The academy had a circular layout, quite like an onion or the inside of a tree trunk. The rim layer was the wall, strictly separating the academy from the outside. Its height was unknown to Alec, after all, he had never gone that far out and had never asked about it. Still, it was visible from most places.

The next layer was the outer forest. This place was mostly trees, then some trees, and a little bit of pathways sprinkled around. He also hadn't been to this part of the academy, as there really wasn't a need to. He would guess the layer to be one kilometer thick if he had to.

The next layer was also a forest. This time, however, the 'forest' part was much less. The trees were less crowded, the grasses were maybe ankle-high. Compared to their more wild counterparts in the outer forest – Which could go as tall as the average person's waist–, they were easier to get around. Unlike the outer forest, Alec had been there before. That time he circled around the library to the infirmary, going to the Professor's special labs and Andrew Walker's house, or trying to meet up with The Dealer... All of these were done there.

The next layer was where the students spent most of their time. A plethora of buildings and areas, such as the training grounds or academy buildings, were all located there. While the living spaces such as the dorms, utility buildings like the library or the alchemy building were placed on the outer edge of the layer facing inward, the academy buildings were placed on the inner edge, facing outward.

This formed the final layer, which was like a small dot compared to the rest of them. It was a clearing approximately as big – if not slightly bigger – as a football stadium with the occasional academy building placed on its edges. Alec had never been to this place before, not to mention, he hadn't even thought about it. Maybe it had some sort of anti-memetic aversion spell. 'Not unexpected.'

Whatever the nature of this place or the reason for its anti-memetic nature was, it was being used now. And that was the important part. As Alec and the others passed by some trees and shrubbery, seemingly intentionally placed to make students not go past, they reached this clearing.

It was an absurd place. If not for the thousands of students filling it, it would have looked liminal. Now, with approximately ten thousand people, the place looked like a fair. Except for the festive atmosphere obviously. Being mages, the students stood either in groups or isolated. Whichever they chose, they kept their personal distance from each other. Most stood wary, with straightened backs, hands ready to grab or cast, and eyes gauging their surroundings. They didn't know what was happening, and no one liked it.

After entering the clearing, Alec and the others headed for the middle, penetrating the crowd bubble. They had a professor with them, and the professors would usually gather in the middle whenever a gathering like this happened.

'This orange barrier is making me nervous,' Alec thought. The color wasn't a table lamp, warm-light orange. Instead, it was like a warning. It seemed to threaten to turn red at any moment. He knew that such colors could invoke anxiety in some people, and wondered how the others were faring.

Evan and Edward were as usual. Neither relaxed nor worried. Still, they could have just been hiding their feelings. Professor Emma walked a tad bit fast. With how short and old the woman was, she looked ridiculous in her speed. On the other hand, Alyssa seemed to look around with a mix of worry and excitement. Occasionally, her brows rose. Then she smiled at a friend. Sometimes, her steps became skippy, like a little child.

As they passed the crowd bubble and reached the middle of the circular clearing, they found the place to be much less crowded. If he were to look in bird’s eye view, Alec would see a low-density bubble right in the middle, strictly separated from the outer bubble, much like a cell’s nucleus.

Passing by some professors they knew, the group stopped in front of Professor Howard, who was side by side with Professor Enoch, Simon, Miriam, and Andrew. They seemed to be talking heatedly, possibly discussing the situation.

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"You have finally arrived, Little Emma," Professor Howard said. Alec's brows rose. His mouth opened slightly before closing shut. His gaze darted between the two a couple of times before he understood. 'He is the older one. Of course. And they must be rather close.'

"It's always nice to see you, Howard," she replied with a sweet smile. After the short exchange, Professor Howard nodded to Alec and Edward before frowning.

"Now. What happened? Why did The Witch Hunt activate?" he asked. 'So he knew of it. It mustn't be that unknown amongst the professors, I guess.'

"Someone was demonized," Professor Emma answered. Her words seemed to stir something in their hearts. They looked at each other. Maybe they exchanged some telepathic messages. Meanwhile, Alec caught onto something weird. Professor Enoch gave him a look. And it wasn't a good one. It seemed to stir something inside him. His heart jumped. A bundle of nerves communicated his worry down to the mana brain, which then answered simply.

'I should send over Evan.'

Without betraying a single emotion, or looking at his direction, Alec passed a message toward Evan. Evan was the same. No one would be able to understand they had exchanged a message. Inconspicuously, Evan looked around. His eyes stopped on a few friends, and he went back into the crowded segment of the clearing. Just like that, he was gone. And none of the professors had paid attention.

"Demonized? In the academy grounds?" Professor Howard asked, just to make sure. Once Emma nodded, he grabbed his chin. Deep in thought, he contemplated something for a minute before releasing his hands. He communicated something to the other professors, presumably with telepathy. Then he joined his hands behind him. His finger moved, making a small gesture. With that, the ground under him transformed. It rose. He was elevated—if Alec had to guess, approximately five meters into the air by an earthen pillar. With an amplification spell, his voice boomed across the clearing.

"To All the students of the Lation Magical Academy. I would like everyone to stand orderly, form lines of one, and wait. No talking, no chatting," he said. Alec prayed for Evan to have left the clearing by now. 'Considering the amount of time that has passed he should have been able to if he acted fast. Hopefully, the mind miasma didn't hinder him too much.'

With Professor Howard's words, all the noise in the clearing immediately disappeared. Then, the shuffle of clothes, steps on the grass... A minute. That was all it took for the students to get in formation. They looked like beams leaving a light source, spreading in every direction.

Then, eight professors in total, walked up to Professor Emma. They spread into an octagon and stood still, leaving Professor Emma right in the middle. They occasionally eyed Professor Howard. Once he nodded in confirmation, they closed their eyes and raised their hands.

Alec felt it. The mana in the atmosphere shook. Then it swirled. A gentle breeze, it started flowing towards the middle. This felt somewhat similar to the mana brain ritual, but also completely different at the same time. The mana flow was constantly ramping up. The professors, like fans, started blowing mana in Emma's direction. As mana came, she directed it into a spell that she seemed to be readying. And whatever spell it was, it was a complicated one. Alec could see blue lights pouring out of her sleeves. There were mana brains in there, at least two. With her level, providing that much mana was a hard feat. She would struggle whenever she activated two, and starve on three. Unless of course, she was being funneled with mana by the others.

Suddenly, a magic circle appeared mid-air. It wasn't very complicated, nowhere near the mana brain. But it was bigger. Much bigger, in fact. It blotted out the orange sky and caused the clearing to light up blue as if they were being tractor-beamed up by a huge alien spaceship.

The magic circle, as wide as the clearing itself, increased in radiance with each passing moment. Alec raised his hand and placed it in front of his eyes, opening his fingers so the vision would trickle through. However, that stopped being enough a short moment later. The magic circle finally spun and activated. It showered them with a rain of light drops. Alec felt the warmth falling onto his skin and relieving him.

Though, that didn't seem to be the case for the others. Shouts filled with agony and terror started rising from the crowd. Alec couldn't see how many there were, or who the screaming people were. But he knew that there were enough people for the screams to sound like a chorus. To be noted, some of those screams were close to him. There were professors screaming too.

Once the spell's effects died down, Alec blinked his eyes rapidly to adjust himself. About half the student body and a quarter of the professors were lying on the ground, unconscious.

'What the fuck?'