Chapter 268: Aestrea Against The World (XLV)

The next day…

Aestrea slowly opened his eyes. His body felt heavy, yet warm. On both sides of him, soft skin pressed against his arms.

He turned his head slightly.

Mia’s chest rose and fell slowly, her messy hair covering her face as she snuggled closer.

On the other side, Maria rested against him, her arm draped across his chest, her breath tickling his shoulder.

Aestrea smiled faintly.

For a moment, he simply enjoyed the quiet warmth. Then, without thinking, his hand brushed lightly along the curve of a waist.

Both girls stirred at once.

“Mmnhh… good morning…” Mia’s voice was soft, still husky from sleep. She blinked her big eyes open, cheeks already pink.

Maria shifted too, biting her lip shyly before whispering:

“Morning, Aestrea…” Her fingers curled against his chest.

Aestrea chuckled at their actions, having heard their unsteady breath.

“So you two were already awake, huh?”

“We were waiting for you to wake up…” Mia gave a small laugh, hiding half her face behind her hair.

“We… didn’t want to disturb you,” Maria added quickly.

Rustle~

“You know… after last night, I thought you two would be sleeping like rocks. But here you are, awake before me, blushing like you’re waiting for round two.” His fingers trace

Mia’s cheeks instantly. flared red.

“W-we weren’t—!” She stammered, then puffed her cheeks, half embarrassed, half flustered.

“You’re too full of yourself…”

Maria squirmed lightly against him, her eyes avoiding his as her soft voice slipped out:

“I… don’t mind if you tease us…” Her hand gripped his chest a little tighter, betraying her shyness.

“Hah…” Aestrea chuckled lowly, his hand slipping down to squeeze Maria’s hip, while his other slid up Mia’s side, brushing just beneath her breast.

“Both of you… still so sensitive. Should I prove it?”

“D-don’t say it like that…” Mia shivered, letting out a soft groan while Maria’s breath caught, her lips parting slightly:

“A-Aestrea…”

Just as his fingers were about to wander further…

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

The sound echoed sharply through the room.

Aestrea’s expression flattened, his playful grin turning into a sharp glare at the door.

“…Really?”

The knocking grew louder.

BAM!

BAM!

“Open up, you motherfucker! Wasn’t all night enough?!”

The girls both blushed at the crude voice; after all, it was none other than James himself.

“I couldn’t sleep because of you fuckers!” Derek shouted right after, his tone just as annoyed.

Aestrea simply sighed, waving his hand, and in a mere second, everything in the room, the broken tables, the messed-up bed, the fluids pooling on the floor…

Everything returned to normal

“Ah…?” Maria blinked at him in confusion.

Mia mirrored her, her eyes wide.

“Shh…” Aestrea pressed a finger to his lips and winked.

Then, with a soft snap of his fingers,

Click!

The door swung open on its own.

“W-whoa—!”

James, who had been leaning hard against the door, tumbled forward, crashing straight to the floor. Derek went down with him in a messy heap.

“You son of a bitch!” James barked, rubbing his shoulder.

“Agh… my back…” Derek groaned.

“Oi, get off me, fatass! You’re heavier than a damned whale!” James spat.

“Shut it. Besides, don’t you like me on top?” Derek shot back with a smirk.

“The fuck—?!” James twisted under him, fuming. “Fucking die, you bitchless brat!”

Thump!

James shoved Derek off his chest, and the two scrambled to their feet, already squaring up like idiots ready to throw hands.

“You snitched on me last time too, bastard!” James growled, fists tightening.

“Oh shut it, you always drag me into your shit!” Derek shot back, grabbing James by the collar.

“You think I like hearing you moan about girls you can’t even touch?!”

“You wanna go right now, huh?!” James snarled, pressing his forehead against Derek’s.

“Try me, bitch!”

The air was just about to explode into a fistfight:

“Enough!”

Mia’s sharp voice cut the tension.

She stood there, arms crossed under her chest, her cheeks still pink from earlier, but her eyes sharp.

The boys froze instantly, like two kids caught stealing cookies.

And just as her words sank in, both James and Derek’s gazes drifted to Aestrea…

He was sitting back on the bed, bare-chested, calm as ever, yet his eyes held a strange gleam, one that made the hairs on the back of their necks stand on end.

“…It was his idea,” James blurted immediately, jabbing his finger at Derek.

“M-me?!” Derek stammered, eyes going wide at James’s shameless betrayal.

“It was obviously yours!”

“Bullshit!” James snapped.

“You’re the one who gave Mia and Maria the ’look’!”

“I never did that, asshole!” Derek shot back, pointing a trembling finger.

“…You’re the one who wanted to ’have a drink with Aestrea,’ and when the girls said no, you tried to convince them!”

“Ah—no, I did not!” Derek yelled, voice cracking.

“Haaah…” Aestrea exhaled deeply, clearly fed up.

With a lazy flick of his finger, both their mouths clamped shut, their protests cutting off mid-curse.

“…Anyways,” Aestrea muttered, scratching his forehead with a look of weary irritation, “why are both of you here, really?”

James and Derek exchanged a glance, their faces shifting into something a bit more serious despite their sealed lips.

Aestrea raised an eyebrow, then, with another flick, released their voices.

James was the first to speak; his usual mischievous tone was gone.

“Actually… we got a notice. The Headmistress… she was attacked. By the Dark Order.”

“WHAT?!”

Aestrea shot upright from the bed, the lazy calm in his body vanishing like smoke.

Both Mia and Maria straightened as well, their expressions tightening at the sudden change in atmosphere.

