Chapter 212: King of the North
Chapter 212: King of the North
When evening fell, Cassian entered his room in the dormitory, dropped his belongings, and quietly opened the window. Black smoke rose from his body, his bones cracked, and within seconds he transformed into a pitch-black crow with red eyes. Taking off from the sill, he merged into the night.
He flapped his wings toward the upper district, where the capital’s most luxurious, magnificent mansions and inns were located. His destination was the luxury inn he had rented.
In his crow form, Cassian silently landed on the sill of a massive, ornate window. The interior resembled a small palace rather than an ordinary inn room. Thick, red silk carpets on the floor, gold-leafed wall decorations, and a massive crystal chandelier gave the room a warm, luxurious atmosphere.
Cassian looked inside through the glass.
Right in the middle of the red silk carpet sat a familiar, small silhouette cross-legged. With her night-black hair, blood-red eyes, and two small, cute white horns protruding from her head, Auralis was busy coloring a huge picture book with her crayons. Right next to her, the little fairy Nivelle hovered in the air, keeping her company and sweetly advising her on which colors to use.
Cassian shifted into a wisp of thin smoke seeping through the window sill. Like a ghost, he slipped silently through the crack in the window and transformed back into his human form on the carpet.
Sensing the fluctuation of mana in the air, Auralis quickly raised her head from the book. The moment her red eyes saw Cassian, they sparkled with joy. She threw her crayons aside and jumped up.
"PAPA!"
The little girl ran over and jumped straight into Cassian’s arms. Throwing her little arms tightly around his neck, she buried her face in his neck. "I missed you so much!"
Cassian wrapped his arms around the little girl, taking care not to hurt her as he held her in his lap. He bowed his head and placed a soft kiss on Auralis’s forehead.
"Me too," he whispered calmly.
With Auralis in his arms, Cassian walked over to the luxurious, cushioned rocking chair in the corner of the room and sat down. As the chair creaked softly, Cassian ran his hand through the girl’s hair.
"Were you a good girl while I was gone?" Cassian asked, a rare soft timbre in his voice.
"No, she wasn’t!"
Nivelle darted through the air and landed on Cassian’s right shoulder. The little fairy looked at Auralis with her arms crossed over her chest and a complaining expression on her face. "Today, she almost burned down one of those luxury curtains with her white flames! If I hadn’t poured that water at the last second, there would be nothing left here but ashes!"
Auralis pouted at Nivelle’s snitching. "But it was just a little accident!" she said, lunging into the air to catch Nivelle with her tiny hands.
However, as Nivelle dodged with an agile maneuver, Cassian was the one caught in the crossfire. Auralis’s little hands smacked into Cassian’s hair and face, leaving him slightly battered in the middle of this cute scuffle.
Giggling, Auralis sat back down in Cassian’s lap and this time began to play with his long white hair cascading over his shoulders, braiding it into weird shapes.
Allowing the girl’s actions, Cassian lightly flicked the index finger of his right hand. A book lifted from the massive mahogany bookcase on the other side of the room, floated over, and landed directly in Cassian’s palm.
This wasn’t an ordinary book. This was the book he and Nivelle had prepared, compiling all the vital notes he had left behind regarding his past, his enemies, the game’s storyline, and future events, before completely losing his memories.
In truth, Cassian could have asked Nivelle to show him his erased past memories directly. Thanks to their soul bond, Nivelle could access the depths of his mind. However, every time they tried, the result had been a horrific failure; every attempt felt as if Cassian’s brain was being torn apart, and Nivelle’s soul form suffered heavy damage. Therefore, this notebook was the only safe bridge between him and his past.
Cassian began to slowly turn the yellowed pages of the book. His eyes caught on a specific name and sketch drawn on one of the pages: *Saintess Alicia.*
Looking from Cassian’s shoulder toward the book, Nivelle asked, "Did you have a problem at the academy?"
"Not yet," Cassian said, his eyes scanning the text.
"But you will," Nivelle sighed. "When she sees the depths of your soul, that darkness you carry, with those holy eyes, she’s going to cause you a lot of trouble. She might unleash the Church on you."
Cassian turned the page indifferently. "I don’t think so. She doesn’t seem like someone who acts without thinking or makes rash decisions. Besides, she was scared out of her mind today when she saw my soul. Plus... she’s too cowardly. She can’t even control the power within herself."
