Chapter 165: Salvation (5)

Adrian found the Mages’ quarters remarkably quiet. Unlike the Knights who shared rooms in pairs, each Mage, despite their greater numbers, was granted their own private room.

This made Adrian’s task of finding Serena simpler; there were no staff milling about to question his presence.

He simply climbed the stairs until he reached the floor he’d deduced contained Serena’s room.

Locating the specific door, Adrian approached it. He pushed it gently, finding it locked, which wasn’t a surprise.

He didn’t knock. Instead, he activated his mana detector, scanning for her signature within.

The map, however, revealed only faint traces, more akin to lingering magic from crystals than a vibrant mana core.

This revelation made a cold dread settle in Adrian’s chest. Fear for the worst clawed at him.

With a gentle but firm motion, he pulled the door slightly from its hinges, creating an opening just wide enough for him to slip through. The moment he was inside, he saw nothing.

The room was empty save for the neatly made bed and a solitary wardrobe. Serena was nowhere to be found.

Adrian immediately retreated, carefully replacing the door to its original position. He knew the best course of action now was to inquire with her friends.

Serena had often mentioned sleeping over at her friend’s room. He recalled that one of her friends’ room was right next to hers. He moved to the adjacent door and, with the same subtle force, pulled it open.

Inside, a girl was fast asleep on her bed. Adrian walked quietly to her side and tapped her shoulder with his cold, metallic glove.



The girl didn’t stir. He tapped a few more times, more insistently, until she finally groaned and slowly opened her eyes.

The moment her gaze landed on Adrian, her eyes widened in pure shock, and a piercing shriek escaped her lips.

Before she could scream further, Adrian’s single, armored hand clamped over her mouth. He held her firmly, his glowing blue eyes fixed on hers, attempting to convey reassurance.

"It’s me," he murmured in a low rumble. Recognition slowly dawned in the girl’s eyes.

He held his hand in place for another moment, ensuring the panic had truly receded. "Calm?" he asked quietly.

She managed a jerky nod against his hand, and slowly, Adrian released his hand.

"Wh- wha- what do you want?" she immediately asked after being able to talk once more.

"Serena. Where is she?" Adrian went straight to the point

He observed the immediate change in her expression; her entire demeanor deflated, and her eyes seemed lost. She shook her head.

"I... don’t know. We haven’t seen her since we resumed classes yesterday. Her siblings didn’t say anything either."

Adrian’s jaw tightened. He bit back a surge of anger. "Okay. Thank you for cooperating."

Without another word, he turned and left the room, seamlessly fixing the damaged door back into place as if he had never been there.

The confirmation that Serena was missing, coupled with the Borin siblings’ silence, painted a grim picture in his mind.

A cold rage began to simmer within Adrian. ’Did they take her to the war?’

He considered returning to the Borin mansion to demand answers, but he knew better than to act rashly.

With measured steps, Adrian descended to the lowest floor. Serena had once mentioned that Fabian’s room was on this level, though she hadn’t specified which one.

Adrian was certain he would find it. He moved methodically, pulling each door slightly from its hinges and taking a quick peek inside to confirm its occupants.

He encountered several students who were awake and visibly startled or frightened by his sudden appearance, but their reactions didn’t deter him in the slightest.

Finally, at the fourteenth door, as Adrian pulled it open, he saw him. A boy with white hair sat on the bed, a magic crystal clutched in his hand, its faint glow complemented by the warm flame of a candle on a nearby table.



The moment Adrian stepped into the room, Fabian’s eyes snapped open, instantly registering the intruder’s presence.

"Igni—" he began, his first instinct to cast a spell.

But he was a fraction of a second too slow. In the blink of an eye, Adrian had pounced.

Adrian’s armored hand clamped tightly over Fabian’s mouth, just as he had done with Serena’s friend.

Simultaneously, Adrian exerted his will, shattering Fabian’s concentration and interrupting the nascent spell. Fabian struggled, his eyes wide with confusion and fear as his brother’s face hovered mere inches from his own.

"Where is Serena?" Adrian demanded in a low voice.

Pure horror filled Fabian’s eyes. Adrian’s overwhelming will had instantly decimated his mental defenses, leaving him disoriented and terrified.

Worse still, with his mouth and nose covered so tightly, he couldn’t breathe. He felt the immense force beginning to break his nose.

"Mmff! Hmpf! Nnngh!" Fabian’s muffled sounds were unintelligible to Adrian, but his desperate clawing at Adrian’s arm made his plea clear. He was begging to be released.

Adrian realized he had let his anger get the better of him, directing it at the boy in his grip.

He released Fabian’s mouth, and he immediately collapsed onto the bed, clutching his throbbing nose in pain.

Adrian paid him no mind. He roughly pulled Fabian back up from the bed and said in a sharp, unyielding voice:

"Start talking."

Fabian was genuinely terrified, more scared than he had ever been in his life. First, Adrian’s friend, and now Adrian himself. Both had intimidated him and left him utterly helpless within a span of hours.

He wished the floor would swallow him whole, for he could never have imagined that Knights could possess such immense strength. But the floor wouldn’t oblige, not with Adrian’s cold, demanding eyes fixed on him.

So, just as he had done with Karl earlier, Fabian began to narrate everything he knew to Adrian. Adrian’s expression remained neutral, but a furious inferno raged within him as he listened to the tale.

When Fabian finished, Adrian ground his teeth. He looked at Fabian one last time. "So she’s likely at the Palace dungeons..."

Fabian nodded quickly, a fearful, stammered "Y-yes" escaping his lips.

Adrian didn’t spare him another glance. He turned and left the room. With Fabian’s story, Adrian had formed a clear picture of everything that had transpired in the Kingdom. And that led him to a singular, chilling conclusion:



’You do deserve death.’

***

The storm still raged, a furious symphony of wind and rain lashing against the Royal Palace.

Adrian, a silhouette against the tumultuous sky, didn’t sneak. He didn’t try to be stealthy. He simply flew directly into the compound, landing with a soft thud just at the main entrance.

Before he could take a single step further, a flurry of figures erupted from the guard posts,. "Intruder! Attack!" one of them bellowed.

"Ignis Orior!"

"Terra Muro!"

"Ventus Sagitta!"

Normally, Adrian would have shrugged off such attacks, continuing his relentless march. But the news of Serena’s disappearance had ignited a cold anger within him.

This time, he didn’t walk through their spells. He stopped.

A wave of evident pressure radiated from him, a chilling wave of pure, unadulterated aura.

It slammed into the surrounding guards like an invisible hammer.