The Anomaly's Path

The fog rolling through the western plaza was thick, smelling of dirt, blood, and rot. It drifted past the broken pillars of the square, wrapping around the legs of students who stood in uneven rows between the narrow alleys and the shelter entrance.

A mix of second-year and third-year fighters held their ground. Elves with bruised shoulders adjusted their bows, while a dwarf student leaned against his hammer, breathing through his mouth to clear the smell of beast blood.

A student spat dark saliva onto the ground and wiped his face with his sleeve. They were tired, their clothes torn, but nobody dropped their guard.

At the far end of the square, the wall stood cracked open, purple mist leaking through the gaps. Behind the defenders, the shelter doors groaned under the weight of hundreds of civilians huddled inside, their terrified whispers seeping through whenever a monster hit the ground outside.

They had been holding this spot for twenty-five long minutes, fighting to keep the monsters from reaching those doors.

From the fog came the low, wet scraping of claws.

A Grade 5 monster lunged forward, eight feet long, covered in dark scales, with four dark eyes that wept pus and a lower jaw that split into three parts. Acid dripped from its teeth, hissing against the ground.

Beside it came three Grade 4 beasts, hairless, with pale see-through skin and ribs that stuck out like blades.

"Hold the line!" Professor Veyra shouted, her voice raw. She thrust her hands forward, sending twin blasts of water that hit the monster’s chest, smashing it back against the ground with a wet crunch.

To the right, Nyra moved fast.

Her grey ears pinned flat against her head, she shot forward like a released spring, leaping over the monster’s tail to land squarely on the back of a leaping beast. Her claws flashed twice, driving straight through the creature’s spine before she kicked off its collapsing body to spin toward the second one.

On the left side, Amelia stood behind two third-year fighters with shields.

As a beast lunged over a shield, Amelia raised her hand. A swirling whip of water formed, wrapping around the creature’s front leg. She yanked hard, pulling the monster off balance and onto its side so a dwarf fighter could smash its head with his hammer.

In the center, Seris moved with quiet, steady rhythm. She ducked under the big monster’s swinging arm, her dark red dress fluttering around her boots. Her silver blade caught the light as she thrust upward, driving the edge through the soft spot beneath its jaw.

Lunar frost spread along the metal, freezing the creature’s blood before it could move. Seris twisted her sword and pulled it free as the heavy beast crashed sideways onto the ground.

Another beast dropped from above, its ribs sticking out like blades. Seris leaned back, letting the claws sweep past her neck, then swung her blade in a clean arc that cut off the monster’s head before kicking the body away into the fog.

Within minutes, the fight ended. The defenders stood breathing hard among thirty fresh, steaming bodies.

Seris let out a quiet breath, her chest rising and falling slowly. Her pale skin was unmarked, but her sleeves were stained with dirt, and her fingers felt stiff around the cold metal of her sword.

"Fall back to the doors!" a fighter shouted, wiping blood from his cheek. "Clear the area!"

The defenders pulled back from the alley, returning to the open space in front of the shelter. Some students sat on the floor, resting their weapons against their knees. Others leaned against the walls to catch their breath.

Near the shelter entrance, Professor Veyra walked between the groups, checking their injuries.

Amelia dropped to her knees near the entrance, her dark blue dress covered in mud. Sweat ran down her face as she pressed her glowing hands against a student’s open shoulder wound, pushing what little healing power she had left into it.

Nyra sat nearby on a low crate, her grey wolf ears flat against her head. Her leather outfit was covered in dirt, and her face was pale. Her stomach let out a loud growl. She winced, holding her belly.

"I’m starving," Nyra muttered, her tail twitching. "My legs feel like lead."

Seris walked over, her silver blade already sheathed. She reached into the pocket of her red dress, pulled out a small foil-wrapped chocolate bar, and looked at it for a long moment. It was only half a bar, the rest was long gone, but she held it out to Nyra.

Nyra blinked, her eyes widening. She grabbed it quickly, her ears perking up. "For me?"

"Eat it," Seris said flatly.

Nyra tore the foil open with her teeth and shoved the piece into her mouth, chewing fast with quiet satisfaction.

Amelia finished sealing the student’s wound and wiped her forehead with her sleeve. She looked up at Seris, her expression soft and tired. "Thank you, Senior Seris... You held the front line almost on your own. I hope we weren’t a burden out here."

Seris blinked, her pale face unchanged. "You weren’t. Your healing kept the fighters standing, and Nyra watched the sides. Everyone helped."

