Mr. Velinvo stood expressionless as one of the professors behind the headmaster. As he watched the students he had reached the last few years, never swing them sad because of anything besides their test results, fall into despair so quickly, another wave of grief came up within him. The pain of his colleagues death ran deep, deeper than he wanted to admit. But it was not only grief that filled him. Of course there was also hate, hate for whoever had dared to take the life from Mr. Stellox, and regret. Regret for being unable to save him, regret for letting him die on his duty, on his watch, in the dormitory he was supposed to protect, all while he was carefree enjoying an evening stroll. Of course, that was not really how it had been. Even while he was on patrol, the other professors and staff should have kept up their guard, especially in their dormitory. And it had not been an evening stroll he had been on either, but a patrol to keep the very intruder away that had killed Mr. Stellox. Deep within him, he knew that it had not been his fault. Nonetheless, he felt like it was his duty to think and feel like this. The black mage surely wouldn't feel any regret for killing him, and the other professors did not seem to think of it as their fault either. How sad would a death be if no one regretted it? Mr. Stellox deserved better. Even if it was just him, as long as he would remember him and regret… At the sight of the many grieving students, he felt a bit ashamed of himself. He would surely not be the only one remembering him. The many students he had teached were right here. They wouldn't forget him. They would carry on his will- the exploration of magic. But for now they were in pain, having lost their mentor.

‘Stop it.’ Velvino turned around, being surprised by the sudden hand on his shoulder. Behind him stood no one else then Mr. Vonstadt. ‘The face you are making. Stop it.’ It were those simple words that made him realize the situation he was in. ‘We are all grieving for our college. But in the first place, we are professors of this academy. The students are already in pain. Don't scare them by making such a dark expression.’ Velvino now noticed a few of his students, who had watched him since the headmaster announced the news. A bit flustered, he once again regained control over his face. Seeing that, it felt like the children, mostly the you get ones, acted a bit relieved. Velvinos turned back to Vonstadt. ‘Thank you. I lost myself there for a moment.’ He just nodded. Both of them now looked at the masses of students, slowly beginning to leave their seats. The afternoon lectures for today had been canceled. What looked like a thoughtful action with only good intentions was actually a plan to use up more professors to hunt the culprits. Without much of a notice, the school had been locked down. Especially the gates and the fences were focused with defenses. The previous plan, which still accepted the black mage escaping as long as they got away from this academy, had been abandoned. What was to follow was the search and extermination of everyone involved in the murder. Did the headmaster order that to get revenge, to prevent further victims, or to save the face of the academy? Velvinos wasn't sure of that himself. What was clear was that the headmaster himself had decided to end the black mage. There was no escape for him now… The lines of chairs were still only slowly getting emptied of students. To assemble all of the students in one place had cost a lot of time. It would take just as much to get them to leave. After announcing the news of Mr. Stellox death, the headmaster and the vice headmaster had held a speech for a few minutes, but the whole event added together still only lasted less than half an hour. It hadn't been necessary to assemble them either. If the headmaster had wanted to, he could have just transmitted his voice through magic to all the students, similar to how the bells worked. This assembly wasn't solely to tell the students about the current situation. It was also meant as a symbol. To show the students that the teachers were still ready to protect them. Looking back on it, Mr. Stroffs suggestion to use magic would probably have caused a great panic among the students. While Vonstadt and Velvino watched how the students were still leaving the place, the headmaster, accompanied by the vice headmaster, approached the two of them. ‘It is over now. I thank you for your presence.’ Vonstadt nodded. ‘It was the very least.’ Now Mr. Stroff turned directly towards Mr. Vonstadt. ‘We’ve put the books in question in a study in the Dame’s basement. Please take a look at them after this.’ Vonstadt looked a bit confused. ‘In the Dame? Why is that? Isn't the Dame part of the alchemy department?’ Stroff nodded. ‘Indeed. But it is also the place with the most barriers in the whole academy. We have already talked to Miss Minecast about this. You won't be interrupted.’ Mr. Vonstadts silently nodded. ‘In that case, I will be on my way now.’ Since Mr. Vonstadts was the last person in this academy who was familiar with several ancient languages, he had been tasked with finding out the contests off the books which were found in the hidden room. He would have a lot of work in the next few days. The majority of students had left the place by now, and even the teachers stepped down from the podium. Velvino took a last view of the many empty lines of chairs in front of him. It wouldn't take long until all of them were put away, leaving the park in the usual way. If magic was involved, it would be an easy task to clean this up. The supporting staff of the academy, which included everyone who wasn't a professor, was not at the level of a regular mage, but most of them still knew the basics. That fact alone was already impressive. However small it may be, knowledge about magic, or the ability to use it greatly increased the worth of a person's workforce, making it incredibly hard to hire them. But this academy did everything they could to ensure what they thought of as a perfect environment for the students. Velvino stepped down from the podium. He was already the last professor there, and after he had left the podium, he noticed that he had been the only one keeping the support staff from dismantling it. It was rare to see that many of them at one place, and that although they managed basically everything at the academy. From cleaning duties, over cooking, to keeping the gardens in check, those people had a long list of tasks. Well, of course they didn't do everything themselves. There were several sections among them, distributing the responsibilities among themselves. As he watched them work, one particular worker caught his attention. It was a young man, with short white hair. He used wind magic to collect the chairs. Velvino did not know why, but this man reminded him of Stellox. The enthusiasm he put into his work resembled that of the college Velvino had lost that night. It made him feel a bit nostalgic.

