Chapitre 9: The Devil Smiled Upon Dilwyn Nox (1)
Dilwyn Nox was sorting out documents and grading students' magic exams when a blinding light suddenly flashed his office for a quick second, before a tumultuous roar came from outside.
He frowned. Putting down the scroll in his hand, he turned his seat and looked up through the giant french window behind him. The heavy maroon curtain didn't hinder his sight in witnessing the dreary night sky. The dark clouds were moving rather violently.
"Another downpour," he muttered unamusedly. Recalling what had happened last night gave him a headache when he saw the drizzle, a start of an upcoming downpour.
He sighed before turning back to his mountain of paperwork when the door to his office was suddenly pushed open. He looked up to find his secretary, Lambert, had sauntered in with another pile of documents. Dilwyn pursed his lips in annoyance.
'It's all that girl's fault! If she didn't mess around then I wouldn't be stuck with this much work!'
Although being the vice principal was a lot of work but still, in comparison to the principal, it was milder. Besides, Principal Helliot was a diligent person so there weren't many for him to take care of in the first place. However, due to her absence, he needed to take over all the work.
Sigh. Dilwyn massaged his aching temple. Lambert looked at his superior with pity.
"Don't worry, Sir. Principal Helliot shall recover soon. Our white mage has begun their magic. We have also given them a few diamond-class crystals. Trust it will help in her speedy recovery."
Dilwyn gave his secretary a quick glance. "I hope so. I really need a timeout soon," he gritted his teeth, "I already have my plate full and I still need to deal with that problematic kid."
Lambert was taking one of the scrolls in order to help his superior when he probed, "I heard her punishment has been decided, yes?"
"Yes. At least that has been dealt with…"
It was a long discussion with several important nobles and members of the high councils. But luckily, they all had the same opinion. So, it ended in his favor. An upward curve sneaked at the corner of his lips. Lambert's focus was on the paper thus he failed to see Dilwyn's satisfied expression.
Knowing how much Dilwyn disliked Kalliope's troublesome antics, Lambert knew Kalliope wouldn't get away with a light punishment. He frowned. Putting down his pen, he stared at Dilwyn, "May I know the result, Sir? Is it going to be harsh?"
Dilwyn raised an eyebrow. "And in what way, does it concern you?"
Lambert appeared worried as he said, "It's just...no matter what, you have to consider Principal Helliot, Sir."
To that, Dilwyn merely shrugged and replied nonchalantly, "It's not my problem though? She's the one who attempted a bloody massacre. I tried to help her but she refused to acknowledge her mistake and reflect on it. Therefore, I have no other way but to punish her."
"But, Sir--"
"It is a heavy crime, Lambert," Dilwyn interrupted with displeasure shown on his face. "What Kalliope did could have resulted in casualties if Helliot hadn't acted fast enough."
Lambert pursed his lips. He still believed this decision was a bit rushed since Helliot, Kalliope's guardian, wasn't present. In the end, Isadora Helliot was first and foremost one of the best three sorcerers, besides being a principal. She was also the head of the councils and again, she was Kalliope's guardian.
Hence, regardless of whichever side he looked from, Principal Helliot's opinion held the most weight within the council. To disregard her like this felt somewhat disrespectful.
Lambert had always been the type of person who went by the book. Though sometimes he might unknowingly bend, most of the time he tried to be objective because he believed that was what being a teacher was supposed to be.
So, currently, he wasn't pleased by his superior's action that seemed to root from his personal distaste. Unfortunately, Lambert couldn't really do anything about it, which he found very frustrating.
"I believe even if Helliot was awake right now, she wouldn't let this incident go so easily," Dilwyn reasoned. Nevertheless, the doubt still formed in his heart. She wouldn't be so biased, right?
FLASH!
In that moment, a red thunderbolt furiously crackled across the sky. It cut off Dilwyn's thoughts and gave him goosebumps for no reason. He felt iffy all of the sudden.
Meanwhile, Lambert who first noticed the red light was struck dumb. There was no such thing as red lightning in normal occurrence. A vivid blood-red lightning as forbidding a that existed only by magic and to affect even nature meant that the spell was either too heavy of repercussions or just simply large-scale magic.
However, a second after he pondered, a whiff of metallic scent caught on his nose. It was mixed with a particular pungent, herbal scent, that quickly made the office smelled awfully rancid. Lambert knitted his brows.
"Sir, do you--" the words got stuck in his throat as soon as his eyes landed on Dilwyn. His pupils quivered and his complexion blanched in that instance.
"Wha…" Dilwyn's voice was hoarse and sounded weak, too weak to even be called a whisper. It was more of a terrible sigh, a series of gibberish, coming out of his mouth as he struggled to breath. Then...
Drip. Drip.
It began.
The clear sound of dripping was too clear amid the reverberating silence. Time seemed to slow down as the darkling night encapsulated the space. From the small gap of the window, the night breeze whistled, serenading Dilwyn's ears with an excruciating buzz before following the chorus to a stream of black liquid trickling down his nose.
"Sir!!" Lambert exclaimed in alarm.
Dilwyn stumbled down his chair. His brain felt numb like a terrible hangover as he struggled to get up by holding onto his desk. Everything seemed to have gone into slow motion in his vision. Lambert, who had rushed to his aid, supported him back to his seat.
However, it continued. The nosebleed started slowly, little by little, and it took only seconds before it came out pouring like a waterfall.
Lambert gasped in surprise as he took a step backward. Meanwhile, Dilwyn was choking from the sudden burst of black liquid streaming down his nose.
Following that, he heard his stomach gurgling. That was when he felt a wave of moisture surged to his throat, forcing him to throw up a mouthful of black liquid, and after that another, and another.
The unidentified liquid spurted out of his mouth unstoppably, staining his desk and splashed all over the expensive carpet. Lambert felt a splash on his face that knocked him out of his daze. His body shook at the revolting black stain on him. The smell was nauseating beyond words.
However, he failed to register what was going on as Dilwyn vomited even more black liquid. This time, Lambert agilely avoided it, although it still splashed onto him a little bit.
"Sir, what's going on?!" Lambert shouted while he tried to get rid of the icky black liquid on his face.
Unfortunately, Dilwyn neither had a chance nor energy to respond as the pain began to torture him from inside out. It felt like something was trying to break out of his body.
"Urghh….!!"
He was groaning in agony, curling into a ball on the floor while his mind gradually experienced a regression. His whole body shook horribly as he plunged into a seizure.
"Sir!!" Lambert shouted while rushing towards Dilwyn again. But the moment he stepped on the pool of black liquid, the liquid shifted into numerous roots and bound him on the spot. "What in the world--?!"
He tried to pull his leg out but it stuck firmly inside the pool. No matter what he did, he couldn't free himself. In fact, he only felt the roots bound him tighter and draining his mana faster the more he struggled. This occurrence sent him into a flurry.
Thus, in a moment of frustration, Lambert blasted a medium fireball with his remaining mana. To his surprise, the spell worked and an ear-splitting shriek boomed inside the office. The liquid split apart as it tried to escape the heat.
"KIIKKKKKK!!!!"
Lambert grimaced at the obnoxious cry but he forced himself to save Dilwyn. Yet, another surprise stopped him in his tracks. He stared at the back of Dilwyn's hand where something was visibly slithering underneath his skin.
It was shaped like a web of veins but thicker and gradually growing through the length of his arm.
"What... in the world…?"
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone