Then, suddenly, he scread.
Blood ca out of his mouth. His body twisted in pain. A mont later, the other two assassins also scread and shook uncontrollably.
"What’s happening?!" Professor Treneth shouted, rushing forward.
"Are they dying!" soone said. "Is it poison?!"
"No," said one of the professors. "It’s a seal... A death trigger."
But deep behind the group, one professor silently stepped back into the shadows, his hand still faintly glowing from the snap he made monts ago.
And no one saw it.
Professor Aelra narrowed her eyes. "The Demon Organization? Are you saying it’s real?"
The older assassin finally spoke in a raspy tone, his voice like sand scraping stone.
"Realer than you think," he said. "We’ve seen things—rituals, forbidden spells, creatures not of this world..."
"Because we have been working under a devil contractor for three years."
He paused, his eyes darting to the floor as if afraid the shadows themselves might be listening.
"And behind it all..."
Suddenly, the youngest assassin gasped.
GUSH!
Blood spilled from his mouth. His body arched violently as if an unseen force had struck him in the chest.
"What’s happening?!" one of the professors shouted.
"They’re dying!" another said.
AHHHH... .
The second assassin scread in pain, grabbing his throat with both hands. His chains shook wildly as he rolled and kicked on the floor.
Professor Treneth stepped forward, panic in his voice.
"Did they cast a spell?!"
Head of the departnt clenched his fist. "They were silenced. Just as they were about to speak ..."
He glanced slowly around the room.
"...Which ans soone didn’t want us to hear it."
He paused, eyes flickering nervously toward every corner of the room.
"...Behind it all is soone they refer to as the Demon Lord."
There was a stir among the professors. Professor Treneth glanced toward the Principal.
The room grew even colder, as if the na itself had summoned a dark presence.
"Tell us everything you know about the Demon Lord," Aldric said quickly, stepping closer.
The assassins hesitated. Their mouths opened—about to speak more, to finally reveal the truth behind the shadowy figure.
But in that instant, sothing subtle happened.
The professor, standing quietly near the back, made the smallest of gestures.
He raised his hand and snapped his fingers softly. Barely audible.
No one seed to notice.
But the effect was imdiate.
The young assassin suddenly gasped. His back arched violently as a pained cry escaped his lips.
Then the second assassin—his eyes widened in terror as he clawed at his throat, choking and shaking. The chains rattled as he collapsed to the ground.
The third tried to say sothing—anything—but only blood ca out of his mouth.
Their bodies convulsed, one after the other, as invisible magic tore through their insides. Agony twisted across their faces as they scread—but only for a mont.
And then, all three fell silent.
Dead.
Not a single spell had been cast aloud. No rune activated. No one moved—except Professor, who now looked forward with a composed expression, his hands behind his back.
The silence that followed was heavier than before. A few professors exchanged looks, so in shock, others in quiet understanding.
"What... what just happened?" Professor Yulia whispered, though her voice trembled.
"They’re dead," Professor confird grimly, walking over to check the bodies. "Poison? Curse?"
"No," Caldrein said flatly, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the corpses. "It was a death seal... likely planted in them by their higher-ups. If they spoke too much, it would activate."
But deep down, even he wasn’t sure if that was entirely true.
Behind him, a professor gave a faint smile—barely visible.
Aldric turned to the rest. "This confirms it. We’re dealing with sothing far darker than we assud. A Demon Organization, and a possible Demon Lord behind it all."
The room grew colder. Even the bravest among them felt a faint shiver crawl down their spine.
"Double the security," Aldric said. "And keep this entire incident quiet."
As the professors filed out, one by one, one of the professors lingered for a mont beside the corpses. He looked down at them silently.
Then, with a flick of his finger, the corpses vanished into smoke—leaving behind no trace.
Principal Aldric slowly rose from his chair. Dressed in deep blue robes with silver linings, the insignia of Arcadia Academy glowing faintly on his chest, he placed both hands on the table and looked at the faces of those vanishing assassins.
"The students are our future," he said clearly. "Be it the students from within our own academy, or those who co from other nations. It does not matter where they were born, or which language they speak. When they enter these gates of all the academies to learn and grow, they beco part of our world... our responsibility."
Aldric continued, his gaze unwavering.
"And in that case," he said, "we shall begin a formal eting with the twelve academies of this state. This is no longer a concern limited to Arcadia alone."
He paused for a mont, letting the words sink in.
"Because what we face now—this threat, these assassins, this shadow creeping into our halls—it will not only harm our students," his tone sharpened, "but it will spread... to others. To every academy in this state. Perhaps even beyond its borders."
Professor Treneth leaned forward. "Are you suggesting... an inter-academy alliance?"
Aldric nodded. "I am. We must not be divided in tis like these. If the students are in danger, from within or without, then we must act together—share knowledge, pool resources, and defend what truly matters: their lives, their futures."
Professor Aelra exhaled slowly, her eyes narrowing. "This is the first ti in decades such a eting will be called. Are we prepared for what it may bring?"
Aldric looked toward the window for a brief mont, then back to the room.
"Prepared or not, we must act. Silence and delay will only let the darkness grow stronger."
The room fell silent again—but this ti, the silence carried purpose.
The eting will begin.
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