Through Fay’s magic tool, they cut through the very space itself to get to Efren’s Vice Dorm Leader’s room where he said Arthur and Eden were but the moment they opened the door, what they found was not what they expected. The two boys were nowhere to be found. The room was a state of disarray like a fight and a lengthy struggle happened there. Hanzel let out a sigh and shook his head at the sight of his broken things and bed.

“It’s definitely them. They had no regard for the students’ belongings. Especially after the explosion” Hanzel said, supported with Fay’s nodding.

“Hm. I remembered how they dragged those girls out of their room by force… Ugh… If only… If only we--”

“If they’re caught then it’s obvious that they were dragged to this Gallows or the basement level…” without actually caring much of what Fay said, Aediva pondered to herself. She winced when a certain headache randomly appeared in her head - rattling her brain with the vision of a red hall with more than dozens of students sprawling on the floor and knocked out on the tables and chairs. Aediva gritted her teeth.

“I don’t need to see some random ass students right now. This stupid visions are starting to piss me off. Oi, Hanzel. Fay. The red hall. Where is that?!” annoyed, Aediva asked. She hissed when another splitting headache came - making her hold her head from the pain.

“It’s time”

“No! No!!! Ms. Rachel why--? Agh!!!”

“Well, I did say that you’ll be stronger than any other students. Be joyous, Daniel Astathier. You’re now a part of my creation. Indeed, you’ll become the strongest part of my Golem!”

“Agh!!!” Aediva screamed, panting hard as she dropped to her knees, drenched in sweat.

“Aediva! Are you alright?!” worriedly, Zielle held Aediva’s shoulders to support the girl who was trembling badly.

“We… have to hurry…” Aediva said, feeling suffocated as some random flashes of sight alternated in her own sight; an experience that proved to hurt her more than anything from the overloading sight sensory she was going through.

“The Gallows. That’s the only place that fits the Red Hall description” Hanzel said, watching with concern as Aediva shakily stood on her feet with Zielle’s help. He ragged breath, her wincing look. The girl opted to close her eyes, in an effort to stop the pain in her head from seeing too many things other than the visions.

“We need to go,” Zielle said, when moments later they all turned around. The fast approaching footsteps towards their location made their hearts raced.

“The Gallows is on the other side of the castle. Let’s use that room to cut through--” Fay's suggestion was quickly cut off by Zielle.

“Senior. It’s no good. We have to run there” the younger girl said to the confusion of both Efren Dorm students.

“Why?”

“It’s starting again. The mana draining. Using that room will take too long and drain you of your energy too quickly” Zielle said, rubbing circles on Aediva’s back. Understanding what Zielle was saying, both Hanzel and Fay picked the brooch off their dorm uniform and a wand appeared on their hands.

“Then we fight?” Fay asked timidly.

“No, you run. Both me and Aediva can handle them” Zielle said with a smile. Hanzel and Fay looked with worry but eventually nodded their heads.

“Understood. But Aediva…” Fay faltered but Zielle shook her head when she tried to touch the girl who is still kneeling on the floor, drenched in sweat - probably pissed as hell.

“She’ll be fine. This girl is like a bull anyway. She’s really pissed right now so I suggest you don’t look back once we’re out of this place” Zielle’s warning made the two seniors gulp but they nodded to confirm affirmation, more or less understanding what they’re facing right now. Aediva hold her head on a palm, eerily silent and the time when their pursuers barged into the room, what greeted them was Aediva’s punch that blew them away with the door.

“Go! GO!” Zielle said to the seniors before tackling one of the cloaked men herself and slamming them to the wall with a resounding crack noise from both the back of her victim and the supposedly sturdy brick walls.

Hanzel and Fay ran as fast as their legs could carry - the young man pulling Fay when she almost fell to the floor as they heard the sound of grown adults men like they’re being mauled by beasts behind them. They are sure that they heard a really loud cracking sound that surely came from someone’s bones snapping.

“No, don’t look back” the moment Hanzel noticed Fay was about to turn her head back, he stopped her. He had the feeling that it’s better to heed Zielle’s warning to not look back. The two were almost stopped themselves at that point when they heard a loud crashing noise and from nowhere Zielle appeared behind them with a smile on her face.

“Aediva just came crashing to the floor below. No no, don’t worry about her. Come on, she’ll know where to find us” Zielle said, pushing both students forth as she joined them. She glanced back at the large hole in the floor, gulping at the amount of carnage Aediva is capable of making in the state she’s in. Now imagine if she eventually get proper control of her magic…

“WAIT! FUCK! I FORGOT SHE’S DIRECTION DUMB!” Zielle suddenly shouted but by the time she stopped, the sound of chaos was directly underneath them.

