156 Chapter 156: On the way

'Was that the remnant of the demon lord?' 

She pursed her lips as she thought of the difficult days to come by until a sudden groan distracted her from her thoughts. 

Hazel turned towards Jinha who was sliding down to the ground with his brows knitted. Shaking her head, she grabbed the broken crystal before hurrying towards Jinha. 

Jinha was gaping at the spot where the dark figure had disappeared. He muttered in shock when he felt Hazel arrive in front of him.

"What was that thing?"

Hazel glanced in his direction and said stiffly, "A remnant, I suppose"

He looked at her in confusion making her shake her head.

"Why did it help us?" 

She bit her lips as she had no answer to his question. She could give him a theory which she derived from the sudden event. 

Maybe the remnant acts according to the holder's wish?

Who knows!

Jinha slumped back against the boulder and said, "At least we got the demon dealt with."

Hazel nodded before she glanced at his injuries in worry. She helped him get on his feet before taking him to Liz who was leaning against the wall in calm.

"Well, your injuries are less severe now"

Liz opened her eyes and stared at Jinha who coughed embarrassedly. She refused to say another word and glanced at Hazel who had her brows knitted together.

Liz sighed, "Go on... we can take care of ourselves now"

Hazel immediately shifted her eyes towards Liz who was smiling slightly.

"Go before you change your mind, Freya"

Jinha sat beside Liz and nodded, "Yeah... your apprentices would be enough to heal all our wounds"

Before she could say another word, Jinha added, "We would still have to stay behind to deal with the mess they created."

Hazel sighed as she finally realized that they didn't want her to waste her time here. A small smile made way to her face as she threw them a small pouch which was full of medicines from the medicinal scent around it.

"Hand these over to my apprentices, they would know what to do with it"

Jinha nodded his head and muttered, "Look at how happy she is. She should have listened when I told her to not run away before"

Liz chuckled while Hazel rolled her eyes. 

She stood up to leave but before she could do so, she heard some footsteps rushing towards them.

Simultaneously they turned their heads to see their friends rushing in with injured students. Her eyebrows knitted as she glanced at the number of students injured during this attack. Suddenly amongst the injured students, she saw her friends rushing in, with blood all over their clothes and hands around some severely injured students.

Hazel sighed in relief before taking a look at the students groaning on the ground. Without another word, she started checking their pulse and her face darkened at each observation. Hazel pursed her lips and started administering some medicine to the students

She wanted to hurry back, yes but she couldn't find in herself to leave these injured students.

Finally, when she was done administering the medicine, she lifted her eyes to see her apprentices dealing with the students swiftly.

Letting out a sigh, she stood up and turned around to take a good look at her friends. Hak and Zeno had a few scratches here and there whereas Ren had a bloody cut on his forehead. Loki's clothes were disheveled but not a single scratch was seen on his body.

Her heart calmed down thinking only Liz and Jinha had severe cases. That means the battle near the city was not so crucial.

She turned around and saw Reyna sitting beside Jinha, checking his injuries worriedly. She walked towards them and said with a sigh, "He will be fine..."

She heard Ren grumble behind her, "I can't believe that he got to enjoy battling while we were stuck with their minions"

Reyna threw him a glare before looking at Jinha who had a smirk on his face.

Hak said amusedly, "I wouldn't use the word 'enjoy', Ren" His eyes scrutinized him and said, "More like beaten up?"

Jinha scowled, ignoring his tease, and asked, "Why did you guys take a long time?"

Zeno sighed wearily, "We were trapped, and by the time we realized that the academy was under attack, reapers had already surrounded us."

Ren complained irritatedly, "And, they didn't seem to reduce no matter what we did until some minutes ago."

Liz mused, " That must be the time when Izel lost his patience and focused on Hazel"

Hazel nodded agreeing to her words then her heart froze when she heard Reyna ask glancing around, "Where is Harold? Why isn't he back?"

"He won't be joining us" Hazel murmured making everyone shift their eyes towards her in shock.

Jinha cursed, "That idiot" 

He didn't need her to explain as he got the gist of the situation from her words. He had noticed how obsessed the guy was over her but he discarded those thoughts, thinking he would back off soon. But never did he think that Harold would be so obsessed that he would commit a critical mistake.

Now, he understood how the demons entered the academy. He closed his eyes as he muttered curses under his breath. The atmosphere around them plummeted as everyone was shocked hearing about Harold's deeds.

Hazel exhaled and said, "You will find him in the Council Room." She glanced at them and said in a low voice, "Just don't be too shocked by what you see"

Their eyebrows furrowed as they looked at Hazel in confusion.

Loki asked her, "What do you mean by 'don't be too shocked'?

Hazel pressed her lips into a thin line and said, "He drank the blood of a demon."

A sharp intake of breath was heard amongst her friends, making it no need to explain more. Everyone had read the stories, everyone knew what that meant and they couldn't believe it.

After a few seconds, Jinha raised his head and asked Hazel, "When do you plan to leave?"

Hazel looked at him with her lips pressed making him groan, "Hazel, we will be fine. The danger has already passed here, now go over and help your kingdom."

Loki raised his eyebrow and asked sharply, "Kingdom? Leave? What are you guys talking about?"

Liz answered on behalf of Jinha who looked like he was ready to chop all these dense people. 

"The demon, Izel had mentioned to us how his general wanted to battle Freya badly so he left the small task of dealing with the academy to him, while the general left for the castle."

Loki's face paled hearing this as he thought of a person in his mind. 

'Is she alright?'

He looked at Hazel and said, "I am coming with you"

Hazel furrowed her eyebrows but when she looked at his determined face, she nodded. Immediately Hazel heard Jinha whistle making her eyebrows snap. Not even a minute had passed, when her ears picked up the sounds of hoofs approaching them.

"When did you-?"

He rolled his eyes, "I was always prepared for the moment you realize your feelings and rush off to him."

Her lips twitched at his response but before she could give him a response. She saw her majestic white horse in her view making her smile brighten.

The white horse stopped in front of her and bowed its head towards her face, nuzzling her cheek. Hazel laughed as she rubbed her horse's face before hopping on it. The horse kicked his front legs up and neighed loudly before shaking its head.

Hazel looked at them and said, "Once you have finished with the duties here, come over"

Jinha smiled and nodded.

Hazel looked behind and saw Loki jumping onto a dark black horse before nodding at her. Hazel pursed her lips as she wished desperately for Usui to be safe. 

She wished she wasn't late... late in protecting their hearts. She didn't want to lose him right after acknowledging her feelings for him.

Loki inhaled deeply as his hands caressed his horse wishing that she was safe and staying out of the battle. Her cheeky smile flashed through his mind making his heart worry in angst.

Both of them deeply wished in unison inside their hearts, 'Please hold on...we are on the way'

As soon as the two dense lovers bolted towards the castle, Jinha tutted under his breath.

'These romantic fools. Why do people only realize their feelings when they are too close to losing them forever?'

He felt an arm tighten around him, making him shift his eyes towards Reyna who was exhaling softly.

Jinha smiled softly as he mumbled, "Well, I can't blame them"