The Principal stood before Adam his face a mask of cold uncompromising fury. The imnse pressure radiating from him was a tangible thing a physical manifestation of his great rage.
"I gave a direct order," he snarled his voice a low dangerous growl that seed to vibrate the very air in the cafeteria.
"I said that this new group The New Warriors was not to be harassed. Not physically and not ntally. And yet you all had the audacity to defy my command so openly."
His gaze swept over the mbers of the Red Team who were still struggling to their feet their expressions a mixture of fear and defiant anger.
Among them Shreya one of the most brilliant and clear-headed strategists in the Red Team took a deep steadying breath. She prepared herself. She had never in all her years at the United Academy seen the Principal this angry.
Simon who was now back on his feet looked towards Shreya.
A desperate pleading look was in his eyes.
He and the other powerhouses of their group were waiting for her to save them to sohow de-escalate this disastrous situation.
While they were the muscle the fighters Shreya was the brain of their entire operation.
Shreya stepped forward. Her expression was calm and composed despite the imnse pressure coming from the Principal. She looked at the Principal and said her voice clear and respectful
"Mr. Principal there is no proof that any of the accusations being leveled by Mr. Eric are true. He has offered no evidence."
Hearing Shreya’s response her imdiate pivot to a political legalistic defense the Principal understood. These students were not going to back down easily.
They were going to play gas. They were going to use the letter of the law to try and escape the consequences of their actions.
A new wave of fury washed over him. He released even more of his power. His voice was now a thunderous roar that shook the entire cafeteria.
"If you want to play politics with young lady," he bellowed "then I will suspend both of you Eric and Simon right here right now from this Academy! Is that what you want?"
His declaration stunned everyone into a complete silence. The students the professors even Adam were all taken aback by the Principal’s sudden drastic pronouncent.
Monica watching from her table in the ladies’ section thought to herself The Principal is truly furious. This is not just a warning he really ans it. He is going to expel them.
The Principal then turned his gaze to the other professors on the stage. "I am ordering the permanent expulsion of Eric and the senior mbers of the Red Team from this Academy!" he declared loudly. "All of you are to ensure that none of them ever set foot in this institution again!"
Adam hearing this realized that a rational verbal defense was no longer an option. The Principal was too angry too set in his decision. He had to act now. He had to change the situation.
He took a single step forward. And as he did his own imnse power flared to life once more. "I will not accept your decision Principal," he stated his voice calm yet carrying an undeniable challenging weight.
The Principal who was already enraged now turned his furious gaze upon Adam. His anger intensified even more.
"If you are incapable of dispensing justice fairly," Adam continued his voice cool and analytical "then I will take matters into my own hands. That is the rule the Emperor himself has laid down is it not? The fault lies with you and your students and yet you are punishing as well."
The Principal’s face contorted with an even greater rage. Adam’s accusation his logic it was infuriating. He took a step forward. The power radiating from him was now so intense that the very floor around him began to crack. He stopped directly in front of Adam his eyes blazing with fury. "Do you have proof for what you are saying boy?" he snarled. "If not then leave this place at once!"
Adam remained silent for a few seconds. A slow almost mocking smile spread across his face. He then raised his hand.
The Principal was montarily confused by this strange unexpected gesture.
And then Adam reached out. He gently touched the Principal’s forehead with two of his fingers. "Who said," he whispered his voice a soft chilling sound that only the Principal could hear "that I have no proof of what happened?"
The mont his fingers made contact with the Principal’s skin Adam projected the entirety of Ryan’s mory everything he had just witnessed in the boy’s mind directly into the Principal’s mind.
The Principal’s eyes widened in shock as the vivid brutal images flooded his consciousness. He saw everything. The other professors seeing Adam’s audacious act of touching the Principal began to move forward. They were ready to intervene to stop him.
But the Principal even as he was being inundated with Ryan’s painful mories raised a hand. It was a clear silent command for them to stay back. Though he was experiencing the mory he was still aware of his surroundings. He was still in control of the situation.
For a few long silent monts Adam held the connection. He allowed the Principal to witness everything. He saw the magical summons from the bird. He saw the confrontation with Samba and Cian. He saw the brutal beating. And he heard the chilling threat to Ryan’s family.
When the mory concluded Adam slowly removed his fingers from the Principal’s forehead.
The Principal who had closed his eyes to better concentrate on the flood of information now opened them. He let out a long heavy sigh. He looked at Adam. His expression was no longer one of pure rage. It was one of a deep troubled contemplation. He was thinking.
Adam then spoke his voice quiet but clear. "So Mr. Principal," he asked "if you were in my position if your new family mber was attacked and threatened like that what would you have done?"
The Principal was plunged into a deep introspective silence. The question was a difficult one.
The answer was even more so.
Seeing that the Principal was considering his words Adam took a step back. He then turned to face the crowd of students specifically the mbers of his own fledgling group.
"If this is the Principal’s final decision to expel ," he announced his voice ringing with a new somber authority "then I will take my leave from this place. But I have proven my promise to you all. I have protected my own."
He was prepared to walk away to abandon this Academy and its flawed corrupt systems.
But then the Principal spoke. He took a deep breath. "Eric," he said his voice now calm resolute "you are not going anywhere."
This sudden complete reversal stunned everyone. The professors were flabbergasted. They had no idea what Adam this "Eric" had shown the Principal.
But just a few monts ago the Principal had been on the verge of expelling him. And now he had completely changed his mind.
Shreya the Red Team’s strategist was also horrified. She didn’t know what proof "Eric" had presented.
And without that knowledge she couldn’t formulate a counter-strategy. A dreadful chilling feeling began to spread through her. Whatever was about to happen next it would not be good for the Red Team.
The Principal then turned his cold furious gaze upon the leadership of the Red Team who were still on their knees.
"I have decided," he announced his voice now a final irrevocable judgnt "that I am permanently expelling both Samba and Cian from this United Academy."
His words were t with a collective stunned gasp from everyone in the hall. The professors the students the mbers of the Red Team... their mouths hung open in utter complete disbelief.
The untouchable high-ranking nobles of the Red Team two of the most powerful students in the entire Academy had just been sentenced to expulsion.
The rebellion had not been crushed. It had in fact just won its first decisive victory. The balance of power in the Academy had just been shattered.
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