The lab was in ruins.
Shattered glass littered the floor, desks overturned, and the acrid stench of spilled potions mixed with something darker—something rotten.
Students have already left the lab.
Aurelia stood in the center of the chaos, her long black hair whipping around her as wind howled through the broken windows.
Before her, pinned against the cracked whiteboard by an invisible cyclone of force, was Veylan Mourncrest—or what was left of him.
His body twitched unnaturally, limbs jerking like a marionette with cut strings.
His skin had taken on a sickly, grayish hue, veins bulging black beneath the surface.
His mouth stretched too wide when he grinned, teeth too sharp, eyes too empty.
Aurelia's fingers flexed, the wind tightening around him like a vice.
"Last chance," she said, her voice colder than winter steel.
"How did you get in?"
Veylan gurgled, blood bubbling at the corners of his lips.
Then—he laughed.
A wet, broken sound.
"You… never even suspected, did you?" His voice wasn't his own—something deeper, rougher slithered beneath it.
"So arrogant… Gale Witch."
Aurelia's fingers flexed. The wind tightened around him, crushing his ribs just enough to make him gasp.
"Wrong answer."
Veylan wheezed, but his grin didn't falter. "You think—you think this is over?" His pupils dilated, black swallowing the whites of his eyes.
"You're too late. The Crimson Maw already has its teeth in this place."
Aurelia's brow furrowed. 'Crimson Maw?' She'd never heard the name before.
Before she could demand an explanation, Veylan's body convulsed. His skin split at the seams, veins bulging black under the surface.
Aurelia's instincts screamed.
She flung her hands up just as Veylan's body detonated.
The explosion should have torn the room apart—should have sent shrapnel and gore flying in every direction.
But Aurelia reacted faster.
Wind shrieked to life around her, forming a spinning sphere of compressed air around Veylan's body. The blast hit the barrier and rebounded, contained within the small, concentrated space she'd created.
For a single, deafening moment, the lab was filled with the sound of rending flesh and splintering bone.
Then silence.
Aurelia lowered her hands.
The wind dissipated, dropping what remained of Veylan to the floor in a wet, unrecognizable heap.
No grand explosion.
No collateral damage.
Just a mess of blood and meat, steaming in the cold air.
For a heartbeat, the lab was silent.
Aurelia lowered her hand, her expression unreadable.
No answers.
No grand confession.
Just two words, spat like a curse with his last breath.
'Crimson Maw.'
She stared at the remains, the name echoing in her mind.
She had never heard of it.
But one thing was certain—this wasn't over.
Not even close.
****
The explosion had barely settled before the sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Seraphina arrived first, her pink hair whipping behind her as she skidded to a stop, her usual playful expression replaced with sharp alertness.
"Aurelia! What the hell was that?"
Instructor Carter wasn't far behind, his scarred face grim as he took in the wreckage of the lab door.
"We heard the blast from the training grounds. Are you hurt?"
Aurelia stood with her arms crossed, the remains of the puppet still smoldering behind her in the contained circle of her wind barrier.
"I'm fine. But we have a problem."
Seraphina stepped closer, peering past her into the ruined lab. Her nose wrinkled at the stench—burnt flesh, but wrong.
Too acidic.
Too unnatural.
"That's not... normal."
"It wasn't human," Aurelia said flatly.
"Demonic. Some kind of flesh puppet."
Carter's jaw tightened. "A puppet?" He moved past her, examining the mess with his keen eye.
"You're telling me that thing was walking around the academy, pretending to be Veylan?"
"Yes."
Seraphina let out a low whistle.
"That's some high-level mimicry. Even I didn't notice anything off about him."
"That's because there wasn't—until today." Aurelia's voice was ice.
"It deteriorated. Fast. Like something was eating it from the inside."
Carter straightened, rubbing his temple.
"Which means the real Veylan could be dead. Or worse."
A heavy silence settled over them.
Seraphina folded her arms, her usual smirk gone.
"How did something like this even get in? The academy's wards should've flagged anything demonic the second it stepped through the gates."
"That's what I'd like to know," Aurelia muttered.
Carter exhaled sharply. "We need to report this. Now."
Seraphina nodded. "Where's the principal? He needs to hear this firsthand."
"He is not here" Carter said. "Left for the capital yesterday. Some urgent summons from the royal court."
Aurelia's fingers twitched. Of course. The one time they needed Principal Lucian's expertise, he was gone.
Seraphina groaned. "Perfect timing. So what do we do?"
Carter's expression darkened.
"Faculty meeting. Immediately. We lock down the academy, double-check the wards, and scour every inch of this place for more surprises." His gaze flicked back to the ruined puppet.
"And someone needs to figure out how long we have been teaching alongside a damn skin-suit."
Aurelia didn't argue.
Because the worst part wasn't the puppet.
It was the fact that whatever—or whoever—had sent it was still out there.
And they had no idea what they were dealing with.
****
Kyle lay sprawled across his bed, fingers laced behind his head as he stared blankly at the ceiling.
The day's events kept replaying in his mind like a broken record.
He had watched everything from the hallway - Aurelia slamming Veylan against the wall with her wind magic, the unnatural way his limbs had jerked like a marionette with cut strings.
Then that explosion... it should have leveled half the lab, but Aurelia had contained it like it was nothing.
But what stuck with him most was that name.
'Crimson Maw.'
He had never heard it before.
Not in the novel, not in passing, never.
Veylan was supposed to be a minor villain, a desperate man who had sold his soul to the demons.
A stepping stone for the protagonist, Cedric, to face later.
But this?
A puppet?
Kyle gritted his teeth.
If Veylan had been fake this whole time, then what the hell had he been poisoning for weeks?
Did flesh puppets even drink coffee?
None of it made sense.
And that terrified him.
The door creaked open.
Aurelia stepped inside, her black hair slightly disheveled, her expression unreadable.
She looked exhausted.
Kyle sat up, forcing his face into something resembling casual concern.
"You look like you just fought a war."
"Close enough" she muttered, dropping into the chair by his desk.
Silence stretched between them.
Then—
"How did you know?"
Kyle's pulse jumped.
"Know what?"
Aurelia's eyes narrowed. "That something was off about Veylan. You wanted me in that lab today. Why?"
Shit.
Kyle scrambled for an excuse. "I didn't know" he said, shrugging.
"Just noticed he had been acting weirder than usual. Figured if anyone could call him out on his bullshit, it would be you."
Aurelia didn't look convinced.
Kyle quickly changed tactics.
"Anyway, you hungry? I made that spicy braised dragonfish you like. Extra garlic chips."
Her gaze sharpened. "You're deflecting."
"Am not."
"You are."
Kyle sighed dramatically.
"Fine. Maybe I am. But seriously, you look like you need food. And I spent hours on this."
Aurelia stared at him for a long moment, then exhaled, rubbing her temples.
"Whatever. But stay out of this, Kyle. Whatever's going on with Veylan—or whatever that 'thing' was—it's not something you need to be involved in."
Kyle nodded, feigning obedience. "Yeah, yeah. No demon-hunting for me."
Aurelia gave him one last warning look before standing. "Good. Now where's the food?"
Kyle grinned, hopping up. "Kitchen. Come on before it gets cold."
As he led the way, his mind still raced.
'Crimson Maw. A puppet. A missing professor.'
This wasn't just a deviation from the novel.
This was something 'new.'
And he had no idea where to even start looking.
But one thing was certain—he wasn't staying out of it.
No matter what Aurelia said.
****
Author's Note: Thank you to all the readers for your support—this book might get contracted soon!