Chapter 724 - Confrontation With The Headmaster Of Hestia Academy
William and his group had already been on the island for three days.
Jophiel had no time to look for him because he had been busy dealing with the disappearance of the Requiem Antz.
They had already searched the entire island, but their efforts bore no fruit. In the end, they all decided to wait for the Headmaster of the Academy to arrive. They had already done their best, and there was no use sending more people out on a wild goose chase.
Finally, the Headmaster of Hestia Academy arrived, riding a Red Dragon that was over ten meters long.
His white, short, hair hung awkwardly over a furrowed, solemn face. His gentle hazel eyes were set seductively within their sockets.
Although he was old, his skin was still fair, and handsomely complimented his eyes and cheekbones.
This was Byron Massingale, the Headmaster of Hestia Academy.
William's eyes widened in shock when his gaze landed on the man that sat at the helm of the most prestigious academy of the world. William had seen many powerful men before, but Byron was different.
The Headmaster was practically brimming with power. It was so strong that it made the air fluctuate as he walked towards Jophiel's and William's direction.
William was very tempted to use his God Points to appraise the Headmaster's stats. However, he immediately changed his mind after Optimus informed him that it would cost him a million God Points just to check the Headmaster's information.
< For some reason, that person seems to be protected by some kind of Law. This is another reason as to why it will take that many God Points to appraise his information. If I were to make a hypothesis, this person is in a contract with a God, and it is not an ordinary God, but a very powerful one. >
William's eyes narrowed. Even without the appraising skill, he could tell that the person in front of him wasn't a pure-blooded Human.
'His power fluctuations are similar to Vlad,' William thought. 'Could this person possibly be a Demigod?'
The Half-Elf felt that his guess was on the mark, but without spending his God Points, he would not be able to confirm anything. After a brief internal struggle, William decided not to use his God Points.
He would rather use them to enhance his Thousand Beast Domain, and make the lives of the creatures under his command able to live more comfortable lives.
"So, you are William," Byron said. "I've heard many things about you."
William smiled, "And, I have not heard many things about you."
Byron chuckled and placed his hand on William's shoulder.
"Tell me, young man, are you the one who took the Requiem Antz away from this island?" Byron asked. His gaze locked on William's light-green eyes as if he was looking straight into the Half-Elf's soul.
William shook his head, "No. I haven't even seen them."
"Is that so?"
"Is that the reason why I'm stuck on this island? I've been inside the Outpost ever since I arrived on the island. If you don't believe me, you can ask Sir Jophiel."
Jophiel, who was standing beside William, nodded his head in acknowledgement.
"William did not step out of the outpost on the night the Antz disappeared from their nest," Jophiel stated. "He has been well behaved and obediently followed the protocols we set inside the Outpost since the incident."
William stayed silent and acted as an innocent bystander. He had known long ago that Demigods could tell if a person was lying. Because of this, he, and Optimus had already set up a countermeasure that would prevent anyone from seeing through William's poker face.
Byron stared at Jophiel for half a minute before shifting his gaze back to William.
"How tall were the Antz?" Byron inquired. "Did you see their Queen?"
As Byron asked his questions, William felt himself falling into a daze. Some kind of energy was passing through the Headmaster's hand that was resting on the Half-Elf's shoulder, making him feel muddled.
—--
< Detecting Befuddlement Spell >
< Initiating countermeasures… >
< Countermeasures success! >
< Befuddlement resisted! >
—-
'This old bastard!' William cursed internally as his jumbled thoughts finally merged together.
He unconsciously unleashed the Power of his Einherjar Job Class and pushed Byron away with a hateful gaze.
William's hair turned silver as Stormcaller and Soleil materialized in front of him. Although he didn't want to use the power of his Job Class because there was a chance of losing the memories of his past life, he would not allow anyone to have their way with him without his permission!
"Quite a hot-blooded young man. I'm just asking questions," Byron said with a calm expression on his face. "Why are you resorting to violence?"
William sneered, "You should already know the answer to that question, you Old F*cker!"
Jophiel and the Hunters looked at Wiliam with a dumbfounded expression. Byron was admired and respected by all the rulers and patriarchs on the Central Continent. They would do their best to form a good relationship with him and treat him politely.
This was the first time that they had seen someone who dared to curse the Headmaster to his face, and it made them feel like William was being suicidal.
Byron sighed as he summoned his magic staff. "You know, only Chloee can talk to me like you did in the academy. I'm only asking questions about the Requiem Antz. Why are you being defensive? Do you have something to hide?"
"Yes, I have something to hide," William replied. "I have many secrets, and some of them are enough to make an old bastard like you regret that you ever dared to use a befuddlement spell on me!"
Zhu's, Sha's, and Kenneth's expressions became serious. They knew that William was not someone who would openly become hostile with someone, unless the other party did something to him.
Now that they heard that Byron used a befuddlement spell on him, all of them summoned their weapons and stood beside William. They would definitely support him in his fight against the Headmaster of Hestia Academy who was bullying a child.
Even Jophiel who was standing on the side felt awkward. A befuddlement spell was something that made its target lose their train of thought and scattered their reasoning. This was a spell that breached a person's privacy, and was only used during interrogations.
Although the Requiem Antz issue was important to the academy, he also felt that Byron's action was out of line.
If word got out that Byron attempted to use a spell to interrogate one of the examinees who was taking the Entrance Exam, the reputation of their academy would take a hit.
This in turn might have a negative effect on the future applicants who might become disillusioned by the Headmaster's way of doing things.
Some of the people that had come to see the Headmaster started whispering to each other. They were all refugees and outcasts that had sought the aid of the Academy in order to find a safe place to live.
They fled from their homeland because of abuse and suppression. The last thing they wanted to see was the Headmaster of the Academy doing this kind of thing to a teenager.
If he could do it to William, didn't that mean that Byron could do the same to them as well?
Seeing that things were getting out of hand, Jophiel decided to step in.. The last thing he wanted to see was people losing faith in the academy, where he had served for almost half of his lifetime.