YM778.TV Chapter 367: Hoping For A Miracle
None of the students were allowed to wander alone in the academy, and all of them were required to travel in groups of four.
They were also not allowed to leave the floating island and were asked to return to their rooms before sunset.
These measures had been in effect for the past four days, and all the Professors were required to patrol the academy grounds in shifts to ensure that no students were breaking the rule.
\'This reminds me of when the Wendigo was at large within the Great Eagle Forest,\' Ethan thought. \'Is Dawnbreaker Academy facing a similar threat?\'
As Ethan pondered about these things, he, Professor Barret, and Henry arrived at the Headmaster\'s Office.
Professor Northon knocked at the door and announced their arrival.
"Headmaster, the people from Brynhildr Academy have arrived."
"Enter."
Professor Northon opened the door for their guest to enter.
Ethan looked around the room and noticed that it was filled with wind chimes of different shapes, sizes, and designs.
What he found weird was that the room didn\'t have any windows.
This made him wonder how these wind chimes would actually make a sound despite not having any wind to pass through them.
A man with gray hair and beard walked toward Professor Barret with an exhausted smile on his face.
"I would have liked to reunite with you in better times, Barret," the Headmaster of Dawnbreaker Academy, Marlton Everton, said. "But I really need your help, old friend."
"And you shall have it, Marlton," Professor Barret replied. "Tell me what happened?"
Professor Marlton sighed before asking his guests to take a seat so that he could explain the reason why he asked for help.
"An Elder Dragon that goes by the name, Eizenth, gave birth to an egg a week ago," Professor Marlton explained. "However, one of the Professors of the academy happened to pass by its nest by complete chance while the Elder Dragon was away to look for food.
"He wasn\'t able to control his greed, so he took the egg and returned to the academy, with the intention of raising the egg in secret. Unfortunately, the Elder Dragon found a way to locate her egg and came to the academy in order to retrieve it.
"When the Dragon arrived and demanded that its egg be returned to her, Professor Onar panicked and used the Teleportation Gate of the Academy to escape to Midgard. At that time, we didn\'t know that he was the one who had stolen the egg.
"The Elder Dragon threatened to destroy the academy if her egg wasn\'t returned to her, but since Professor Onar already escaped, there was nothing we could do about it. We tried to reason with her and finally managed to come to a compromise.
"We were given exactly one week to retrieve the egg. If we fail, she and her kin will massacre everyone in the academy. She even declared a threat that whoever tried to leave the territory of South Haven would be attacked, no questions asked.
"We have already sent the majority of the Professors to track down Professor Onar\'s whereabouts and retrieve the egg, leaving only a third to protect the academy from external threats.
"But we fear for the worst. The Elder Dragon is very sensitive to magic, so the moment we open the Teleportation Gate for mass evacuation, it will attack us immediately. Fearing for their lives, some students tried to sneak away, but they were slain before they could get far enough away from the Wyverns, whom the Elder Dragon had assigned to keep watch over the Floating Island.
"We have informed her that we would be asking for outside help to find her egg faster, which is why she allowed your Flying Ship to enter safely. But as to whether you will be allowed to leave, I\'m afraid even I do not know the answer to that, my friend."
After hearing the Headmaster\'s statement, Professor Barret frowned.
"Marlton, I believe that we are good friends, right?" Professor Barret asked.
"That we are," Professor Marlton replied.
"Then why did you ask us to participate in this suicide mission?" Professor Barret glared at his friend. "The way I see it, unless the Professors that you have dispatched to Midgard are able to find this Renegade Professor of yours, everyone here will be killed, including us, whom you have asked for help."
"I\'m very sorry, Barret." Professor Marlton sighed. "I am just grasping for straws right now. Hoping that a miracle will happen. If we manage to survive this calamity, I promise you this—I will allow you and your two students to take an item from our treasury. All I ask is that you do everything in your power to help us."
Ethan and Henry shared a knowing glance with each other. Similar to what Professor Barret was thinking, both of them thought that coming here was a mistake.
But since they were already here, they might as well do something that would ensure their survival.
"So how many days have passed since Professor Onar escaped your Academy?" Professor Barret asked as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Two days ago," Professor Marlton replied in a heartbeat.
"Then that gives us just five days to find that thief," Professor Barret nodded. "Lead us to the Teleportation Gate. We will immediately begin the search."
Professor Marlton shook his head. "I\'m afraid that is no longer possible. A few hours ago, Eizenth arrived and used her Draconic Magic to transform the Teleportation Gate into a one-way teleportation gate. We cannot use it to leave. It can only allow those coming from Midgard to arrive in the academy. I\'m afraid that we are all trapped on this floating island."
Professor Barret grabbed Professor Malton\'s robe and raised him in the air, surprising Ethan and Henry, who didn\'t know that the Ex-Magistratus was physically strong despite his age.
"Are you kidding me?!" Professor Barret asked in anger, which he rarely showed to anyone. "Are you telling us to help you fight against that Elder Dragon and her kin? Is that what you meant when you said that you were hoping for a miracle?!"
Professor Northon hurriedly grabbed Professor Barret\'s hand, asking him to free the Headmaster, who didn\'t dare to resist the anger of his friend.
"I\'m sorry, Barret," Professor Marlton replied. "I have doomed you and your two students. I didn\'t mean for this to happen. I thought that as long as the two of you were able to pass through the gates to Midgard, you would still have a chance of survival. But Eizenth suddenly changed her mind and closed all avenues of escape."
Professor Barret angrily threw Marlton away. However, Professor Northon acted quickly and cast Leviticus on the Headmaster, preventing him from getting injured.
The Ex-Magistratus looked at the two most promising students of Brynhildr Academy and sighed.
If only he had known that the S-Class Mission was a suicide mission, he wouldn\'t have bothered to visit his friend, who was currently crying in guilt for dooming Professor Barret, as well as the two students who had come along with him.