Time seemed to freeze in that final millisecond. The bright ember touched the puddle of Black-Lotus liquid on Silas's back.
My veteran brain did not waste a single breath to watch. My survival instinct took over completely. I spun my body forcefully.
"Run!" I shouted with the remaining strength in my lungs.
My leg muscles pumped with all their might. Behind me, Ragnar scooped up Virelith's body and hoisted the girl onto his broad shoulder. The giant man ran crashing through piles of barrels and smashing wooden crates blocking our path to the east wing door.
Behind us, Silas's roar of despair was heard. However, that roar was instantly drowned out by an incredibly greedy hissing sound.
The oxygen inside the warehouse was forcibly sucked dry. The explosion happened.
The resulting fire was not red or orange at all. The giant flame exploding into the air was a blinding, dense purple.
From the corner of my eye, I witnessed a horrific alchemical sight. Silas did not merely burn to death. That deadly purple liquid reacted with his Berserker body. Silas's enlarged flesh and muscles instantly crystallized into glowing purple shards, before finally shattering into ash in a fraction of a second.
A super massive shockwave swept from behind. The air heated up until it felt like it was burning the inside of my throat. The warehouse's brick walls exploded outward.
I jumped. Ragnar jumped with me.
We were thrown flying through the remains of the east wing wooden door. Right as our bodies hovered in the air, the entire warehouse roof collapsed downward, swallowing Silas and the remains of the mad guards inside a sea of purple fire.
We hit the muddy ground in the outer yard very hard. I rolled many times, covering my head from hot brick debris and a rain of wood splinters falling from the sky.
I stopped rolling near a shallow ditch. My breath was ragged. The air was filled with dust and smoke. I planted my left hand into the cold mud, trying to force my body to stand up.
However, in that exact second, my borrowed time from the devil ran out. The one-hour time limit from Virelith's Nerve Suppressant Serum officially ended.
The numbing sensation that had calmed my body evaporated without a trace. In its place, the delayed suffering exploded striking the central nervous system simultaneously.
My ears rang so violently that the world seemed to spin. My right arm, which I had forced to crush Silas's knee earlier, now screamed sending massive damage signals straight to my brain.
I felt every torn fiber of my bicep muscle. I felt my totally torn shoulder ligaments rubbing against each other. The pain was so pure and brutal that my vision went dark.
I choked hard. I vomited clots of pitch-black blood onto the mud. I fell to my knees, panting severely. My right arm was now nothing more than a lump of dead meat hanging horrifyingly at my side.
"Young Master!"
Ragnar immediately dropped his greatsword to the ground. He rushed forward and supported my body from the left side so I wouldn't collapse completely into the ditch.
Virelith crawled closer panting heavily. Her thick glasses were cracked at the edge. The girl stared at my dangling arm and the wide gaping tear wound on my left waist. Her face turned deathly pale seeing the high price of the military tactics I used tonight.
"The serum time is up," said Virelith with a trembling voice, her hands busy rummaging through the medical pouch at her belt. "His shoulder muscle is severely torn. Kael, you almost lost your hand. We must stop the bleeding now or you will bleed to death."
"Do it quickly, Engineer," hissed Ragnar with a panicked tone he rarely showed. "He is vomiting black blood."
"Let it be..." I mumbled softly, spitting the remaining blood from my mouth. I forced a thin smile amidst the sanity-tearing pain. "I can still breathe. We won."
Dawn finally broke, cleaving the Aethelgard night sky with a pale golden hue.
The extreme heat, the roar of the fire, and the smell of sweet gas from the warehouse ruins slowly clashed with the cold morning air. The dawn wind brought silence and a refreshing scent of wet dew, trying to cover the smell of charred meat in the air.
From the direction of the cobblestone main road, breaking the silence of dawn, the sound of horse hooves was heard. A highly disciplined marching rhythm echoed approaching the East Sector port area.
Dozens of elite Senate Knights arrived at the location. Their armor was silver-white, reflecting the morning sunlight blindingly. They blocked all access roads to the still-burning warehouse.
At the very front line, Lysandra Morcant dismounted her white horse.
The grand robe of the Morcant faction she wore looked very clean, elegant, and without the slightest stain. Her appearance radiated the scent of expensive jasmine perfume.
That sight created a very sharp contrast with the forms of myself, Ragnar, and Virelith who were covered in blood, soot, and the smell of mud filth.
Lysandra stepped forward, followed by Selena Lune who smiled meaningfully behind her. The Duke's Daughter stared at the remnants of purple fire licking the ruins of Nightbane's warehouse. A thin, satisfied smile formed on her perfectly polished lips.
"Secure this entire perimeter now," ordered Lysandra with a loud and authoritative voice. She turned to her knight lieutenant. "This warehouse is proven to store high-level illegal potions. Confiscate all remaining evidence. In the name of Student Senate law, this area is now closed and falls under the jurisdiction of the Morcant Faction."
The knights shouted in unison and immediately spread out to secure the location. In accordance with our Middle Path agreement, Lysandra did not direct her knight's swords at my group at all.
She let us sit on the muddy ground. Tonight, Orvelis Nightbane's financial pillar and main supply source had officially been razed to the ground.
Lysandra walked slowly approaching me. Her white boots deliberately avoided the puddles of blood and mud near my feet.
The silver eyes of the Duke's Princess stared at my utterly shattered right arm, then shifted to stare at my left waist which was being forcibly bandaged by Virelith. Lysandra's expression was a mix of cold admiration and suppressed horror.
"You look terrible, Draven," said Lysandra breaking the silence between us.
I looked up at her. My breath was still heavy, but my brain remained sharp.
"And you look too clean, Morcant," I replied softly, my voice sounding hoarse and tired. "Is your part of our deal done?"
Lysandra leaned her body toward me. "Very done," she whispered softly, ensuring her knights did not hear this conversation. "Very dirty and incredibly efficient work. I must admit, you proved your words. You truly severed Orvelis's veins tonight."
"The money in Silas's vault was just the beginning," I said holding back a grimace of pain as Virelith tightened the bandage on my waist. "Now he is poor and has lost his potion supply source."
Lysandra's face turned very serious. The smile of victory on her lips vanished instantly.
"Exactly. But you must prepare for the real storm, Kael Draven," warned Lysandra, her eyes staring sharply into mine. "Next month is the Midterm Expedition Exam. All cadets will be sent to survive in the Death Zone of the Aethelgard Forest."
Lysandra straightened her body back, looking toward the academy towers in the distance. "The wild beast whose veins you severed tonight will no longer be willing to play politics in the shadows. You have crushed his pride. He has no money to hire silent assassins anymore. Orvelis will manipulate that exam curriculum, and he will come hunting you in broad daylight with his loyal followers."
Under the pale dawn light and the reflection of the dying remnants of purple fire, I looked down for a moment. My healthy hand gripped the mud beneath me.
Orvelis would finally come out of his nest. No more hired killers. No more cunning envoys like Silas. The Duke's Heir himself would step in to behead me in the middle of the forest.
The upcoming Midterm Exam would not be an academic test, but an open slaughter field.
I slowly raised my head to look at Lysandra. This young man whose body was shattered and nearly bled out showed absolutely no fear in his eyes. Instead, I grinned widely. I showed my teeth still smeared with black blood.
I accepted that open declaration of war with the enthusiasm of a veteran General who had long missed a real battlefield.
"Good," I whispered softly, turning my grin into a cold little laugh. "I was getting bored playing hide and seek with his pet dogs. Let him come."