NOVEL NEXT Chapter 158: [Spin-off] Escape from Sereltha Magic Academy
For Cassian, staying inside the academy has lost all meaning. There's nothing left to learn, no one left to surpass, no one to challenge to prove his strength.
It's a decision Lilvyra had already made by the end of the final duel of the semester exams, and Eiric's death only made clear what Cassian had only just begun to understand: his time there is over, and that night will be the last.
They will leave the academy and begin a journey toward an unknown destination — a place Cassian neither knows by name nor by location, but one Lilvyra will soon reveal to him.
Under the cover of darkness, the two quietly leave the building. The Sereltha Magic Academy, standing tall atop a hill on the outskirts of the city of Miriar, looms behind them as they descend the slope facing away from the residential district and move into the forest below, aiming to reach the Vassisthar Desert before dawn.
Once they reach the desert, Lilvyra will be able to carry him in flight to the designated location, somewhere beyond that endless sea of sand.
After two hours of nonstop walking through the dense Lathvya Forest, the first lights of dawn begin to paint the sky a pale shade of orange. Cassian feels the weight of the sleepless night weighing on him, but Lilvyra's presence at his side gives him the strength to keep going.
When they finally reach the edge of the desert, an immense sandy expanse unfolds before them, still wrapped in shadow.
Lilvyra, who has maintained her human form throughout the journey, takes on her demonic appearance again as soon as she steps past the forest's boundary and reaches the beginning of the Vassisthar Desert. However, something in her demeanor puts Cassian on alert, as if her attention had suddenly been drawn elsewhere.
Her cold, razor-sharp gaze is fixed on a point among the trees of Lathvya Forest. Cassian follows the direction of her eyes, but sees nothing — only the darkness of the woods.
«I'd say we're far enough from Sereltha,» Lilvyra says in a hard, almost provocative tone laced with a hint of irritation.
Cassian realizes those words aren't meant for him but for something — or someone — hidden among the trees. Her stance is tense, ready, as if waiting for a move from the shadow lurking within the forest.
«And here I thought I'd managed to hide my presence. But from filthy beasts like you, tied to the darkest cults of this world, I should've expected nothing less.»
Cassian flinches at the sound of the voice — familiar, unmistakable. It comes from the spot where Lilvyra's gaze remains fixed.
From the dark foliage of the forest, a human silhouette materializes, invisible until now thanks to a well-cast concealment spell. The figure is shrouded in shadow, but as the faint rays of the morning sun filter through the branches, revealing his sharp features, a cold shiver runs down Cassian's spine: it's Professor August Gorakthal.
«I always knew you were hiding something, Cassian Thalukvar,» Professor Gorakthal growls with contempt. «Like father, like son. And now I finally have the proof I needed! What I heard beyond the infirmary door was enough to condemn you — the murder of a student and, as if that weren't enough, you even had sex with a demon... it makes me sick just thinking about it!»
His voice is thick with disgust, trembling with hate. As he speaks, two globes of purplish flame ignite around his clenched fists, their sinister glow illuminating a face twisted by rage.
«You could've intervened directly at the academy instead of following us,» Lilvyra says with an amused tone, wagging her index finger as if scolding a spoiled child. «But that way, you wouldn't have had your personal revenge, right? You let your pupil die just to create the excuse and the opportunity to kill us. That's hardly befitting of a professor.»
Her smile is scornful, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
«Shut your mouth, you winged whore!» August roars, his face twisted with fury. «Elemental Invocation - Fire: Fireball!»
With a swift movement, he hurls the two spheres of fire toward Cassian and Lilvyra. The flames cut through the air at incredible speed, but with a single beat of her black wings, the demon generates a powerful gust of wind that dissolves the blazing orbs before they can even reach them.
«Is that all the strength your resentment can muster?» Lilvyra taunts, her mocking voice as sharp as a blade.
The smile on her lips makes it clear just how little she's been impressed by the professor's spell.
August grits his teeth, and the flames around his fists intensify, taking on a macabre crimson hue, almost the color of blood. The orbs grow much larger than before, and the air around them seems to vibrate from their heat and intensity.
Lilvyra remains calm and confident. She extends one arm to the side, signaling Cassian to step back without taking her eyes off Gorakthal. Then, with a smirk, she addresses the professor. «Am I wrong, or is that a forbidden spell? You preach well but act poorly.»
Cassian, who has been watching the scene with growing unease, looks shocked. «A forbidden spell?» he repeats, disbelief in his voice. As much as he has always seen Professor Gorakthal as a twisted and spiteful man, he never imagined he would go this far.
Unlike Shadow Magic, which originates from the dark magic of Nyratalir, forbidden spells are human creations. Born from greed for power and knowledge, they were deemed so destructive that their practice and even their teaching were completely banned. Considered a threat to the balance of the world, their use brings severe consequences, and those caught using them face the same punishment reserved for practitioners of Shadow Magic: death.
«A spell whose flames can scorch even magic itself,» Lilvyra observes, her voice steady and fearless. Her body emits an aura unlike anything Cassian or Gorakthal have ever witnessed. It's a black light — paradoxical, indescribable, both radiant and devouring. It is darker than the deepest night, yet brighter than any light known to man.
Cassian stands frozen, his mind unable to grasp the nature of that energy. He feels as if he's staring at something ancient, something that doesn't belong to this world.
«But despite your power,» Lilvyra continues, «you have no chance against me.»
August merges the flames surrounding his hands into a single, massive orb.
«Forbidden Elemental Invocation - Fire: Underworld Flames!»
The massive orb shoots through the air like a blazing meteor, burning everything in its path and leaving a blazing trail of scorched air.
Lilvyra extends her arm toward the infernal sphere. «Shadow Magic: Vorakzhul!» The black aura around her rushes to her palm, condensing into a single point before erupting in a burst of dark light. The beam pierces the enormous ball of fire as if it were nothing, bursting out the other side and continuing its deadly path toward Professor Gorakthal.
The flames vanish instantly upon contact with that dark light. At the same time, Gorakthal's skin disintegrates, reduced to dust carried away by the wind. His body doesn't even have time to fall — it vanishes completely before Cassian's stunned eyes.
Cassian stands frozen, witnessing for the first time the full extent of Lilvyra's power. For a heartbeat, the same terror he once felt toward her surges back, striking him with the same intensity as the day they first met. But that fear fades when Lilvyra embraces him from behind, wrapping her strong arms and vast, dark wings around him before taking flight.
As they soar over the endless dunes of the Vassisthar Desert, Cassian feels a comforting warmth spreading inside him — a flame that doesn't burn but embraces him with warmth. The warmth soothes him, easing his heartbeat and silencing every thought. It's a sensation both new and strangely familiar, as if it had always been buried deep within his heart.
A feeling of protection he had dreamed of since childhood but never known. Now, suspended in the sky within Lilvyra's embrace, Cassian finally feels it — the gentle, protective warmth of a mother's love.