"Then we have to execute the heretic in the meantime! We can't allow them in our ranks!" Professor Howard said, making sure that everyone heard him. Everyone. Including all the students in the clearing. Then, he turned toward Alec and made him forcefully stand up with magic. "Alec Greenwood. You are being accused of heresy and treason against humankind! These are crimes enough for you to be turned into a Manathrall and serve in suspended animation, sapped of your mind and will for the rest of your life. Unfortunately, we don't have the time for that. So! Prove your innocence right now, or face execution by mana."

Alec took deep, wheezy breaths. He felt his chest burning, his brain scrambling in an attempt to figure out a way. He couldn't move. No matter how hard he tried, the restriction placed by the professor was too strong. For the first time since crossing over, Alec was completely powerless.

'This can't be happening! So this is what it means to be helpless,' Alec thought to himself. This wasn't a new emotion, but one that he had deeply buried within. He remembered being a new author. Completely under the mercy of others. The reason he had given up on his dreams was that. He would rather write the same story with little variations time after time than bear with powerlessness.

"I... I..." he muttered. He didn't know how to respond. Even exposing The Author's Pen wouldn't save him now. In fact, it would make things worse. Barely holding himself from breaking down, Alec looked around. He saw Edward and the terrifyingly angry expression on his face. Professor Emma, shaking her head disapprovingly. Alyssa averted her eyes. No one was going to help him.

'Fuck that! Fuck! I struggled so much for this academy! I did so much, and I am going to be executed for no reason!? I am the reason you are still alive!' Alec shouted in his head. Professor Howard was applying a weird pressure on his throat, cutting off oxygen flow into his brain. He was having a harder and harder time thinking.

However, at that moment, someone left the crowd and came forward. It was Iris.

"Sir Howard!" She said. She went down on her left knee, her right knee extended forward and her right arm rested on top of it. She bowed her head and waited.

"Speak. But be wary. We know of your dealings with Alec Greenwood. One wrong word and you will be stamped a heretic too, Princess Iris. I wouldn't want to see what my brother would feel if he were to be presented with his daughter's head!" he said firmly. Alec couldn't think about the implications behind his words. Instead, he was busy wavering in and out of consciousness.

"Mr. Alec is a great prospect to the humankind. I think he deserves a bit of leeway, at least until he is proven guilty!" She shouted. Still, her voice was filled with reverence, not rebelliousness.

"Enough. That is precisely the issue at hand. There is no way for him to be this successful, especially given his affliction as a cripple!" he shouted. For the first time, someone had touched on the topic. Even amidst his struggle, Alec managed to pick up on the words. He circulated his entire mana pool with renewed vigor and pushed back. Just enough to relax his throat and pull himself together. "The only plausible explanation lies in the potions! He must have discovered some means to strengthen himself through their use. And then he decided to sell it to the other students!"

'Why now? Why were they not questioning my capabilities up until now?' Alec thought. As the situation stabilized, he found himself in the right headspace to think. Finally, something clicked. 'The anti-meme. It was protecting me? It was making them not question my skills. But why?'

"But what if we execute him mistakenly? What if the real culprit is someone else?" She said, her voice becoming more and more desperate. In fact, from where he stood, Alec could see little droplets splattering the ground. He couldn't see her face, but she was crying. "Can we afford losing someone as important as him, especially when our kind is nigh gone? Do we have the luxury?"

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

'Oh.'

Finally, Professor Howard showed signs of budging. His mouth opened and closed a few times before he finally decided to think further. A short moment later, he continued.

"If Alec Greenwood is not the culprit, we will execute everyone related—Evan Coates, and those two students he talked to! If it comes down to it, we will execute Edward Spellson too!" He answered. "What we can't afford is to have heretics in our ranks!"

"My neck is hair-thin for mankind, praise be upon Uriel of the Flame!" Edward chanted. He quickly went on his knee and reached out his neck, as if he wanted to be executed.

