk, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. "Lyra has been trying to get sleep since the time we were first-year Initiates." She was awake the whole time? I knew it. She was waiting for the right moment to answer.
"Wrong, it was after—" Lyra started, but the academy's bells roared through the hallway, drowning her words.
And there was only one thing it always meant—
Emergency.
"Emergency?" Lyra whispered.
I slid off my bunk. "Probably. Or someone exploded another lab again."
The girls instantly froze.
"Don't worry," I said flatly. "If it were me, you'd already be dead."
....
We all made our way out of our dorm—first was Lyra, second the redhead girl, I came third, while the silent girl just stared blankly at the window.
"Damn," I muttered, "I wonder what she's seeing."
Just then, a flood of half-dressed students filled the hallway—they were all panicking like headless pigeons.
"Looks like we're not the only ones who got the message." The girl with silver hair said, almost like she wasn't surprised.
"Let's just see what's going on, Phina." Lyra sighed, as her shoulders tightened—almost like she carried secrets far from her rank.
"Ok, ladies. Lead the way," I said, gesturing forward. They moved in rhythm—like they were used to being in each other's airspace.
After what felt like an eternity of endless walking, we reached the doors of the courtyard. It smelt like panic.
Sweet. That's already intoxicating.
I adjusted my shirt lazily, as I strode out like I was the Main Character, which, to be honest, I wasn't.
There was no need for me to rush. Humans and half-bloods did that already—always used to panicking before the main show even began. What more, the sequel?
Students filled the courtyard in a matter of seconds—some in pajamas, some folded their wings, others gazed with confusion.
The air itself was thick with confusion and forbidden magic.
Someone had broken a seal.
And it was definitely not me this time.
Maybe.
The moon was bleeding tonight—like an omen waiting to happen. Figures swirled around the centre of the courtyard, whispering only one name.
"Cerberus"
I hadn't heard that name in a while.
If I remember clearly enough, my dad had one of those as a guard dog for his penthouse. Never thought it would be as terrifying as humans claim it to be.
I raised a brow, like I was about to get impressed. I wasn't. "Ah, hell's mutt got loose, huh?"
"Everyone, remain calm!" Miss Athelia, the headmistress, ordered, her voice booming across the courtyard. And you should see her staff—it was glowing with celestial runes, as if mocking her very words.
Calm? That was a joke. Even the statues of Cupid and fallen archons trembled.
Classic, but not still good enough to impress me.
The students were still muttering and shivering like terrified mortals—"Who the hell did it?" "Is that beast really loose?" "Why keep such a thing at an Academy?" "Are we going to die?"—It was pathetic, foreseeable noise.
But my focus wasn't on them—it was on the girl near the east wall. She looked calm and composed—nothing like a person who would soon experience a supernatural lockdown. I studied her a bit.
My mind flashed back to the time I first entered the dorm. She sat by the window throughout my stay. She had this unusual stillness—the kind of stillness predators had before they struck.
Could she have—?
Before I could even have a damn moment of quiet, the temperature dropped, and everyone with magic suddenly dimmed.
The moon itself bent—no, bowed.
I didn't even need to look up to know who it was. The headmistress didn't even waste any time in summoning my father.
He emerged from who the fuck knows where; his presence was like ink spilling across the grass.
"Still brooding among humans, now, are we?" he asked, that wicked smirk tugging his lips. I hate to say it, but I wish I had killed him when I was old enough to say 'fuck you.'
His wings were like dark fire behind him—it was the kind that sort of swallowed light instead of casting it, even the ground beneath his boot cracked, and the students fell to their knees. Even the almighty, know-it-all of a headmistress took a step back.
Classic.
"Athelia, why the urgent invitation? I was in the middle of exorcising a priest." He said, his voice smooth yet dripping with venom.
Oh, and the exorcism part? Well, that's him. One minute, he's possessing people, and when it's time for him to get cast out, he exorcises the priests themselves. I wonder how he always found pleasure in doing such.
Anyway, I wasn't impressed. Maybe.
"Mr. Astaroth, sorry for the impromptu request for your presence, but you're not the only S-rank authority, to grace our grounds today."
Mrs. Athelia said, trying to keep her head down and maintain her composure.
Wait? She said he wasn't the only S-rank entity to grace their grounds, which could only mean—
You've gotta be fucking kidding me right now.