Chapter 71— Behind Closed Doors
One week had slipped by since the blood and terror of Rune Island. The Grand Aetherion Academy had seamlessly dusted off it's shoulders, sliding right back into the familiar, rigid grooves of routine.
The student body grumbled about their lessons, professors droned through endless lectures, and the classrooms remained blanketed in the same familiar, suffocating aura of academic boredom.
"Alright students." Instructor Valeria's sharp commanding voice echoed through the class B lecture hall as she snapped her textbook shut with an elegant, final motion.
"I expect you to review every chapter we covered today. Class dismissed."
Sarina sat at her desk, her chin propped heavily in her palm, her eyes narrowing as she watched Valeria stride out of the room.
Around her, students packed their books and notes, murmuring as they drifted towards the exit.
Sarina's gaze drifted naturally across the room, landing on a specific spot.
The empty seat.
Rowan's desk. Untouched. Unoccupied.
'He's not here today, either.' she thought, her brow furrowing with quiet concern.
It had been a full week since the Rune Island incident, and Rowan had completely vanished from the grid.
He hadn't attended a single lecture, and no one had spotted him wandering the grounds. To make matters worse, Ritvik hadn't shown up for class today, either.
Sarina exhaled a slow, heavy breath, gathering her materials with practiced, mechanical efficiency.
"Sigh... What on earth is happening?"
"Hey! Sarina."
"Hmm?"
She blinked, turning her head towards the call as a couple of her female classmates waved her over. waiting by the doorway. With a small, polite smile.
She rose from her seat and fell into step with them as they headed out into the courtyard.
---
"Did you heard it? Lord Zephyr just asked another girl out yesterday."
"Kyya~ I'm wondering When will he ask me out too.",
As they strolled across the sun-drenched academy grounds, Sarina's friends chattered mindlessly, trading the usual breathless whispers of teenage gossip, dating rumors, and campus drama. But Sarina's mind wasn't on them.
The afternoon sun blazed warmly from a cloudless sky, casting a soft golden light over the manicured green lawns and vibrant flower beds. A cool, refreshing autumn breeze swept across the paths, carrying the scent of blooming seasonal flora.
It was a picture of peaceful campus life. Green fields, cool wind, refreshing flowers and a screaming, terrified Ritvik sprinting straight toward her.
'Wait Ritvik?'
As Sarina squinted against the glare, she realized he wasn't just running—he was fleeing. Hot on his heels was a towering, roaring wave of magical heat.
When her eyes adjusted, the source of the chaos became terrifyingly clear: an incandescently furious Seraphine, wreathed in roaring crimson flames, was hunting him down with bloodthirsty intent.
Sarina froze dead in her tracks, her jaw slightly slack.
Taking that opportunity Ritvik quickly lunged forward, diving directly behind Sarina's back and using her as a human shield.
He grabbed her shoulders and started gasping for breath.
"Huff... Huff... Class leader please save me."
Sarina slowly glanced over her shoulder, her brow twitching.
"What on earth did you do?"
"Hey! You fucking pervert, get out from behind her and face me! Don't hide now you fucking bastard!"
Seraphine roared, screeching to a halt a few feet away. her eyes blazing with literal fire. Swirling ribbons of crimson flame danced menacingly around her hands. She looked ready to commit murder.
"Huff... Huff hey Sera." Panted her friends Selene and Marna as they finally jogged into view, scrambling to catch up to their unhinged friend.
"What is going on here?" Sarina demanded, stepping forward. "Why are you—"
"Shut up and get out of my way! I'm going to turn this pervert into a crispy grey ash!"
"Hey, calm down!"
Sarina threw a hand out, stepping defensively in front of Ritvik.
Selene and Marna quickly flanked Seraphine, each grabbing one of her arms to physically restrain her from lunging forward.
But even Seraphine's friends were struggling to keep her restrained.
Sarina twisted around to look at the trembling boy cowering behind her.
"What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything, it's all a misunderstanding! I can explain—"
"Misunderstanding my ass!" Seraphine shrieked, straining against her friends grip. "You want to explain? Let me tell these girls what you did, and they'll help me set you on fire!"
Just ten minutes prior...
"Ugh, when are we going to have practicals again?"
Seraphine had groaned, dragging her feet across the stone pathways alongside her friends Selene Aquaryon and Marna Terragate.
"I'm getting sick of sitting through endless, boring lectures."
"Well," Marna replied coolly, adjusting her posture. "The academy temporarily suspended practical field activities because of the Rune Island incident."
"By the way," Selene muttered, side-eyeing her friends. "why didn't you guys inform me when that dark mage attack happened?"
"Because We were busy fighting that dark mage ourselves back then." Seraphine deadpanned.
"But you didn't fought him." Marna muttered.
"Yeah... But I wanted to though." Seraphine crossed her arms, rolling her eyes.
"How did the dark mage looked?" Selene asked.
"Well he was already a mangled corpse by the time I reached there so..." Seraphine closed her eyes and shrugged her shoulders dismissively.
"Whatever."
Looking for a place to rest, they spotted a secluded public stone bench shaded by a massive oak tree. Without breaking stride, Seraphine spun gracefully and flopped backward onto the seat, closing her eyes with a dramatic sigh.
