Chapter 119: His Promise

The truth finally dawned on her.

The second-year academy schedule was steep, and even Evie knew that.

She had a friend in the same Mech Design Institute as Declan who had mentioned the grueling schedule, with free time only on weekends, so she had always wondered why he couldn’t see her even once during those weekends, but now it finally made sense.

He was designing a Mech.

And looking at the Everlight before her, she quickly realized this was no ordinary hobby project.

The sleek form, the material she couldn’t even name, and the overall design all reflected the extraordinary effort he had put into it, and a single project like this could take even a large Mech organization weeks to complete.

Yet he had pulled it off in three months despite the steep academy schedule.

"I’m sorry," she whispered, lowering her head.

She had doubted him, thought so many wrong things about him, and even made him feel bad, but the truth was exactly as he had said.

He had indeed been busy.

"No, I’m the one who should apologize," he said as she raised her head. "I should have told you what I was doing to put your mind at ease, but I never did... I’m sorry."

He turned his face to the side, though he couldn’t hide the red in his cheeks.

In the next second, Evie stepped forward, flashing toward him, and he turned just in time for her to fall into his embrace.

"I’m happy."

A confused glint flashed in his eyes.

"And why is that?"

"I don’t know... but maybe because I was wrong," she whispered.

Declan paused, a glint of realization crossing his eyes before he hugged her in return, tapping her back twice.

"There, there, little pinky. It’ll all be okay."

His teasing words brought her back to her senses, and her brows furrowed as she suddenly grabbed the side of his stomach, pinching his flesh tightly.

"YOW!" Declan exclaimed, jumping back from the sudden shock.

Giggle.

A giggle echoed through the snowy area as Evie looked at him, wincing in pain.

"What did you do that for?"

"That’s your punishment for making me so worried," she said with a huff, turning to the side with a pout.

But her annoyed expression vanished the moment a snowball slammed into her face.

"YOU!"

"And that’s for the bullying..." he said, holding a handful of snowballs in his hand.

"You donkey!" Evie screamed, grabbing a handful of snow from the ground, but she was still too slow.

BAAAM!

BAAAM!

BAAAM!

Declan flung three snowballs at her, each bursting against her head, but she managed to scoop a few up and hurl them back.

A fierce snow battle erupted, and naturally, the mighty pink Evie won, smashing him with a gigantic snowball that swallowed him whole.

She giggled in victory, but after ten seconds of silence, concern crept in.

"Hey, Declan, you there?"

No answer.

Her heart spiraled into panic as she dove into the snow to scoop him out, but when she reached the end, there was no sign of him.

And in the next moment...

"BAAAAM!"

Something knocked into her from behind, sending her flying into the snow hill.

"You! You donkey!" she screamed, popping her head out.

Behind her stood Declan with a victorious grin, dusting the snow off his clothes.

"I guess we can both agree it’s my win..." he said.

She huffed angrily, but her expression quickly softened into a smile as she collapsed onto the snow hill.

"I’ve always wanted to do this for so long. How I wish we could continue forever..." she mused quietly beneath her breath, but Declan’s sharp hearing caught it.

The words wiped the grin off his face, reminding him of what was coming.

"Hey, Evie."

She lifted her head to look down at him from the snow hill.

"About my leaving..." he said, pausing.

Realization crossed her eyes as she remembered.

"Will this really be the last time I see you?" she asked.

He shook his head.

"I plan to come back sometime later..."

"So, you really are leaving..." she whispered.

He remained silent, but that was enough of an answer.

"It’s just to get a couple of important things done."

"I’m still a second-year student in X Guard, so you can take it as me just going on a quest..." he explained.

She hummed softly beneath her breath, a light of realization crossing her eyes, followed by an evil idea.

She sat up on the snow hill.

"Awwwn, Is someone trying to comfort me?" she teased.

Declan paused, his face turning red.

"You can’t be helped, can you?"

"Awwwn, and here comes his shyness," she teased further.

