Chapter 806: The Cup is Lifted
"Damn it, Adam," Desmond cursed, his hand on the door handle. "You’d better know what you’re doing!"
Breaths caught, hearts pounding louder than hammers shaping molten metal, both teenagers watched the door creak open. Dread gushed through their veins like venom, yet their eyes blazed with hope. Hope that the mysterious room wouldn’t appear. Hope that Louis wouldn’t learn the truth. And hope that the golem wouldn’t escape in its calculated, brutal fury.
Hope was the only thing they could cling to, anyway. The dice of fate had been thrown, and the cup was being lifted in the form of the opening door.
The corridor’s light reflected on its metallic surface, the crudely studded nails glinting on the rim like malicious eyes.
Adam gulped, his eyes darting between the widening crack and Louis. The sharp-eyed teacher leaned forward as if expecting something different from the familiar shelves of the storage. His fingers tightened on his staff, the gem resting atop antique wood releasing the low hum of building spells.
And when the door fully opened, he was the first to react. "By Levianthan’s name..."
Disappointment swelled in his voice as Adam and Desmond’s legs buckled. They dropped to the ground, panting or sighing—or perhaps doing both. They weren’t sure themselves. Then, they snapped their heads up, gazes meeting, grins broadening across their relieved faces.
Just an old storage with potions glistening on old shelves that reeked of molding parchment. The boxes lay in a silent corner, awaiting to be hoisted to Louis’ office. No golem. No mysterious room.
As they burst into lively chuckles at the ordinary, almost boring sight, Louis’ frown dug dark lines on his burned forehead. He stepped into the storage, then returned to glare at the troublemakers so intently that both gulped their laughter down and stood, backs straight and heads high.
"A long life doesn’t make time less precious, and you have squandered mine long enough." When Louis spoke, the very air around them turned cold. "Your relief betrays your mediocre acting and clumsy lies. Desmond!"
Desmond tensed at his call, his youthful joints feeling rusted.
"You breached Adam’s defenses during an argument to wound his leg—to wound someone heavier than a boulder?" His lips curved into a predatory smile made more threatening by the scars of his ancient burns. "A student who fought Grimhilde and almost blasted Diane’s classroom on his first day? Are you... championing the very concept of ridiculousness, or is it logic that eludes you?"
"YAHOOO..." Desmond screamed unconsciously. His hands instantly shot to cover his mouth, and he muttered. "I mean..." Words failed him; his defense, a wobbly sand castle eroded by the tides of hard logic. No matter what he added, it’d only worsen Louis’ suspicions and make him mention his fears of the room long before Adam joined.
As he felt trapped, Adam’s lips curved into a smirk.
"Sound logic, indeed, Teacher Louis. But there is... a little something I quite can’t wrap my mind around." He massaged his forehead exaggeratedly. "You suspect Desmond saw something in the storage earlier, then called for me instead of informing you. That something hurled me against the corridor’s wall later, wounding me and triggering the alarm. Am I right?"
"Of course I am." He didn’t give Louis time to answer. "Because it’s logical. But here is something that’s not: what do you expect that something to be, and how can the college, the Reward Hall protectors, and a teacher of great renown such as yourself let a dangerous something roam free? Wouldn’t it betray the staff’s incompetence, or would you say it was laziness?"
He tapped his forehead in feigned realisation. "Ah! These are just conjectures, not truths. I would never dare talk ill of the college or my teachers. It’s just... I don’t know. I believe you should gather evidence before accusing us, especially when the responsibility isn’t ours to bear."
He closed the door and reopened it, emphasising his point, then picked up a box and shrugged. "I’ll gladly help you with your investigation, but as you can see, this is just the storage you’ve sent us to, or..." He paused for a moment, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Do you believe someone enchanted this crude door with spatial magic—that it can somehow open to a different place if we open it? That’d be quite interesting. I wonder who could have set this up without anyone noticing and how it works."
Louis sized him up for a moment, a heavy silence stretching. Then, his predatory smile eased, and he nodded.
"An answer worthy of a young noble eager to show his verbal jousting skills. But you forgot something in your long monologue." He tapped twice on his forehead as if searching for the piece that lay in plain sight. "It’s that I’m a teacher, you a student—I don’t care. No matter what you’re hiding, I’ll find out—everything. And when I do..." Shadows danced on his face, and his voice sounded haunting. "Don’t expect words to save you."
He turned, his loose dark robes fluttering. "The boxes won’t grow legs to run to my office."
As he left, Adam bit his lip until he tasted blood. Not just this incident. Everything. The signs during class, Louis’ apparent hate for ghosts. His answer had just put him on the teacher’s radar, and now Louis had the perfect excuse to keep an eye on him.
"What a terrifying bastard..." he muttered. "He had begun investigating me silently the moment I answered."
"What do we do now?" Desmond held up a box, gesturing down the corridor. "We can’t defeat the golem."
Adam shook his head. "We have thirteen days to find its weakness. We’ll act on the last."
"Does it even have one?" Grimacing, Desmond grumbled. "It’s fast, analytical, and powerful. We kept it a secret, but I don’t see how we’ll benefit from it."
"Everything has a weakness." Adam started, but Desmond snickered.
"If you say so... But from now on, teacher Louis will probably keep an eye on us whenever we enter the storage."
"What about him? Can he see what happens inside, or will he waste thirteen days watching us carry materials?" He shrugged. "As long as he doesn’t actually attack us, I don’t care."
"Adam." Desmond halted as they reached the entrance of the corridor. "I’m grateful that you helped me, really. For Haldris’ lesson, too. You know... like most students, I’ve sometimes found myself envying Nadia and Trevor’s strength, ability to earn points, and compliance. They’ve always felt unreachable, like distant stars. But you?"
Adam froze in his steps. He turned, frowning at Desmond. "Don’t tell me you’re really about to confess your love."
Desmond flipped him the middle finger. "Shut up for a second. I’m trying to be serious here." He coughed before continuing. "I don’t know how you do it, but you feel close even though I’m sure you’re stronger and smarter. Well, at least you didn’t lose fifty points per student like Trevor. Hahaha."
Between the golem, the call plaguing him, and Louis, he knew Desmond’s emotions were a whirlwind of uncertainty.
"Don’t worry." Winking, he passed his arm around the teenager’s shoulder. "We’ll plan this thoroughly, even though I can’t believe you think of those two as stars, while I’m what? Dirt?"
Desmond flung his hand away and pushed the door open, laughing. "Worse than dirt—not even a Nightshade Gorilla’s shit."
"Now you’re pushing it..." Adam sighed, rolling his eyes.