Two more weeks passed. One more week was left for the first jungle stroll of the year to end. But unbeknownst to the 13 other participants, one of their fellow students was missing.

The Principal’s office. She was grinning ear to ear. She was walking to and fro and would occasionally jump. Her dreams- those coming true were now a guarantee.

*Knock. Knock*

She wiped the grin off her face. However, there was a hint of smile on it. She rushed towards the desk and sat on her chair.

“Come in.”

The door opened. It was her secretary, the same as before. She had forgiven her because of the circumstances. If the secretary betrayed for any other reasons, forgiveness would have been out of the question.

“There is a mail for you. A Darkheart insignia is scribbled on it.” The young lady brought out an envelope.

Rastia squinted. She took it and inspected the insignia. There was a black one-horned wolf, uni-wolf, looking at her. It was indeed the insignia of the Darkheart house, though it seemed as if were drawn in a rush.

But something was different. Yes, those eyes. It seemed as if they were staring right into her soul. She remembered that look, and shuddered. She knew who was the sender. She was sure of it.

“You can leave.”

The secretary bowed and left.

She gently opened the envelope before taking out the letter and reading it.

‘Help! I barely escaped and now I am currently using my essence to the fullest to conceal myself. The assailant is a wind caster with a sensory property. I am currently at the Eush village- 2 miles east of Belfort.’ The handwriting was a mess, clearly depicting the writer’s urgency.

She smiled wryly and shook her head.

******

Two winged creatures took off from the roof of the main Academy building. One would definitely mistake it for an eagle if looked at only from the front. Take a look from a different angle, and one would find out it was a Griffin.

The posterior part of these majestic creatures were that of a lion- only bigger. And the anterior part belonged to that of an eagle. Their wingspan could reach a dozen meters when fully grown. Their frontal talons could tear apart even the hardest of magical beasts. Four full grown men could ride on their backs- if they allow that is.

They were the national beasts of the Kingdom of Nemphis. Only the royals were allowed to tame and ride them; the Academy was an exception of course, along with the Lochtear family.

Two ‘middle-aged’ women were riding these two magical creatures. One of them was the principal of one of the greatest institutions of the continent, Rastia Bell. The other was the best healer of the same Organization, Dean Jenkins.

They were charging through the storm. The frigid winds and the falling snow barely stopped them. Rastia is one of the most proficient fire caster in the continent after all.

She manipulated the temperature around her and her companion.

In a matter of two hours, they reached the village of Eush. It would have taken a day at least if they chose to travel through carriage in this weather.

The sun had yet to set. But the snow storm limited their vision to a dozen metres radius. But that did not inhibited them as they used their magic senses to the fullest. But alas, their efforts were futile.

“Did you get anything?” The dean asked the principal.

“Nope. That lad is too proficient at using his dark essence.” She shook her head.

“Do you have any ideas?”

Rastia thought for a moment before snapping her fingers.

“Yes. Resistance.”

“Resistance?” The dean squinted.

“Yes. He is too good at concealing himself. So…”

“I got it. Let’s release our magical signatures to the fullest. He should be able to sense it.”

“That’s the plan.” She smiled.

Both of them unleashed the energy stored in their power core. The density, quantity and quality of unleashed magical energy stored in a level 8 power core was too high- high enough to change the direction of wind, to clear the ground nearby of snow and even affect the clouds high in the sky to some extent.

The villagers hiding in their homes felt a suffocating pressure. Fortunately, the ladies were aware of this and controlled it.

But discharging energy like this, without the use of circles, came at a cost- inefficiency. Both of the women were losing power fast. So, after a few seconds, they stopped.

“That’s enough I believe. Let’s wait for now. Hopefully, he is fine.” Dean Jenkins looked at her old friend.

The principal sighed, “What else can we do?”

Both of them again spread their senses as far as they could.

“Found him!” Both of them shouted at the same time.

They rushed towards the weak energy signature flickering somewhere in the storm. Once they reached their destination, they found a well. The fluctuations were coming from down there.

Both of them looked down. It was completely dark- as if it were an abyss. The dean looked at her companion. Rastia nodded and emitted some heat-less flame, lighting up the dark abyss.

Both of them forgot to breath for a second once the scene below came into their view.

A half naked, malnourished ‘body’ was sitting on the frozen ground. His hands were holding his shoulders, his whole body was trembling. Some parts of his body were already frozen.

The boy looked at the two, scaring them with his lifeless eyes and dry face. There was no more that devilishly handsome face.

Rastia woke up from her trance first. She knew more than anyone what he was capable of.

“What are staring at?! We need to save him.”

The principal’s shout woke the dean up. She looked around and found a tree nearby. She rushed to it and thrusted her palm into it. Miraculously, her strike did not damage the tree; rather, her hand went into the tree, melding with it. Her eyes closed.

Rastia knew what the dean was doing. She again looked at Adrian. But this time, his eyes were not lifeless anymore; it was the same as that of the wolf’s- looking right into her soul. He even gave her a wink. She, somehow, was not surprised.

Soon, a side of the well’s wall cracked. Moments later, the cracks turned into a breach as some thick roots came out. They wrapped around Adrian’s limbs and torso, and lifted him up to the mouth of the well.

Rastia caught him and pulled him to her embrace. His body was cold as ice and she could feel every one of his shivers. She heated up her own body and the surrounding air, trying to regulate his body temperature. Her efforts bore fruit as the intensity of his trembling decreased and his breathing became stable.

Her companion joined her and pulled him towards her big breasts. She took out a high level healing potion and fed him. She than sat and had him laid down on her lap, and began to examine his whole body.

The first thing she looked at were his hands, those would attract everyone’s attention foremost. Why? Because three of his ten fingers were missing. They were not that surprised though. They knew where the fingers went.

“Thankfully, those three fingers are not completely lost. I can attach them provided the royal family delivers the promised supreme level healing potion.”

“Anything else?” Rastia asked, biting her lips.

“The one who tortured him is a maniac. He is severely malnourished; he did not get any sort of food or even water for at least two weeks. Look at his lifeless eyes, he did not get any sleep at all for two weeks. Thankfully, his vitality is very strong for his age. Or else, he would have died that very day.”

“Yes, the kidnapper is a maniac alright.” She gave the ‘shrivelled’ Adrian a look.

“Sleep child, I am here. I will protect you.” The dean began to caress his cheeks as she gave him a motherly smile.

‘Here she goes again.’ Rastia smiled wryly. Adrian slowly closed his eyes. He was already asleep.