“Baby girl, wake up...”
Though I feel like I’m sleep-deprived, I calmly get up and smile at Crimson who looks ignorant. Oh man, he should be thankful because if he wasn't really Crimson, this one would have been closed to me earlier. “Good morning, baby. How did you get here?”
“I sneaked in. Headmistress Mildred called them all except for me.”
“You asked her to do you a favor?”
“Of course, no. Why would I do that? Everyone's busy for the second Enchanted War.”
Of course. We are all now troubled by what will happen in the Enchanted War. Well, I'm even more so because I'm the leader of the Academy for this. “Okay. I'll go prepare now.”
“Sure. I'll wait for you.”
“Like how you waited for me to give you my yes.” He frowned and shook his head. “Can't deny it, Torren. It's true.”
“Yeah, whatever. Just go inside your bathroom.”
I wore a white long-sleeved blouse and ashy purple trousers paired with white block-heeled platform boots, serving some retro-like vibes. This is how I chose to have that formal yet casual and comfy outfit. I know I'm wearing a bit eye-catchy but I have to be at least formal today. I think I will stand in front of them all day to disclose all the plans that Dreich made.
“Is it okay?” Crimson diverted his gaze from my phone to me and yeah, assuming may it sounds but he is indeed staring. “Your saliva is dripping.”
He closed his mouth and faced my phone again. “It's all right.”
“Come on, you don't really contribute.”
I was about to turn the doorknob when I felt warm arms enveloping my waist. I could hardly breathe at what he did. Except it's surprising—it's really surprising. “You're bewitching. How can you be so that attractive, huh?”
I faced him and smiled. “Genes, baby, genes.”
“Well then, our children will be as good-looking as you.”
“What an overflowing arrogance! You expected you to be my first kiss and you were wrong so don't expect me to marry you.”
His eyes slit as he pushed me to him and smirked. “Really? As far as I learned, you were asking someone to act as your first kiss.”
“Oh, is that so? Do you have any solid proofs?” I'll admit I was surprised by what he said but of course, it mustn’t be disclosed! “If none, kindly remove your arms around my waist and let us proceed to the Grand Event Hall now.” Sorry, baby, but I’ll defeat you for now.
I loosened his arms around my waist and left him inside the bedroom. But then, when I was about to twist the knob of the dorm unit, I felt his warm touch, again, on my waist. “You forgot your bag and phone.” Then he placed something cold on my head which is my crown. “And this. Let's go.”
“I see. You don't give up easily.”
“You're worth fighting with.”
I would have been thrilled if it was ‘fighting for’ but instead, he said ‘fighting with’ really. “I hate you. Screw you to h*ll.”
“One foul word, minus one kiss.”
“Then, I’ll just have to swear every day.” I laughed as he glared at me. "Let's go. Remove your arms on my waist."
As we reached the Grand Event Hall, eyes were all focused on us. Crimson is walking behind me with his arrogant aura while holding my black satchel bag, making our friends cover their mouths before they truly burst into laughter.
“I have my cellphone first.” Crimson opened my bag and gave me my phone. “Thanks.” I stepped up on the stage and sat on the chair in the very middle. Tita Calla, Tito Carob, Mom, and Lia aren't here in the meantime so I'm still alone here.
While playing Lords Mobile, I suddenly thought of another contingency plan to contradict Headmaster Hades' plan. Exactly after I finished the game, the four of them arrived and Kuya Collin was still with me, so I turned off my phone and then stood up to greet them formally.
“Good morning, daughter.”
“Good morning too, Mom.”
We just waited for the clock to strike at 7 before I stood up and spoke. “Good morning, Schizians. I am Ahrina Tantiana Schiz, the leader of the Schiz Academy for the second Enchanted War. This whole day, we will have our second General Assembly to layout plans properly and perfectly in order to defeat Dreich and end the evil ruling in this world.
“As the assigned leader, I now have the power to introduce everyone to the leaders of each unit as well as my sub-leader. May I now have the time to present them?” All those sitting behind me nodded while smiling. “Thank you. I am now calling the attention of Crimson Torren, Thoreau Whistler, Blake Finley, Freesia Davis, and Marina Copeland.”
They were all surprised at the ones I mentioned, they were especially Crimson because they didn’t know about it. But then, they just stood up and went up on stage. While everyone is applauding as they lined up on both sides, Crimson whispered, “What is this?”