It was quite a trek for them to get to the left wing where the Gallows are and by the time they opened the doors, they found students all unconscious everywhere. A state that they should be aware could happen to them too if they tarry. All of them are drained from their internal mana and any more time inside, they would surely be in life-threatening situations. Fay knelt beside one of the students and looked at Hanzel with pleading eyes.

“We can’t leave them here! They are all not going to be able to escape from here!” she said. Zielle only furrows her brows as she looked at the seemingly ordinary study hall - only it was currently filled with students with red bruises around their necks.

“But what to do? We can’t get them all out in such a short time” Hanzel said with a pained voice while Zielle looked around for the two boys they are searching for yet they’re not around. A dilemma in her heart too as she looked at the students both Hanzel and Fay are begging them to save as well.

“Arthur and Eden are not here…” Zielle murmured when she heard a distant crashing noise which gradually sounded as it was getting closer and closer. Right on top of their heads. That loud noise is so familiar like the floor is falling!

And to their surprise, Aediva came crashing with the floor right in the middle of the hall with two probably- no, most definitely dead guys underneath her. The girl looked ragged as her uniform tore here and there. Blood on her cheeks as she straightened up and looked at the horrified students who had witnessed the level of destruction she had done in not that long period of time.

“Arthur and Eden?” her growling voice asked.

While Hanzel and Fay frozen in instinctive fear at the sight of the girl turned completely feral with destructive madness, Zielle opted to answer with a shake of the head.

“Not here. But Aediva these students--”

“I don’t care” Aediva cut off Zielle’s attempt of plea and with another punch to the floor or rather chunks of floors, Fay let out a scream as a sizable chunk of the floor got destroyed and came crashing down to the level below. As dust and debris settled in, Aediva’s eyes went wide when seeing Arthur and Eden being tied up around their torso and dangled like morbid accessories in the room full of golems and a pillar of blue sludge at the centre of the room.

“Arthur! Eden!” Aediva shouted only to be greeted with an actual gunshot that she avoided in the nick of time. The sound of lead hitting the sturdy golem body nearby echoed in the room along with the clicking noise of high heels.

“What a pest. You destroyed the floors from the Gallows to get in here? I wonder where the hell did you get such a fine instinct? Actually no. You’re like an animal. To think that one little bitch that acts like a rabid dog was able to send the whole building into disarray” Rachel said, pointing her gun around as she looked at the surrounding golems in search of the young woman who had come crashing into the place.

Meanwhile for the three students on the upper level, they were shocked at the reveal of the room right beneath them. From where they are, they only saw the people dangling unconscious from the ceiling - thankfully not on their necks, only their torso wrapped around with enchanted ropes and hung like morbid ceiling decorations.

“What do we do?” Fay asked, whispering in fear that Rachel noticed them there. Zielle looked down the hole that was created by Aediva.

“Fay” suddenly Hanzel called, making the one being called turn to look.

“Your safe room. We can place these students inside” Hanzel suggested and Fay, suddenly realizing, nod.

“I have to go down there and help Aediva” Zielle said.

“You do that. We’ll handle these students. And, Zielle” Hanzel grabbed Zielle’s shoulder.

“If you find Daniel in there, please save him” Hanzel pleaded. Zielle sighed.

“I can’t promise I will find him. But I’ll try my best to save these poor people from the crossfire” Zielle replied before jumping down the hole while Rachel was babbling something down there.

“I know you’re searching for the two boys. I’m a little disappointed that Beryls thought it was safe for them to be in his place. Ah… But there’s no helping it in the end. I made sure he had no other choice but to stay inside here anyway. Those men can be very convincing” Rachel said, a rotten smile on her pretty face.

Bang!

She shoots when seeing movement at the edge of her sight and to her dismay, she shoots one of her golem’s ‘heart’ instead. Rachel clicked her tongue and looked around.

“Hiding like a cockroach you are” she spat angrily as she pointed her gun at Eden.

“Rith Adfhal” hearing the chant, Rachel turned around and she let out a pained cry when struck with a bunch of earthen-made stones half her size that caused her to flew to the other side of the room. Zielle went out of hiding with the magic stone at the hilt of her wand still glowing golden as she stepped towards Rachel who was pinned underneath one of her golems, completely knocked out from the impact of the attack.

“Well, that’s anticlimactic” Zielle commented as she looked up at the two boys hanging from the ceiling, among other students who had fallen victim to Rachel’s horrible taste for decorations.

“Are you guys okay?” Zielle looked when Fay called from above and with a smile.

“I might need a little help with these people as well. I only have one broom and someone’s gonna help catch them” Zielle said, her broom replacing the wand in her hand. She heard the faint footstep and from the rows of golems Aediva revealed herself with a scowl on her face.

“Zielle, at least tie that bitch up before you helped anyone else…” Aediva said, sounding a little tired which made a lot of sense after all the rampaging she had done. Hanzel and Fay joined them not long after Aediva went out of her hiding, both on their brooms and smiles on their face.

