Solus sighed.
- "In times of peace, I would be right. Right now, we are at war with death itself though. My mindset is a liability. I hope that Phloria manages to help Lith keep his humanity. It's in moments like this that I feel he is slipping away."–
Unlike the others, Lith wasn't scared. On the contrary, he was very calm. In his mind, the other students were just tools. He planned to use them to raise his status or as sacrificial pawns. He only cared for those at his table.
Some of his plans creeped Solus out.
"Long time no see, Scourge." Kalla appeared beside them, making the group flinch.
"You have changed a lot from our last encounter, Kalla." Lith replied without stopping to eat.
"Yes, and so have you. When this is over, we have much to talk about."
Kalla disappeared after fusing with the shadow of their table, leaving Lith eager for a new lesson about true Necromancy.
"Scourge?" Yurial asked.
"Yeah, it's a long story." Lith sighed, suddenly not so happy anymore. He hated being forced to share bits of his past.
After returning to their room, Lith told them about his first encounter with Kalla and how magical beasts had named him "Scourge". He told them only the truth, but omitted all the parts about true magic and learning Necromancy from the Byk before her evolution.
"Why have you never told us magical beasts can talk?" Phloria felt a little hurt by his lack of trust.
"Because they trusted me not to." He replied.
"Also, because you wouldn't have believed me. Unlike Phillard, usually they are very careful about who they talk to. They probably would have kept silent, if not for the emergency." The memory of the Kroxy made them shudder.
Everyone was dead tired, so they decided to go to sleep early. They needed all of their strength for the attack that would come the following day.
Everyone was flabbergasted at Lith's pajamas.
"Are you really going to sleep with your uniform on?" Because of the mixed accommodation, Yurial had brought a thick nightgown.
"It's more practical this way. If anything happens, I don't have to waste time changing. Also, thanks to its magic, the uniform is always spotless, so why not?"
"You really are like my dad." Phloria laughed. "Every time he comes back from the battlefield, mom always complains about how hard it is to make him sleep without his uniform on and the sword on the bedside."
After everyone had their turn mocking Lith for his paranoia, they turned off the lights. Lith had waited all day for that moment.
He took the shotel out of the pocket dimension, using Invigoration to start collecting data about its pseudo core and how the mana crystals interacted with the spell matrix structure.
He had just started taking notes, after testing and probing the internal structure, when Solus warned him.
- "Watch out! Someone is getting up."– Cursing his bad luck, Lith put everything back in the pocket dimension, pretending to be asleep. There was almost no light in the room, but he was still able to see.
- "False alarm. Quylla went to Friya's bed. Probably she is too scared to sleep alone tonight."– Lith was still sighing in relief when everything went crazy.
Someone was pulling the blankets, cuddling up to him.
"Make a little room for me, jerk." Phloria's whisper sounded like thunder to his ears. He quickly used Hush to prevent the others from noticing what was happening.
"Are you crazy? What do you think you are doing?" Keeping his hands under control was a mammoth task. He couldn't stop his mind from picturing her naked body that, for some reason, he had never managed to forget.
"Don't worry. I used all the spells you taught me to move unnoticed. It happened during the mock exam. Do you remember it?" Her hands caressed his hair, causing his hand to tremble and his nether regions to go into an uproar.
"Of course I do, but I don't think you should be here." He kept whispering despite both of them knowing of the Hush spell.
"Then when would be the right moment? So many people died today. Quylla and Yurial barely escaped death. What if I die tomorrow?"
Solus was so envious of Phloria. Even if she had a body, she would never be so decisive.
Phloria's words made sense, so Lith embraced her while trying to kiss her, finding two unexpected surprises.
"After mocking me for it, are you wearing your uniform too?" He said with her hand pressing against his mouth.
"Your reasoning was flawless. Also, what did you expect? That I would jump on you in my birthday suit? You really have a perverted mind." Lith didn't reply, stopping his attempts for intimacy.
"Sorry, but no kisses. I don't know if I would be able to hold myself back if we start." She blushed violently, searching for his embrace again.
"I'm not ready for that. I just want to sleep beside you, not with you. Is it fine with you?" The sweet scent of her hair was driving him insane.
"No problem." He lied through his teeth, counting backward from one hundred while reminding himself of their age gap.
Contrary to his expectations, Phloria fell asleep almost instantly. Hours passed, Lith had constantly to keep himself in check while whining for all the lost time. There was no way he could study Orion's sword in that situation.
Then, a loud explosion shook the house to its foundations. Inhuman and human screams filled the air. Everyone got up in a rush, something was clawing through the walls and the ceiling at the same time.