Chapter 20 The Rose Is Dead
1392words
Blue roses. These are rare. Aleksei reported.
Indeed, they are. Maks agreed.
I never thought I'd find these here.
Why? Akagi asked.
This species of rose has been extinct for centuries now.
I didn't know Vierne held such treasures. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know that either.
Can I take one home?
Yeah sure. I don't think she would mind. Aleksei snapped the stem near a node and picked up the rose. The sky was beginning to turn dark.
Seems like it's going to rain soon. I'll come back some other day when the weather is clearer.
Alright,
Akagi locked the mansion and left for the school. He went to the staffroom to fetch some books and then reach his class. Meanwhile, Vierne and Lict chatted with the other two demigods.
My Sila is fire. So is Belka's Magixiya. Cool, right? Slavik bragged.
You both have the fire element? Lict asked.
Pacts are stronger with the same elements!
That's true, Lict admitted.
What's your sila? Slavik asked Vierne.
It's called 'break'. I can break anything I touch into small pieces.
You guys must be strong, Belka stated.
Not really, Lict chuckled nervously.
Hey, Gavril! Join us, Slavik ordered, He always sits away from everyone.
Do you know each other for a while? Vierne asked.
We're childhood buddies. Aye! Gavril! Gavril ignored him as he made his notes. Slavik went to Gavril and took his notebook, Let's see.
Hey! Give it back. Gakin rose up.
Learning about spells—
Slavik!
Seriously, you're learning spells? Boring. Who needs spells when you have a Sila?
You're overconfident and that always leads to a man's downfall.
But I'm a demigod so it'll be fine.
Vierne looked at Nadia.
She's creepy, Vierne mumbled.
Nadia? Belka heard her, She has selective mutism, she doesn't talk.
I see.
Slavik! Dude, where did you keep my book? Galkin looked under his desk.
Eh? Slavik looked at him.
You borrowed my book on the Astral world last week.
Yeah,
When will I get it back?
Never maybe?
. . .Care to elaborate.
I accidentally burnt it.
What?! You—
What's going on? It was Akagi. He had the attendance register on his shoulder and a cigarette in his mouth. Everyone stood up and bowed. Vierne thought that she should stand up too.
Sit down, you rats, or I'll massacre each one of you, Akagi said.
Good morning to you too, uchi! Slavik smiled and everyone sat down while Vierne stood up. She flushed red with embarrassment and sat down again. Akagi opened the attendance register while Slavik walked towards him and rested his arms on the teacher's table.
You're new I suppose? He asked.
Yes, Akagi replied without looking up.
What will you teach?
Magic.
Theory or practical?
Theory.
Dude, boring! I hate magic theory. It's a thing to practice not to learn from books.
People like you are killed the earliest in a movie.
Nobody can kill me! Suddenly, he felt a gun on his head,
It'll take me a second to prove that wrong, Akagi said.
You can't kill a student, Slavik laughed nervously.
The school campus is large enough to hide a dead body. Go sit on your seat and think twice before you approach me again
Yes Uchitel, Slavik ran towards his seat and sat quietly.
After the attendance was over, Akagi told them to stand up and introduce themselves.
Uchitel, aren't you supposed to introduce yourself first? Slavik had a genuine question.
I must know your name, Akagi narrowed his eyes.
I'm Slavik Tsaryov!
Alright Slavik, I'm Akagi Scheczalier.
That name is pretty popular. My favourite drama series was written by an author with the same name!
Akagi smirked, You're thick, aren't you? (Thick// Dim-witted)
Slavik looked at his butt and slapped it, I just noticed how hot I am.
Sit down.
Melissa walked inside the classroom in her yellow jumpsuit and a tight ponytail. Meet her—This is my star spirit, Melissa. She will be teaching practical magic and I'll be taking up the magic theory.
Damn, Uchitel played better than all of you, Slavik rubbed his chin as he looked at Melissa.
Uchitel, Slavik is being creepy! Belka said while raising her hand.
Akagi took out his gun, pointed it at him and continued talking.
I'm telling you three rules which must not be broken at any cost. One—You are not allowed to use magic anywhere on the school campus except in your magic class. If I see you doing something unnecessary, that will be the last time anyone sees you. Two—You're demigods and this secret must be kept at all costs from other human students. No need to go on bragging. And three—None of you will skip my class.
If you break any of these rules, I'll break you—I can do it and I will do it. You score a B, And I'll make sure you fail. You'll be best at what you do or you better not do it at all and save the hassle. From this point onwards, it either be killed or get killed!
...Erm, can I have a different set of choices?
Aleksei walked towards his balcony and looked at the pot in which he had planted the rose's stem. It had died. But he had watered it every day—Then why? He was now sure of his conclusion. That place had something in it that kept these flowers alive. Something that no other place has and so they are not found anywhere else.
Maks,
Yes, Milord?
Call Mr Akagi and tell him that we'll be visiting the mansion tomorrow morning.
Understood.
At the Obolensky mansion, Vierne sat inside the library with the lights on. Lict had fixed the electricity and water supply of the mansion. Akagi sat beside her with her notebook.
Today, we'll study about spellbinding rings. Now, this is an important topic from the point of view of your exam. The most frequent question you'll encounter is 'Explain the mechanism of a spellbinding ring.' So, I'll explain it with a diagram.
Akagi began drawing the ring, When you crack open the ring, you find this stabilising metal that collects your spirit energy and stores it. It makes your spirit energy almost equal to a human's spirit energy and hence you feel like you've lost your powers.
You mean less spirit energy means no powers?
Yes, the degree of spirit energy determines whether you'll be magical or not. After all, spirit energy gives rise to magic. So, they have a linear relationship.
Okay,
The next important question is—What happens when a human wears a spellbinding ring?
Is something supposed to happen?
It makes them invisible since their spirit energy is reduced further. They can see other mythical creatures with low or very high spirit energies, their bodies turn light, they can fly and travel to different worlds. But, it also makes them more vulnerable to demonic interventions.
Demons can attack people with low spirit energy?
Yes. Akagi's phone began ringing.
Well, learn this now and I'll take a small test in the next ten minutes. He picked up the call.
Next morning, Aleksei arrived at the mansion and found Akagi waiting at the gate. They shook hands and Aleksei looked at the mansion. They reached the rose garden.
The rose I took, it's dead.
Well, it's okay to suck at gardening.
No, Mr Akagi, to me it seems that there is some energy in this garden that keeps the flowers alive and safe from the rest of the world.
Aleksei pressed his hand on the floor tiles of the garden and closed his eyes. He suddenly felt the water and opened his eyes. He walked towards a corner of the rose garden where the fog was much denser. Akagi turned back. He couldn't see the mansion anymore. As they continued walking slowly, Akagi felt as if he stepped inside a shallow puddle. He looked down and saw that they were surrounded by water.
What's this? He asked.
A lake.
I never saw it in the fog.
That was the point. Someone didn't want us to find this lake.
-To be continued
