Chapter 63: Olivia Azirph.
The moment the words came out of David's mouth, a plate came flying toward his face, spinning through the air and blocking his vision. David reacted quickly, lifting his left hand and slapping the plate away as it clattered across the floor.
But before he could even take another breath, a sharp kick crashed into the arm that was holding Victoria's wrist. The force of the impact sent a shock running up his entire limb, and his grip loosened instantly.
Victoria pulled her hand free and staggered back several steps, breathing heavily. Meanwhile, David's whole arm felt numb.
His eyes widened as he looked ahead and saw Aiden standing in front of Victoria, his expression cold and unchanging. But before David could even open his mouth to speak, Aiden vanished.
A split second later, a powerful kick slammed into David's back from behind. His body flew several meters forward before crashing onto the cafeteria floor.
He groaned in pain as he pushed himself up, shaking with anger. Now standing a few feet away from Aiden, David shouted furiously, "How dare you attack your senior!"
Suddenly, every plate, spoon, and knife around them began to tremble. A faint white glow surrounded them. David lifted his hands and smirked — thin puppeteer strings extended from his fingers as he controlled the objects around him.
A knife shot straight toward Aiden's neck. Aiden tilted his head slightly, dodging it with ease. Another knife came from the side, but Aiden stepped aside calmly. Then more attacks flew toward him from every direction.
Plates spun like saw blades, forks stabbed toward his chest, spoons shot forward like bullets. But Aiden dodged every single attack with precise, minimal movements.
Then, with a calm wave of his hand, a thick water wall rose around him, forming a dome of swirling blue.
David clicked his tongue and said with a twisted smile, "You think that will be enough to protect you?"
He moved his hands rapidly, and all the puppets bombarded the water wall from every direction. Metal clashed, and the barrier rippled violently as the attacks continued.
A moment later, the water dome collapsed with a splash.
But there was no one inside. Aiden had vanished again.
David's eyes widened, and before he could even turn around, a fist slammed straight into his stomach. The air burst out of his lungs as his body curled forward in pain.
Before he could take another breath, another punch landed on his side. David crashed onto the ground, groaning, but Aiden was already standing over him.
David gritted his teeth and tried to stand, but the moment he rose halfway, Aiden launched into a barrage of attacks — punches, kicks, knees, elbows.
Every strike landed with terrifying precision. Aiden didn't give David a single moment to breathe. And then, after several more blows, Aiden finally stopped.
David collapsed again, his entire body trembling as he lay on the ground, unable to move. Aiden stared down at him coldly. David met Aiden's eyes — and in that instant, he felt as if he were staring into an abyss. A bottomless, emotionless darkness.
Just as he was about to beg for mercy, a deep middle-aged voice echoed from behind them.
"That's enough."
Aiden turned his head as he saw a man with red hair and bright orange eyes standing there, his strong, bulky figure towering over the scene. He wore a serious expression.
It was Professor Logan Pavlov.
He walked forward and looked at Aiden and David as he said. "Why are both of you fighting?"
David instantly came back to life as he replied. "Professor, it was him! He attacked me first! I only defended myself!"
Logan looked toward Aiden and asked. "Is he telling the truth?"
Aiden stared straight into Logan's eyes but didn't say anything. He had indeed attacked first, and he wasn't going to make excuses.
Besides, he wanted to see how far William's influence would go inside the academy. He wanted to know how much protection William would actually give him.
Logan saw that Aiden remained silent and said, "You're not saying anything. Does that mean he's telling the truth?"
But before Aiden could say a word, Victoria stepped forward and said loudly, "It was not Julian's fault! He was protecting me! It was that kid who started all this! He came here and tried to provoke Julian, but he didn't fall for it, so he tried messing with me. Julian stopped him."
Logan heard this as he turned to David and asked. "Is she telling the truth?"
David quickly replied, "No, professor! She's lying! I only came to meet the juniors, but they attacked me."
Victoria's eyes widened with anger as she said loudly. "Professor, he is lying! He came to provoke us! You can ask everyone — they all saw everything!"
Logan looked around at the students eating nearby and said. "Can anyone tell me what really happened?"
For a moment, the cafeteria stayed silent. Then a first-year student stood up. "Professor, that senior started everything. He provoked them, but when he got beaten, he began lying. He also bullied me and my friend before."
Another girl stood as she said. "Professor, it's all that senior's fault. He tried picking a fight with them, and he bullied many first-year students, too!"
Soon, more and more first-years stood up, each explaining how David had been bullying them since morning.
After listening to everyone, Logan's expression darkened. He turned to David and said. "So you lied to my face and bullied new students? Come to the principal's office. We'll decide your punishment there."
Then he turned to Aiden. "And you, Julian Cross — you didn't have to beat him so much. If anything like this happens again, instead of using your fists, you can tell a professor. Understand?"
Aiden simply nodded. Then he turned away. He walked to the food counter, picked up a plate, and began placing food on it. Victoria and Aaron followed silently.
Logan found Aiden's behavior rude, but he didn't say anything. The principal had told him not to tell anyone that Aiden had been personally recommended by Victor.
That alone meant this boy carried secrets far beyond the academy's understanding. And on top of that, he had defeated a third-year student who had mastered all Stage 1 mana spells.
Logan sighed and took David to the healing room as the students watched them leave.
Aiden continued eating peacefully. After finishing his food, he stood and headed toward the fire department building. His first class was about to begin. He walked through the long, wide corridors until he reached the classroom door.
As he entered, several students were already sitting. They saw him as they instantly began whispering.
"Isn't he the student who beat a third-year?" "Yeah, it's him. I didn't know he was in our class." "So what if he defeated a third-year? That guy was weak." "Then why don't you go have a duel with him?"
Aiden ignored all of them and walked to the very back of the class, taking a seat alone.
A minute later, a girl walked into the room. She had black hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and delicate features. Her expression was emotionless as she walked to the back and sat a few feet away from Aiden. He glanced at her.
She looked familiar.
Her face, her eyes, her quiet aura — she reminded him of Julia, the teacher who taught him parasitic and illusion spells. They looked almost alike. Aiden narrowed his eyes but didn't speak. He waited to confirm his suspicions.
Moments later, Logan entered the class, now dressed in a maroon suit that contrasted with his red hair and orange eyes. He walked to the front and pointed at the first student.
"Stand up and introduce yourself."
One after another, the students rose and introduced themselves. After a while, it was Aiden's turn. He was about to stand, but Logan said,
"Julian, you don't need to introduce yourself. Everyone in the school already knows who you are."
Aiden quietly sat back down.
Then it was the black-haired girl's turn. She stood gracefully and said,
"My name is Olivia Azirph."
The moment Aiden heard the name Azirph, his suspicion grew stronger. She must have been related to Julia.
But he stayed silent as whispers filled the room.
"Is she from that traitor family that was destroyed?" "Yeah, her surname is Azirph. She must be from that family." "Why is she acting so arrogant, even though she comes from a traitorous family?"
Aiden listened quietly as he thought to himself.
'She is from a traitor family. Does that mean the teacher's family was traitors too?' I have to ask William about it.'
Author's Note: Aiden begins to search for the truth about his teacher's family as he delves deeper into the history of Eldoria.