"So, where do you think they'll send us next for practicals—"
She shifted, trying to get comfortable, but felt something unnaturally soft and strangely textured beneath her.
"Hey, Sera."
Seraphine blinked, opening her eyes at the sudden, unnatural drop in Marna's tone.
"What?"
Marna was pointing a trembling finger directly at the wooden slats of the bench beneath Seraphine. Next to her, Selene was staring with a look of absolute, unadulterated horror.
Slowly, Seraphine turned her head downward.
Her breath caught. Someone had been sleeping curled up on the bench. And right now... she had planted herself square on top of his face.
"Huh..? Eh?!... ahhh...!"
Seraphine launched herself off the bench like a startled cat, violently clutching the hem of her skirt down as if she had just touched a cursed artifact.
"Umm... What was that?" Ritvik groaned, slowly sitting up from the bench and rubbing his bleary, sleep-deprived eyes.
The very first thing the poor boy saw when he woke up was an incandescent, enraged trembling Seraphine clutching the hem of her skirt with trembling hands while a violent aura of crimson flames began to engulf her body, she was looking ready to commit first-degree murder.
Ritvik's primal survival instincts screamed at him in binary code: *If you stay here for one more second, you will cease to exist.*
Seraphine's eyes met his. The temperature in the courtyard spiked.
"Y-YOU FUCKING PERVERT!!!"
Ritvik didn't even think. He rolled off the bench and bolted for his life.
Seraphine had launched into immediate pursuit, which in turn forced Selene and Marna to sprint after their friend to prevent an accidental homicide.
---
Back to the present
Sarina stood completely expressionless, processing the sheer absurdity of the story.
She slowly turned back to look at Ritvik, who was still hiding behind her shoulder like a frightened animal.
"And you thought sleeping on a public bench in broad daylight was a smart idea?" Sarina asked flatly.
"I can explain, it's not like what you think—"
"Get out of my way I don't want to hear any explanation." Seraphine roared. It was only her friends that were stoping her from burning Ritvik down.
Sarina looked at him.
"Then explain quickly what are you waiting for?"
"I have been sleeping on that bench for the last week."
"What?"
"Yeah."
"Drop dead, you pervert!" Seraphine screamed from where she was still being held back by her friends.
Ritvik winced, ignoring her to look pleadingly at Sarina. "It's Rowan! He locked himself in our room. I've pounded on the door every single day, but he won't open it. He hasn't come out once since we got back from Rune Island!"
Sarina's eyes widened slightly, the annoyance draining out of her, replaced by sudden, sharp concern.
"And that's why I have been sleeping on that bench for the past week." Ritvik muttered innocently.
"What do you mean, he locked himself in?"
"I don't know! He just went completely silent!"
"Let me go! Just let me at him for five seconds!" Seraphine continued to roar, though Selene and Marna were stubbornly hauling her away backward.
Ritvik flinched. But Selene and Marna who had been hearing his explanation with focus exchanged a quick, knowing look. Nodding in unison, they tightened their grips on Seraphine's arms and began forcibly dragging her away down the path.
"Let's go Sera."
"W-Wait, what?! Let go of me!"
"It's partially your fault too for not looking before you sat down."
"Hey! let me go. Listen you pervert! Just wait The next time I see you, I will burn you to your very bones."
Ritvik watched in profound relief as the duo dragged the furious girl out of sight.
Once they vanished around the corner, Ritvik slumped forward, letting out a long, exhausted sigh and pressing both palms against his face.
'My gosh... What was that.'
His face completely turned red. He lowered his hands, staring up at the bright blue sky in a daze. A sudden, vivid flash hit his memory—the exact moment he had woken up with his face buried against something remarkably soft, warm, and distinctly feminine.
'It was like the heaven had descended on me.'
"Ritvik?"
'I think I saw it a little. What was the colour?Was it Red? No it was definitely crimson. Wait aren't they both basically the same thing?
"Hey! Ritvik!"
"Ouch!"
Sarina delivered a sharp, merciless punch straight to his ribs. Ritvik yelped, clutching his side as he snapped violently out of his daydream.
"Yeah?!"
"What were you daydreaming about just now?"
"Me? Nothing! Haha, absolutely nothing at all!"
Sighh...
Sarina sighed, rubbing her temples with an air of profound exhaustion. "Whatever. Let's go. We're going to check on Rowan right now."
---
Clicnk! — Clang!
The heavy mechanical click of a master key turning in a lock echoed down the desolate residential corridor.
"Thank you, Headmaid," Sarina said politely, bowing her head.
"No problem, dears. Ask me anything you need," the elderly head maid chuckled gently, pulling the key from the brass mechanism and shuffling away down the hall.
Ritvik stared after her, dumbfounded. "I didn't know the head maid had spare keys to all the student rooms."
"You would have known if you actually bothered to read the student handbook,"
Sarina retorted, stepping up to the door of Room 32(B).
Behind this piece of wood was Rowan.
The boy they hadn't seen, heard from, or caught a glimpse of in seven agonizing days.
Sarina reached out, her fingers wrapping around the cold iron doorknob. She took a steadying breath and slowly twisted it.
Creak!!
Slowly the heavy door drifted open, revealing the dim, suffocating interior of the room.
---
CHAPTER ENDS