"Don’t move!" A guard pointed his weapon at Reinhard, his hand shaking. "Keep your hands where we can see them!"
The fourteen weapons didn’t move.
Neither did Reinhard.
He looked at the nearest guard, whose hand was still shaking. And he understood the standoff; they all knew about Yor’s condition and saw her as a threat.
One that they might move to eliminate unless soone steps in. The question is, how long will it take till they arrive before one guard is pushed over the edge?
"She needs help," Reinhard said, holding Yor’s limp body closer. "It’s your job to provide it."
"It’s not your call to make!" Another guard stepped forward, teeth clenched.
Reinhard’s eyes narrowed as he quickly began mapping an escape in his mind.
As this went on, dical staff poured into the mall through every door. They carried stretchers and bags, fanning out to reach the fallen students. Near Reinhard, a dic in white bent over a girl with empty eyes. Across the way, another checked a boy slumped against a storefront.
"This one’s breathing!" The dic hesitated. "But sothing’s wrong with their magic."
"Sa here!" Soone shouted from the fountain area.
"Tag them for transport!" A senior dic moved quickly between victims. "Get everyone to dical for testing!"
The team moved with smooth skill, turning bodies gently to check for injuries. Before lifting them onto stretchers and strapping them down.
The sounds of movent filled the quiet mall.
By the fountain, he saw stretchers already lined up in perfect rows. And yet not one of the unconscious students had a single injury.
That made the situation worse.
Each student was marked with a glowing number. Watching this, the few conscious students backed against the walls, faces white with fear.
"And him?" A guard gestured sharply at Reinhard while suspicion colored every word.
"Of course he cos. Just refusing us is enough to be taken." Another voice said, and this one carried the kind of authority that made everyone straighten reflexively.
Reinhard recognized that voice before he even looked up.
It was Professor Chen from the Disciplinary Departnt walking toward them through the chaos with her heels clicking against the floor in sharp, precise beats. She surveyed the scene with purple eyes that missed nothing while taking in the dozens of collapsed students being loaded onto stretchers.
And the frightened crowd pressed against storefronts and Yor’s pale unconscious form.
More disciplinary staff arrived behind her in a steady stream. They carried rolls of barrier tape that glowed faintly with containnt magic. Professor Chen raised one hand, and her voice cut through all the noise and confusion.
"Seal off this entire section effective imdiately! No one enters or leaves without my direct authorization! I want full docuntation of every person present and witness statents from anyone who saw what happened!"
Two staff mbers moved to the main mall entrances while pulling out long strips of yellow tape that pulsed. They stretched it across doorways while other guards positioned themselves at every visible exit point with their hands on weapons. Students who had been trying to quietly slip away found their paths suddenly blocked by solid barriers, and protests erupted.
"I wasn’t even near it when it happened!"
"You can’t keep us here, I have an important class!"
"This is completely unfair!"
A guard stepped forward with both hands raised in a stopping gesture. "Everyone remains until we’ve fully docunted the scene and collected all witness statents. Move back against the walls imdiately and wait for instructions."
The crowd of students reluctantly shuffled backward while still craning their necks to see over shoulders and around bodies. Their whispers grew louder before it quickly spread, and Reinhard knew the rumors would be sothing crazy by the end of the day. More guards arrived in waves to reinforce the periter. While physically pushing onlookers further from the center, where dical teams continued their systematic work.
Professor Chen’s gaze returned to Reinhard. "Take them both to the dical wing under guard. No one speaks to either of them until I personally arrive to conduct interviews." Her eyes swept across the entire mall. "Clear this central area and ensure dical attention reaches everyone who collapsed. Docunt everything."
Staff moved into coordinated action while two guards stepped forward, and one reached down to help Reinhard stand. He shifted Yor’s weight carefully while rising to his feet with her head resting against his shoulder and her breathing shallow but steady enough to be reassuring.
Another guard grabbed his upper arm in a grip that was clearly ant to restrain without causing obvious harm.
"This way," the guard gestured toward the nearest exit with his free hand. It was then that other students could be seen appearing around, beginning to ask questions.
"What happened to everyone?"
"Is my roommate going to be okay?"
"What was that grey thing that spread everywhere?"
Guards imdiately intercepted them while forming a solid human wall of bodies between the desperate students and Reinhard’s escort group. One particularly large guard spread his arms wide to physically block more people from approaching.
