Chapter 319: The Professors

The students finally found the professors.

They came running through the forest, stumbling over roots and broken ground, their clothes covered in dirt and their Beast Partners exhausted.

The moment the professors saw them, several rushed forward, calling out to them, asking if anyone was hurt and where they had come from.

The students slowed down, breathing hard as they gathered together, and Professor Roland pushed his way through the other professors. His expression hardened immediately.

Something was wrong.

The students weren’t supposed to be this far from their assigned groups, and they certainly weren’t supposed to look like they had just escaped a battlefield.

"Everyone, calm down," Roland said. "One at a time."

A student tried to catch his breath. "Professor..."

Roland looked around. There were fewer students than he had expected, and his eyes narrowed. "Where’s Arthur?"

The question silenced them.

They had kept their promise and waited, but between the collapsed tunnel and the fight at the root, far more than ten minutes had passed since they left Arthur’s group.

So one of them finally answered honestly. "He went toward the transformed regions."

Roland stared at him. "He did what?"

"He went toward the transformed regions."

"With who?"

"Mithra, Sun, Athena, Luna, and Vedas. Eden, Star, and the rest of their Beasts too."

Several professors exchanged looks, and Roland’s expression slowly changed. He had known Arthur long enough to recognize the pattern. Something strange had happened, Arthur had learned something, and instead of coming back to the professors, he had gone deeper.

"Why?" Roland asked.

The students hesitated, and one of them glanced at the others before answering. "They think the transformed regions are connected to the Mirrors."

Roland’s eyes sharpened. "The Mirrors..."

He looked up at the distant sky, where the five colors were still visible even from here, fire, water, earth, darkness, and light. The entire Secret Realm had changed.

Roland exhaled slowly. "They’re going after the Mirrors."

No one answered. They didn’t need to.

One of the professors stepped closer. "Should we bring them back?"

Roland’s first instinct was yes. Of course they should. Arthur was a student, and so were Mithra, Sun, Athena, and the others.

Whatever they had discovered, they were still first-years inside a Secret Realm that had just transformed completely.

But before Roland could answer, another professor pointed toward the forest. "Professor Roland."

The ground trembled, and a massive root tore through the earth several hundred meters away. Students cried out as it twisted through the forest like a living serpent before slamming back into the ground, and several corrupted Beasts burst out from between the trees.

The professors moved into position immediately, shouting to protect the students and form a defensive line, and the battlefield erupted as they and their Beast Partners attacked.

It didn’t take long to drive the corrupted Beasts back, but as Roland watched them retreat, his expression grew heavier. The situation was getting worse by the minute.

"We can’t abandon the students," one professor said.

"No," Roland said. "But we can’t ignore Arthur’s group either."

Another tremor shook the ground, and a student swallowed. "Professor..."

Roland looked at him, and the student hesitated before going on. "They told us to come back to you, so you’d know what was happening. They said you’d know what to do."

Roland stared at him for several seconds, and then he smiled faintly. "Of course they did."

That sounded exactly like Arthur. Throw the problem at the professors, and keep moving.

Roland rubbed his forehead, and he was about to make a decision when a laugh came from behind the students.

"Well, well."

Roland froze. He knew that voice.

Several students turned as a young man with an easy smile walked out from between the trees. A massive Beast stood beside him, Mephistopheles, its enormous body covered in dark fur, its presence powerful enough that several nearby students stepped aside without thinking.

Leon stretched his arms. "As expected of Arthur."

Roland slowly turned toward him. "Leon."

Leon smiled. "What?"

"Where are you going?"

"Where Arthur went."

"No."

"Yes."

"Leon."

Leon didn’t even slow down. He walked over to Mephistopheles and set one foot against the Beast’s side.

Roland stared at him. "You’re not going."

Leon looked back over his shoulder, and his grin widened. "How can I miss out on the fun Arthur’s planning to have?"

Roland’s eye twitched. "Leon, this isn’t a game."

"I know," Leon said, jumping onto Mephistopheles. "That’s why it’s interesting."

Mephistopheles lowered its body as its muscles tightened, and Roland realized immediately what was about to happen. "Leon..."

The Beast roared.

BOOM!

Mephistopheles launched forward in an explosion of dirt and leaves, and Leon laughed as they vanished into the forest. "Come on, Mephi!"

"LEON!"

Roland’s voice echoed through the trees, and then there was nothing. A single leaf drifted down. Roland stood there with his mouth slightly open, and then he closed his eyes. "...Of course."

One of the younger professors tried very hard not to laugh.

Roland opened one eye. "Don’t."

The professor immediately looked away.

"I’m going too," another voice said from behind them.

Roland’s shoulders dropped. He already knew. Slowly, he turned around, and there stood Cassian, with Taurus beside him. The massive Beast pawed at the ground, its eyes fixed on the direction Leon had gone.

Roland stared at Cassian, and Cassian stared back. "Professor?"

Roland rubbed his forehead. "No."

Cassian blinked. "...No?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Because I’ve already watched one idiot run toward danger."

Cassian frowned. "Leon isn’t an idiot."

Roland stared at him.

Cassian paused. "...Usually."

Roland sighed. "And you’re planning to do the same thing."

Cassian tightened his grip on his sword. "I know. Arthur’s walking into something dangerous." He looked toward the distant World Tree, its enormous branches covering the sky and black veins running across its golden trunk, and his expression turned serious. "I’m not letting him have all the fun."

Roland closed his eyes. For some reason, that answer made perfect sense. Arthur had a talent for dragging people into trouble, and apparently, the people around him had developed a talent for following.

Roland looked at Taurus, and the Beast gave a low growl. "You too?"

Taurus snorted, and Cassian smiled.

Roland sighed. "The people who spend time around Arthur always turn out troublesome."

A few students laughed, and Cassian looked confused. "Was that supposed to be an insult?"

"Yes."

"Oh." Cassian stepped onto Taurus. "I’ll take it as a compliment."

"That’s exactly the problem!"

Taurus charged, and Roland watched them disappear after Leon. He didn’t even bother shouting this time. Instead, he turned to the other professors. "We’re moving."

The atmosphere changed immediately as the professors gathered around him.

"We can’t send everyone," Roland said. "The students are still our responsibility."

One professor nodded. "So how many?"

"Ten."

Another professor understood right away. "Two for each Mirror."

"Exactly," Roland said, pointing toward the five distant regions. "Fire, water, earth, darkness, and light."

Each of those directions had become a battlefield, and each Mirror was now exposed. If Arthur was right about their importance, those five places could decide whether the Secret Realm survived.

"Two professors to each region," Roland said. "Everyone else stays here."

A professor frowned. "Even if the corruption spreads?"

"Especially because of that." Roland pointed at the students. "If we send everyone after the Mirrors, these students are left vulnerable."

The other professors nodded. The decision was obvious. Some would go forward, and the others would stay behind.

"Those staying here will protect the students and deal with any corrupted Beasts that reach this area," Roland continued. "If things get worse, fall back toward the safest remaining ruins."

"And the professors going to the Mirrors?"

Roland looked at the enormous World Tree. "Find Arthur’s group."

"And if we find them?"

Roland’s expression turned complicated. "Help them."

One professor smiled. "You don’t sound confident they’ll listen."

Roland gave him a tired look. "They won’t."

Several professors laughed, and Roland shook his head. "Just make sure they survive."

The professors began splitting into groups, checking their weapons, calling their Beast Partners forward, and repeating their orders, while the students watched in silence.

For the first time since entering the Everglades, they understood something. The professors weren’t just supervising them anymore. They were fighting a disaster.