Standing in the dimly lit balcony, gazing at the group of people in Royal garbs, Mehr scrunched his face. Even if he had never met the person standing in the front, he had seen his paintings and read about him.

Acacia Stone, The King of Ruvonne.

The group led by King Acacia had suddenly descended upon the Academy. By the imposing manner they arrived, it seemed as if they had come to attack the Academy itself. And yet, ever since they arrived, they only remained at a single place without ever moving. In the entire vicinity, only faint mumbles of Willem were heard sometimes. Professor Sionn was also sitting calmly with his eyes closed.

Mehr thought for a while as to why the King would have arrived here. The academy was an independent establishment and didn’t fall under any nation. Yet, King Acacia had barged in here with his people. The reason for his journey must transcend the danger of offending The Academy.

That’s when a distant memory struck his mind. He remembered the day he had met a strange man with long shiny white hair and bright blue eyes, Sir Ghost.

Sir Ghost had said that the Ruvonnian Army was after him.

The fact that the King arrived only moments after Mehr had used his real mana, only solidified his conjecture. And so, Mehr looked deeply at the man in the Royal garb floating above with a lost look in his.

Mehr noticed that the king looked furious for some reason. He opened his mouth and words escaped his mouth in rage but Mehr couldn’t hear them. Not only him, no student could hear the conversation happening between Willem and the King. It was as if a barrier had been created around them sneakily that prevented any voice from leaking.

Mehr’s eyes narrowed. He wanted to know what the king wanted. The king’s approach would also determine his future paths. But he couldn’t do anything.

Willem had started walking back at this point. His eyes showed the same mischievous glint he always had. He seemed to be in a rather happy mood. However, the King moved behind him. His aura rapidly increased and the mana and elements rushed to him. He was going to make a move.

All the students felt the oppressive feeling suddenly clinging to their soul. A terrifying feeling was emerging from within their hearts, warning them to escape. Everyone thought that the King would attack Professor Willem for whatever the plump fellow did. They didn’t wish for their professor to be punished. But they couldn’t voice their opinions as well. It would be considered treason if they spoke up. And so everyone kept quiet.

Except for Willem himself.

Every student watched as Willem’s steps halted and he gradually turned around. The mischievous glint in his eyes had faded and only impassiveness remained. He showed an expression of boredom and slowly sighed.

The air around rippled softly as if breaking out of its shackles. Everyone had been unable to hear a single thing as of yet, but Willem’s sigh reached everyone’s ears. Not only his sigh but his next words were also heard by all.

“Heavens Call.”

It was spoken akin to a whisper but everyone heard it clearly. His voice sounded like thunder in their minds, rocking their bodies in a cold sweat. Everyone felt a chill run down their spine. Mehr was the same as well.

For some reason, the two words sounded far more threatening than the mysterious and bizarre attack that Professor Sorsha had performed. It only took a moment to prove that the terror they felt was not without substance.

Chirrrrrrrrr!!

A violent noise from the sky pulled everyone’s attention. Everyone craned their necks to look at the sky and the scene above made everyone tremble violently.

The clouds had started to diverge and the sky had ripped apart in two. There was a huge crack that ran across the sky, neither its beginning nor its end being visible. A tremendous amount of light was seeping through the crack, threatening to tear the sky open and descend to the world. Countless people throughout the Kingdom of Ruvonne woke up abruptly. The noise that almost deafened them and the light that intimated the night to recede forced them to look out of their windows. The millions of eyes that stared at the fantastical view shook, their hearts palpitating at the scene.

The crack rippled violently as the sky slowly started tearing apart. From inside the crack, something was struggling to come into the world. And as it slowly succeeded in making its way in, the world changed.

The night turned to the day as the light from the crack blinded the eyes gazing upon it.

Willem had called forth the sun itself to drop to the ground.

However deep within the sun, the outline of an eye was slowly taking place gradually.

King Acacia and his team of elites were also watching this scene with trepidation in their hearts. Acacia’s eyes trembled as he shifted his gaze towards the man who was responsible for this absolute terror. He noticed that Willem didn’t have any mischievous smile on his face and neither his eyes seemed happy. He stood impassive while looking at the King.

