Hunter of the Evernight
Chapter 353: Student action

Chapter 353: Student action

The Nighteye graced the sky with its calm-inducing presence, Illuminating the world below as crickets chirped and owls hooted.

At such an ungodly hour when most men slept, Lord Fitzgerald stood in a strange room with Victoria beside him, her expression unreadable.

He carried out the summoning ritual meticulously after which the mirror placed on the wall rippled like a lake before changing, revealing a dark place illuminated by emerald flames.

The candle flames in the room transformed into a pale green color causing the temperature in the room to plummet though this only made Victoria feel more at home.

She studied the ritual with the keen sense of a Cryptid, grasping the fluctuations in the aether that followed as the mirror rippled.

Victoria wouldn’t dare say she was the most knowledgeable about mysticism, nor would she claim she had experienced the most things in the supernatural considering she was almost always locked up in her castle but regardless, there was no way she wouldn’t be familiar with the faint smell of the dead.

It permeated the room before now, perhaps as lingering aura but now, she could feel the smell filling up the room once again, with the darkened mirror serving as the origin of the aura.

The only group she was familiar with that possessed such aura was the Undead Wheel of the Mortal Wheels.

Did that mean the leader of the Order was an Undead Wheel Mystic?

Curious, Victoria watched as a figure appeared in the mirror, her appearance very much human which caused Victoria to raise a brow.

If this was the leader then how come she could feel the dead aura of the Undead Wheel coming from the mirror?

Or was the Undead Wheel Mystic a subordinate of the woman?

Before the train of thought could make any more headway, the woman spoke up.

"You must be Victoria. The vampire that saved Lucius and the one that claims to have found a means to prolong human life."

"Indeed I am, and you are?"

"You may call me the Mouthpiece or Spokesman, any that suits you."

"Mouthpiece?" Victoria inquired. "Who do you speak for?"

"The Empire, of course." came the response as though natural.

More questions cropped up in Victoria’s mind but knowing when to stop, she decided to change topics. "Fitzgerald mentioned that you wished to see me."

"Indeed. As you know, your claims, if proven true, might just be what Mystics need to no longer fear mortality."

"I am aware."

"But the question remains... where did you get such miracle liquid and though it pains me to do this, I do apologize for the inconvenience."

Before Victoria could figure out what she meant, her surroundings changed, from the room adorned with red and black to a corridor that seemed to stretch on for miles on end with great pillars on both ends.

The sight was pristine with not a speck of dust but it only heightened Victoria’s vigilance.

Then it came, like a wave but instead of water, it was incomprehensible pain as her insides were dug out and read.

"Ahhh!" Victoria dropped to her knees, hugging herself with death feeling closer than ever.

However, as quickly as it came, it soon dissipated with the sight once again switching back to the room with red and black adornments.

Victoria raised her head to glare at the mirror as she remarked through gritted teeth. "Is this how the Order deals with its partners?"

"As I said, I do apologize but the process was necessary."

"Is that so?" Victoria struggled back to her feet, albeit slightly disoriented before inquiring. "So what now?"

"Now we do business. As quickly as possible if you can."

"When do you want the first batch?"

"... In 3 days. Is that possible?"

"... Yeah, yeah it’s possible."

"I look forward to testing the efficacy of the miraculous drug."

Clicking her tongue, Victoria replied. "Same here."

***

Alice felt it was wrong.

Despite her reservations, Lucius had managed to surprise her with his method of teaching.

His insights and his unique manner of approach to getting information across even made her wonder if she had been wrong about him.

Perhaps he had been in the wrong place and now that he was in a more familiar terrain, he could finally reveal himself.

However, against her better judgment, she found herself going along with her classmates and their preposterous ideas.

Why she did it, she had no idea.

Peer pressure?... Or just a deep-seated grudge against the professor coming to light?

Regardless, the deed was done and it was time to wait for the consequences.

Which didn’t take long as the door to the lecture hall soon flung open with Lucius stepping in.

His gaze scanned all present and on ensuring none were missing, he made his way to the podium where a flurry of letters were waiting to be read by him.

"Does anyone know who wrote these?" Lucius inquired of the class with none deeming it fit to proffer a response.

"Hmm." Furrowing his brows, he placed his briefcase down alongside his jacket before proceeding to inspect the letters and their contents.

It soon became apparent what they were all about.

They all decried his appointment as HoD and made clear their desire to no longer be taught by him.

They wished to stand in solidarity behind Professor Albus who had been tagged a criminal.

All expected some sort of response, perhaps a show of anger or something more, anything that could be used by them so that the student council would have a reason to call for his step down from the post of HoD.

Unfortunately, none of that happened with Lucius merely letting out a sigh.

He placed the letters aside and acting as though he hadn’t read them, turned to face the class before remarking.

"Let’s begin."

***

It was a busy street close to the academy walls with citizens going about their day while Royal Blues patrolled the area, scanning for any potential trouble.

However, despite their vigilance, none would be able to immediately discern the emergence of a hooded figure close to the wall.