Chapter 112 Distress



Click—!

"I'm home…"

Pushing the door open, Zio was greeted by the short, narrow entrance of his dorm room. Walking through, he jumped onto his bed and let the softness sink in. 

But, when he thought he could have an immediate sleep, Reina's sweet voice resounded in his ears.

"Master!"

Lifting his face with force, he looked to his right, his cheek still pressed against the bed.

Zio watched as Reina approached him with heavy yet soundless footsteps from the sofa where he had left her this morning, her face contorted into an angry yet cute pouting face.

But, his attention was soon stolen by the view of the night sky outside the closed windows.

The moon hanging on the starless sky lit brightly, making a great display above the city skylines. On top of that, the addition of artificial snow that poured down slowly on the city added a feel of serenity and calm, as if hinting that something bigger was about to happen sooner or later.

Zio blinked slowly as he had enough look at the night view. His head was now working to its best as he thought about the five people he saw this afternoon when he was visiting Ruby.

He was too focused on his mind that he didn't even hear Reina who screamed which might make people walking in the building corridor get suspicious as to why they could hear a little girl's voice coming from Zio's room.

Thankfully, Reina was filtering her voice so only Zio, her master, could hear her voice at the moment.

'It's the middle of the month. 15 days from now on will be the new year, and a week from now on will be the winter holiday…'

It might be weird for a region located in the tropics to experience snow or the winter season and have a winter holiday but, Octagram was the only region in the tropics that was different from the others.

With the technology and magic combined, Octagram Island had succeeded in creating artificial four seasons in their land. Though it was artificial, the details and experiences the people of Octagram Island had were similar to other temperate climate countries alike.

'Winter, huh? It'd be good if I have someone to hang out with on winter's and new year's night like those in the movie and drama.'

In winter holidays, students were usually returning to their hometowns to celebrate Christmas Eve with their families, friends, or even girlfriends/boyfriends.

For Zio, as the only family member he knew was only Shannon, he had hoped that he could meet with her and spend time together, especially on new year's night, when he would need someone close to him the most giving him mental support before that event occurred, or else…

"Zio…"

A new voice entered his hearing, reverberating in his head clearly that it interrupted his thought as if someone had just used telepathy on him.

Waking up from his bed, Zio's eyes immediately locked upon a black-haired figure with bright red-blood eyes standing in front of him. 

Though he couldn't see who it was at first because of the sudden blackout making the darkness engulf the room almost immediately, he was able to recognize the person after seeing their red eyes and familiar skirt uniform with red lines.

"Zia?"

Zio's eyes soon turned interested as she recognized who it was. With a sigh and a little headshake, he waved his hand dismissively at Zia.

'She's only a ghost, I could just ignore her… but…'

But, he caught a flash of white glistening around Zia's arm. Making use of his Clairvoyance, he inspected whatever it was that produced the flash.

[Kitchen Knife

Rank: F]

As he inspected the knife, Zia lifted her hand that held the knife into the air.

"Huh…?"

Zia's red-blood eyes didn't flinch, looking cold-blooded as she thrust the knife forward at ZIo.

In quick reflexes, Zio avoided the knife by rolling on his bed and dropping onto the floor. He glared at Zia with his Clairvoyance activated but no information window popped up, making him left confused and distracted for a moment.

Zia made another swing of the knife, this time her movements were flowing and her swing became smoother.

Yet, Zio could avoid it again and lunged for a lock but failed miserably as Zia sidestepped in a blur.

"Retro!"

After failing to do a grab move on Zia and instead diving onto the floor, Zio quickly called upon his sword. Almost immediately, a sword with the unique carved letter 'R' on its lower blade summoned in his hand, and quickly blocked Zia's knife.

Kicking her in the gut, Zio rolled backward and rose up to his feet, his sword at ready.

"What are you…"

…

Standing in front of the lift, Ember waited for the door to open. In the meantime, it had been her habit to play with her Nova Watch while she was waiting for something.

'Huu… How could I forget to give his monthly candy? I hope Silver Hound won't scold me for this…'

Ding—!

Once the lift door opened, she stepped inside and pressed the button to the sixth floor.

'I messaged him I'd visit him an hour ago but, why doesn't he reply to me yet? He doesn't even read my chat.'

Ding—!

The door opened again as it finished its job to take Ember to the sixth floor.

Stepping outside the lift, Ember walked through the quiet corridor, her eyes scanning for the room's number though she didn't have to as the destination room she looked for was only a few steps away from the lift.

'It's here… Room 403.'

Knock—! Knock—!

She knocked on the door yet it was quiet, no reply coming from inside the room even after 10 seconds.

'Is he already fallen asleep?'

With a defeated sigh, she backed away from the door, planning to leave it for tomorrow if the person he was about to visit was already asleep.

As she just took a step toward the lift, she heard a voice coming from inside room 403. It was but a faint thud noise. 

Curious, she pressed her ear against the door and at that moment she heard a familiar voice saying, 'What are you…'

Knock—! Knock—!

She knocked again, just in case. But still didn't receive a reply.

'Hmm…'

As she heard more noises coming from the room, her worry and suspicion gradually increased. Eventually, Ember gently rubbed her eyes with her soft and smooth palm.

Just as when someone wore a masquerade mask, the swiping gesture of her palm ignited flames in front of her eyes, enhancing and protecting her vision at the same time.

Now, with her vision enhanced, she could see what was happening behind this door.

'Oh no…'

How surprised she was when he saw what was going on inside the room.

She saw Zio swinging his sword like a madman against empty air. Not only that, but he was also rolling and dodging as if he was avoiding an attack.

Ignoring the manner of the visit procedure, Ember twisted the doorknob and pushed it open. Once the door opened, she quickly dashed through the short and narrow entrance.

"Zio!"

Swoosh—!

Swaaaaa—!

In a quick motion, after she shouted, she found the tip of the blade stopped a few centimeters away from her eyes. If not for her flame enhancing and protecting her eyes, she would have lost them.

On the other hand, Zio's eyes widened as he noticed the one who was standing in front of her wasn't someone he was currently fighting with.

"Huh? Ember? Why are you here?"