Sulong was left with the red-haired boy, the former sitting on the ground with his eyes closed and the latter blankly staring at the wall.

A deafening bout of silence flowed between the two, one that was broken by an abrupt movement by the two residents.

A small wave of crimson fire burst from Sulong’s body, and a squirming black tentacle came out of the boy’s abdomen, both of which shooting in a specific direction.

The tentacle was cut in half but the fire couldn’t be as easily blocked. The invisible invader’s body became momentarily visible as she leapt back, her silhouette merging into the wall and then vanishing.

“Tsk! I knew it!”

Sulong punched the ground in anger and glanced at the expressionless kid. Even though they didn’t directly converse, the two were thinking the same thing and acted simultaneously.

This inexplicable occurrence started only recently; Sulong had this uncomfortable sensation of being watched, specifically when Zeke was here.

However, Zeke didn’t seem aware of it, which made Sulong all the more confused. At first, he thought it was his imagination or anxiety, but after repeated exposure to this sensation, he was confident that someone had been watching him.

“Could it be someone from Erys?”

Alas, Sulong couldn’t get a good look at the invisible person. He sighed and got to his feet, planning to prepare some food for the boy.

…

A few blocks away from the loan shark’s office, Katrina’s body returned to normal. Her blades were hidden under her tight sleeves, however, one of them was surprisingly burnt. In fact, a third of her palm was also scorched by the crimson flame, which astonished her.

Someone with her expertise shouldn’t have been noticed, not by someone like Sulong. Although her knowledge was limited, it was clear that he had acquired his power but recently, thus making it impossible for his perception to be so high. Yet, against all odds, he had been able to sense twice and even succeeded in inflicting damage.

‘I thought the kid was dangerous. No… I have to be wary of that man’s power. I can’t gauge it.’

****

“Zeke Orland?”

A group of four senior Students blocked his path, their leader calling his name with a clarion and loud voice.

With just a glance, Zeke recognized all of them. Unlike the Special Investigation Squad, which was a secret team created by the Principal, these four were part of the Student Council.

The tall youth standing at the front was the famous Harold Grime, a Fourth-year student, second only to Celestia Black.

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Technically, Celestia too, was part of the Student Council. She was the Vice-president, but there were a lot of rumors about how she and Harold never got along, and how no matter how much he tried, he could never beat her.

The remaining three were; A girl with average height and long hair dyed pink and a lot of piercing on her face ‘Beatrice Brand’, a girl with a straight face and cold demeanor ‘Elise Venzi’, a stalwart youth with a thick but neatly-cut beard ‘Francois’, who was an exchange student from the Serey Zhan Empire.

“That’s me.” Perfunctorily responded Zeke as he stared back at Harold, who was more than a head taller than him.

“Come with me to the Student Council room to be questioned about yesterday’s incident.”

“Huh? Questioned? You make it sound as if I’m a suspect.” Retorted Zeke while frowning.

Even though the Student Council had an authority equivalent, if not higher than the teachers, they still had to abide by the school’s laws.

Moreover, Zeke didn’t like Harold’s gaze of contempt and his arrogant tone, which was commanding and haughty.

“This is a time of emergency. All classes have been cancelled and it is within my authority to use force.”

“Hah!”

Zeke scoffed and backed away, blue lightning appearing around him and crackling loudly.

Seeing him about to resist, Harold stomped the ground, trying to intimidate but his attempt was useless as two figures appeared.

“The Student Council, including the President, are forbidden from using force on any and all students. That’s the first rule, Harold.”

Celestia Black, the Vice-President, made her appearance. With a cold expression, she glared at the slightly startled Harold, the pressure emitting from her was several times stronger than his.

In fact, she didn’t hold back at all, causing Harold’s three companions to grunt in pain and stagger to the back.

“We have talked about this and I told you the suspect has fled. If you keep targeting innocent students then I…”

“Then what?” He defiantly retorted though his expression was anything but confident. His prior arrogance was nowhere to be seen, instead, he looked slightly fearful.

It wasn’t only Celestia who was here, Vanessa also appeared. Harold was 2nd in the joint Third and Fourth-year Rankings, but everyone knew that he was significantly weaker than Vanessa.

The only reason he managed to maintain his rank was that Vanessa wasn’t interested in climbing the rankings.

“You really want to know? Just keep playing the model students and go find missing cats or whatever you idiots are so eager to do. Shoo!”

Eventually, Harold grunted and stormed away with the other three.

“Don’t worry about them, Zeke.” Calmly said the ashen-haired Vanessa as she plastered a faint and rare smile while looking at him.

As for Celestia, she snorted and said,

“Get rid of your magic.”

“O-oh…”

Zeke was preoccupied and didn’t notice that the Voltage was out of control. It was like a tornado of innumerable small lightning bolts swirling around him, resulting in unique but frightening sight, especially to the clueless and easily-scared first year Students nearby.

Celestia glanced at him one last time then left as fast as she had appeared. She didn’t expect a ‘thank you’ or anything as she was only looking out for a colleague regardless of the differences he and she had in the past.

“She really is strong, huh…”

While lost in thought, Zeke mumbled those words, which made Vanessa chuckle and nod her head.

“Celestia is undeniably the strongest student in Erys. Even I need a couple more years to be able to beat her… and that’s only if she stops improving.”

Vanessa then reassured him that the Student Council would not bother him anymore before leaving thereafter.

‘Maybe I had a misconception about her strength after seeing her lose to Jonathan. My ability just so happened to counter his black mist, which made me unwittingly think she wasn’t that great. Well, at least she’s on my side.’