"Kaya!" Lois exclaimed, "Where are you!"

Lois looked around. He had a complicated relationship with his classmates but couldn't let them die. He wanted to save Kaya, but there was nothing near him, only fog. Even the monsters seemed to have evaporated somewhere.

...

'Damn... What a headache... Where am I...?' Kaya muttered as she woke up.

p Next to her, she saw a table with hot soup and had just made tea.

"Good morning!" Blind Sorcerer approached her as he waved.

"Mr. All-knowing? Where are we?" Kaya asked warily.

She was in a dark basement. It still smelled strongly of blood and had a beastly smell from the monsters.historical

"In my lab." Blind Sorcerer muttered, "Temporary lab."

"Are you our enemy?" A voice came from the other end of the cage.

"Ron? Are you here too?" Kaya exclaimed.

"No, I am not your enemy. You're just unlucky enough to have the right forces for one of my cases, and you'll have to help me."

"Huh, did you really set all this up for these two?" Skeleton muttered as he appeared next to Blind Sorcerer.

'What?! They're working together?!' Ron and Kaya were shocked.

'Sure, but those two have better terms. I've caught a few more, they're needed for distractions. Anyway, I must do this quickly, so don't get in my way." Blind Sorcerer nudged Skeleton with his shoulder.

"Who are you?" Ron said menacingly.

He jumped back and prepared to fight. Two gravity spears appeared beside him, their combined weight over ten tons.

"I'm just a simple teacher, at least for now. If you're asking me about my main occupation, I'm more of a scientist." Blind Sorcerer said calmly. Ron's actions didn't bother him.

"I see... So you are an enemy after all..." Ron nodded his spears at Blind Sorcerer.

"You don't have to be so tough." Blind Sorcerer grinned as he swung his arm.

The space next to the spears distorted, and they disappeared into a spatial rift.

"What just happened...?" Ron was puzzled.

"Is that Space Magic...?" Kaya asked.

"Yeah. It's pretty useful stuff. I'd have a lot of problems without it." Blind Sorcerer shrugged.

To him, it was natural, but to Ron and Kaya, it was something impossible. They knew that mages capable of using the Magic of Space existed, but they were so few that they could hardly see even one of them in a lifetime.

"How did you reach this level...?" Ron muttered tremblingly.

"I'm just the kind of person who always gets things done. Talent is nonsense, great mages got their status because they spilled rivers of blood and did hundreds of different jobs for it. Anyway, you're doing useless bullshit at the academy. Sure, you'll be stronger than many mages, but there's a lot of them you're not even close to."

"What are you going to do with us?" Kaya stared at him.

"Nothing for you to worry about. I'm going to use you like puppets, but for that, you'll get a little gift from me."

"It's funny that you think we're going to help you! You have deceived and betrayed us! When the Elders find us, they will kill you! The best thing you can do now is run as far away as possible!" Ron shouted angrily.

"He's too loud... Can I kill him?" The Skeleton shook his head.

Ron's eyes went wide as he shuddered in fear.

"No. Don't even think about it. Without this guy, I'm going to have a hard time breaking through the barrier. Okay, all talk later, I only have a few hours, don't let me get in the way of my work."

"Okay, whatever you say." The Skeleton disappeared into the shadows.

Blind Sorcerer sighed, and several magical circles appeared before him.

"Kaya, we must fight!" Ron exclaimed.

"Yes." The girl nodded.

They got ready to fight, but suddenly chains appeared out of thin air. They restrained them, Ron and Kaya could not even move a finger.

"There's no need to resist. You'll soon forget about it anyway, forever." Blind Sorcerer uttered.

The magic circle glowed, and three threads burst out of it. Two threads headed toward Ron and Kaya and one toward Blind Sorcerer. Their eyes darkened, and their consciousness became unstable. The threads were conductors, they transmitted energy like veins of blood.

Blind Sorcerer took advantage of this, he used his mind to alter their memories and build the picture of reality he wanted. Blind Sorcerer deleted fragments of memories where he was the villain. He lined everything up as if some unknown person had attacked them.

After an hour, the threads disintegrated into small pieces, and Blind Sorcerer undid the spell.

"Done?" Skeleton asked.

"Yes. They are now my puppets. I'll do it all tomorrow. Hopefully, with their powers, I can destroy the barrier." Blind Sorcerer nodded.

"This is all kind of weird. Why would you need these two? Couldn't you just use everything you have and forcefully break the barrier?"

"I'm not all-powerful. There's a limit to the variety of my powers. What's more, I'm not allowed anywhere near the vault. The elders must not understand what is happening until the very last moment. These two will not only break the barrier, but they will also be my eyes. With their help, I will see the weak points and take advantage of it." Blind Sorcerer said coldly.

"All right, do as you please. You've never been wrong before, and frankly, it's alarming."

"Afraid I'll make a mistake now?" Blind Sorcerer smiled.

"Yeah... Something like that..."

"Don't worry. I have quite a few trumps, one strong enough to make a complete difference."

Skeleton nodded silently.

...

A few hours later, two mages in long white robes approached the entrance to the Misty Forest. One of them was Egid, his partner was a tall girl with pink hair. They, as Elders, should have dealt with this incident.

"Egid, weren't you better off staying with your son? I could have handled myself here." The girl asked.

"You don't have to worry about him. He's a grown boy." Egid waved his hand, "Hmm? What is this?"

He watched, puzzled, as several silhouettes ran out of the Misty Forest, the new academy teacher ahead.