I didn't answer his question because he would know too. “I'm assigning Crimson Torren as my sub-leader, the second-in-charge in case I go around strolling. I also made four units for more organized teamwork: the Archers, the Defense, the Support, and the Killers. Thoreau Whistler is the leader of the Archers, Blake Finley for the Defense, Freesia Davis will be the leader for the Support, and Marina Copeland for the Killers.
Archers are those magicians, all regardless of the race, who is more used in long-range and will be those first ones to attack. The defense team will make sure that every defense dome we built will not be destroyed. Support will be those assigned in stabilizing necromancers for the Killers to eventually eliminate them.”
One student raised her hand. “But how can we kill necromancers? They are partially immortal.”
“Point taken, Mademoiselle. Necromancers are partially immortal,” I stated, emphasizing the word 'partially'. “They have their weak side and once we targeted that specific area, I can assure everyone in this Hall that the victory is in Demetria.” I motioned my hands like I am catching something, and a dark orb appeared. It created so much power that the light in the Hall almost fades out.
After the orb is completely formed, I faced everyone, seeing them all standing up. “This is the evil darkness orb. If this is mixed with the light orb, the ability of the necromancers to become immortal will slowly decrease. One sign to see if their ability is decreasing or not is if they can't transform into a raven. I know everyone wants to see how I will do this but that is utterly deadly and will cause some unexpected damage so,” I glanced at Blake, “I hope Blake and his Defense team will be able to maintain the strength of each dome until the end of the war.”
He smiled and nodded. “Of course, Ms. Schiz, we'll do our utmost best.”
“Thank you,” I smiled at him and made the orb vanish. A butler went near to me and bowed before whispering something. I nodded at him and thanked him. “Before I proceed to our planning, I want to tell everyone in this Hall that it isn't only the students of Schiz Academy that will partake as student mages in the second Enchanted War.”
“What do you mean?” Freesia asked in a low voice.
I nodded to the butlers standing in front of the door and every student turned to me as they opened it. Selected students, including those who fought in the Wielders of Charms competition, coming from different schools in the whole Magic World entered, causing everyone to be surprised and confused.
“Under Director-General Dametreil Schiz's order, one hundred thousand people from each country were sent here to voluntarily aid the Demetria in winning the war. In every one hundred thousand, there are one thousand student mages, and they are under the responsibility of Schiz Academy. Hence, they will be under my supervision as the leader of our school. Schizians, let us greet them a warm welcome.”
While everyone is applauding, I heard Crimson whisper. “Having one thousand student mages in every one hundred thousand foreigner magicians sent here, was that your plan?”
I smiled at him. “It was my Mom's plan, agreed by me, and approved by Lia.”
The Top Student from Malifent Academy of Magic raised his hand and smirked amusingly. “So, what's the plan, Mystic Princess?”
I threw my body on my bed as I entered our bedroom. “Can you still handle everything?” Freesia asked.
“Of course, I can,” I replied to her, chuckling. “What about you?”
“The same. If you want, I can freeze Julianna Sutton into ice, and then Marina will kill her.”
Speaking of that girl. “She’s been quiet these past days, right?” I heard her laugh so I wondered she looked. “Am I joking?”
She shook her head. “It's not like that. It's just that, she doesn't know the word stop. But maybe because she found out you're more powerful than her and you're another Schiz, maybe, she stopped.”
“Has she been like that to you?”
“Nope. We were just quiet back then, secretly watching our crushes so she wouldn't hear.”
“So, you really only fell among his targets when I arrived?” She pouted a bit and nodded. “Oh, I'm sorry.”
Freesia wheezed again. “Girl, that's nothing. We've been wanting to fight with that woman for a long time. There's a lot of fighting in life, we really shouldn't fight.” She has a point. “Clean up and go to sleep. There are only a few days remaining so you have to catch up with the training.”
“Yes, boss.”
Freesia was waiting when I opened the bathroom door and she was even smirking. “Your lover is in the living room.”
I rolled my eyes at her. “Eh? Won't the love of your life visit you?” Her eyes widened as I glanced at her. “Yes, honey, I already knew. You were caught on cam, holding hands in the hospital.” And before she could turn me into dry ice, I immediately ran out and saw Crimson sitting on the sofa. “Hey.”
“Are you ready?” I glanced at him, and he smiled. “Are you ready, my Mystic Princess?”
I shook my head and looked at the hand we were holding to each other. “I'm nervous...and scared.”
Crimson squeezed my hand. “It's okay to be nervous and scared, baby girl. But don't let it overpower you. Every time you're feeling those, just be calm. Think about why you're resisting, for whom, and what. That way, you will be motivated and you will forget your nervousness and fear.”
