Chapter 63 - The Return of Elites (1/2)

Lydis was returning from the forest, Edith's torn body laying in the bushes near the road. If no one found her within four hours, she would tip off Hal and have him find Edith. Although there weren't a lot of wounds on Edith's body, Ui's healing agents allowed for a rapid healing of the skin making Edith's condition look better than it actually was, her mental state however, wasn't something that could be so easily healed.

During this time, Lydis fulfilled her curiosities and managed to acquire a new obedient pawn, Theda didn't really count since Lydis wasn't sure if Theda could be fully trusted yet.

Taking her time, Lydis didn't rush back to the dorm. Instead, she wandered around the academy grounds. Every now and then she would spot groups of upperclassmen returning from their vacations, but they were all normal students.

Just as Lydis neared the intersection of all the paths, loud cheers and whistles drew her attention. Curious, Lydis followed the noise and came upon a large group of people dressed in white and purple. At first Lydis thought that it was just the Horoscopes walking around but she didn't recognize any of them from afar. There seemed to be twelve in total.

As she neared the crowd Lydis saw that the Horoscopes standing before her weren't the one's who stood next to her in the atrium. Tall and dignified, each step marched in unison. Lydis could only guess that they were the academy's older generation of Horoscopes.

One of them looked over to where Lydis was standing and ignored her. Lydis saw that they resembled Jedd but what gave him away the most was the gas mask covering his face. Laughing a little, Lydis watched as the groups of proud students returned to their dorms. Younger students clinging to them and cheering with all their might.

After the Horoscopes group passed another was greeted with less cheer but angry voices.

Lydis's attention was instantly stolen by the group of children dressed in black rushing through the courtyard.

”Move!”

”It's an emergency!”

”Get outa the way!”

The group in black bulldozed through the crowd. Their panicked screams scattering all the nearby students. The atmosphere surrounding the Zodiacs was rugged and less dignified compared to the Horoscopes. The Horoscopes were like a sharp blade, refined and sharp. The Zodiacs on the other hand were like a chipped blade, uncontrollable and wild, their edge not losing to the Horoscopes in the least.

”F*ck off! This isn't some show!” One of the members in black started to pummel the students who got too close.

”Liam calm down!” Another member dressed in black held back his comrade. ”We need to get Kinley and Aseph to the medic center as soon as possible, we can't waste time here.”

The one called Liam obeyed his leader's words and continued his pace, clearing the way for his group instead of beating each student around him.

As Lydis got closer she saw the reason why the Zodiacs were in such a hurry. Two of their members, a boy and a girl, had been injured to the point where even a bystander could see that it was fatal. Each wounded member was in a stretcher, four people holding each corner, Liam alone was left to clear the path as his leader went back to help carry their comrades.

From the left side, coming from the new students' dorms, a black blur shot out from the forest. Lydis saw the familiar neon green hair and knew that it was Nae.

Lydis watched as Nae joined up with her group and after a short pause, the group continued to rush towards the medic center.

It should be known that the medical facilities in the rest of the border city were one level lower than the resources and treatment available in the academy. As Central placed great hope and interest in cultivating better soldiers, they wouldn't try to squash promising buds early on.

When the group passed, the noise in the area died. Seeing that there wasn't anything else of interest, Lydis slipped away and continued to wander the academy.

After about three hours of walking and surveying the interior of the academy, Ui popped out of Lydis's pocket. Since there weren't any children nearby, Ui wasn't worried about being discovered.

”Master Lydis, should we head back to the dorms? It is almost time for lunch to start.”

Lydis put down the furry branch she was observing when Ui told her the time.

*sigh* ”Truly, the best way to pass the time is to explore.” As Lydis walked back she realized she had gone further than she expected. Past the dorms of the fifth years and deep into the training forest surrounding the academy.

”Ui, can you get me a map?”

”Understood.” From Ui's forehead, a small hologram of the academy showed up, the path Lydis had walked was lit up in red, a larger red 'X' was placed over what Lydis guessed to be her dorms.

”Thanks Ui.”

With Ui on her arm in front of her, Lydis quickly ran through the forest. Dodging the occasional large tree root and branches, making sure to not fall into the natural ditches made when the academy was built.

Withing thirty minutes, Lydis could finally see the front of her dorm. Outside, Hal was calling the remaining children outside to eat. Lydis could see that this time it was the real Hal since his agitated voice and sleep deprived eyes scared most of the children causing them to freeze in place. Which ultimately led to Hal getting even more agitated as the children didn't listen to his calls.

Lydis walked to the closest group of five kids and instantly changed faces, although not very welcoming, she made sure to appear nicer than Hal was at the moment.

”Fellow students, what is stopping you from entering the dorms?”