Chapter 245: Not Afraid Anymore
Ragnar walked through the corridor, heading straight toward the student council’s room.
He scratched the back of his head in frustration.
Even though he was already in the clear, the humiliation he suffered from the incident earlier still stuck in his mind. It was a burning sensation that made him click his tongue in displeasure, as he must’ve looked like a fool back there.
Naturally, Ragnar knew the plan had a real chance to inflict a backlash on him.
He decided to go through with it knowing that.
But he wasn’t expecting that many students to gather and confront him.
Not at all.
Moreover, those students were relentless. Question after question was hurled towards him, with each being harder and touched other topics that he didn’t want to discuss. He could get away from them simply because he used the excuse that the crowd was getting rowdy, and it would be best for them to discuss this later when it’s more conducive.
All he wanted in reality was to get away from the crowd.
Of course, he didn’t forget to lock the steel door, so nobody could get in.
"I might’ve been too hasty," He thought aloud, contemplating as he walked. "I was too excited when I finally found the chance to trap the Lesser Angel and get rid of him once and for all that I didn’t prepare well. Too many questionable loopholes."
Ragnar sighed and pushed the door open, only to stop mid-track.
Inside the student council room, there were two other colleagues.
Both of them seemed to be getting something from their own desks, but Ragnar’s eyes didn’t see them at all. Instead, he was focused on the figure who was standing in the darkest corner of the room.
Neither of his colleagues saw this figure.
Just him.
"Working late, Ragnar? I heard there was an incident in the freshmen’s dormitory."
"Yes, but nothing I can’t handle."
"Cheer up and good night!"
Ragnar offered them a faint smile as the two left the room—the silence rushed back in to fully fill the space they had vacated. His gaze drifted to the figure in the corner, standing completely still like a statue, and sweat beaded faintly at his temples.
He drew a steadying breath and made his way to his desk, trying to remain nonchalant.
"Angels who aren’t members of the student council aren’t allowed to enter this room; did you know that?" He said as he sat down on his chair and let out a tired breath. "I’m rather tired— so can you please leave me alone?"
Bree stepped out from the darkness.
She had been using the Nigh-phantom, waiting for Ragnar to return.
"I thought I already made my stance clear to you." She said and stopped right in front of Ragnar’s desk—looking down at him with cold, iridescent eyes. "If you do anything to Kai, anything at all, I’m going to have your head staked on the front door of this room."
"Stop with the threat, all right?" Ragnar reclined on his chair. "I’m really tire—"
Before he could finish, Bree’s arms cut across the desk in a blind, furious sweep. Every single thing flew—papers scattered like startled birds, reports flapped open, pens clattered, and even a flower pot shattered against the floor.
Silence followed the wreckage like a held breath.
Only the sound of her heavy breathing could be heard.
Ragnar’s body seized as he looked away and gripped the handrests, surprised by this.
And though he tried to remain calm, the fear was leaking out of his face.
"Do you think this is a joke?" Bree pressed both palms flat against the desk, leaning down until her glare locked level with Ragnar’s eyes. "Let Kai go—right now. If a single hair on his head is harmed, I swear to you, Ragnar—I will devote every remaining breath of my life to seeing you and your scum accomplices burn alive on a funeral pyre.
"As you are burning, I’ll place the head of a bull, the head of a wolf—and an eagle carcass on your hands so that Zeus will strike you down and command Hades to bring your soul straight to Tartarus."
"I’m not afraid of you anymore!" Ragnar’s voice pitched high—the words bold but his body betrayed him. He was shrinking, trembling under Bree’s sharp, unblinking stare. "I don’t have to be afraid of you! I’m done doing what you say!"
Bree straightened her posture and grimaced.
"Why?"
"What else? Because someone as powerful as your family also wanted Kai dead!"
"Who?"
"I would rather die than tell you anyt—"
Swish—!
Like a phantom in the night, Bree maneuvered around the desk and stood behind Ragnar. Her hand clamped on his head, while her other hand pointed a pen straight at Ragnar’s throat. "I am only going to ask you one more time—who wanted Kai dead?"
"I-If I tell you who He is, then both of us will die," Ragnar whispered with a trembling voice.
Despite wanting to know, Bree could tell that Ragnar was not lying.
And even if she pressed for him to answer, he would never say it.
He meant it when he said he would rather die.
Bree pulled away and then walked out of the room with a visibly frustrated look on her face from how her brows narrowed and her lips pursed tightly. ’I can’t believe someone that strong was also aiming for Kai. Where did he come from?’