"Then why don’t you use the Kraken’s Coffin?" Nivelle asked, lowering her voice. "You could take over her mind just like you did with that professor, and ensure everything goes smoothly."
"I don’t think it would work on her," Cassian said flatly. "And if it doesn’t... I might have to kill her. Her existence is an important factor in the Child of Dawn’s growth. She shouldn’t die just yet."
As Cassian continued speaking, Auralis was knotting his white hair with her little hands, creating bizarre braids.
As silence settled over the room, Nivelle suddenly asked an unexpected question.
"So, did you see that girl?"
Cassian’s fingers, which were turning the page, froze in the air. His eyes tore away from the lines. "Who?"
"Who do you think? I’m asking about your childhood sweetheart," Nivelle said, a mix of curiosity and slight, biting mockery in her voice.
Cassian’s body stiffened. The warm air in the room turned ice-cold for a moment.
Nivelle smiled, maintaining her biting tone. "Well? Did you at least buy a ring? Or did your knees go weak when you saw her?"
"I’m not going to do anything like that," Cassian said, his voice cold and emotionless. He snapped the book shut.
"Ugh... But you were in love with her..." Nivelle pressed, flapping her wings to hover at Cassian’s eye level. "Even in the notes you wrote with your own hands, it said you dreamed of proposing to her. She was one of the most precious things in this world to you."
"I was a child back then," Cassian said, locking eyes directly with Nivelle without the slightest hint of emotion on his face.
"A child who fought against gods and demon kings," Nivelle countered.
He took a deep breath and added, "I am no longer that person. I don’t have those old feelings. There is nothing left inside me for her."
"Liar."
Nivelle’s single word echoed in the room. The little fairy’s eyes had completely lost their playful expression, taking on a deep and sorrowful look.
"What are you talking about?" Cassian asked, furrowing his brows slightly.
"What you lost were your memories, Cassian... Not your feelings," Nivelle said, reaching out her tiny hand to touch Cassian’s ice-cold cheek. "I can see your soul, brother. No matter how much you deny it... I can see your deep love for me and Auralis, your burning fire to protect us."
Cassian fell completely silent at the fairy’s words. He couldn’t open his mouth to form a single sentence of objection. He just looked at Auralis in his lap, who had finished braiding his hair and had started dozing off, and sank into a deep silence.
---
The next morning, a brand new day began with the first light hitting the academy courtyard. Long before dawn broke, Cassian had secretly returned to his dorm in his crow form, put on his uniform, and headed for class early.
When he entered Class 1B, he saw that the room was already bustling. Layla was mingling with a few other female students, chatting and giggling. In the other corner of the class, Prince Daemon of Pelagorn sat alone with his arms crossed, sporting a deep scowl, radiating anger all around him.
But Cassian’s eyes searched for a specific desk.
Alicia wasn’t in class.
Even when the heavy bell rang through the corridors signaling the start of the lesson, the door didn’t open, and Alicia didn’t walk in.
Cassian knew exactly why. Sitting next to him was unbearable torture for her.
When the new professor entered the classroom shortly after, took attendance, and started the lesson, Cassian was once again completely detached from the outside world, merely staring out the window.
As the professor paced around the back rows of the class, he noticed Cassian’s disinterest and apathy. Squinting his eyes, he approached him.
*SMACK!*
The professor slammed his thick textbook onto Cassian’s desk. Everyone in the class flinched and turned in that direction.
Cassian didn’t jump a single millimeter from his seat. He simply turned his head slowly from the window and looked at the professor standing next to him from the corner of his eye.
"Is the outside so beautiful?" the professor asked, mockery lacing his voice.
" ordinary," Cassian replied, his tone completely flat and disinterested.
"Is that so?" The professor laughed mockingly, leaned his hands on the desk, and leaned toward Cassian. "Since you couldn’t take your eyes off the window for even a second, I thought there was something far more entertaining and fascinating out there than the lesson I’m teaching here!"
"Not really," Cassian said, as casually as if the professor were making small talk about the weather.
A few students in the class held their breath at this insolent reply.
The professor’s face reddened. "What is your name?!"
"Cassian."
"Where are you from, Cassian?"
"North."
The professor’s eyes widened in surprise, then took on a mocking expression once again. "North? From the cursed lands... I see. Considering you speak to a professor with such ease and arrogance, you must be the child of a high-ranking noble with solid backing, having lived a life of luxury and being spoiled. Tell me, which grand family of the North do you hail from?"
