Chapter 54 Companions
The treacherous situation at the pinnacle of power hadn't yet brought disaster upon the two. The monsoon winds from the depths of the ocean made Baita Town's summers exceptionally unpredictable. As the professor finished his evening lecture, he was halfway through his journey when a torrential downpour suddenly descended, drenching him completely.
Back in the darkened dorm, Nova frowned and tucked his dripping hair back. The water droplets on his glasses obscured his vision, and when he lowered his head to wipe the lenses, he was caught off guard by someone covering his head with a towel. If he hadn't smelled a familiar scent, he would have nearly exploded and punched someone.
After finally escaping from the other person's hands, the black-haired young man with his hair tangled up turned on the kerosene lamp and glared at the culprit angrily, only to find that the male protagonist was frowning at him.
"I was just away for a moment, and you didn't take good care of yourself." The other person took the glasses from his hand, put them on the table, and whispered with a hint of blame.
This guy didn't turn on the lights when he came back, but stood quietly in the dark. No matter how gentle his tone was, it was no wonder that the professor was scared by him.
Nova didn't like this person's excessive intimacy, which made him feel uneasy as if his territory was being violated - but those calm and seemingly extremely gentle and harmless accommodations were like the surface water soaked by sunlight, making people drowsy and somewhat allowing him to suppress his slightly hurtful temper.
He paused, and finally replied a little stiffly: "I forgot to bring an umbrella. It's very hot in summer, so I'll be fine."
The God-favored One didn't answer, merely resting his hand on the back of the other's neck to check their temperature. In the hazy light, those blue eyes shifted between shades of blue, surging like the ocean tide. They were so gentle, so alluring, so beautiful that they made one subconsciously hold their breath, feeling as if they were about to be devoured and killed by the layers of blue.
The enemy's rain-soaked skin felt cold and damp, slightly clammy to the touch, making the faint throbbing of the blood vessels beneath his fingertips more pronounced. The savior felt as if he were touching a giant deer calf, freshly emerged from its afterbirth. His gray eyes were also hazy, perhaps blinded by the rain, and looked like a faint, unconscious vulnerability.
Azuka sighed, loosened his grip, and pushed the man into the bathroom. He expertly helped him get a change of clothes and a towel while muttering, "I got the books you needed back from Professor Oswin. I've mailed all the letters and brought back the ones I received. I also bought new ink, a crucible, wax... and went to the place you mentioned to get the potions and mineral powders on the list."
The sound of running water began, and the guy shouted at him through the bathroom door: "Thank you very much, the wallet is in my coat pocket, you can take whatever you want."
The God-favored One responded lazily, took out his purse, counted it, and stuffed a few more gold coins in it. His professor always maintained rigid behavior in some strange, seemingly unnecessary areas, as if this could maintain a strange sense of security.
Although he was not as proficient in spells and magic circles as Orel, it was still easy for him to make some inconspicuous magic circles and sell them under a fake identity, and the reward he got was much higher than that of a poor professor.
The roar of wind and rain outside the window subsided, and the flame of the kerosene lamp on the table flickered softly. The teaching assistant lowered his eyes in concentration, pulled out several glass bottles filled with strange liquids or powders, and ran his fingers across the crowded shelves, stuffing them one by one in alphabetical order.
The somewhat rotten wooden frame suddenly trembled slightly. The flame of the oil lamp trembled and went out completely. Then, without any warning, a spell pierced the back of the seemingly unaware figure, at a speed too fast to be seen by the naked eye.
But the blond young man didn't even raise his head, and casually pointed his finger in the air. The madly flashing spell seemed to hit an invisible barrier, twisting a few times in the air and then dissipated.
The attacker was not discouraged and simply gave up on the magic sneak attack and started fighting directly with the opponent. His figure shrouded in a black robe was unpredictable and each move was powerful and aimed directly at the vital points.
But the opponent also managed to deflect the blow with ease, his gentleness concealing a murderous intent. Each seemed familiar with the other's methods, striking in the darkness from the shelf to the window, yet not a single sound was heard. Suddenly, the black-robed figure grunted, having been caught and thrown. He rolled neatly on the ground, rising to his feet and regaining his balance.
"Long time no see, Ore Asaqi." Azuka patted his wrinkled sleeves and looked at the newcomer with a smile: "Nosebleed Curse, your way of greeting is still as strange as ever."
"Long time no see...Azuka."
The black-robed man slowly pulled down his hood, revealing a handsome young face. He had black hair and blue eyes, and a cold and aloof expression. He was the uninvited guest in the dungeon.
"I suspected it was you last time in the dungeon of the Scarlet Bazaar, but those pagans were too clingy." He stood in the shadow of the room, his arms folded across his chest, staring coldly at the blond young man, showing none of the excitement he should have at reuniting with his companions.
