Return of the Legendary Runesmith

"M-Ma'am…" Elizabeth's voice trembled as she slowly turned toward Ariana.

Ariana glanced at her, eyes steady. "What is it?"

"C-Can you not send me back…?" the girl asked through tears, her voice barely above a whisper.

Rose held her gently by the shoulder, guiding her toward the carriage that would take her to the teleportation center.

Ariana was set to accompany her—she'd explain everything to the headmaster of Aegis Academy. That was the protocol. That was the law.

But she hadn't expected this.

The proud and fiery Elizabeth the Great… bowing her head.

Proving the fact that there could be no worse punishment for her than humiliation.

"I committed a horrible crime," she said, voice shaking. "So punish me. But please… don't send me back."

Her words made Rose's heart ache.

Yet Ariana didn't flinch. Her voice was calm, but firm.

"You've committed a crime that I can't pass judgment on," she said. "It's not in my hands. Your headmaster and your nation's council will decide your punishment."

It pained her to say it. Even if she wanted to punish the girl, her hands were tied. Elizabeth was a student of Aegis Academy. Ariana couldn't do anything here—not when the laws were so clear. What Adrian did could be defended as self-preservation, but Elizabeth's actions had consequences that extended beyond personal choice.

"I… I didn't know Sylvie was inside…" Elizabeth murmured, the tears not stopping. Her body trembled, lips barely moving.

She didn't believe that damaging his property would lead to something like this.

If only Ruby hadn't appeared, Elizabeth knew that Adrian wouldn't have been able to prove that it was Elizabeth.

But everything went against her.

And now, she was being sent back…just on the second day.

Rose gently nudged her forward.

They resumed walking.

But just as they neared the entrance—

Bump

Elizabeth stumbled back, hitting something invisible. She gasped in shock.

Ariana's eyes narrowed as she followed the glow surrounding the entrance.

A barrier.

Rose quickly pulled Elizabeth back as Ariana stepped forward, her hand reaching out toward the invisible wall.

Bliunk

Her palm met something fluid—like pressing against a layer of water. It rippled faintly, but didn't give way. The more force she applied, the stronger the resistance.

Ariana's expression darkened. This wasn't a normal barrier.

"Rose," she said sharply, "take her inside. Warn the students in the gym—"

BOOOOOOM

A massive explosion erupted near the entrance.

None of them had time to respond to it.

The shockwave threw them back.

"Agh!" Elizabeth cried out as she crashed into a broken slab of pavement, her breath knocked out of her.

Rose hit the ground hard, groaning, her front partially scorched by the blast.

Ariana landed on one knee, her shirt singed and torn, smoke rising from the burn marks. But the armor beneath had taken the brunt of it—her skin remained intact.

She rose slowly, eyes glowing with tension.

Whoever did this… wasn't here for negotiations.

"Headmistress!" someone shouted from inside the school building.

Ariana snapped her head around. Through the window of the male dormitory, she saw one of the instructors pounding against the glass in panic. But every time his fist struck, a ripple of blue light pulsed back—the same barrier that had blocked them earlier.

She turned quickly, scanning the rest of the grounds.

The female dorms were the same. Instructors and staff are trapped behind glowing walls. Isolated.

Her jaw tightened.

"This was planned… down to the last detail," she muttered.

Only she, Rose, and the two instructors likely stationed in the gym were left free.

Then—

"Am I being praised?" a smooth voice rang from above. "Feel free to say it to my face."

Ariana turned her gaze upward.

Descending slowly from the sky was a strange figure, arms stretched out like a performer soaking in applause.

A magician's tall cap sat crookedly on his head, black round glasses framing sharp eyes. His build was slim, almost sickly, and tendrils of mana curled around him like playful smoke.

He looked absurdly relaxed.

"It took seventy hours of constant focus to construct these barriers," he said, as if giving a casual lecture. "So naturally, they'll last seventy minutes. Fair exchange, wouldn't you say?"

He smiled widely—as if victory had already been written.

Ariana's hands clenched at her sides as she stepped forward, her aura flaring. Her gaze locked onto him, filled with fury.

"What do you want?" she growled, voice low and dangerous.

This was the second time.

The second time someone dared to bring war to her academy. Second time, she failed to see it coming and allowed the Acolytes to arrange the battlefield as they wanted.

And she would not forgive it.

"My purpose? It's simple—"

"AHHHHH!"

"HELP! SOMEBODY HELP!"

"GUHHH!"

Screams echoed from the outer courtyard. The cries of soldiers were quickly drowned out by the sickening crunch of bones as monsters tore through them, stomping and slashing without mercy.

The Acolyte whipped his head toward the noise, then turned back to Ariana with a bright, unsettling smile.

"—I'm here to murder people."

Ariana scoffed, unshaken. "And how do you plan to do that when you've trapped most of them behind your third-rate barrier?"

"Ouch… that stings, dear," he said, clutching his chest in mock pain. "But those weaklings?" He lazily pointed to the dormitory buildings. "They were never part of the plan."

Then his finger slowly turned in the other direction.

Toward the gym.

Toward the transfer students.

"My focus," he said with a grin, "is on them."

Ariana's eyes widened.

The gym.

The children.

"Shit—!"

In a blur of motion, she vanished.

She reappeared moments later, lifting Elizabeth in one arm and Rose in the other, then dashed toward the gym like a streak of light.

Behind her, the Acolyte chuckled.

"Phahaha~ Such an energetic woman," he mused, licking his lips with excitement. "Well… hunting wouldn't be any fun without a little chase."

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A/N:- Thanks for reading. This arc...will be short but I will try to make it interesting..