“Leave.” Willem’s voice commanded, no amount of respect remaining in his voice. “The one you seek is not here.”

Willem’s deep abyss-like eyes stared deep into Acacia’s soul, not leaving any secrets to pass by. Acacia shuddered as he rapidly retreated. His lips were twitching from embarrassment but he knew that he could very well lose his life. He had never been this humiliated before. The more infuriating thing was that his opponent was a mere professor and yet…..

Willem flicked his hand and the barrier surrounding them disintegrated, giving Acacia a path to return. The sky gradually darkened as the crack in the sky mended. The night returned to its original form like a lie, only the bafflement in viewers’ eyes remained as proof.

“Everyone, go back to sleep. I will find out who the culprit was tomorrow.” Willem’s voice thundered in everyone’s minds. Even the fourth and fifth-year students, who were currently not out on a mission, looked at the Professor with bated breaths. They had never seen him being this domineering. He had always been the plump professor who mumbles strange things and likes to play pranks on everyone. No one thought that behind such a weak facade was a man who stood tall as a mountain.

“The Royal blood of Ruvonne has really deteriorated. His father was such a great man but look at him…” Sionn sighed beside Willem. He had always respected Acacia’s father, the former King.

“It was Erwin Frye’s fault that Acacia sits on the throne. A man as smart as him sure made a stupid choice.” Sionn said again.

“Many choices bear fruits too far into the future, Sionn. How can we know what goes in the hearts of men?” Willem looked at the sky again, confirming that everything was as it was before his attack started.

“Who can know? Look who’s talking, Master Willem.” Sionn chuckled.

“Even I can’t know everything,” Willem replied to Sionn’s sarcastic comment as his gaze shifted to Mehr. Mehr was also watching the two professors going back inside the academy, to their rooms, when he felt Willem watching him. Mehr quickly closed the curtains of his balcony and went back to his room. He had been thinking that no one could truly stand against him and his Absolute Domination, but he only understood now how naive he was being. There were many ways to counter Absolute Domination and if he really wanted to use it as a weapon, he would have to become much stronger than he currently was.

Mehr slowly got into his bed when a little thought struck his mind.

‘Why do I even want to be strong?’

Willem shifted his gaze and closed his eyes gently. He had tried to play with Mehr’s mind for a moment but had been halted by an unexpected barrier.

Mana?

Willem smiled at this discovery. He had managed to twist a thought inside Mehr’s mind anyway but mana’s interference proved his previous conjecture.

‘Seventh Star, huh? Looks like things will get fun.’

A smile tugged at his lips as he relaxedly walked back into the academy, humming a little song he used to hear in his childhood.

*****

The door to the Royal Court was blasted apart. King Acacia walked back in, fuming in anger and resentment. His eyes were red as if a fire was burning inside them. He walked back to his throne, enraged at the events that happened tonight and slowly sat down.

“Your Majesty, this is simply a humiliation of the Royalty. Please send a royal decree and I’ll call the Supreme Commander back from the battlefield. Let us go and kill that bastard.” A voice was heard, coming from a clenched mouth that belonged to a clean-faced man with a narrow nose. It was the Royal Knight, Louis Ainsworth, that had accompanied King Acacia. “I’ll also call the captain back.”

“No!” Acacia slammed his fist onto the armrest while his face turned red with anger.

“It is not time yet.” King Acacia slowly bent his back and supported his head with his hands. His gaze was pointed downwards in a contemplative stance. “Judas was already a very troublesome fellow. I wasn’t aware that Willem had become this much stronger since the last time we met…. Or perhaps he has always been hiding his powers. It was my haste that brought this situation forth but don’t worry. Now I know that the Star is in the Academy. We’ll get many chances in the future.”

Acacia slowly closed his eyes, relaxing his head. He was no ordinary man after all. The man who killed his older brother and sat on the throne was King Acacia. Such setbacks were ordinary in life. However, he had found the destination after all these years. Now, only his reward was remaining.