“Who—who said I was scared! Since we’re here, let’s go in and take a look; otherwise, wouldn’t this walk be for nothing? Besides…”
Seraphina took a deep breath, looking at Movira’s calm yet somewhat worried gaze, which undoubtedly sparked her inner competitive spirit.
“Besides… with Sister here, there won’t be any danger, right!”
Movira’s lips curved up a few millimeters, then quickly pressed down, as if it were an illusion, “No.”
The answer was short and forceful; she took the lead, stepping onto the stone stairs leading into the building.
The interior shadows rushed toward them, carrying a damp, dusty smell.
Only a few rays of sunlight slanted in from the broken windows, casting beams of light on the ground covered in cobwebs and shattered stones.
Movira quietly used her own magic to take in every corner of the entire building, so she was already prepared for what was inside and what might happen.
“In such a luxurious academy… how could there be such a desolate place?” Seraphina tried to use this topic to distract herself; her voice created a slight echo in the empty building.
Movira’s explanatory words sounded especially clear in this environment, “Simple—because demolishing it, cleaning it up, and building something new would cost far more than the benefits gained.”
She pointed to those massive but now dull and ineffective inscriptions, “This used to be the academy’s experimental area decades ago; a huge investment. But it coincided with the great explosion in magical development those years, and in just over a decade, many of the displays and concepts here became outdated. Plus, the new campus plan was approved then, with more vast and suitable land.”
“So.” Movira summed up, “Rather than wasting costs demolishing this area, it was better to draw a newer blueprint on a fresh canvas. But the days until demolition here shouldn’t be too far off. The new campus is fully built, and no new land will be acquired in the short term.”
Seraphina nodded thoughtfully, “Mm… Sister, how do you know so much?”
“From the school history. I read it all.”
And just then, a sudden sharp “squeak” came from a pile of abandoned building debris nearby.
“Ah!” Seraphina, who was already a bit distracted thinking about other things, was startled by this sudden sound and let out a cry, instinctively shrinking toward Movira’s side, her hand tightly clutching her sleeve.
A gray shadow flashed by; a skinny rat scurried across the corridor in panic, disappearing into the shadows of a room.
“Just… a rat.”
Seraphina quickly realized, her face flushing with embarrassed red, and she immediately let go, feeling very ashamed of her overreaction just now.
Movira looked at her cute flustered reaction, a faint amusement flashing in her eyes, but her tone was calm, “It’s fine; this place is empty and quiet—any little sound will seem abrupt. Relax.”
She guided Seraphina to look at the light beams slanting in from the high windows, then pointed to the stubborn green vines growing from the wall cracks, “Look—beneath the desolate appearance, there’s a beauty of blending with nature here. Like… a building coexisting with the forest.”
Seraphina followed her guidance and thought along her planned mindset; her tense mood gradually calmed, and she even began to appreciate this silent vitality.
They continued forward, passing one empty classroom after another, gradually approaching the other end of the building, where an exit let in brighter light.
Bang!
The surrounding light extinguished without warning, even the bright light from the exit vanished!
At the same time, a cold wind arose from nowhere, carrying faint sobbing sounds.
If before it was because she was distracted and got scared, this time she was truly, genuinely frightened! Because this wasn’t any natural phenomenon at all.
“Ah!”
The extreme darkness and low temperature made her unable to help but scream. Her body reacted before her brain’s command, turning uncontrollably and扑ing into Movira’s embrace, her arms tightly encircling the other’s waist, her cheek buried in her broad chest, her figure trembling slightly.
“Sister!” Seraphina’s voice couldn’t maintain a steady tone anymore.
Movira quickly caught her, her arms encircling her shoulders; the sobbing sounds in her embrace went from nothing to clearer.
The girl’s body pressed even closer to her; Movira even wanted to prolong such a moment, but she couldn’t use the other’s fear as a condition for her greedy desires.
After tasting such a flavor, she immediately set about dispelling the darkness.
“Playing tricks?!” Her voice was ice-cold, exploding in the darkness, also giving Seraphina comfort.
Before the words finished, without any visible action from her, she just held Seraphina’s body tightly.
The surrounding darkness, like shattered glass, actually produced cracks, then dissipated!
Light surged back in, revealing at the end of the corridor two short figures with dark gray skin, eyes emitting eerie light—demons manifesting, their faces still showing the shock of their magic being interrupted and the ensuing terror.
But they couldn’t escape; without any warning, just glared at by Movira, they instantly turned into fine dust.
And from the shadows beside where they were, more than a dozen even weaker demons scurried out.
They were so scared they lost their simple thinking ability, just standing there dazed.
With the darkness gone and the source of fear vanished, Seraphina lifted her head from Movira’s embrace in lingering shock, seeing those demons so frightened they didn’t even know to run.
Just some worthless guys; Seraphina, as if to regain face, her courage grew.
“Um… Sister!” Seraphina released her arms encircling Movira, her face still with lingering red, “The rest of these… leave them to me to handle.”
Her cute mix of fear and anger made Movira gladly agree, “Good.”
Seraphina thought about using some missile or offensive magic to deal with these “stationary targets” in front.
However, nothing happened. She then remembered—she came out for a walk and didn’t bring her staff at all!
And for a low-strength mage like her, without a staff as a medium, stably releasing magical attacks was impossible.
“I… I didn’t bring my staff…” Seraphina awkwardly lowered her hand, a bit dejected.
Movira chuckled lightly, like performing magic, gripping that pitch-black sword entwined with ominous aura in her hand—the very one she nearly drew at the celebration a few days ago.
“Use this.” Movira handed the sword to Seraphina.