Cassian slowly fixed his freezing, bottomless red eyes on the professor’s eyes. There was neither arrogance nor mockery on his face. He spoke calmly, as if stating an absolute, undeniable truth.
"I am the King of the North."
An instant, literally deadly silence descended upon the class. Even the sound of breathing stopped.
The North... Everyone knew what that place meant. Known in history books as the ’Ground Zero of the Apocalypse’, the den of demons, monsters, and disasters. After the recent catastrophes, the North was no longer a place inhabited by humans. And now, this white-haired youth looking around seventeen was claiming to be the king of that hell.
After a momentary shock, the fantastical absurdity behind these words broke the tension in the class. Muffled giggles rose from a few back rows, followed by irrepressible laughter.
"The King of the North? Ahahaha!"
"Turns out he’s actually a funny guy!"
Not knowing what to say to this absurd response, the professor shook his head. He thought this boy was genuinely troubled, living in a fantasy world he had created in his head. "Very well... Your Majesty," the professor said sarcastically. "Please, do me the favor of putting aside the affairs of your kingdom and paying attention to the lesson."
Since it was only the first few days, the professor didn’t drag the incident out any further and returned to the board. However, the strange, tense, and mocking atmosphere in the class didn’t dissipate for a long time.
---
When the bell signaling the end of the class rang, as soon as the professor stepped out, the door to Class 1B was kicked open with a loud crash.
A boy stormed inside, wearing the silver-striped uniform of a second-year, his face beet red with anger. This was the boy Cassian had bumped into in the corridor the day he came to register for the academy.
The boy scanned the class with his eyes, and as soon as he saw Cassian sitting in the back row by the window, he marched toward him furiously.
When he stopped right in front of Cassian’s desk, he pointed his finger at him and shouted in a furious voice loud enough for the whole class to hear:
"YOU BASTARD PERVERT!"
All the murmuring in the class instantly ceased. Layla, Daemon, and the eyes of all the other students widened in shock as they turned to the two of them. Everyone held their breath, watching.
"What is your problem, huh?!" the upperclassman roared, spitting as he spoke. "Did you think I’d let you get away with that disgusting thing you did to my friend, to that girl in the corridor yesterday, just because she accidentally bumped into you?! What the hell does it mean to corner a girl, touch her waist and hips, and harass her in front of everyone, making her cry?!"
Gasps of shock and disgust rose from the class. The students began whispering and looking at Cassian with disgusted eyes.
However, there was not the slightest hint of shame, panic, or denial on Cassian’s face. As he listened to the boy’s hate-filled words, a cold, logical epiphany suddenly occurred in his mind.
’Ah...’ Cassian thought to himself. ’Yesterday, I touched her ribs and hip bones to check if she had sustained any physical damage from the collision. But from the perspective of normal people, beings with empathy and social norms... this action is perceived directly as sexual harassment. Logical. I overlooked that detail.’
Having analyzed and resolved this situation internally, Cassian completely ignored the boy. He rested his chin on his hand and was about to look outside when...
"YOU WILL LISTEN TO ME!" the boy roared, slamming his hands onto the desk. His eyes were rabid with anger. Being ignored by this freshman brat dealt a heavy blow to his pride.
"I challenge you to a duel like a man! You will pay with your blood in the arena, in front of the whole academy, for what you did with those disgusting hands of yours!"
Bored by this shouting, Cassian slowly turned his head toward him. He had accepted that what he did was considered ’harassment’ in the eyes of people. According to his own cold logic, he had to take responsibility for this logical error and misunderstanding he had caused.
He replied in a completely flat voice, devoid of any emotion:
"Okay. When?"
Everyone in the class was stunned by Cassian accepting this offer so casually. From the outside, this attitude looked extremely mocking, an arrogant move belittling his opponent.
Although the upperclassman hesitated for a moment when he didn’t see the fear or denial he expected, his anger quickly returned. He gritted his teeth as if they would break.
"In a week!" he hissed, bringing his face close to Cassian’s. "In the arena. In the presence of official proctors. I’m going to beat that smug face of yours until it’s unrecognizable that day!"
Unable to bear standing there and looking into those freezing red eyes any longer, the boy turned around and angrily stormed out of the classroom.
As the deadly silence in the class continued, Cassian merely shrugged. He turned his eyes back out the window and continued to watch the slow movement of the clouds.
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