The stonehide lawachurl was fast, but Instructor Xiao was faster. He launched himself high up into the air before plunging down with a jade polearm. The lawachurl was knocked backward and roared with rage, but Xiao wasn't done with it yet. Again, he jumped and plunged. Jump. Plunge. His attacks were relentless. The lawachurl barely had any time to recover, and it no longer held an amber glow.

"Boring!" he shouted.

In mid-air, Xiao horizontally dashed from side to side with his Anemo-infused weapon. He struck the lawachurl in the head, and bits of Geo broke off as it began to crack and fall apart. The lawachurl bellowed in pain before falling onto its back, crumbling away into dust.

I closed my jaw that had somehow fallen open. So this was the full power of the Conqueror of Demons. He removed the mask and turned his face away as he hung it back onto his belt.

Professor Morax stood next to me with his arms crossed. "It would appear that was the only monster to be dealt with. Am I correct?"

I nodded.

"Then, we should get you to safety. If we are attacked, you do not have to worry. My shield will hold until we reach our destination. No matter what comes your way, nothing will be allowed to hurt you."

"I can make it on my own."

"Are you sure? Xiao and I have taken care of quite a few monsters thus far, and while their numbers are dwindling, evil still walks on Academy grounds."

"With the shield, I'll be fine," I insisted. "You're right about the monsters—they're still lurking. I don't want to detract you from taking them down."

Xiao marched over to where we stood. He looked upset. "The limit to one's power is self-destruction. Answer me. Why do you persist?"

"Huh?"

"What he means to say," Professor Morax stepped in to explain. "Is why were you out here fighting the stonehide lawachurl on your own? It would have done you better to escape rather than fight. Knowing the limits of your power is necessary to survival."

"I didn't stand a chance. I knew that going in, but I had to distract the lawachurl from attacking another classmate of mine. Thankfully, she was able to escape."

Xiao grunted. "Next time, call out for help."

"There was no one nearby."

"I should have known better than to trust the administration in charge of security here." Xiao folded his arms. "It comes as to no surprise that Morax and I were the ones to come to your aid. From now on, rely on us. If you awake to a knife at your throat, if monsters dig their claws into you, if death comes knocking at your door…call out my name. I will be here when you call."

"Okay," I nodded slowly.

I wasn't sure how quick of a response either of them would have if I were to call for their help. What if they were out of hearing range? What if they were engaged in a separate battle or handling important matters? However, as my instructor, I had full trust in Xiao's capabilities. Especially after watching him take down the lawachurl all on his own.

"Good. Then I will take my leave. There are still demons about. Morax?"

"Stay well, Lumine," Professor Morax said. "Make sure to get checked out at the infirmary when this is all over."

"I will."

He smiled at me and stepped back to stand by Xiao. They shared a mutual glance at each other before disappearing into thin air. Xiao vanished in a haze of Anemo and shadows, while Professor Morax flashed away in a beam of gold.

I was alone again. Though, I didn't feel truly alone. Professor Morax's shield still surrounded my body, and the Geo energy humming around me felt like his presence was still watching over me. I reached out to touch the shield, but it moved away as I got closer. Interesting.

With my protection guaranteed, I did not focus as much on stealth and took the quickest route to the auditorium. The areas I passed through were empty, and I hoped Ellin took this route as well.

When I finally caught a glimpse of the auditorium, it was a hard sprint from there. About time. Today was undoubtedly one of the longest days of my life. First, I was confronted by Signora and essentially told to go rot in a hole. Then, I spent the better part of the afternoon foraging for plants. Amidst the monster invasion, I used all my energy escorting Qiqi, rescuing Huffman, and convincing Ellin she was worthy as a student here. The lawachurl was truly the final straw for me. My body was drained, and I happily pulled on the door handle to let myself in.

It wouldn't budge.

"Seriously?" I grumbled and tugged harder.

Still nothing.

"State yourself," a muffled voice sounded from the other side.

"It's Lumine!"

The voice didn't say anything in return. Instead, the handle jiggled in front of me, and I heard the clinking of locking mechanisms being undone. The door opened up just a crack, and a pair of golden eyes stared at me.

"Lumine, it really is you." It opened wider to reveal Professor Baizhu standing on the other side. "Marvelous, we've been looking for you. Come on in. It's not safe to leave these doors open for too long."