“It’s alright, we’ll both help with them. It’s better if you tie up that woman quick” Hanzel said and Zielle walked away to the unconscious woman - looking around for a bit when thinking of what to use to tie her up. Then Aediva walk up to her with ropes and some random socks in her hands.

“Make it real tight” Aediva said, responded with Zielle’s giggle. It didn’t take them long to disarm the woman from her gun and oddly there was no wand on her person. Well at least they had tied Rachel up in addition, Aediva shoved the sock into Rachel’s mouth - to Zielle’s surprise.

“Noi this. Noi that. I’m starting to get pissed just hearing that damn word” Aediva growled, scratching the back of her head as she stepped back and saw Hanzel and Fay helping almost a dozen of those hanged from the ceiling, two of which Arthur and Eden. Silence fell upon both her and Zielle who had already stepped away from Rachel’s spot, stopped and looked at Aediva who was staring at the view yet her gaze was past everything in front of them.

“Aediva?” Zielle called but Aediva didn’t budge. Those mint-coloured orbs looked down on Aediva’s fists trembling but no words escaped her friend’s lips to say anything.

“... Let’s hurry up and get them out” Aediva said, walking past Zielle who looked at her friend with furrowing eyebrows.

“Hanzel? Did you find Daniel anywhere at all?” Fay asked but as he lowered to the portal Fay made in silence and shook his head. It was then when Aediva stopped in and beckoned them to hurry.

“Don’t forget that those people are still out there,” Aediva said. Fay and Hanzel looked at Aediva, one of them parting their lips to ask about Daniel but only answered with a simple, “Dunno”.

Hanzel and Fay dropped their shoulders and with a simple statement from Aediva, they continued their rescue and mission to get the students out of the place as fast as they could.

“... Ugh…”

Among the last ones they wanted to place inside the safe room, awakens. A pair of emerald eyes looked at the faces of his rescuers.

“Arthur! You’re awake!” Fay exclaimed happily.

“Holy shit… What the hell… My head…” the second one awaken too and is equally confused as Arthur. Eden sat up and rubbed the back of his aching head.

“Eden” suddenly after calling Eden, Arthur gasped.

“Wait! Wait! We have to save those in the Battery Room!” Arthur abruptly proclaimed, to the confusion of his rescuers at first but they were quite dumbfounded at Arthur’s sudden panic as soon as he woke up. Arthur stood up straight albeit stumbling a bit when seeing Aediva, grabbing her by the shoulders.

“Aediva! You’re here! We have not much much time!” Arthur said to Aediva’s face, his face completely pale.

“The people in the Battery Room, they’re going to be--” Arthur’s words suddenly halted as he curled as a response to the sudden punch in the gut.

“Ae… diva?” Arthur groaned. As he fell, Aediva held him with the one arm of the hand that punched Arthur out cold.

“... Another one who is just unaware of his surrounding… I already told you, I’m not here to play hero…” Aediva said to the confusion of everyone around her. Aediva glanced at Eden who quickly raised his hands.

“I get it. I get it. No altruism for now” Eden said without Aediva really saying anything at all. Then it clicked in Fay and Hanzel’s mind.

“W-wait! But we already stopped Ms. Rachel!” Fay suddenly panicked as Aediva settled Arthur on Hanzel’s broom.

“These things shouldn’t be active and those in the Battery Room wouldn’t--” Fay’s words quickly went silent when they all stumbled the moment the tremors started.

“... Arthur’s right. We don’t have much time at all” Aediva said before grabbing Eden by the back of his shirt’s collar and straightened him up on his feet.

“You can fly on your own right?” Aediva asked but didn't bother to wait for his answer when he parted her lips again.

“Fly. Now.” one bark of her orders, Eden made his wand into a broom and followed Hanzel flew upwards through the large hole Aediva made while Fay turned hesitant to do anything after knowing what exactly is Aediva deciding for them. She grabbed Aediva’s hand with her own trembling ones.

“My brother… My brother is in that room…” Fay said with teary eyes.

“If you go and save one, then what of the rest in the ‘safe room’? You escaped here with your life then--” Aediva stopped when Fay slapped her. The red hot sting in her cheek stunned her to silence.

“You… I guess it is true that people with Frost have their hearts frozen! I’m going to the Battery Room!” Fay said, throwing the necklace towards Aediva but Zielle promptly catches it before it hits Aediva’s face. The girl from Kazbelius Dorm stared as Fay flew away from the direction of their safe exit.

Seeing how Aediva had no other comments on the matter, Zielle flew off to where Hanzel exited. Instead of going through the lengthy hallways, Zielle and Aediva crashed through the windows and for the second time, the wind hitting their face felt great - at least for Zielle that is. For Aediva however…

Zielle only glanced at the silent young woman behind her. Maybe it’s best if she remains quiet and not asks questions yet.