Chapter 232: I have a lot of questions to ask you

Ravenna’s hand grabbed the figure in the lightning trail as she muttered with a smirk of victory, "Caught you, little brat."

Her eyes widened as she realised that what she had caught wasn’t a person, but another mannequin. Its form had been scorched, with numerous cracks spreading across its surface. A sticky note had somehow managed to survive on its chest. It read:

Got you twice, stupid old bitch.

This time, the message was bracketed by two drawings of middle fingers.

Veins bulged across Ravenna’s temples, her face turning crimson with fury. She tore the mannequin into pieces as she shouted, "Don’t let me get my hands on you!!!!!"

Her head snapped forward, her glare fixed on the buildings ahead as she sensed a presence. It was so faint and so fast that she couldn’t determine its exact location.

She immediately appeared in front of the dormitories again, only to realise there was no one there.

However, her instincts told her otherwise. It wasn’t that there was no one here, but that someone had already sneaked in.

It was a direct strike at her pride and reputation. If word got out that a boy had sneaked into the girls’ dormitories while she was on guard, it would be a stain on her spotless record.

"Since you are already here..." she muttered, tightening her fists until her knuckles turned white. "I will definitely catch you."

---

Fifteen minutes earlier...

Vlad grabbed two discarded mannequins from the dumpster of a clothing shop. He could have bought cleaner ones from the shop, but since they could be traced back to him through the payment details, he decided not to take the risk.

Just to make the warden angry and lose her composure, he slammed those sticky notes onto them.

Using Lightning Steps, he circled around the girls’ dormitories, reaching the opposite side while making sure to maintain a proper distance from Ravenna’s senses.

He placed one mannequin on the ground, angling it against a rock, its head pointing toward the roof of the distant building.

"ZHAEKOR" (Lightning)

He murmured as he placed his hand upon the mannequin. A small crimson bolt of lightning appeared at the back of the mannequin, pulsating with a faint glow.

It was a time dilation lightning spell. With the same word, Vlad could use different forms of the same spell.

He quickly made his way back to the roof of the market building, placing another mannequin there and casting a similar spell.

He untied his long hair, letting it spill freely. The suit from his ring spread across his entire body, covering every part of him, including his eyes and even his hair, pressing it tightly against his body, which was the reason he had untied it.

Now, even if Ravenna saw him, she wouldn’t be able to identify him. He was confident in his abilities and certain that he wouldn’t get caught by her.

Thus, his plan began. The first mannequin shot forward with a lower time dilation, followed by the second one a few seconds later. While Ravenna was at the farthest end of the dormitory building, crimson lightning danced across Vlad’s legs. He shot straight toward the fourth-floor window of the grandest building at explosive speed.

He moved nearly ten times faster than the mannequins.

Just as he was about to reach Seraphina’s room, he murmured, gulping nervously, "I hope the mannequins had distracted her—"

His words stopped mid-sentence as he realised something. How was he supposed to stop now?

With his current momentum, he would crash directly into the opposite wall of Seraphina’s room. The collision alone would be loud enough to awaken even the people in the neighbouring building.

"Fuck," he muttered, moving straight through the window of Seraphina’s room with no sign of slowing down.

He channeled his crimson lightning into his eyes, slowing the world only for himself.

He would hit the wall in less than a millisecond. He needed to think of something to stop himself within that time without making any noise.

The nanoparticles covering his face rapidly shifted backward as two metallic arms shot behind him from his back. They grabbed the frame of the window to slow him down. His speed decreased several times as the arms stretched, but cracks began spreading across the wall around the window. Knowing that the wall wouldn’t hold for long, the arms let go of the window.

Vlad closed his eyes, just a metre away from the wall, knowing he could do nothing.

It was then that several vines bound his wrists and ankles from behind. They stretched taut, their sudden tension pulling his body backward with tremendous force.

Vlad’s body jerked to a halt, stopping a mere hair’s breadth from the wall.

He slowly opened his eyes, realising he hadn’t struck the wall.

"Hah... hah..." He took deep breaths to calm himself down.

Bonk!

A light fist landed on his head, feeling more like a gentle tap. He looked back over his shoulder, finding Seraphina standing there atop the coil of a vine to reach his height. Her hands rested on her waist, and her eyes narrowed at him.

"Are you trying to break all of your bones or what?" she muttered with a deep frown. Her sharp fangs were visible as she spoke, her pupils turned vertical.

Before he could speak, she waved her hand. The vines turned into faint particles of crimson mana before completely vanishing.

Vlad landed on the floor with a light thud. The nanoparticle arms returned to his body. With just a thought, the suit absorbed back into the ring on his finger.

"I have a lot of questions to ask you," Seraphina murmured, shaking her head in bewilderment.

Despite the calm demeanour with which she talked to him, Vlad could clearly see her huffing with each breath. Her complexion had turned pale, and her arms were trembling at her sides.

"We can talk about it later," Vlad said, walking dangerously closer to her. He took off the high-neck t-shirt he wore beneath the suit in one smooth motion, knowing it would only get in the way. "There are more pressing matters that need to be dealt with."