James’s jaw clenched.

“Yeah… it happened just a few hours ago. Headmistress Ruby was fine before, but… they went for her directly. Seems like she had something they wanted.”

Derek swallowed hard and added quietly:

“And from what the report said… they weren’t after her life. They were after whatever she’s hiding.”

The moment their words sank in, Aestrea didn’t waste a breath.

He slashed his hand through the air, tearing open a ripple in space itself.

FWOOOOO~

A violent pull of wind sucked at their bodies, dragging all of them toward the distortion.

“W-WAIT, WHAT THE FU—AAAHHHHHHHH!”

James’s scream cut through the chaos, but it was short-lived.

In the blink of an eye, the world inverted, and they were no longer where they stood; instead, they landed in the grand courtyard of Silverleaf Academy.

“…The Headmistress should be in the healing ward,” Derek muttered.

Aestrea’s eyes narrowed. Without answering, he flickered from sight, vanishing in an instant, dragging the others with him.

Space folded, and in the next breath, they reappeared before the nursing office door.

Aestrea didn’t knock as he slammed the door open.

“Headmistress?!”

He called out, and then his eyes widened at the sight before him.

“A… Aestrea…?” Ruby’s weak voice trembled.

Half of her body was covered in a thick, slimy black ooze that writhed unnaturally, crawling across her skin as if alive.

It pulsed, oozing, inch by inch, threatening to consume her entirely.

Aestrea froze, his pupils narrowing slighly.

“…Helheim.”

“Headmistress!” Maria’s voice cracked as she rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside Ruby.

She grabbed her untainted arm, clutching it tight as if her warmth alone could anchor her to the living.

“Maria, wait—don’t touch—!” Derek started, his hand outstretched, panic rising in his throat.

But Maria didn’t let go, her emerald eyes shimmering with tears as she pressed her forehead to Ruby’s hand.

“Please, don’t leave us… not like this.”

James cursed under his breath, stumbling back a step.

“What the fuck is that shit?!” He pointed at the writhing black ooze, his voice cracking. “It—it’s eating her alive!”

Mia, usually composed, had her lips pressed tight, her face pale. Her gaze darted from Aestrea to Ruby, then back again.

“…You said Hellheim… what is that?”

Aestrea didn’t answer her.

His jaw was tight, eyes fixed on the way the black mass pulsed and spread with every weak breath Ruby took.

Maria sobbed softly, her hands trembling as she held Ruby’s arm tighter.

“Please… do something!” she begged, her voice desperate, looking up at Aestrea.

The Headmistress managed a weak smile, though pain etched deep into her features.

“D-don’t… cry, child… this isn’t…” she coughed, dark ichor spilling from her lips, “…isn’t the end yet…”

James cursed again, running his hands through his hair.

“Goddammit! This isn’t something a fucking healer can fix, is it?!”

Aestrea finally stepped closer, his shadow falling over Ruby and Maria.

“…You guys get out of here for a moment.”

“W-wait, Aestrea!” Maria clung tighter to Ruby’s arm, her voice trembling.

“We can’t just leave her! What if—what if something happens?”

“Maria,” Mia’s voice was softer but steady, though her hands were trembling as she pulled at Maria’s shoulder, “we’ll only get in the way. He knows what he’s doing.”

“But—!” Maria’s eyes glistened, lips quivering.

“I can’t just—”

“Maria.”

The sound made her flinch.

His eyes, burning with a sharp intensity, pinned her down.

“Out.”

The weight in his tone was undeniable.

James muttered a curse under his breath, scowling but tugging Derek toward the door. Derek didn’t resist; his face was pale, his usual jokes silenced.

Maria lingered the longest, biting her lip so hard she nearly drew blood.

Finally, she let Ruby’s hand slip from hers, tears falling as she turned away and stormed out without another word.

When the door shut, Aestrea raised his hand, and the air itself rippled.

The walls bent and shimmered faintly as space tightened, isolating them from the world outside.

Not even a whisper would escape.

He crouched by Ruby’s side, his voice low, cold, and demanding.

“…Tell me. What exactly did you have with you for them to use Helheim’s source on your body?”

Ruby’s body trembled faintly. She bit her lip, gaze shifting away, unable to look him in the eyes.

“I… had Yggdrasil’s Seed…”

The words struck like thunder. Aestrea’s eyes widened, a rare flash of shock breaking his calm. His fists clenched slowly, veins bulging under the strain.

“…How?”

Ruby’s breath hitched.

“…I had… an elf friend. She was one of the eldest princesses of the elven kingdom. The Dark Order hunted her for the World Tree Seed she carried. Before she died… she entrusted it to me.”

Aestrea nodded slighly at her words.

“…I see.”

’…No wonder,’ he added inwardly.

Even if the Dark Order had Helheim’s source, to sustain it, they would need the World Tree’s energy as well.

Ruby’s lips trembled, though her gaze remained steady.

“And now… I couldn’t even protect it. I couldn’t protect my academy… my students… and I’m about to die.” Her voice cracked, but her eyes were firm, determined.

“I hope… you’ll take care of the academy for me.”

She smiled faintly, though it was weak and fragile.

But before her words could linger, Aestrea’s hand suddenly pressed firmly against her chest.

“Ahh~!”

Ruby gasped, her body arching slightly at the sudden surge of power flooding into her.

Black veins lit up across her body, the Helheim corruption writhing violently under his touch.

Aestrea’s gaze hardened as he looked at her blushing face.

“…Don’t you dare die on me.”

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