I nodded at him, smiling. “Thank you. I will remember that.” We both faced the full moon, giving light to the dark sky. “The Midnight Sun...”
“Hmm?”
“The Midnight Sun. I wonder what it looks like.”
“It looks like a beautiful nightmare, baby.”
In just three nights, the Midnight Sun will appear again to all those in Demetria after a hundred years. Although I want to be excited because I have never seen such phenomena, I would rather just watch the moon in peace than the Midnight Sun but bloody chaos is taking place.
I prefer to watch the full moon with Crimson while we are quietly together rather than the Midnight Sun that he was with me, but we were crying and hurting.
It was still dark, but my eyes were wide awake. Yep, today will be a day where the most excruciating event that magicians never wished for will happen on the special day: the infamous Enchanted War.
I wore my black warrior outfit, almost the same as what I wore during the finals of the Wielders of Charms. However, it has more purple designs and leather gloves. After tying my black leather knee-high combat boots, I teleported to the rooftop of the Academy building to have my early warm-up.
I don’t want to go to the Training Chamber because it’s easy to access there. Not like here that there is no way to get here unless you can walk up to the top of one of the Academy towers and then you jump.
I summoned my magic staff and stance to start training all by myself. I have mastered all the stuff so a trainer for me isn't recommended by now. I can now practice on my own. This is as simple as cutting a raw hotdog.
I turned around and was about to tear off the falling leaf when I noticed Crimson standing in front of me and also wearing his warrior suit. He was holding the orange leaf that I was going to powder. “Hey. How did you get here?”
He chuckled. “Good morning too.”
“Good morning, baby. How did you get here? You don't have wings, you can't levitate, and you can't even teleport all by yourself—“
“Hey there, Ahrina!” Blake greeted and waved his hand. Beside him is Thoreau and both of them are wearing their war outfits also. As they stopped beside Crimson, Thoreau bowed, causing Blake to gasp and do the same. “Oh, please forgive me, Ms. Schiz.”
I laughed at them. “You guys, it's so fun to play a prank on you. Maybe if I have a chance, I'll fool you three. Drop the formalities. I still want you to address me Ahrina.”
“All right, Ahrina still.” I glared at Blake. “Just kidding. By the way, good morning!”
“Good morning too, Ahrina,” Thoreau greeted and flashed a smile. “Crimson asked me to bring him to your current location and Blake just tagged along.” That's what I want.
“Oh, I see,” I stated, throwing a sideway glance at Crimson who's glaring at Thoreau. “But how did you know I was here?”
Thoreau gapped his mouth to speak but Crimson preceded him. “You weren't in the Training Chamber, so I thought of spots here in the Academy that are difficult to be accessed. You weren't in your dorm too.”
I faced Thoreau. “Tell me later the truth, okay?”
“All right.”
Blake whistled while Crimson stepped on his foot.
I smiled at the three of them. “What’s in your sleeves right now?”
We decided to return to the Academy right after our short training. Because we were wearing warrior suits, the students kept looking at us. Especially since I'm still holding my magic staff and wearing my crown.
“Tantan, I want to ask something.”
“Hmm? All right, what's that?”
Blake pouted his lips, pointing at my crown, and spoke. “That crown. Why do you always wear that?”
As if on a cue, we stopped in front of Tito Carob's office which we will use as our meeting place for today. I smiled at them. “Soon, you will know.” I have my reason why I always wear this. And yes, I can use it later in the war itself.
I opened the door and went inside. “Hey, what's up?” I greet Freesia who is already eating their heavy lunch. I sat next to Lia who was wearing a red warrior suit and her red cloak that she always wears especially when going to the Union of Magic Headquarters. “Me? I have no food?”
Explosively the ravenous Marina placed a large plasticware in front of me. This is the heavy lunch meal prepared in the Dining Hall for the students. So, they took one of them.
Freesia drank some water and looked at the three men who were just sitting. “What are you waiting for? If you don't want to eat, just put it there and we'll eat that.”
I was called right after our lunch by Headmistress to remind me. We only have five hours to prepare. I must execute my plan as soon as possible before the war starts. I do not want the people of Dreich to be caught up in the chaos.
I went back to Tito Carob’s office and quickly opened the door. “Can I excuse my boyfriend for a while?”
Freesia's eyes widened at what I said. Crimson just shook his head in disbelief and smiled. “Excuse us for a while.” He brought me to a farther, silent corner of the Academy. “I didn't know that you will announce it.”
“Why? You don't want?”
“Of course, I am. I really want to shout that you are the one I can marry.” I smiled at him. The sweet. “So, baby girl, may I know what you want?”
