Chương 27: Invite ZeroVeil

Eldra's arrival at Thimoria Academy was unceremonious but urgent. The golden shimmer of her teleportation spell faded as she stumbled slightly from the strain of the long-distance leap. The journey that would normally take a week had taken her a day, yet her heart was heavier than the exhaustion in her body from the overuse of her magic. The grim silence that greeted her at the academy was worse than anything she had imagined.

The air smelled of blood and magic gone wrong, and a pervasive chill hung in the corridors. Students, staff, and parents stood in clusters, some weeping openly, others numbed into silence. Eldra's heart pounded as she entered the main building, the sound of her footsteps swallowed by the thick, suffocating atmosphere.

Her eyes scanned the scene as she walked through the halls. On either side of her, makeshift beds lined the walls, occupied by students and lecturers—many barely clinging to life. Healers worked tirelessly, their hands glowing faintly as they poured their energy into spell after spell. But for many, it wasn't enough.

Eldra's face remained stoic, but the anguish within her was unbearable. This is my academy. These are my people. And I failed to protect them, that feeling kept eating her from the inside.

She paused mid-step, her gaze falling on a small figure lying motionless on a nearby bed. A healer pulled a sheet over the young boy, whose face was now frozen in an expression of fear and pain. A grieving mother screamed, clutching the child's lifeless body, as a father tried to comfort her, his own tears betraying his efforts.

She knew some of these were not noble children, they were children of commoners that spent their whole fortune to send their kids to Thimoria hoping they would have a bright future.

Eldra clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms. She forced herself to keep moving, her legs feeling heavier with every step. She told herself she needed to see the extent of the damage, but deep down, she feared what awaited her.

Suddenly, her eyes landed on a familiar figure seated against the wall—a frail-looking elven woman with golden hair, her once-radiant aura now non-existent. Her hands were lifeless as they lay in her lap, and her vacant eyes stared straight ahead as though seeing nothing.

Eldra stopped in her tracks. Her breath caught in her throat.

"...Cadewen?" she whispered, her voice cracking.

The woman didn't respond, her expression hollow.

Eldra's knees buckled slightly, and she clutched the edge of a nearby table to steady herself. Tears welled in her eyes as she stepped closer, taking in the sight of her best friend in Thimoria academy—a woman she had laughed with, debated with, ate alongside—reduced to this.

"Cadewen…" Eldra's voice broke as she knelt beside her. But there was no response. Cadewen's lifeless gaze didn't even acknowledge her presence.

A healer nearby shook his head and spoke softly, "She was the first one to face those brutes. She tried to save us, but…" He hesitated, glancing at the empty, bloodied beds behind him.

Eldra's hands trembled as she reached out but stopped short of touching her friend. Tears spilled silently down her cheeks, and she bit her lip so hard it almost drew blood. She wanted to scream, to cry out, but the weight of her grief kept her silent.

Finally, she stood abruptly, turning away. "I can't—" she muttered under her breath. "I can't stay here."

She hurried down the hall, her vision blurred by tears that refused to fall down because she knew she couldn't cry.

The cries and moans of the wounded and the grieving echoed in her ears, but she couldn't bear to look back. I've seen death before, more than most. But why does it still feel like this? Why does it hurt this much? Did I not get used to this?

Eldra asked but she knew the obvious answer would be that she would never get used to death of her loved ones.

Eldra stumbled into a quiet courtyard, the cold night air biting her skin. She clutched her head as flashes of memory overwhelmed her—a battlefield soaked in blood, the faces of those she had lost over the years, the screams of the dying.

It was not the time to think about the past, but she couldn't help but remember everything but one thing kept her strong. It was none other than her beloved streamers words.

Her knees hit the ground as she gasped, her hands digging into the dirt. Her mind swirled with images of Cadewen's hollow eyes, the grieving parents, the lifeless bodies.

It's too much.

"No!" she hissed, shaking her head violently. "I can't fall apart. Not now."

She forced herself to her feet, her trembling hands gripping the edge of her foci pendant which she used as her catalyst for her magic. Her breaths came fast and shallow as anger began to replace her sorrow.

"This... this will not go unanswered," she growled. Her voice was low, but it carried a dangerous edge. "Every single one of them—every single person responsible for this—they will pay. I swear it."

Her chest heaved as she took a deep breath, her resolve hardening like steel. She needed answers. She needed to act.

As Eldra marched back toward the main building, a voice called out to her. One of the academy's senior lecturers, a stout man named Professor Harwin, hurried toward her, his expression grim.

"Lady Eldra!" Harwin bowed slightly, his voice strained. "There's something you need to know. About the attack."

"Speak," Eldra demanded, her tone sharper than she intended.

"It's about ZeroVeil," Harwin said, glancing around nervously.

"What about him?" Eldra didn't know how to react because she knew streamer might have done something, but all she could hope was that he was not involved in this.

"He… he broadcasted the attack. To the entire Thimoria."

Eldra's eyes widened. "What?"

Harwin nodded, lowering his voice. "He hacked appeared nowhere in front of the mages that were casting anti-magic spells and streamed everything—the Church of Inquisition's lackeys, their leaders giving orders, even the destruction they caused. He exposed them for what they are. Without him, the world wouldn't know the truth about who's behind this."

"It would have even caused another demonic-allied nation war, if not for him because that's the most obvious thing to think when an attack like this happen,"

Eldra placed a hand over her chest, feeling the rapid thump of her heartbeat. She stared at Harwin for a long moment, processing his words.

"If not for ZeroVeil..." Harwin continued, "Thimoria might have been completely overrun. The academy might have fallen."

Eldra closed her eyes, a tear slipping down her cheek. "So… it was him."

"Yes," Harwin confirmed. "He's might still be somewhere here. We couldn't identify him because he was wearing a mask, but he was a young man. Our student Mesuna Ven Londor met him and apparently he saved her."

Harwin didn't stop there, instead he told her about everything that was happening with ZeroVeil's physical appearance, "But you should know—some are calling him a hero, while others... well, they're questioning his methods."

Eldra let out a shaky breath, her fingers brushing against the pendant around her neck. She thought of the man she had placed her trust in, the enigmatic figure whose actions often blurred the lines between savior and villain.

"I trusted the right man," she murmured to herself, her voice filled with a mixture of relief and determination.

"Send the message immediately to all the Thimroia," She muttered with a excited tone. "I want to meet this streamer because I want show my gratitude toward him."

Harwin tried to leave with that message, but Eldra quickly stopped him. "Also, prepare special messenger birds because we are going to make sure Ziglait kingdom know what is going to happen when they mess with us. We had peace for too long they forgot about how we used to massacre demons while they were trying to hide behind us."

"Are we going to war?" Harwin questioned not because he was against it, but he wanted it himself.

"It's not going to be a war. We don't have time for war. We are going to massacre every single one who is responsible for this. You know I have an idea that is better than war. This streamer ZeroVeil will make sure my plan comes true and when that happen Ziglat won't be Ziglat anymore,"