Chapter 155: The Unexpected Visitor

Chapter 155: Chapter 155: The Unexpected Visitor

Theon stood silently on the balcony of the Imperial Dormitory, his silver hair drifting gently in the evening breeze. His gaze was fixed on the distant horizon, more specifically on the newly discovered dungeon. Even from this distance, its entrance was visible beyond the academy grounds, surrounded by faint traces of magical energy that continued to leak from its depths.

Theon narrowed his eyes. A dungeon. The mere thought made his curiosity burn. How many treasures were hidden inside? How many magical materials could he find? Were there ancient spells, rare monsters, perhaps even something that could help him understand his own powers more fully?

His fingers curled slightly against the balcony railing. *If I entered that dungeon, I could probably improve my magic considerably.* His mind began running through the possibilities at once. He could use it as a training ground. He could test new spells without worrying about damaging the academy. He could experiment with his craft, and, most importantly, grow stronger. Much stronger.

A faint smile crossed his face. *Maybe I’ll go tonight.* He paused, then shook his head. No. Not tonight. Too much was already happening. His body had barely recovered from the battle, and questions still lingered over what had happened in the Forest of Spirits. The dungeon wasn’t going anywhere. He could explore it tomorrow instead.

Theon pushed the thought aside and turned around, his attention shifting toward the two people standing nearby. Ifrith and Silver were still deep in conversation, so absorbed in it that neither seemed to notice how long he’d been standing there.

He watched them a moment, then smiled. "You two should spend some time alone."

Both turned toward him. Theon folded his arms. "I mean, you’re engaged."

Silver froze, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. Ifrith went equally still. Theon raised an eyebrow, and neither of them said a word. He almost laughed.

"Anyway, I’ll leave you two to it." Before either could respond, he turned and walked back inside.

Behind him, Silver’s blush deepened. "Ifrith..."

"Hm?"

"Your master is becoming increasingly troublesome."

Ifrith’s lips curled into a faint smile. "I’ve noticed."

---

Inside the chamber, Theon immediately noticed Lyra sitting on the bed while still cuddling the little wolf. Celestial was there as well, though unlike Lyra, she looked thoroughly exhausted.

Theon frowned slightly. "You should go back to your dormitory and rest."

"I’m fine," Celestial said.

"You don’t look fine."

She sighed. "I suppose I’m a little tired."

"You need rest."

She smiled faintly. "Then I’ll head back. I’ll come check on you tomorrow morning."

Theon hesitated, not wanting her to feel as though he were pushing her away, but after a moment he nodded. "Okay."

Celestial walked toward the balcony, and Theon watched her go. A moment later, he heard her voice.

"Ah."

He frowned and followed. Celestial stood at the balcony’s edge, staring at Ifrith and Silver, who were still lingering there, Silver still faintly blushing.

The instant silver noticed Celestial watching them, her face turned red. "What are you looking at?"

Celestial blinked.

Silver pointed toward the balcony’s edge. "Get out of here!"

"All right, all right, I’m going!" Celestial jumped.

"The hell?!" Theon rushed to the railing and looked down. Celestial was already descending through the air, magical energy wrapping around her as she floated gracefully toward the ground below. She landed safely and simply kept walking.

He sighed. "She could have just used the stairs."

Behind him, Lyra’s laughter rang through the chamber. The little wolf was considerably less amused, growling as she poked relentlessly at his ears, struggling beneath her teasing without much success.

Theon looked down at his sister, and for a moment the noise around him faded entirely. His expression softened.

*Don’t worry, Lyra. I’ll protect you.* His resolve hardened. *No matter what.*

---

**The Next Morning**

"Theon!"

Something landed directly on his stomach, and his eyes flew open. Lyra was bouncing on his bed.

"Wake up! We need to go!"

He groaned. "What...?"

"The academy! We need to go now!"

He sat up. "Why?"

"Because everyone needs to see that you’re okay!"

He blinked. "What happened?"

Lyra smiled mysteriously. "There was a huge uproar while you were unconscious."

"What uproar?"

"You’ll see."

"Lyra..."

She jumped off the bed. "Come on!"

Theon sighed, barely managing to eat before dressing quickly and following her out of the chamber.

---

The moment Theon stepped outside the Imperial Dormitory, he realized something was wrong. Students were gathered near the stairs in large numbers, some whispering, others staring openly. Several instructors stood among them, and scattered throughout were noble parents.

Theon slowed. *What’s going on?*

He descended the stairs, and the moment he reached the bottom, one of the instructors stepped forward and dropped to her knees.

"Your Highness!"

He stopped. She lowered her head. "Please forgive us!"

