Chapter 393
The effect of the alcohol that had previously slowed him seemed swept away by a surge of adrenaline and renewed focus.
He opened the side door with slow, silent movements, blending into the shadows behind a pillar before slipping swiftly into the darkness of the academy garden.
His steps were no longer unsteady, but transformed into light, measured traces—like a cat stalking its prey.
Every footfall upon grass or gravel was calculated to minimize sound, every motion aligned with the patterns of shadow cast by trees and surrounding structures.
He was a silhouette darker than the night itself, keeping a safe distance while his sharp eyes—now fully clear—locked onto the two figures walking ahead.
'One glance is enough for them to know something is wrong.'
His movements were a poem of disguise and patience.
Every five seconds, Ilux's dark-clad body seemed to dissolve into his surroundings.
When Theo and Aldraya passed an old oak tree with a thick trunk, Ilux had already stopped, frozen in place, allowing the tree's shadow to swallow him whole.
As they approached a stone garden bench, he was already crouched behind a dense hydrangea bush, holding his breath, leaving only a narrow slit for his ever-watchful eyes.
That five-second rhythm was no random measure, but a calculation based on their walking speed, safe distance, and the widest possible field of vision Theo—a trained fighter with undoubtedly sharp senses—might possess.
The camouflage he employed was not merely physical concealment.
Ilux controlled every aspect of his existence.
His breathing was muted until nearly inaudible, his heartbeat forced to slow through techniques drawn from Xavier's memories, and even his aura—his very energy—was suppressed, imitating stone or lifeless wood.
Each five-second pause was a moment to evaluate, adjust, and ensure that no stray beam of moonlight touched his shoulder, no dry leaf crunched beneath his step, no smallest mistake betrayed his position.
It was a disciplined dance of shadows, where a single misstep could mean failure.
This extreme caution was necessary because he understood precisely whom he was watching.
Theo was no ordinary student, and Aldraya—with her background as the Highest Angel—remained an extraordinary entity.
A single suspicious glance from either of them—especially if they realized their stalker was Ilux Rediona—would turn the entire situation into an embarrassing confrontation filled with questions he could not answer.
His curiosity, and Xavier's as well, had to remain hidden behind dense leaves and curtains of darkness.
'All that time… and nothing at all.'
Time stretched in the rhythm of slow steps and measured concealment.
Ilux followed them across the expanse of the garden, nearing a more open pavilion area while still maintaining what he considered a safe observational zone—close enough to see, far enough not to catch every whisper.
Throughout the silent pursuit, both Ilux's consciousness and Xavier's presence watching through his eyes became diligent spectators.
They observed Aldraya's soft laughter that shook her shoulders, Theo's attentive nods, and the way their bodies constantly leaned toward one another, as though drawn by invisible gravity.
Yet the longer they watched, the emptier their conclusions became.
No serious conversation was overheard, no exchange of glances heavy with historical weight, no flicker of sacred power or veiled recognition from the past.
What they witnessed was simply the ordinary ease of two people comfortable in each other's presence.
Aldraya—the once-cold and respected former instructor—now appeared light and fluid, free of the authority she usually wore.
Theo—the samurai whose reputation was colored by greed for money and women—displayed something nearly opposite.
Attentive.
Patient.
Gentle.
The contradiction between reputation and reality only deepened the confusion.
There was no "answer" to be found.
No moment of revelation where everything suddenly made sense.
Ilux, with his analytical logic, had expected a transaction—some motive he could chart.
Perhaps Aldraya needed protection, or Theo desired something from the former instructor.
Xavier, with his long memory, might have anticipated recognition—a spark from Aldraya Kansh Que's soul responding to the resonance of Xavier within Ilux.
But none of that appeared.
What existed was a human closeness that seemed… sincere.
And it was precisely that sincerity which unsettled them both the most.
"We found nothing here."
Huuuuh!
"Let's return to the dormitory. Leave them alone. There's no reason to keep stalking them."
From the depths of their shared consciousness, the urging began—first like a passing breeze, then growing stronger.
Xavier, after witnessing what seemed to be nothing more than peaceful human intimacy without hidden codes of the past, began to feel the pursuit had lost its purpose.
The ancient soul, though still curious, was gnawed by another awareness.
This was private.
A fragile moment that should not be continuously observed by eyes carrying a long history with one of them.
Repeatedly, he sent gentle impulses—authoritative yet not forceful—urging Ilux to stop and return to the dormitory.
'Alright… enough. I don't need to see further.'
Ssshh!
'Leave them. This is not our concer—'
"Erietta is still in the clutches of the Bathee family."
Hooooh!
"They are merely waiting for the time before that girl is truly offered."
Compliance came with bitterness.
Ilux finally nodded inwardly, yielding to Xavier's wiser insistence.
Deep within, there stirred a sense of disgust—an odd discomfort at seeing a cold and exalted figure like Aldraya Kansh Que immersed in something so ordinary, so human.
It was an uncomfortable reminder of how much the world had changed, and how alien he felt within it.
With mixed relief and revulsion, he turned his body, preparing to slip away from a scene he no longer wished to witness, returning to the solitude that felt more familiar.
His first step nearly touched the damp ground, initiating his retreat from the futile pursuit.
But at that very threshold—when his attention had almost fully severed from Theo and Aldraya—the voice cut through the still night air.
Theo spoke.
Not a tender whisper to Aldraya, but a statement directed at no one in particular—perhaps himself, perhaps the night, or perhaps the shadows he suspected nearby.
His words were sharp and clear, slicing through the garden's illusion of calm.
"Erietta is still in the clutches of the Bathee family."
The sentence hung there, cold and dreadful, before something worse followed.
Offering.
Inverted crucifixion.
A countdown.
Each word Theo uttered burned like a red-hot blade, searing through layers of apathy, confusion, and disgust within Ilux.
His entire body, which had been poised to leave, froze completely.
The blood in his veins seemed to stop, replaced by pure adrenaline—freezing and boiling at once.
To be continued…