The Third Prince Of Darkness

"Are you telling me that a monster came out and killed three of the most skilled professors, but didn't kill you?" asked the tall, stern-looking woman who was an academy official.

"Yes, that's right, but the professors sacrificed their lives to save me, and I barely escaped myself," I answered.

Just then, another academy official approached and whispered something into the woman's ear. She calmly listened to everything, then turned to me and studied me intently.

"As you said, we found the bodies of the three professors, and it appears they fought for a while... I hope you're aware of the consequences of lying to us, brat"

"Yes, ma'am, I am, and I'm definitely not lying," I replied.

The official woman examined me for a moment longer, then spoke sharply: "Good. In that case, I will ask you to stay here until we gather more information about the incident. Stay away from the other students. Also, if you cause any trouble, you will face the consequences."

I lowered my head and responded obediently, "Understood, ma'am."

The woman turned without taking her eyes off me, whispered something to the official next to her, and walked away. I watched them leave and took a deep breath. 'Stay calm, Ethan. Right now, all you need to do is not attract attention,' I thought to myself.

However, I could still feel Annaxor's presence inside me. Not just as power, but also as an echo within my thoughts. "That woman seems so full of herself," a voice whispered from the depths of my mind. It was Annaxor's voice, sly and mocking.

"This isn't the time," I whispered to myself. Luckily, no one around heard me. Annaxor chuckled, satisfied. "How boring you are, human. How about causing a little chaos in the academy? You won't be able to pay the price for locking me up, but at least we can have some fun."

Ignoring Annaxor, I closed my eyes for a moment. I had wanted to take Annaxor's sword from the dungeon, but when I held it, it disappeared. According to Annaxor, the sword was a magical one that appeared only when I needed it. I didn't know how it worked, but I hoped it wouldn't appear at random times.

After being kept here for a few hours, the door finally opened, and they inspected me thoroughly before allowing me to leave. They found nothing, and the official woman told me that the investigation was still ongoing, but I could leave for now. I began walking toward the academy. The place I had been kept was the security center outside the academy.

After about an hour of walking, I reached the dorm and saw it was already evening. Although it was still early, I decided to go to bed to rest, and after entering the empty room, I lay down without even changing clothes. Finally, after years of constant fighting, I could get some proper sleep.

---

The next day, when I woke up, I felt like a dead whale. I had never had to force myself out of bed this much, but somehow I managed to get up and crawled toward the bathroom. After a relaxing shower, I dressed and went outside. For some reason, even standing under the sunlight, the world seemed grayer than before. Maybe these were the consequences of years of that stupid annual fight.

"No, you're just weak, human."

Ignoring Annaxor again, I started walking toward the barracks. My eyes kept closing, and my throat was constantly dry. I was beginning to forget what I used to do. I think the last time I was with Evangeline... No, it must have been Ellera. Though, I probably forgot what sex even felt like. It must have been good, though.

Although I didn't have any perverted thoughts at the moment, when I looked down, I saw that my penis was painfully erect. Luckily, I managed to adjust it discreetly, but it was still a little noticeable. Anyway, I wasn't in the mood to care about moral rules right now, and if someone wanted to see, they still could.

In no time, I arrived at the unity building and walked toward my room. The unity building seemed strangely quiet, but I didn't pay much attention to it. When I reached my room, I felt that someone was inside.

When I entered, the scene I saw was exactly what I had expected. Kayle and Roxanne were standing in front of me, as if they knew I was coming.

When I saw Roxanne, there was a complicated expression on her face; she looked both relieved and, at the same time, seriously uneasy. Her eyes scanned me from head to toe, as if she needed to be sure I was really here. After a brief pause, she set aside her usual confident attitude and took a step toward me with a smile on her face.

"Ethan!" she said, hugging me tightly. Her voice had taken on a soft and sincere tone.

Kayle also approached me shyly and gave me a hug.

"You finally made it. Didn't you have to come yesterday?" Kayle asked.

"Yes, but I had a little setback," I replied.

Kayle and Roxanne hugged me tightly for a while. Their warmth lingered on me for a moment. As Roxanne finally loosened her hug, she looked into my eyes. The worry on her face hadn't completely disappeared, but there was a faint smile on her lips. "I was really afraid something happened to you, Ethan. You... seeing you here put me at ease," she said, with a sincere tremor in her voice.

Kayle, more shyly, took a few steps back. She was adjusting her hair with her hands, a faint blush on her face. "I hope nothing too bad happened," she said softly.

"You all caring this much about me is a bit embarrassing," I said with a slight laugh. "Anyway. Was there anything I needed to know after I left?"

"Yes, that's exactly why we're here! I have a gift for you," Roxanne said cheerfully. Enjoy new stories from мѵʟ

Kayle, after nudging Roxanne angrily, added, "Actually, it's my gift, and the little mouse here only helped me. The plan was mine."

Roxanne laughed mockingly at Kayle's remark and raised her hands before responding. "Okay, okay, it was your plan, but the execution definitely happened thanks to my contribution," she said, then turned to wink at me. "Let's call it a joint effort, shall we?"

Kayle rolled her eyes but didn't argue further. "Anyway, are you ready to see your gift after all this talk?" she asked, a glimmer of excitement in her eyes.

"Of course," I said, smiling slightly as I watched their energetic argument. "What did you prepare?"

"We didn't bring the gift here. That's why we need to go to the capital of the Island Federation through the teleportation portal," Roxanne explained.

Roxanne and Kayle smiled at me as they looked at each other, and then Kayle took out a stone that faintly glowed blue and said, "Your gift is waiting for you in the capital. But first, we need to leave here."

"The capital?" I asked again, my voice tinged with suspicion. There couldn't be something urgent we needed to go to there so quickly. "Why now? Aren't we rushing a bit?"

Roxanne, standing just behind Kayle, replied, "Sometimes certain opportunities can't be missed, Ethan. We thought you might need a bit of fun." There was a gleam in her eyes; it felt like it was more than just a gift.

So, we started heading toward the academy's teleportation portal. There were a few major cities where students could teleport outside of their assigned days off, and the capital of the Island Federation was one of them. After we teleported, I was dragged along behind them through the streets of the capital. Finally, when we reached a more private house, the two of them stopped and walked inside.

As I entered, a rather simple but stylish place greeted me. The atmosphere in the house was relaxed, and everything was arranged neatly and elegantly. When Kayle and Roxanne stepped inside, I followed them. Kayle closed the door behind us and immediately turned to me. "Your gift is waiting for you," she said. Roxanne, smiling, shook her head and added, "You're really impatient, aren't you?"

I looked around and noticed a few tables, chairs, bookshelves, and some artworks in the room. But the most striking part of the room was a large chest in one corner. The chest appeared huge, almost big enough for a person to fit inside. I walked toward the chest and immediately opened it. Inside, I found Markuol with his hands and legs bound.

Markuol... He was the main reason for Emilia's death. Even though it felt like an old memory now, the hatred inside me had never faded. Kayle and Roxanne were standing quietly behind me. I could feel what they were thinking, but I didn't hear their voices. All my attention was on Markuol's face. He looked tortured, and I pulled him out of the chest by his hair.