Amelia offered a weak smile, though it faded quickly as she let out a long sigh and leaned her head back against the cold wall. She stared up at the purple fog drifting above the rooftops.

"I just... I really don’t know what goes through Arthur’s head sometimes," Amelia murmured, her voice tired and frustrated. "He just charges ahead into the worst of it without thinking. He expects everyone to trust him, but he leaves us behind to clean up the mess. It’s so reckless."

Reckless...

Seris stared at Amelia’s tired face, her crimson eyes unreadable. She didn’t know what to say.

She didn’t offer a defense of Arthur, nor did she push Amelia for more. It wasn’t her place, and she didn’t care enough about Arthur to offer empty comfort. She just listened, her hands resting behind her back as the purple mist drifted past.

Everyone at the Academy knew who Amelia was: the heir of House Nightshade, Arthur’s partner, and Leo’s former fiancée.

The old scandal was public knowledge, how the childhood engagement between House Nightshade and House Celestial had fallen apart years ago when Leo awakened a weak core and turned bitter and self-destructive.

The rumors always painted Leo as an arrogant noble who ruined everything.

But the person Seris had spent time with didn’t match those rumors. The Leo she knew was an idiot, reckless, with no sense of direction, dry humor, and surprisingly good at cooking. But he wasn’t cruel. He was direct, stubborn, and oddly reliable when things went wrong.

She caught herself wondering what he had actually been like back then, before the engagement broke and the rumors started.

Why do I even care? Seris thought, her brow twitching in subtle irritation with herself.

Sure, Sylvia had brought up Leo occasionally in past conversations, but those were just distant stories about a troublesome younger brother.

Was she curious now simply because she had realized Leo somehow knew more about her than she did about him? Or was she just looking for a new way to tease him the next time he made a fool of himself?

Maybe it was just mindless curiosity born from exhaustion...

She stared down at Amelia. They had grown up together as childhood friends. If anyone actually knew the truth of who he used to be before he became an outcast, it was the girl sitting in the mud in front of her.

Seris shifted her weight, her voice cutting flatly through the quiet.

"Amelia."

Amelia pulled her gaze away from the sky, looking up in surprise. "Yes, Senior?"

"I..." Seris paused, her pale throat working as she struggled to phrase the awkward thought. "...I have something to ask you."

Amelia blinked, adjusting her position against the wall. "What is it?"

"Well... um..." Seris looked away slightly. "How was—"

Before she could finish, a loud crash echoed from the roof above the eastern alley.

Crash!

"Everyone!" a third-year shouted, raising his shield. "Roof!"

The defenders scrambled up, raising their weapons as dust and broken tiles rained down. Through the dust, three figures dropped from the ledge, hitting the ground with a heavy thud.

"FEAR NOT, CITIZENS!" Roan’s voice boomed through the square as he stood up, thrusting his spear into the air with a wide grin. "THE SAVIORS HAVE ARRIVED TO CARRY THIS GLORIOUS—"

Whack!

Elisabeth landed right beside him, her face red with fury as she punched his arm hard. "Shut up, Roan! You took the wrong turn three times! We jumped off a fourth-story roof because of you!"

"I WAS FOLLOWING MY NAVIGATIONAL INSTINCTS!" Roan yelled back, holding his arm where she hit him.

Behind them, Leo dropped out of the cloud, hitting the ground in a low crouch. His white silk coat was covered in dirt, his white hair grayed with ash, and his ocean-blue eyes looked utterly miserable.

"I am going to kill both of you," Leo muttered, his voice raspy as he stood up, leaning his hand against his knee to catch his breath. "I swear to God, Roan, if you say the word ’shortcut’ ever again..."

The entire plaza went dead silent. The students lowered their weapons slowly, staring at the three covered in dust.

Leo dusted off his chest, complaining under his breath, until he raised his head.

He didn’t look at Amelia kneeling by the doors. He didn’t look at Nyra, or Veyra, or the wounded students slumped against the ground. His eyes ignored every other person in the square, locking instantly and entirely onto Seris.

Seris stood near the choke point, her hands still behind her back, her crimson eyes locked on his ocean-blue eyes. Neither of them said a word. The wind blew a drift of purple mist between them, but they just stood there, staring at each other across the quiet street.

Roan looked between Leo and Seris, cleared his throat loudly, and patted Leo on the shoulder.

"Well..." Roan grinned, breaking the silence with a loud cough. "Reunion looks great. Who’s buying drinks?"

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