"That's—!" Iris was about to continue, but she couldn't find the words to do so. Her head slightly lifted. Alec could see her biting her lips. So hard that blood started trickling down her chin.

"Now, do you have a way to prove yourself innocent, Alec Greenwood?" Hunter Howard said, his voice as sharp as a blade. Alec gulped. Time was running out. Professor Howard had said that the anti-meme would recover shortly. Before that, he would be executed.

This wasn't his forte. He wasn't a quick thinker. He had to have a plan beforehand. Or he would panic. He was good at guessing how things might go and creating contingency plans for that. But that was all. Now, he was completely blindsided. Think, think...

"Fuck..." Alec muttered, his eyes bloodshot from anger and desperation. Iris raised her head with a terrified expression. Edward's head snapped toward him. Professor Emma's brows rose, and Howard Hunter frowned. "Fuck you! What the fuck are you trying to do instead of resolving the problem at hand!? What are you going to do once the anti-meme takes over again? Stand around like muppets until the next cycle comes? Why don't you divert your energy elsewhere instead of accusing a completely innocent person!?"

Instantly, everyone went quiet. Gasps, confused expressions, raised brows...

Most surprisingly, Professor Howard was taken aback. He took a step back. Trying to process Alec's words. Then, an expression of realization.

"You are..." he muttered. However, before he could continue, another shout resounded.

"Stop!"

Andrew Walker and Professor Enoch came with Evan in tow, holding him by his hands, which were bound behind him with magical manacles. They had finally detained and brought him over.

"Stop this! I can prove his innocence!" Evan said with ragged breaths and disheveled clothes. Alec could even spot some purple spots on his neck and face. They hadn't been gentle with him.

Suddenly, the blue sparks around Professor Howard's head intensified for a moment. Then, they calmed down again.

"Speak and be quick then, student," Professor Howard said. The two professors let him go. Losing his balance, he fell forward and face-planted on the dirt. He then got up with hardship and spat out blades of grass.

"I finally understand now! Those two students, their names were Miller Grant and Ryan Anderson!" he said. The two professors had probably told him of the situation. At his mention of the names, Professor Howard turned toward the crowd and raised his hand. Two students came flying over. Both were average height. One had navy-blue hair with pitch-black eyes while the other was a brown-haired brown-eyed dude. They settled gracefully on the ground, in the same posture as Iris and Edward.

"Now continue and prove yourselves innocent, Evan Coates. If not, I will be gravely disappointed in you. Considering that you are the child of the two most famous demon hunters of mankind," Professor Howard gave him the signal to continue.

"Then I am going to be quick, Sir Howard. I would like to point out two inconsistencies with Alec Greenwood's incrimination," he started. Finally, his breaths stabilized. He straightened and continued. "Firstly, it doesn't make sense for Alec Greenwood to be able to run such a potion operation in the first place. Considering his status as a cripple, how would he be able to make contact with demons inside the academy and go unnoticed for such a long time? It doesn't make sense."

"Continue," Professor Howard said with his arms crossed. Unimpressed. Evan nodded.

"Secondly, concocting such potions needs to be done inside the academy. It can't come from the outside. Where would Alec Greenwood do that? He doesn't have the means or the place to do so. The rudimentary tools inside the student alchemy labs wouldn't be enough for such complicated potions," Evan said. Now Professor Howard seemed moved. He nodded and thought for a second.

"Then who do you suggest it is?" he asked with his arms crossed.

"Considering those two reasons, there is no way a student could have done this! It has to be a professor!" he said. Then, he looked at the two students, Ryan and Miller. "I thought about it a lot. Only now did I understand. From what I see, we have to look at their common acquaintances to find the culprit."

A brief moment of silence... Professor Howard first eyed the two students and then turned toward Professor Enoch. His eyes locked onto the man, he asked the two students.

"Miller and Ryan. Which professor were you the assistants of again?"