"Fine, I’m leaving," he said, turning his back, but he hadn’t taken a second step when he felt her hands wrap around him from behind, her breath sending a tingling sensation down his neck.

"Promise me..."

"Promise me this won’t be the last time," she whispered, and he felt her hold faintly tightening.

It made him think about it. Could there be anything that would ever stop him from coming to X Guard Academy after this?

There was nothing he could think of, so he decided.

"I promise," he said, holding her hands, and she smiled.

They remained quietly like that for about thirty seconds, though to Evie, those had to be the shortest thirty seconds of her life.

They parted, and when he turned to her, her face had regained that pink blush.

"You sure are acting a little too happy today," he teased, watching her quickly put on her helmet with unnatural speed.

"Shut up!" she said from within, and he rolled his eyes.

At that moment, a golden illumination half-illuminated them, and they both turned, finding the sunlight breaking through the clouds.

It was the first ray of dawn, and how beautiful it was.

"I guess you’ll be leaving soon," Evie said from the side, and he turned to her.

He couldn’t really see through the helmet, but he nodded.

"Yes."

GRUUUUUUUM!

The Tron powerbike rumbled from afar, soon swerving toward them.

"Switch to Basic Mode," Declan said to Ever.

Instantly, the sleek Mech frame transformed back into the staff, and he slipped it neatly into his sleeve.

Evie sat on the bike, and the motion reminded him of something.

"I almost forgot. How was my bike ride?" he asked as he took his seat behind her.

"Slow as a slow coach as ever?" she replied, the communicator allowing her words to ring clearly inside his helmet as she revved the bike.

"And that’s completely voluntary. I didn’t want us to crash after all," he said, and Evie’s brow twitched with disbelief as she rode forward.

"Actually, I meant that as irony. You were going ridiculously fast!" she said, and his brows twitched.

"For real?" he whispered, and her giggling filled his helmet afterward.

Declan was dropped off at the intersection where the X Guardian Card had previously directed him, and after giving Evie a wave, he watched her zoom off into the distance, smiling quietly before turning back.

Only a moment later, his hand reached up and grabbed his head, but instead of touching his hair, it struck something hard.

He took it off immediately and realized what it was.

"Oh shhiii. I forgot to return the helmet?" he mused, turning back.

She was already long gone.

In the end, he could only shrug it off and take the helmet with him.

Unknown to him, Evie had parked at a building by the side, a pair of binoculars in her hands as she watched him through them.

She watched as he paused, a flicker of realization crossing his face before he shrugged and continued, taking the helmet with him.

The sight of that made her smile in relief, and she jumped back on the bike, continuing toward the dorm building.

_______________

As Declan followed the direction of the X Guardian Card, he was a bit surprised to notice that the card was pulling him toward a different place, an area he had never been to before.

On the map, there were the Newcomer Area, the second-year area, and the third-year area, but there was also a place with no tag whose entrance was strictly forbidden to all students.

It had eventually been named the Instructor’s Area by the students since only instructors could enter, and he was surprised to find the card’s pull bringing him there.

As he arrived in the Instructor’s Area, he found his destination before any instructor could find him, most likely ground him, and stepped through the revolving glass door.

The moment he stepped inside, he felt it clearly, a ripple as if he had passed through a teleporter, and when he came out on the other side, he found himself not in an entrance hall, but in a void.

A golden void littered with dots of black.

At the center stood a golden table, behind which sat a man with long golden hair that cascaded down his shoulders like a waterfall.

A tiny book rested in his fingers, held up to his face and obstructing it, but in the next moment, he shifted it aside and stared at Declan, whose heart rate unconsciously increased as he looked at the man.

He was a middle-aged man who seemingly appeared to be in his early thirties, but what Declan truly found bizarre were his eyes.

They were strange, and it wasn’t particularly the golden color, but the serpentine-like irises he possessed.

Instead of humanoid, circular pupils, the man’s eyes were serpentine, but Declan remained shocked only for a moment before realizing the reason.

’He most likely just fused with a Mech Module that shaped his eyes like that.’

"I haven’t seen you around here before..."