I tiptoed and kissed his lips softly. This guy is damn tall, so I have to be careful, or else, I'll tumble down. As I opened my eyes, he is staring at me with his eyes went rounded.
I let go of the kiss, still smiling. “We don't know what will happen during this war. Maybe I'll end up being like Geminid Schiz who died in this war. And I also wanted to say, I love you so much, baby. I really, really love you damn so much.”
I thought he will speak, but he cupped my face and pressed our lips together passionately. I responded to his kiss and closed my eyes. At least, even if I die, Crimson is still mine for a lifetime.
He planted a kiss on my forehead afterward and whispered, “I love you so much too, my baby girl. I love you very much. I love you. I really do. And I will make sure that you won't die, just what you are telling me earlier.” Crimson stared into my eyes and smiled. “I will protect you at all costs, even if it means sacrificing my life for you.”
“Thank you, baby.” As I saw him glance at my lips, he groaned and shook his head in disbelief. “What? Wanna kiss me again?”
Crimson attempted to look into my eyes but in the end, it landed on my lips. “Those purple eyes of yours are damn alluring.”
“But my lips are more than that,” I mocked at him. After all, it shows in his facial reaction. “Come on, baby, my lips are yours.”
He threw me a glare. “Only your lips?”
“Of course not. You own me now, and I own you.”
“Damn, your pink lips are addictive,” he said and kissed me on my lips again.
Four hours remaining. I immediately got up and left Tito Carob's office. I knocked on Aunt Calla’s office door and opened it. “Yes, Ahrina? Do you need anything?”
“I'll make my plan.” She froze for a bit and nodded. “Will they be sent to Hesperia?”
She nodded. “There's the easiest access so that's where we'll let them through. I'll tell them now.”
“All right. I'll be out.”
There weren’t too many students in the hallway so I quickly got out of the Academy. Arriving at the school patio, I summoned my wings and flew up, above the Academy towers. I held my magic staff tightly using both hands and poured most of the evil magic.
As far as I can see, Dreich’s dome is already having a small hole. Once I completely broke that, Hesperia has only one minute to take all the refugees from that city because I know Headmaster Hades will know immediately what I did.
I think half an hour ago, I made a big hole and it would fit hundreds of people who wanted to leave Dreich. I removed the grip with my left hand and raised it to control the sun and moon. And that cosmic manipulation requires so much magic, energy, and control to execute successfully. However, I did what I had to do.
The White Moon appeared, giving strange light during this afternoon in the whole Demetria. I learned the White Moon through Lia. It is the most forbidden and most lethal technique in sorcery, particularly in cosmic manipulation. It is not taught in any school. Only the chosen ones have the knowledge and skills about this.
Remember when I told Damaris' parents that I will give a sign? This is it, this is the sign. The White Moon's now glowing, giving some eerie yet bewitching atmosphere. Still holding the staff, I rotated it until a black orb had formed on the surface. Using my right hand, I created a ball of soil, calling all the birds. As a countless flock of birds arrived, I controlled them all telepathically and threw the ball of soil towards the direction of Dreich, causing them all to attack the city.
The orb was now in full form. It floated up until it reached the White Moon and caused a bit of explosion. And now, the White Moon's vibrating, sending shockwaves in all directions.
When I looked down, all the students, Schizian or not, we're on the garden patio and watching me. I smiled at them all. “Formation, student magicians!” I announced.
Crimson faced the students and repeated my command. The gates opened and they all silently yet swiftly rushed outside the school borders to form now. I went down in front of Crimson. “Blake, are you ready?”
He formed mist each on his hands. “We're f*cking ready.”
"That's good. Let's go?”
“I'm not included?” We all faced Lia and she flew going here.
I shrugged. “Can you not be with us?” We all smiled at each other. “If we got the war under our control, then we can now leave them and attack Dark Fortress on our own.”
“We're all in!” Marina exclaimed. “Let's go! Let's go! Let's beat that Dreich cr*p out!”
I confronted Crimson when they all left school first. “Wanna know who's my first kiss?” He glared at me. “Come on, so you have the inspiration to finish Enchanted War as soon as possible.”
“Who?”
“One of your cousins.” His brows arrowed. “Thoreau Whistler.”
I mentally smirked as he tsked and clenched his fists. “That f*cker, I'll beat the hell outta him. Let's go. I want to kill someone.”
“Who? Hades?”
“That's given. I want to kill your first kiss.”
And I'm expecting this bullsh*t to end in a blink of an eye.