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As he turned around, the Dame fell into his eyes. Mr. Vonstadts was probably already inside, working on deciphering the old books. He remembered how surprised Vonstadt was when he heard he would work inside the Dame. The tight security of the Dame was common knowledge among most of the staff and even the students, so Velvino was surprised that Vonstadts had not known about this. Actually, the academy did not build the Dame, but rather got built around it. The labs of the Dame were much older than any other building one could find around these parts. It was built as a research lab in a war which had happened a long time ago. Velvino didn't know when exactly it had been, or who the kingdom of Karvoc had fought against, but he knew that the many magic barriers were the attempt to keep out any unwanted guests such as spies. The war had ended in a far ego era, but the Dame still functioned perfectly. Velvino would have never thought that its barriers would come in handy like that… A voice pulled him out of his thoughts. ‘Professor Velvino… can we talk for a moment?’ He turned around. The voice belonged to one of his students - Lydia Sancten. He hadn't given her lectures for long, but he knew that she was one of Mr. Stellox trusted pupils. ‘What can I do for you Lydia?’ She was not alone. Behind her were the five students who usually accompanied her. One of them, Velvino thought his name was Alex, had a worried look on his face. ‘About that with Mr. Stellox… is it true?’ Velvino tried to keep a straight face in front of the students. ‘I am sorry, but yes. I was one of the professors who found him.’ An uncomfortable silence followed. After a few moments, Lydia begann to talk again. ‘He was outside pretty late because of us… because of my experiment. It is my fault that..’ Velvino intervened. ‘It was not your fault. I cannot give you any details, but it seems like he was targeted by the culprit.’ The five students were seemingly shocked. They clearly didn't know how to react to this. ‘Mr. Stelle was one of the few people who-’ Velvino interrupted himself. ‘I am sorry, as I said, I can't give you any details.’ He had to prevent any information leaks at all cost. If the students realized that the academy did not manage to protect Mr. Stellox although it could have been foreseen that he would get attacked, it would result in panic among them. Whatever happened, the school had te seem like the hunter, not the prey. Although maybe those positions had already shifted… He had to get himself together in front of those children. ‘Don’t worry. Whoever did this won't get away. And there won't be any more casualties either. ‘ He stopped for a moment. ‘I give you my word on that.’ It seemed like the students had calmed down, even if just a bit. Lydia looked at him. ‘Thank you for those words Mr. Velvino. I really appreciate them.’ Velvino tried to smile a bit. ‘Mr. Stellox was a wonderful teacher. Even I learner much from him. He may have died, but his legacy lives on in his many students. Remember what he teached you, remember his ideals. Even if you don't share them, as long as you remember them, he will live on in all of you.’ Lydia seemed a bit less down. ‘That is a nice way to see things. You are right, I can't let him be forgotten!’ They continued to talk for a few minutes. Velvino wasn't sure about his own opinion of the whole situation, but talking to those students who came to him gave him courage. He felt pathetic for needing them in order to gather his thoughts. As they parted ways, Velvino had only one thought on his mind. ‘Now that he is gone, I have to protect his students.’ He looked at the sky. Velvino had heard about a myth once. It said that the souls of dead mages would live on in the sky. He smiled a bit. ‘Are you up there? Don't worry, I will protect them for you.’