He ushered me inside and shut the door behind him. As I stepped over the threshold, Professor Morax's Geo shield faded away. Despite now being safely indoors, the absence of the Geo energy left me feeling exposed and vulnerable.

I watched as Professor Baizhu attended to the multitude of locks lining the door, resecuring each one and double-checking the handle before turning back to me. We were in a small reception area meant for receiving attendees and holding coats, but it was currently decked out in weaponry.

"In case there is a breach," Professor Baizhu supplied. "I must say, it is a relief to see you, Lumine. I feel terrible for sending you off into the forest, essentially separating you from all possible aid when the monsters attacked. Qiqi is not with you?" Worry creased his brow. "Did the two of you get separated?"

I shook my head. "Please, don't feel bad. There's no way either of us could have known this would happen. As soon as Qiqi and I saw what was going on, I escorted her to the infirmary myself. She said it was protocol for her to be there, and I didn't want her going on her own."

"Blessed Archons," he sighed in relief. "You have my sincerest gratitude. The underclassmen are in the main auditorium hall. There are refreshments and first aid available, though if you are in need of more intensive care, you will have to visit the infirmary another time. Judging from your state, I assume you've run into monsters?"

"A few," I nodded. "I've got a few minor scratches and probably some bruises, but besides that, I think I'm doing alright. You wouldn't happen to have a spare set of dry clothes, would you?"

"A battle with Hydro, was it?" he chuckled. "I'm afraid not, though we do have blankets if you need to stay warm. We actually just had a student run in here not too long before you showed up. She grabbed two."

"Ellin? She made it?"

He smiled. "And she was worried sick about you as well. What was it, a stonehide lawachurl? How did you manage to deal with that all on your own?"

"I didn't. Professor Morax and Instructor Xiao saved me."

"An unstoppable duo. It's a good thing those two stepped in. If it were someone like me, well, Dendro can only go so far. Besides, though all professors at the Academy must have some level of combat skill, my specialty lies in the pharmaceuticals."

"Why do all professors need to know how to fight? Is it for emergencies like this?"

"No," Professor Baizhu's eyes darkened. "A raid on the Academy isn't something I'd ever dream of. Such a feat should never have been possible. With such an unprecedented occurrence, I'm sure the administration will take better measures to ensure everyone's safety. It is strange, though. There have never been any signs of potential weaknesses or breaches in the Barrier."

"The Barrier? Is that what's been keeping monsters away from the island?"

"Precisely. Celestia Academy harnesses a great amount of power to cut off the negative energy that monsters typically emanate. I won't go into the specifics, my lecturing time is done for the day, but just know that it should be near impossible for monsters to have spawned within the Barrier."

Professor Baizhu said there were no weaknesses, but he didn't know about the monsters I saw in the forest days ago. I had warned Katheryne, and she assured me the issue would be taken care of and that the Academy knew what they were dealing with. Evidently, things got way out of hand, and now I wondered if Katheryne told anyone at all. Since the professors had no idea, what did she do with that information?

"Hey, professor! I brought you some water in case—oh. Sorry, I didn't see you were talking with…Lumine?" Thoma entered with a bottle of water in hand, nearly dropping it when he saw me. "Thank goodness you're alright! Wait, are you alright? You look…we should get you some first aid."

I'm sure I didn't look that bad. Sure, my clothes were tattered and some blood was seeping through the fabric. Sure, my ribs ached whenever I drew in a deep breath. Sure, I found it a bit difficult to focus on one object without getting dizzy. Okay, first aid it was.

"I'd like to sit down now."

"Follow me." Thoma took my hand and frowned. "You're freezing, Lumine."

"I had a bit of an altercation with a Hydro samachurl, hence the soaked clothes."

"If you stay in those, you'll risk catching a cold," he murmured.

"Baizhu said there were no extra uniforms. The only other option would be to take off all my clothes, but I'm sure no one wants to see that happen."

"No—yes," Thoma sputtered, his facing turning red. "You're right. What I meant to say was yes, you're right. Taking your clothes off would be…um, anyways. There is an alternative."

He led me to the main hall of the auditorium. The seating area was sprinkled with underclassmen here and there, while the wide stage also had students occupying its space.

