The aftermath of the battle is not pretty.
Many buildings continue to burn away in the purple flames.
Most of the students have been kept safe from the destruction, but some suffered severe injuries. Keepers now patrol the academy like hawks. More Keepers are pouring in from the airfield.
They probably called backup from other cities, I think to myself as my friends run toward me from around the campus.
"Hey, Nico! Are you alright?" Leena says anxiously to me as her breathing becomes more shallow.
Leena, Neve, Zephyr, Matteo, Ignis, and Ivy all reunite with me, which is good. I am happy that none of them sustained any injuries. "Yeah, I am alright," I say as positively as I can in a tired voice.
Nobody feels like speaking. Not even Matteo or Zephyr. The atmosphere is almost too tense for me to handle. The mysterious organization that Duke Grey says is on our side seems a bit too aggressive. They didn't harm any students, but the destruction they caused is massive.
Is this destruction warranted because of what the Eradicators did to them in the past? I hope there is a valid reason for it.
Now that this organization has attacked the academy, even if they are my ally, I can't help feeling they put a target on my back.
My thoughts align perfectly in time with the arrival of the elite Keeper group. From the burns on their uniforms, I can tell that the organization that fought them put up a heavy fight.
The Keeper leading the pack of Elite Keepers is the one from the very first day I was at the academy. The Keepers all glow in a brilliant aura of light. The power of the auras makes me feel like I am going to get crushed and blinded if I am not careful.
"Everyone!" the Elite Leader Keeper says to everyone on campus in a booming, ominous voice. "A few of you will be taken to the Principal Keeper's office for questioning and suspicion of leaking our magical defenses."
The Elite Leader Keeper eyes me and my group down, staring daggers at us. Uh oh. I don't have a great feeling about what is about to happen next. The leader turns in our direction and calls us out.
"Nico Lotus, Ivy McKinley, Leena Grey, Matteo Grey, Neve Frost, and Zephyr Uracain, please come with us immediately!" the leader of the elite group says to us as they escort us to the main building.
Ignis has to stand by and watch as we are taken away.
He is lucky because the Keepers trust him so much that they wholeheartedly believe that one day, he will still side with them, even when they reveal themselves and their intentions. They only care about the strong.
The Keepers think Ignis is all about gaining power.
However, I know Ignis is not that kind of person at all.
Ignis became powerful and ambitious to gain back his family's honor. He is a family man and a good honorable person. I wonder if he is the one to leak the magical defense information to the mysterious organization; I think to myself as I see his appearance fade away as we turn the corner into the building.
The Keepers and our group walk in silence up the stairs and toward the Principal's office.
What I do not expect is for each of my friends to be taken into other rooms with one Keeper being taken inside the room with them. The looks on their faces make me want to cry inside. I hope we all make it out of this alive and well.
Shut! Shut! Shut! Shut!
The doors to the rooms near me all slam shut as I pass them one by one.
We wait by the looming golden doors of the Principal Keeper's office. The doors swing open, revealing the familiar paintings and sculptures spread out throughout the room. The Keeper Principal nods toward the Elite Keeper Leader, and in an instant, I find myself alone with the one and only big bad wolf.
The last time I was here, it was right before I was supposed to duel with Dustin. The memory of me burning his face is still stuck in my mind. At least my magic is more well-controlled now. The Keeper Principal isn't saying anything, so I make the first move.
"How is Dustin? It's been a while," I ask in a monotone voice, trying to make it seem like my voice has zero weaknesses in it.
"He is doing alright. He didn't die, but it will take a while for his face to recover, not that we would care anyway about that," the Principal Keeper says while folding his arms in his chair.
That comment makes me want to punch him, but I restrain myself.
"I see. Well, I am glad he is not dead. My question is now what are you doing with my friends?" I ask in an aggressive voice as I slam my hands on his desk. I am not afraid of the Principal Keeper as much as I was last time, even though he is still much stronger than me.
"We won't kill your friends. No physical torture will be inflicted upon them. We just want to make sure they weren't doing anything they weren't supposed to do. The interrogations shouldn't take too long. We should know the results shortly," the Keeper Principal says calmly.
"What if the results are not great?" I ask in a genuine tone.
He does not answer me, which is the scariest answer he could give me.
As the minutes fly past in silence, the more I get worried about my friends. What if they somehow found out I was in the library? I think as I glance at the Principal Keeper.
The door to the office eventually swings open. One of the Elite Keepers walks into the room and shakes his head toward the Principal Keeper. The Elite Keeper then swiftly leaves the room just like he had entered.
"Looks like it is your lucky day, Nico. We found nothing on your friends," the Principal Keeper says while smiling coldly.
"Why didn't you interrogate me?" I ask genuinely. My thoughts can't wrap around the fact that the Principal Keeper mostly just had me sit in silence.
"The reason is that we knew that if you had anything to do with the organization, you would say something before any of your friends got hurt," the Keeper Principal says as he adjusts his tie.
"You are too compassionate of an individual, and we can see right through you," he says while chuckling and standing up from his desk. "You may leave. There is no trick here," is the last thing I hear him say as I run out the door.
All my friends are still alive. However, none of them have that same sparkle or color in their eyes. Their eyes look like the same shade as mine when I read the letter from my mother.
Did they learn about the truth of the world without me telling them?