"Attention all students. Please report to the great hall immediately. I repeat. All students report to the great hall immediately. Any students not at the great hall will face severe consequences."
Click!
The magical intercom clicks off. My knees are buckling as I am still crouching. The announcement means soon everyone is going to be at the great hall. If I don't want to appear suspicious, I have to be there soon.
The coast is clear.
My footsteps are as quiet as a mouse. There are a few Keepers scattered throughout the hallways. The way I avoid them makes me feel like an absolute ninja.
My guess is the announcement is going to be about what I just overheard from the library, more or less. It is a miracle that I made it into the great hall without looking suspicious.
The heads of all the students are in my way as I stand near the back. There are Keepers all around the great hall, as well as the personal knights of the Duke of Light.
This is certainly going to be an interesting speech and day.
"Greetings all students! This announcement is purely an informational one. The evil organization that attacked us is called HLH. We do not know what they stand for, but we know they stand for evil as they attacked our lovely academy, which stands for protecting others. We want you all to chip in and help protect our community in the event of another attack."
"That is why we are putting together a variety of task forces to send you guys to the battlefield of Tarondar as a whole. Whoever discovers the HLH headquarters will receive a promotion!" the Keeper Principal says as cheers roar from the students.
What a load of lies.
"People may be promoted to Keeper or an Elite Keeper depending on how well you produce results and listen to us," the Keeper Principal says, letting the words sink into the crowd as the students talk to each other.
"Some of you may even be regarded as a hero if you find the HLH headquarters and defeat their leader," exclaims the Keeper Principal.
The more he speaks, the more I want to engulf him myself with my purple flames. Become a hero? In other words, become a human tool to kill other humans? The HLH, whoever they are, are on humanity's side.
Even during their first attack, they only target Keepers and important structures.
Some students sustain injuries from the debris, but they are not the intended targets. If the students try to fight the HLH members, then the HLH will have no choice but to fight back.
My jaw feels tight as I scowl at the Keeper Principal from afar.
All he is doing is using the students more to fight for him while also killing the students as well by having them fight directly at the enemy. For example, if a student tries to kill an HLH member, that HLH member may have no choice but to kill the student in self-defense if it comes down to it.
I hold my head in my hand as I shake my head. This is too much.
The ground trembles beneath my feet. My day is about to get a lot worse. A violent tremor shakes the academy.
The walls groan, and the air crackles with purple lightning. Purple flames erupt among the windows of the great hall, shattering the glass into a million pieces. Within seconds, the purple flames consume the stone walls.
"Everyone defend the Academy!" one of the lead knights from the House of Zahard shouts as he draws his sword. All the knights draw their enchanted magic swords, and the Keepers are running around the campus to get into defensive positions.
The terrible sound of clashing weapons and spells are already audible from outside the great hall.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Several cloaked figures with the letter H on their cloaks swoop in from the broken windows of the great hall. The cloaked figures emit auras of darkness. They enchant their weapons with dark magic. The HLH members startle everyone in the great hall, and many of the students scatter.
The HLH immediately knocks out some students who try to fight back.
"Stop them here!" one of the other lead Zahardian knights says to his unit. The knights charge at the HLH members. All I hear are deafening screams as explosions tear apart the atmosphere. It is a horrifying sight.
They attack not even two days later; I think to myself as I see one of the HLH members engulf a knight in purple flames.
What is their end goal here? Do they mean to destroy the Eradicators and all of Keeper Academy here? It still feels like they are holding back, I say to myself as I notice one knight running toward the Keeper Principal.
"Sir! A few of the Elite Keepers are being taken out by the HLH Shadow Squadron!" the knight says in a desperate voice.
The HLH Shadow Squadron?
Is that the equivalent of the Elite Keeper force?
I manage a slight smile on my face. The Eradicators have a lot on their plate. Some of their top guys in Tarondar are being defeated by the HLH.
I can infer that the HLH is the group that comprises the last surviving humans who know the truth. Humans who weren't corrupted by the spheres of magic. Primarily made up of adults.
As I rush outside of the main building to get a glimpse of the Shadow Squadron, I notice all around me the land becomes a blur of combat.
Flashes of yellow and purple magic combined with shrieks of pain filled the air. Some students try to fight off the Shadow Squadron, but it is hopeless.
Their dark magic effortlessly dominates over the students' elemental magic.
They wield it with such ease it makes me jealous.
Through the chaotic mess of combat surrounding me on every side, I notice a cloaked figure looking at me.
This cloaked figure has a cloak slightly different from the rest.
Is this the leader?
I think to myself as I try to approach them. The figure quickly disappears behind a wall.
My feet pick up the pace as I weave through various explosions and attacks of magic to reach the figure. I turn the corner and see another glimpse of the same cloak. Before I knew it, we end up in some alley between some buildings.
"Seventh affinity level magic, Shadows of Stealth," the cloaked figure says while waving their wand in the air.
Immediately, the alleyway becomes a hundred times darker, and a dome of darkness surrounds us. My guess is this technique allows us to talk in private with no one seeing us or being able to get in.
The cloaked figure takes off the hood of her cloak, revealing a girl with a very similar hair and eye color to mine. Her face looks extremely familiar, but I can't place it. It is like I have known her for a while, but her appearance looks slightly different.
Is it because she is older and I knew her in the past? Why does she have the last name Lotus?
"Hey, who are you?" I ask quickly.
The girl doesn't answer right away. She runs up to me and unexpectedly gives me a big hug. She wraps her arms tightly around me as I stand there, slightly confused. Her face has tears in her eyes as she looks up at me.
The cloak of her hood fell back to reveal her face.
"It's good to see you alive, brother!" she says, managing a smile.