"Step back right now! This is a restricted area under ergency academy protocols!"
"But my best friend is one of the people who collapsed, and I need to know-"
"Step back imdiately, or you will be forcibly removed from campus and face severe disciplinary action!"
The students moved back with reluctance written on every face while still trying to see around the guards’ shoulders. Their whispers multiplied exponentially as people shared what they thought they’d witnessed.
A girl near the back was openly crying while being comforted by two friends who looked equally shaken. The others had pulled out communication devices to ssage people outside the sealed zone.
They passed by an intersection where a group of students was gathered around a bulletin board. The exact mont soone spotted their unusual procession moving past, excited whispers erupted like sparks catching dry grass.
"Is that the first year who—"
"What’s he carrying in his arms—"
"I just got a ssage saying sothing huge happened at the Entertainnt Departnt!"
Professor Chen stopped walking and turned to face the group with her voice sharp enough to cut glass. "Disperse this instant. Anyone still present when I count to five will receive formal write-ups for interfering with official academy business."
The students scattered in multiple directions like frightened birds while throwing backward glances over their shoulders. Already getting ready to spread everything that happened.
A chuckle rang out from ahead of them. A guard who had been moving to intercept the approaching figure paused when he recognized her and stepped aside instead.
The other guards imdiately followed.
Professor Chen straightened her already perfect posture as a woman approached from the opposite corridor with confident strides that spoke of complete self-assurance.
Victoria walked toward them with one eyebrow raised. A knowing expression played across her beautiful face while her silver eyes took in the entire scene with professional assessnt.
She glanced around the corridor. "All of them are passed out, but foreign magic has invaded their systems. Magic that definitely doesn’t belong there and instead should only exist in a Void Distortion."
The guards exchanged worried looks, and Professor Chen stepped forward with concern creasing her forehead. "Is it dangerous? I know the Void had infected them, but it had never done this before. Will it cause permanent damage to the students?"
Victoria humd thoughtfully. "Isn’t that the most interesting question? I can only speculate, but we will need to see how the mana in them reacts after they wake up. The energy pattern is highly unusual and unlike anything in our standard reference materials."
Her gaze shifted directly to Reinhard, and a smile played at the corners of her lips. "I thought I specifically asked you not to get into too much trouble."
Reinhard chuckled despite the serious situation surrounding them. "I genuinely wasn’t expecting any of this when I walked into the mall for what was supposed to be a simple social outing with friends."
Victoria laughed. "You really are absolutely full of secrets, aren’t you? I find myself wondering how exactly you can hold our void princess without imdiately passing out like literally everyone else who collapsed."
Reinhard’s eyes widened slightly, and he leaned his head closer to whisper urgently. "Does everyone on the teaching staff know about her condition-"
Victoria squeezed his shoulder lightly while her smile never wavered from its amused position. "Of course, we all know about her. She’s considered dangerous even to us professors, which is precisely why I’m extrely curious..."
Reinhard fell silent for several long monts before asking in a quieter voice. "Be honest with ... How bad is this situation actually going to be?"
Victoria leaned back slightly and dropped her hand from his shoulder. "Prepare yourself for hell." She paused aningfully. "But for right now, just follow Chen to the dical departnt. Doctor Adam will take proper care of both of you."
Professor Chen nodded once and gestured for Reinhard to continue following while her expression remained carefully neutral and professionally blank.
They walked through more winding corridors while Yor continuously muttered words too quiet to make out. Her fingers twitched occasionally against his chest, and small, distressed sounds escaped her throat.
The dical departnt building finally appeared through the windows at the corridor’s end, and they entered through a side entrance. A man stood waiting near the entrance with blond hair that caught the overhead lights and green eyes that tracked their approach with focused professional attention.
His brows furrowed when he first saw the group approaching, but then his eyes widened. He spotted Yor’s in Reinhard’s arms, and then he studied Reinhard’s face.
Sothing complicated and slightly alard passed across his face.
Professor Chen spoke first. "Adam-"
He raised one hand to cut her off politely while nodding. "I can guess what happened... Follow imdiately."
His gaze shifted fully to lock onto Reinhard, and his voice carried strange undertones. "Tell sothing..."
Reinhard raised a brow while Professor Chen’s eyes narrowed.
"How long have you been touching her?"
Reinhard blinked. "A few minutes."
Adam went completely still before beckoning forward. But he saw it, the look of horror passing on Adam’s face before it fully vanished.
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