"What?" He stared at her.

She pressed her hands against the ground. "This was our fault. We should have investigated the Forest of Spirits more thoroughly before allowing students to enter."

"Stand up," Theon said.

She shook her head. "We failed the students." She looked up at him. "If Your Highness hadn’t been there, everyone who entered the forest could have died."

"What are you talking about?"

Her voice trembled. "We didn’t know."

"Know what?"

She explained everything. Before the Spirit Contract program had been introduced, the academy had investigated the Forest of Spirits thoroughly, searching for dangerous monsters, examining the terrain, determining the area suitable for students. But they had missed one thing entirely: a teleportation portal established near the forest’s edge, connecting it directly to the Ancient Forest.

Theon froze. "That portal..."

"Yes, Your Highness."

The memory returned at once, the portal that had pulled them into the deeper region of the forest. Theon crouched beside the instructor. "Lift your head."

She hesitated, then slowly obeyed. He studied her expression and saw genuine fear there, but something else bothered him as well. The Spirit Contract itself wasn’t necessarily a bad idea, but anyone who understood spirits would know that forming one carried real risk. So why had someone suggested it, and who had pushed the academy into accepting it?

"Who came up with the idea?" he asked.

The instructor glanced around and lowered her voice. "The missing headmaster’s right-hand man."

Theon narrowed his eyes. Behind him, the little wolf suddenly appeared.

"Am not missing! I’m right here!" He waved his paws at the instructor, who didn’t react at all. "Why can’t she hear me?"

"Because no one except us can hear you," Theon said.

The little wolf’s ears flattened. "You mischievous, cunning little brat."

Theon ignored him and looked back at the instructor. "Is he an instructor here?"

"Yes." She swallowed. "He was the one who proposed the Spirit Contract. He also took part in the investigation of the Forest of Spirits."

Theon went quiet. Something clicked into place in his mind. *Could he have created the portal? Could he also have altered the academy’s barrier? If so, was he the reason Noel managed to get inside at all?* The pieces were beginning to fit together.

Noticing the instructor still trembling, he sighed. "Stand up."

"Your Highness..."

"It’s fine." He offered her a small smile. "At least there weren’t much casualties." He paused. "What about the injured students?"

"They’re all fine. The academy’s best healers treated them."

"Good." He stood. "Then stop blaming yourself."

He turned and began walking away with Lyra, but had taken only a few steps when a familiar figure approached. Veyron Veylcrest, sapphire-blue hair, crimson eyes, taller than Theon enough that he had to tilt his head slightly upward to meet his gaze.

Veyron stared down at him. "Where did you get such power?"

Theon raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We all know you’re a prodigy," Veiron said, his expression serious. "But no human should possess the kind of power you displayed."

*Did he see me?* Theon thought. *No one should have witnessed me fighting that dragon and Asmodeus.* "So?" he said aloud.

Veyron’s jaw tightened, clearly struggling with what came next. Then, reluctantly, "Thank you."

Theon blinked. "What?"

"I said thank you."

"What?"

Lyra giggled. "Big brother, he just thanked you."

Veyron’s eyes cut toward her immediately. "Keep your mouth shut, kiddo."

Theon’s expression changed instantly, his hair lifting as a terrifying pressure erupted from his body.

**BOOM!**

Veyron’s knees slammed against the ground, the pressure crushing him toward the floor, his face twisting in pain. Theon looked down at him, his voice quiet and cold.

"Don’t you dare speak to her like that."

"Yes—" Veyron struggled to breathe as the pressure intensified further. "I won’t. Just let me go."

Theon released him. Veyron collapsed forward, gasping, and Theon walked past him with Lyra close behind.

---

They hadn’t gone far when Celestial caught up to them.

"Theon."

He stopped. She looked him over. "How are you feeling?"

"I’m fine now."

She sighed. "You really need to take better care of yourself."

"I’ll try to"

"You always say that."

"I mean it this time."

Lyra looked between them, then tilted her head. "You’re not my brother’s wife. So why do you care about him so much?"

Celestial’s cheeks reddened.

Lyra smiled suddenly. "Oh." She pointed at her. "I remember now. You love him."

Celestial’s face went bright red. "Theon!"

He sighed. "Lyra."

"What?"

"Stop teasing her."

Lyra shrugged and brushed her hair aside while Celestial covered her face for a moment, and the three of them continued toward the Imperial Classroom.

---

The moment Theon entered, silence fell. Every conversation stopped at once, and hundreds of eyes turned toward the door.

Chaos had filled the room. Noble parents crowded the space, dukes and archdukes among them, guards stationed at the walls. Parents shouted at instructors, some demanding answers, others threatening to withdraw their children from the academy entirely.

