"Wait! This is a mistake!" Shouted Dariu.

"The real mistake is letting you flee once more," affirmed the boy before extending his arm, ready to launch a Yadaishi projectile.

"Stop! It's not them!" A voice echoed.

It was Naylu's.

He leaned casually against the railing of the stairs, Noah at his side.

"How do you know that?!" Questioned one of the students.

"Because I know them, it couldn't be them."

"And why would we trust you? Who says you're not with them." Argued another.

Naylu hesitated, struggling to find the appropriate words to respond.

"I doubt that the culprit would return so quickly," intervened Noah, "it's obvious that they would raise suspicions."

"Well, I guess they're just idiotic then."

"Can anyone explain what the hell is happening?!" Yelled Silas in a tone of frustration.

"Shut it, sloth."

"Did you just call me a bloody sloth?!"

What on earth is a sloth? Pondered Dariu.

"What's going on here?" Asked Bartus atop of the stairs.

"Bartus, it's about time you showed up," said the student with the Yadaishi projectiles, "we caught the culprits."

"Dariu?" Bartus questioned as soon as he caught sight of the familiar face, his expression one of surprise.

"They are mistaken, Bartus! Dariu is not a Nayum adept," Naylu exclaimed.

"I can vouch for him, we are in the same section," said Noah.

"And why would they be out before sunrise then?" Asked one of the students, "taking a night stroll I presume? Cut the nonsense!"

Dariu and Silas exchanged concerned glances. They couldn't casually mention their visit to the library for fear of arousing even more suspicion.

"We..." Dariu attempted to speak, but couldn't find any excuse to justify his unusual endeavour.

"That's it, I'm taking the—"

"Stop!" Shouted Bartus, stopping the students from attacking.

He then descended and marched towards the pair.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

"I can sense your surprise, Dariu. Where were you during the attack?"

Attack? Is that what happened? Thought Dariu, what an inconvenient timing this is...

Dariu looked at Silas for some time before he finally spoke.

"We were out."

"Out doing what?"

"Testing something."

"And what would that be?"

"We heard a myth suggesting that the beasts don't appear every single night, and that in some nights they actually enter a deep slumber. We wanted to test its validity," Dariu elaborated.

While that wasn't the whole truth, it wasn't entirely false either.

Bartus averted his gaze and rubbed his chin, as if contemplating what he had just heard, lost in deep thought.

"That makes some sense.. it would explain why they escaped in the middle of the night."

As if he received a sudden epiphany, Bartus' eyes widened.

"No... That would actually explain why they chose this exact night to attack in the first place," Bartus remarked, connecting the dots.

Wait... Does that mean someone else knows about Kornos' spell's limitation? Dariu questioned himself.

"Don't tell me you believe that nonsense!" Yelled the student.

"Dariu was among the few who offered to treat the injured that night," Bartus stated, "do you know what it takes to do that?"

Bartus gazed into the student.

"A good heart. It takes a good heart to care for complete strangers. And I will choose to trust in the sincerity of his heart," Bartus affirmed.

"Thank you, Bartus."

"Follow me, I know you're craving an explanation on what happened."

"I sure do."

Bartus led Dariu, Silas, and Naylu back to his room. Once inside, he began recounting the events of the previous night and how the attack unfolded.

According to him, everyone was fast asleep when a sudden scream echoed through the hallways, causing Bartus to wake up and prompting him to investigate.

Upon exiting his room, Bartus traced the source of the scream to find the lifeless body of a girl on the ground. It was evident that she had been struck by a Kudaishi beam, as there was a hole pierced through her chest.

Nearby, an open door hinted that it was the girl's room from which she had emerged. As Bartus cautiously approached and peeked inside, he was greeted by the horrifying sight of three more corpses lying on blood-soaked mattresses, each rendered soulless from a Kudaishi beam piercing their bodies in different parts.

Soon, more shouts followed, and everyone began pouring into the hallway to investigate the commotion. Before long, chaos erupted.

Bartus urgently warned the others against venturing into the hallway, advising them to retreat to their rooms and lock their doors. With determination, he sprinted through the dim corridors, bypassing several lifeless bodies strewn in his path, until he finally stumbled upon the culprits.

"That's when I first caught sight of one of them, just as he was about to attack Naylu," Bartus recounted, his voice tense with urgency.

"Naylu?! They targeted you as well?" Dariu asked with concern evident in his voice.

"I don't think they did, rather, I'm the one who chased after them."

"With your injury?! Just what the hell were you thinking?"

"People needed help, Dariu. You would have done the same."

Would I? Pondered Dariu, I wonder about that.

"Fortunately, Noah showed up just in time to my rescue" Naylu stated with a relieved tone.

"Yeah, I'm a Lacus adept who hasn't learned any advanced spell yet, so I wouldn't have been much help. I doubt the blondie would still be here if it wasn't for Noah," added Bartus.

Noah, huh? How unexpected, he didn't seem all that friendly before, I guess I misjudged him.

"So what happened next? Did you see what they looked like?" Asked Silas.

Bartus shook his head no, "they had a mask on."

He continued, recounting how he, Naylu, and Silas chased the mysterious assailant to the entrance chamber, where they encountered three more similarly masked figures. Soon, other students joined them, forming a line on the stairs as they confronted the masked individuals gathered at the door frame.

"Consider what happened tonight as a mere warning" announced one of the figures in a manly voice.

"We shall soon return in greater numbers, and when we do, there won't be much left of you."

"Who are you?! What is your goal?!" Shouted Bartus.

"Nayumers!" screamed the figure in an ecstatic tone as he opened his arms wide. "Can't you see? We've been granted a gift! It's high time we use that gift to annihilate the competition before we lose the upper hand. Join us! Together, we shall survive this hellish place," he urged, his voice filled with fervor.

"Answer me! Who the hell are you?!" Bartus repeated his question.

"We are The Nayum Tarra."

The masked figures then walked out of the door into the dark, and the doors started to slowly slide close.

"And we will be back," the figure declared before the doors slammed shut completely.

"And that's about it, then a couple of hours after that, you showed up," said Bartus, concluding his recap.

Darn it... This is bad. I expected something like this to happen, but not so soon, thought Dariu.

"So basically, this is a bunch of maniacs who want to murder everyone else before they could start to learn spells, thus, increasing their chances to survive," Dariu summarised grimly.

Silas walked to the door and grabbed the handle.

"Where are you going?" Asked Naylu.

"I'm a Nayum adept, Naylu. You probably don't want me here," he said before walking out.

"Wait, Silas." Called Dariu.

"Let him be, he has a point," Bartus stated.

"What do you mean? He's not with them, Bartus!" Dariu exclaimed.

"Maybe not for now."

Bartus stood up from his bed, and gazed into Dariu with a look of seriousness.

"There is a war coming, Dariu. And people will soon start to pick sides."

Dariu lowered his gaze.

"A war that we are not ready for... Nor do we know when is it coming!" Screamed Bartus in anger as he kicked his bed frame.

"Six days," said Dariu, "they will probably attack again in six days."

"How do you know that?"

"I will explain later, and also..."

Dariu approached Bartus, then put his hand on his shoulder.

"I know how to be ready for it."