"There seemed to be someone else with you that time. Was it Lamina? Did she survive? Why did you two come to Baita University and make me search so hard?"
Azuka lowered his eyes and relit the kerosene lamp. The dim light softened his face, but his eyes were calm and unwavering. "It's not Lamina. She is safe now, but not here."
“…You didn’t answer my question directly.”
Ole stepped forward. He had a darker complexion than the average man, and a more muscular build than his blond companion. His frown revealed a cold and terrifying look, a sense of oppression like needles piercing the eyeballs.
But the other man's voice remained calm and gentle: "I'm sorry, Ole. I'll tell you everything one day - just not today, not now."
“…Someone’s coming?”
The inexplicably tense atmosphere between the two of them froze. Nova had already changed into pajamas, was drying his hair, pushed open the bathroom door, and frowned at the strange man who suddenly appeared in his dormitory.
Ole Asachi's pupils suddenly shrank.
The next second, a dark void suddenly erupted behind him, and murmurs from nowhere filled the entire room. Flashing spells flowed wildly under the feet of the caster, and everything close to the other party began to shatter into powder. The figure attacked Nova like a fierce lightning, with two knives flashing with cold light in his hands.
Nova squinted his eyes subconsciously, but before he could react, he heard the earth-shaking roar of the collision of air waves. A hand suddenly grabbed his arm and pulled him aside. Then he found that there was a big hole in the ceiling of his dormitory. The heavy rain soaked him again, and his shower was in vain.
The professor who had suffered such an unexpected disaster: "..."
"Why are you stopping me?!" The culprit actually had the nerve to get furious: "Are you crazy?! He is——"
The other man's mood didn't seem much better than his own, his beautiful, gentle face cold for the first time. Seeing the other man still trying to rush forward, Azuka wordlessly spread out his five fingers. The wind's roar grew terrifying, the rain stagnated in mid-air, and the gravel trembled. Nova felt as if he were about to be crushed into a pulp by the blast, but then his body felt lighter. As the other man's fingers pressed down, he was caught off guard and slammed to the ground by the invisible weight. The floor cracked with hideous cracks, and the two swords in his hands were thrown far away.
Nova: “.”
—Great, now his dorm floor is ruined too.
"Are you calm now?" the savior asked in a cold tone.
"You, cough cough, you fucking Azuka," the other person moved his fingers with difficulty and wiped the blood that flowed from his lips with trembling hands: "Are you going to kill me for that guy?"
"Don't talk nonsense, we all know that you are very tough." Another person said lightly and infuriatingly. Seeing that his companion seemed to calm down a little, he lowered his finger and watched expressionlessly as the other person climbed out of the big hole in the floor that was almost in ruins and picked up the double swords that fell to the ground.
The God-Favored One closed his eyes, turned to the other person, and spoke as softly and gently as possible: "Professor, are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"I'm not okay," the professor said coldly.
"...Are you injured? Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?" Azuka frowned and subconsciously wanted to pull the person over to check, but the person dodged his hand.
He walked silently towards the desk and shelves completely buried by the collapsed debris, staring down at the scattered seed shells, a small piece of broken bone specimen, and glasses with completely shattered lenses. "You should all be thankful for this rain and your incredible good luck—otherwise, with the amount of material in this wall alone, the chemical reaction from the violent collision would be enough to blow us all up."
He laughed softly, and the rain flowed down his face and slid down his pointed chin. His pale cheeks actually showed some rare color.
Ole Asaqi suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.
"As for you, the uninvited gentleman." The other party looked at him calmly. Ole subconsciously touched his weapon, but then he found himself funny - no matter how evil and terrifying the image of this person was in his mind, the guy in front of him was indeed just an ordinary person.
If his crazy companion hadn't stopped him, he could have killed the other person as easily as crushing an ant.
But soon the cold, hateful and vigilant expression on his face broke through.
"You and your father had a difficult relationship. As a child, you tried to gain his approval, but it was clear that he still looked down on you. So, driven by adolescent hormones, you attempted to accomplish something great on your own. Driven by a simple, yet unreflective, passion for justice, and a mind filled with passion but empty, you easily made a decision—you would punish evildoers like your father, especially the nobles and clergy who colluded with him."
As the other party approached him, Ole found himself somewhat afraid to look directly into those smoky gray eyes. The familiar fear deep in his memory once again entangled his limbs. "You played childish pranks on them, gloating over yourself in saving the common people like a legendary hero, content with the panic you created among those foolish, arrogant nobles, until one day, you suddenly regained memories that you shouldn't have..."
The last words were as light as a whisper, but they sounded like thunder in the ears of another person: "—Am I right? The leader of the Shadow Chasers, the unappreciated son of the Bloody Duke... the uninvited guest who destroyed my dormitory, my collection, and my glasses?"
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