"This academy is supposed to be the best in the Empire!"

"My child nearly died!"

"We’ll establish another academy ourselves!"

"I’ll personally fund it!"

The instructors had been forced to kneel, several of them bruised, others still carrying wounds from the Forest of Spirits. Theon’s chest tightened at the sight. *If the headmaster were here...*

The little wolf appeared beside him. "This is how humans always behave. They believe they’re above everyone else." He looked at the kneeling instructors with open disgust. "If I were in charge, none of this would happen. They wouldn’t dare kneel before worthless beings like this."

Theon said nothing. Then one of the archdukes shouted, "Bring me the headmaster!"

An instructor answered at once. "The headmaster has been missing for some time."

"Missing?"

"Yes."

"Do you expect me to believe that?"

The instructor bowed lower. "We genuinely don’t know where he is."

The nobles kept shouting, and the instructors begged them for patience.

"Please..."

"Have patience..."

"We’re investigating..."

Then—

**BANG!**

One of the archdukes kicked a female instructor, and she fell sideways. Theon froze. The archduke stepped forward, raising his leg again.

"You useless—"

Before he could strike her a second time, a hand caught his ankle. The room went silent. The archduke looked down slowly and found Theon’s cold blue eyes staring back at him.

The man’s face paled. "Your—"

Theon tightened his grip, and the archduke stumbled backward. "Your Highness..."

The moment the nobles heard those words, their arrogance vanished entirely. Several backed away. Others dropped to their knees. Theon released the archduke’s leg and let his gaze sweep across the instructors, taking in the bruises, the cuts, the fresh bandages. These people had entered the forest to save the students, and now they were being treated like criminals.

The little wolf’s voice came from behind him. "The Spirits barrier restricts instructors while they’re inside it. They likely entered the Spirit Forest already fighting against the mana pressure." He continued. "That place overflowed with magical energy and treasure. Some of the spirits probably rejected their presence outright and pushed back against them." He looked toward the wounded instructors. "Yet they still went in to save those children."

Theon’s fist clenched slowly. He turned toward the instructors. "Stand up." They obeyed. "Move to the side." They gathered together at once.

He turned toward the noble children next, his gaze sweeping across them. "Whose fault was it that you were injured?"

The children glanced nervously toward the instructors. Theon shook his head. "You fools. You were weak."

One of them rose, the son of Archduke Draven. "Even though you’re a prodigy, that doesn’t give you the right to insult us!"

Theon looked at him evenly. "Weakling."

The boy’s face paled. Theon turned toward his father. "Archduke Draven."

The man swallowed. "Your Highness?"

"Leash your son’s tongue." Theon paused. "Or I shall burn him to a crisp right now."

Draven’s expression shifted instantly. "Be quiet!" His son shut his mouth at once.

Theon glanced around and noticed several nobles edging toward the exit. "Celestial."

She looked at him.

"Lock the door."

She went at once. *Click.* The door sealed shut, and Theon raised a hand, a barrier forming over the entrance. No one was leaving.

Archduke Draven’s fury finally overcame his fear. "What are you trying to do?"

"Nothing," Theon said. "I’m not trying to kill anyone." His eyes narrowed. "I’m correcting you."

Draven’s pride surged past whatever caution remained in him. He stood. "How can I bow before a child? I refuse."

Theon’s aura exploded outward.

**BOOM!**

The entire classroom shook as a monstrous pressure descended over everyone inside it. Nobles collapsed. Children slammed against tables, some of which cracked, others shattering completely. Bodies hit the floor. Archduke Draven was crushed down along with the rest.

Only three people remained standing: Theon, Lyra, and Celestial.

Theon walked forward slowly, his blue eyes cold. "For a long time, I’ve ignored your disrespect." He looked around the room. "Your children gossip behind my back. They call me names. They insult me. They forget exactly who they’re speaking to." He lowered his hand. "I ignored all of it, because I chose to treat everyone equally." The pressure intensified. "But you’ve crossed a line you shouldn’t have."

The nobles trembled beneath him. He raised one hand, and the weight around them grew heavier still, though he deliberately held himself back. He had no intention of killing them. He simply wanted them to understand, to remember, to never repeat this mistake again.

"From now on," he said, staring down at them, "you will know your place."

Silence followed.

Then—

*Click.*

The classroom door opened. Theon’s hand stopped mid-motion, his expression shifting as he turned slowly toward the doorway.

Someone stood there. Someone he never expected to see again.

His cold blue eyes widened, genuine shock breaking through his composure at last. His lips parted.

"...You?"