Chapter 77: His Ticking Clock

Raziel headed to Lucian’s dorm, he had to talk to him now.

He took the stairs two at a time, ignoring the looks from other novices in the hallway.

He got to Lucian’s door and knocked.

Nothing.

He knocked again, harder, then the door opened.

Lucian was standing there, with messy hair and deep, dark circles under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days.

“What do you want?” Lucian asked, his voice hoarse.

Raziel walked in without waiting for an invitation. “We have a problem.”

Lucian closed the door. “Another one? What a surprise.”

Raziel ignored the sarcasm. “Elena is back.”

Lucian tensed up. “What? How is that possible? Arawn arrested her.”

“I don’t know.” Raziel crossed his arms. “But she’s here, with three Sisters of Saint Sophia, and they’re going to take Lara in three days.”

Lucian took a step toward Raziel. “Take Lara? Where?”

“To the Saint Sophia Sanitarium.” Raziel looked straight at him. “It’s a trap.”

Lucian frowned. “How do you know it’s a trap?”

Raziel took a deep breath. “Because Elena isn’t just Elena, Lucian. She’s Angelina.”

Lucian blinked. “Who the hell is Angelina?”

“The woman who works with Seraphina.” Raziel pulled the stolen journal from his robes and tossed it onto Lucian’s bed. “The same one who was in the catacombs of the Red Lantern District. The one who helped Seraphina capture Aerion.”

Lucian grabbed the journal, opened it, and read quickly.

His face went pale. “This can’t be.”

Raziel nodded. “Elena is the Saint of the Cult of Saint Sophia. She’s been manipulating the novices at St. Celeste from the beginning, recruiting them for her faction.”

Lucian slammed the journal shut. “And Lara?”

“Lara is her main target.” Raziel stepped closer. “Elena knows Lara has a rare empathic gift, she probably thinks she can use her for some ritual.”

Lucian threw the journal on the floor. “Damn it!”

He turned and punched the wall.

THUMP!

The plaster cracked.

Lucian was shaking. “I’m not going to let them take her.”

Raziel put a hand on his shoulder. “And you won’t.”

Lucian turned, his green eyes burning with fury. “Then give me a solution. Because if you don’t have one, I’m going to go right now and break that witch’s neck.”

Raziel squeezed his shoulder. “If you do that, you won’t save Lara, you’ll just destroy yourself.”

Lucian looked at him, breathing heavily. “Then give me a plan.”

Raziel let go of him. “The plan is to go to Saint Sophia… us.”

Lucian frowned. “How? Elena said only selected novices can go.”

Raziel gave a cold smile. “Then we’ll get creative.”

Lucian crossed his arms. “Explain.”

Raziel walked to the window. “Saint Sophia needs healers. Lara is a novice healer, so are we, so if we prove we’re valuable enough, they’ll take us with her.”

Lucian shook his head. “That’s not going to work. Elena hates us, she’s not going to accept us.”

Raziel turned around. “We don’t need Elena to accept us, we need Caelum to.”

Lucian blinked. “The Exarch?”

Raziel nodded. “Caelum has authority over all divisions of the Academy. If we convince him we’re useful, he can order us to be sent to Saint Sophia as part of the delegation.”

Lucian looked at him, skeptical. “And how the hell are we going to convince Caelum?”

Raziel smiled. “By showing him we can do something no one else can.”

[ANALYSIS: UPDATED]

[PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS: 31%]

[NOTE: EXTREME RISK. CAELUM MAY DISCOVER THE MISSION’S TRUE PURPOSE.]

Lucian rubbed his face. “This is insane.”

“I know.” Raziel looked at him. “But it’s the only option.”

Lucian dropped his hands. “Fine. What do you need me to do?”

Raziel took a deep breath. “I need you to study the advanced healing texts, all of them you can find in the library.”

Lucian frowned. “Why?”

“Because in three days, we have to pass the Healer’s Assessment.” Raziel crossed his arms. “And we can’t fail.”

[EVENT UNLOCKED: HEALER’S ASSESSMENT]

[TIME REMAINING: 72 HOURS]

[PENALTY FOR FAILURE: DEPORTATION TO THE FRONT.]

Lucian’s eyes widened. “Wait, what? When the hell did they sign us up for that assessment?”

Raziel shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m sure Marius has something to do with it.”

Lucian cursed under his breath. “That bastard wants us dead.”

“Exactly.” Raziel walked to the door. “So we can’t give him that satisfaction. See you in the library in an hour.”

Raziel opened the door and left.

The hallway was empty.

Raziel walked quickly towards the Great Hall, he needed to confirm something.

He entered the hall.

It was full of novices sitting on the benches, waiting for the afternoon announcement.

Raziel sat in the last row, near the exit, and a minute later, the main doors opened.

Father Marius entered, he was covered in bandages, his left arm was in a sling and his face had fresh, poorly stitched cuts.

He was leaning on a dark wooden cane.

The novices went quiet immediately.

Marius walked slowly to the podium, each step echoing in the silence.

He climbed it with difficulty.

He turned to face the audience.

His face was a mask of controlled hatred, his eyes swept across the room.

They stopped on Raziel.

[ALERT: HOSTILITY LEVEL FROM “FATHER MARIUS” HAS INCREASED TO: MORTAL HATRED]

[WARNING: SUBJECT IS PLANNING TO ELIMINATE YOU USING LEGAL METHODS.]

Marius smiled.

“Good morning, novices.” His voice sounded raspy, like it hurt to speak. “Today I have an important announcement.”

He paused.

“As you all know, the war on the southern front has intensified. The Church needs more skilled healers to tend to our wounded soldiers.”

The novices murmured.

Marius continued. “Therefore, all novices on the Healer’s Path will be assessed in three days. Those who pass will be sent to Saint Sophia for advanced training.”

Another pause.

“Those who fail…” Marius smiled again. “Will be sent to the front as frontline chaplains.”

The hall erupted in murmurs.

Raziel clenched his fists. ’Son of a bitch.’

Marius raised a hand, silencing everyone. “The assessment will be supervised by Exarch Caelum and the Sisters of Saint Sophia. There will be no second chances.”

Marius lowered his hand and his eyes went back to Raziel.

“Novice Raziel Celeste.”

Raziel tensed.

Every eye in the hall turned to him.

Marius continued, his voice full of barely contained venom. “You have exactly three days to pass the Healer’s Assessment.”

He paused, savoring every word.

“If you fail…” He smiled. “I’m sending you to the front.”

The hall fell completely silent.

Raziel held Marius’s gaze but said nothing.

Marius laughed softly. “Any questions, novice?”

Raziel stood up slowly. “None, Father.”

Marius nodded. “Excellent.”

He turned to the rest of the novices. “You are dismissed.”

The novices got up and filed out in silence, but Raziel waited until the hall was almost empty, then he left.

Outside, Lucian was waiting for him, leaning against the wall.

“Did you hear that?” Lucian asked.

Raziel nodded. “Yeah.”

Lucian pushed off the wall to stand up. “That bastard is using you as bait.”

Raziel looked at him. “I know.”

Lucian frowned. “So what are we going to do?”

Raziel smiled coldly. “We’re going to pass that damn assessment.”

[EVENT UPDATED: HEALER’S ASSESSMENT]

[OBJECTIVE: PASS THE ASSESSMENT AND SECURE A SPOT IN THE DELEGATION TO SAINT SOPHIA.]

[TIME REMAINING: 72 HOURS]

[WARNING: FAILURE WILL RESULT IN FORCED DEPORTATION TO THE FRONT.]

[PROBABILITY OF SURVIVAL ON THE FRONT: 3%]

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