She gritted her teeth and left the room; the sound of the door slamming shut startled Ragnar.
Meekly, he watched as the walls trembled, glad that he came out of the exchange alive.
Meanwhile, Dorian silently lingered in the shadows near the garden entrance as he waited for the gathered students and the grey-masked Angels on patrol to vacate the area. Once the last figure finally vanished, he slipped forward and went straight to where the steel door was.
It was the place where Kai was held.
He and Bryan were among the gathered students earlier, but they didn’t say much.
Neither wanted to stand out.
Dorian’s sharp nose caught Kai’s scent lingering in the air. It should not have been possible—Kai was supposed to be locked in a sealed room. Confusion gave way to realization as his gaze settled on the corner wall where the steel door was set.
That wall wasn’t the true border of the academy’s territory.
Something lay on the other side, and he reckoned that was where Kai was being held.
A few minutes later, Bryan also arrived after making sure that there was nobody around.
"Are we going to bust through the steel door?"
"No, we’re going to climb the wall. Kai’s scent came from the other side."
"Climb it?" Bryan looked up at the very tall wall even for Supernals like them. "You serious?"
"Yeah," Dorian nodded, and then glanced over his shoulder. "The students in the backyard will spot us once we get to the upper half, so we should climb the wall halfway—then make a big leap to clear the top. On me."
Before Bryan could complain, Dorian already started climbing.
Of course, the wall itself was smooth, offering no grip at all—but thick vines blanketed its full surface, strong enough to serve as handholds. Dorian tested each vine with a sharp tug before pulling himself up to avoid falling.
He scaled the wall with swift, precise efficiency.
And then, once he reached high enough, he made one big leap.
Dorian caught the top of the wall with one hand and hauled himself upward in a single, fluid motion, vaulting over like a parkour traceur. He braced for a steep drop—the wall had looked much higher—but his boots met the ground after barely ten feet.
It seemed the ground on the other side of the wall was far higher for some reason.
He looked up in alert and was greeted by a surprising sight.
Just seconds ago, Dorian had expected to uncover a hidden clearing—some dark, secret open area the academy used for its heinous and shady acts. Instead, he found rows of glowing red plants, arranged in square patches.
Each patch had at least has about fifty of these glowing plants.
Based on how it was shaped and how it was glowing, these plants should be mature already.
Bryan landed right beside Dorian and saw the same thing.
"The heck is this?"
"Looked like Ox Leaves, no?"
"Now that you mentioned it, these plants do look like Ox Leaves. Just red instead of green."
Dorian approached one of the plants and leaned in close, inhaling deeply. As he expected, the scent that flooded his senses was oxygen so rich—it felt otherworldly. It was akin to breathing the very air of the Elysian Fields.
"It really is an Ox Leaf," he murmured. "Better than anything we have."
"Tch," Bryan clicked his tongue and kicked the dirt. "How stingy can the academy be?"
Both looked around the open area and then saw a structure at the center.
It was mostly buried underground, with only its dome poking out from the ground. And there were barred windows circling the entire dome, which immediately made Dorian and Bryan look at one another with the same thought in mind.
As the two approached the barred window, a faint, muffled sound reached their ears.
And the closer they got, the louder it became.
Dorian dropped to his knees and pressed his face against the barred—rectangular window as he strained to push his head through the narrow gap for a better view. The sight below made his hands clamp around the bars, knuckles whitening with sudden, fierce pressure.
He saw a spacious circular chamber.
Right at the center of the chamber, a figure was chained to the stone floor; his body bowed in submission. Another figure was standing behind who stood with a whip gripped in one hand. Every time the whip was pulled back and then lashed at the battered figure’s back, the sound of a loud crack resounded.
It was a sharp and unforgiving sound that made even Dorian and Bryan flinch.
A painful scream then followed.
One that struck Dorian deep.
Kai was being whipped inside this chamber, but it wasn’t only his pained scream that rubbed Dorian the wrong way. It was also because of the person who was whipping him—the senior who Dorian hated the most.
High Angel Hensen.
Seeing how happy he was to whip Kai made Dorian grit his teeth hard.
For some reason, whenever the need arose for something vile like torture, execution, or worse, High Angel Hensen was always the one called upon. If he wasn’t the hand performing the act, his name was tied to it somehow.
"Bastard..." Dorian whispered in anger. "Soon, very soon—the day for your brutal retribution will come. And I’ll make sure to be the one to deliver it."