About half an hour later, the sound of crunching footsteps in the snow and hushed voices came from outside the cave.
Not wild beasts, and their aura didn’t feel like cultists either.
“Whoever is inside, come out. We are the Imperial Guard! You are safe now!” A steady, powerful male voice rang out.
Vilaniel and Emily exchanged a look, a wave of relief washing over them.
Vilaniel carefully picked up the still-sleeping Ignis, and the two girls supported each other as they slowly walked out of the cave.
Outside the shallow cave, over twenty Night Owl soldiers and more than a dozen mages were spread out in a fan-shaped formation. Their weapons were not lowered, still maintaining a state of alert.
Leading them was the Night Owl Battalion Commander himself.
Seeing two girls in Academy uniforms emerge, one of them holding a sleeping black dragon hatchling, he visibly relaxed, but his gaze remained sharp.
“Names and year of study,” the Night Owl Commander inquired as a matter of procedure, simultaneously giving a hand signal.
Two soldiers quickly stepped forward, using a detection device to scan them briefly, aiming to confirm there were no signs of magical control.
“Vilaniel Adrian, third year.”
“Emily Zephyr, also third year.”
The Night Owl Commander’s eyes flickered almost imperceptibly upon hearing “Adrian,” his attitude becoming noticeably more respectful.
The Regent had explicitly told them that the Adrian girl must not come to harm under any circumstances, or they would be held accountable.
“Miss Adrian, Miss Zephyr, I am very glad to see you safe. Please come with us. We need to escort you back to Mirror Lake Manor immediately to understand the situation. Professor Thorn and Dean Duncan are both there.”
The squad escorted the two girls and the dragon, moving quickly and cautiously towards Mirror Lake Manor.
The journey was uneventful.
When they finally saw the temporary fortifications and the numerous soldiers at the outskirts of Mirror Lake Manor, the tension that had been coiled tightly within Vilaniel finally began to ease.
They were back, and they were completely, utterly safe.
Inside a room temporarily converted into an infirmary within the manor, Dean Duncan and Professor Thorn met with them. The Night Owl Commander and the mage squadron leader were also present.
Ignis was temporarily taken to the room next door. Regarding the disappearance of the Suppression Collar, Vilaniel’s explanation was that it had been broken during their escape when struck by the cultists.
After healing spells were cast, Dean Duncan got straight to the point, asking Vilaniel to describe what they had seen.
Vilaniel took a deep breath and began her account from when Lina delivered the warning.
She briefly described the cultists’ failed ambush and the subsequent chase. When mentioning their escape, Vilaniel decisively used the same story she had told Emily earlier.
Ignis, under extreme duress, erupted, spewing black breath to repel the enemies. She seized that opportunity to carry Emily and escape.
To avoid exposing Ignis’s true condition as much as possible, Vilaniel deliberately kept the specifics vague, emphasizing Ignis’s subsequent weakness and deep sleep.
“…We hid in a small cave, and after that, my dragon didn’t wake up. After Emily regained consciousness, we discussed it, made a signal marker to find a place to release it, and then we were found.”
Dean Duncan pondered for a moment, then turned to Emily. “Miss Zephyr, regarding the spells they used or their attire, do you have any observations?”
“Um… I don’t think so,” Emily replied, trying hard to recall. “They were all wearing white robes. Aside from that, nothing particularly stood out.”
Vilaniel’s expression remained calm, but her heartbeat was gradually quickening.
Ignis’s world-destroying breath had left very obvious traces in the forest. The search and rescue team couldn’t possibly have missed it. Combined with her earlier mention of Ignis’s “eruption,” Dean Duncan might very well link that power to Ignis…
She had to say something!
“Dean, when my dragon erupted, the cultists used an exceptionally destructive spell, activated through a scroll.”
Vilaniel spoke without changing her expression, her voice steady.
“But the cultists only used half of it, then suddenly and forcibly aborted the spell. I vaguely heard them say something about not leaving traces… Amidst the chaos, we escaped.”
Everyone in the room, including Dean Duncan, focused their gaze on her.
“A powerful spell?” The Night Owl Commander grew alert, immediately connecting it to the chaotic energy annihilation trace seen in the recording stone.
“Miss Adrian, did that power make you feel very uncomfortable, stirring up negative emotions within you?” Professor Thorn’s eyes narrowed as he spoke slowly.
“Yes,” Vilaniel nodded.
Emily looked at her, bewildered.
Everyone exchanged glances. Dean Duncan’s face remained as calm as ever as he pressed on unhurriedly, “Since the cultists employed chaotic power, how did you manage to escape?”
“The spell seemed incomplete, and it backfired on them, causing confusion. They might have already captured enough students by then, so their pursuit wasn’t very intense.”
Vilaniel met the Dean’s scrutinizing gaze without flinching, her ice-blue pupils appearing firm and sincere.
“I see,” Dean Duncan stroked his beard, dropping the topic for now. “Aside from that, were there any other observations?”
“There is, but it’s not from today…” Vilaniel hesitated for a long moment before finally speaking up. “Several weeks ago, in the Forbidden Books Area in the library basement, I saw two strangers who seemed to be from outside the Academy.”
Dean Duncan’s hand, stroking his beard, paused. His eyes suddenly turned sharp. “Go on.”
“I remember they were reading books about heretical doctrines at the time, but I didn’t see clearly which specific ones. I didn’t report it then, but now it seems it might be related to today’s events.”
The room fell silent.
The expressions of the Night Owl Commander and the others turned grim, especially Professor Thorn’s. The Forbidden Books Area, strangers suspected to be from outside the Academy… the implications hidden behind this were enormous.
Emily thought for a moment and chimed in, “Dean, I also have an anomaly to report…”
“Oh, my goodness…” Professor Thorn looked pained. “Just how many more are there…”
Dean Duncan raised a hand to stop the old professor’s complaint, gesturing for Emily to continue.
“I once conducted observations on the Academy’s underground magic array for a period. I discovered that the array’s mana field is somewhat unstable, possibly due to increased load, or perhaps an unknown point siphoning mana from the array.”
“Regarding that point, maintenance personnel have reported it before, but they believed it was due to the aging of the array,” Dean Duncan nodded.
“Theoretically, that’s possible. However, considering what Vilaniel said and the kidnapping incident that just occurred, I believe this is not an isolated event. There should be another hidden reason, perhaps the cultists infiltrated the Academy and tampered with something.”
The reports concluded.
There was no more specific intelligence about the cultists within Frostwhisper Forest, but the descriptions from the two girls painted another picture, pointing to an even more disturbing fact.
The cultists’ infiltration was far more severe than they had imagined, and they had designs on the Royal Academy of Magic.
Dean Duncan was silent for a moment. When he spoke again, his voice carried a trace of gravity.
“Notify the Academy Security Department. We need to schedule a top-secret, highest-level inspection of all key areas of the Academy—especially the underground magic array nodes. Simultaneously, expand the scope of the internal investigation to include all personnel with access to architectural archives.”
“Dean, such a large-scale inspection operation is completely impossible to complete in less than a day. Just the preparation phase alone will take several days,” Professor Thorn couldn’t help but remind him.
“I know,” Dean Duncan sighed helplessly. “Therefore, our main focus will still be on the exchange process tomorrow.”
His gaze finally swept over Vilaniel and Emily. “The information you’ve brought back is of vital importance. Go and rest now.”
Leaving the infirmary, Vilaniel retrieved Ignis. She knew the real storm had not subsided with their return.