It was transformed into a place where students could lie down or even sit in groups with each other. Tables were set up and stacked with water, fruit, and medical supplies to treat minor wounds. I noted that while most of the people here were students, a few guards were placed by the exit doors as well.

"An alternative?"

"Yes," he nodded and gestured to the closest seat. "Please, sit right here. I'll be back with some supplies."

Not sure where he was going with this, I sat down in the surprisingly comfortable seat. It was large enough to fit two people even, plush and perfect for lounging. How anyone could sit here and listen to a speech without falling asleep was beyond me. A wave of tiredness came over me, and I contemplated whether I should take a nap or not when Thoma came back.

With him, he brought a cloth, water, and…was that a mop?

"You want me to clean? Did I drip too much water on my way in here or something?"

"What?" he chuckled lightly. "Of course not. The water is for you to drink. The cloth is to help clean your wounds. This mop here is for me. While I am quite familiar with housekeeping, this isn't for anything like that. I didn't want to take away from the weapon rack, and I figured a mop would work well enough."

"To do what?"

"When I activate my elemental skill, I create a Pyro shield," he explained. "Because it's made from Pyro, it naturally gives off heat. While I cannot share my shield with others, I was thinking being in close proximity would get the job done of drying off your clothes."

"I see," I smiled. "That's your polearm, then?"

Thoma laughed and kicked into the air, swinging the mop. A Pyro shield that I was familiar with from our time together in Vision Studies surrounded his body, lightly decorated with dancing flames. Standing in front of me, I could already feel the heat coming from the shield.

I held my hands out to warm them. "I can't believe I've never noticed its heat before."

"That's because you've never gotten cold enough. Do you think this will work to dry off?"

"Maybe," I considered it. "Your shield feels warm from here, but it might not be enough to actually dry all…this. You'd have to come closer."

"Sure, I can sit in the seat next to you."

I patted the extra space beside me. "There's enough room here."

He hesitated.

"Come on, I'm not getting any drier."

Thoma smiled brightly and sat close to me. I could instantly feel the shift in temperature. Being next to his shield graced me with a bit of warmth, but being inside his shield amplified the heat a lot. At first, I thought it might be too much and that I'd start sweating, but my body soon got accustomed to the heat. I relaxed.

"Are you sure it's not too hot?" Thoma asked and I turned to look at him. Our faces were close. "Pyro can be a lot to handle if you're not used to it."

"It's perfect." I smiled, and his face reddened like before. "Though, you still seem to be getting used to it."

He looked away. "I do feel…warm. How about I help clean up those scrapes?"

"They're not that bad."

"Still, I don't want you to risk infection. What happened out there, anyway? When you weren't here for attendance, I had to avoid thinking the worst had happened. I know you're fully capable of being on your own. While it took everything I had within me to refrain from looking for you myself, I still worried about you."

"I wasn't there during the initial attack. And my journey to the auditorium was met with a few hilichurls, but the main cause of these injuries was a stonehide lawachurl."

Thoma gasped and turned back to face me, olive eyes clouded with concern. "Archons, a lawachurl? And you only have a few scrapes? That's amazing."

I cringed. "I might be bruised in other places. My head smacked into the ground, too." I pressed a hand to my temple to soothe the pressure that had been building up. "Professor Morax said I should visit the infirmary."

"I second that."

"For now, I just want to sleep." I leaned back into the seat as fatigue took over me, and my head fell onto Thoma's shoulder.

He nudged me lightly. "I'm really sorry, Lumine. You can't sleep just yet."

"Why not?"

"You might have a concussion, so we need to keep an eye on your condition for a few more hours," he sighed. "What if you fall asleep and don't wake up?"

I grumbled in annoyance.

"You can still rest here, just no sleeping, okay? I'll watch over you."

"Okay," I whispered, fighting off sleep. Though, sitting this close to Thoma didn't make it easy. "Mm, cozy. You make me warm, inside and out."

"So do you."

this chapter was brought to you by the Typos: socrates, besidres, spet, lognest, hte, seriosuly, and helo! (shh grammarly don't correct these ones this time) there absolutely were others that i fixed along the way and also probably some that got away from me :D i normally skim over a chapter after posting and re-edit 5 times after catching so, so many. i proofread i swear