Located at the outskirts of the Scarlet Academy, the School Board of Directors were gathered together at the Meredian Villa with the school authorities, including the Five Fingers who were directly asked to come.
Filled with teachers of the Scarlet Academy, the seats of the Directors were occupied.
With a curtain covering them from being seen by the teachers and other high authorities, there were about fifty-five academy staff present in the courtroom of the School Council and Board of Directors.
"Mr. Rolex, you are the Principal of this Academy... We requested the presence of the Five Fingers. Where are they?" the First Director spoke out to the Principal, who was 6 ft tall and had a black mustache.
"I am sorry for the delay, but currently, three of the Five Fingers aren't present in the Academy. Only the Index and the Ring Fingers are present today, and they will be attending this meeting," Mr. Rolex said.
"The Index Finger and the Ring Finger, huh? Are you talking about Sarah and the Psychopath?" the Second Director asked when the door opened. Miss Sarah walked into the room with a smile on her face.
"Good afternoon, everyone... Sorry for being late," Miss Sarah said.
"Sarah Williams, the Index Finger. Where is the Ring Finger?" Mr. Rolex asked, then turned to see a being standing behind him with dark smiles plastered on his face—The Ring Finger, Zando the Psychopath!
"Zando and Sarah of the Five Fingers, we have recorded over sixty students admitted into the Academy this year, and you two were the supervisors... How are the students under your care doing?" the Watchmen Commander asked.
"Commander Lurizen, my student is quite fine, and I appreciate you asking," Miss Sarah said.
"Your student? I still can't believe you actually accepted to be under someone's supervision. You became a proctor of a student? Who is that unlucky student?" Zando asked with dark smiles on his face.
"His name is Ma Feng, son of King Ezerel of the Kingdom of Marcel. Though he is an adopted son of King Ezerel, he is quite interesting to me," Miss Sarah answered as she brought out a coin.
"Hmph... I will look into this kid. Sarah... Don't be surprised to see his head hung on the Academy's gates," Zando said while staring at Miss Sarah with a mischievous expression, and Miss Sarah giggled softly.
"It seems you've forgotten who you're talking to, Zando... Try such reckless actions with me, and I will kill you myself," Miss Sarah said as Zando nodded and faced the direction of the Directors.
"You're as scary as always... Sarah, I do still wonder if the monster is still caged in you or not. It's been a while since you let that monster loose," Zando said, and Miss Sarah smiled calmly.
"The monster hasn't been let loose because there is no reason it should be. Try me, and you'll understand why I was known as the Goddess of Calamity," Miss Sarah said, and Zando grinned evilly.
"Your threats are quite amusing, I would say, Sarah. But that's not the reason we are here, or is it? I'm not ready to die by your hands," Zando said and rested his back on the wall.
Mr. Rolex, the Principal of the Scarlet Academy, cleared his throat.
"Everyone... This is the Board's Council Meeting. There must be orderliness," Mr. Rolex ordered. Though he was a man in his late fifties, he was still quite the terrifying being he had always been back in his youthful days—a once vile soldier who drove dark monsters through bloodshed.
"Hey, old man... We already know about that. Besides, I came here to drop the latest report to the Board of Directors. There has been a lot of disturbance lately," Zando said as he threw a file at the Principal.
Mr. Rolex caught the file. He opened it, grabbed his glasses from his pocket, and put them on immediately. Mr. Rolex widened his gaze in shock as he looked up to stare at Zando, who was resting his back on the wall.
"This is... How sure are you that this information is the truth?" Mr. Rolex asked.
"Principal, you should know who you're asking such a question to. I am Zando the Psychopath—I do not lie, and I do not give false information. There has been a connection with that Old Beast lately."
"He hasn't been awake for more than three hundred years now. I do believe the Prophecy of the Great One is true. There might be someone in this Academy who has connections with the Dragons."
"Or he might be a Dragon himself. Who knows," Zando said.
"Your theory is quite interesting, Zando, but Dragons aren't shapeshifters. They may be powerful creatures of magic, but they don't possess any form of shapeshifting, so your theory is quite messed up," Commander Lurizen said.
"Commander Lurizen, I will do my investigations, and if what I'm saying is the truth, I will be responsible for what happens to that Dragon. He will be my prey," Zando said with an evil grin on his face.
"Very well then. You can carry out your secret investigations, but mind you, the Scarlet Academy does not support you for now—not until there is certain proof before we get involved in this, Zando," the Fourth Director said.
"That's fine by me. I always work alone," Zando said.
Zando turned to see Miss Sarah staring at him with a side-eye while still keeping her cool. There was only one person she had seen use Dragon Magic. She couldn't decide if what Zando was saying was the truth or not.
She would do her investigations in her own way, and besides, Ma Feng was under her supervision. Mr. Rolex cleared his throat as he handed over the file to the Board of Directors, and they were all stunned.
"What should be done about the Old Dragon? The dark magics used to suppress it hundreds of years ago are now wearing off. We don't know what our ancestors did, but we must take preventive measures," the First Director said.
. . .
The bell rang for the closing hour of the Academy as the students began leaving the school building to go wherever they were headed. Minutes later... Ma Feng could be seen leaving the scheduled premises.
With his new friend... Romeo Without Juliet walking beside him!
"Today's lecture was quite boring, don't you think? Ma Feng... Most of the teachers weren't present to entertain us," Romeo said with a smile on his face when a short guy walked up to them without hesitation.
"Yeah, I noticed that. But why were the teachers absent? Is something going on around here?" Ma Feng asked curiously, though he didn't show his curiosity to them so they wouldn't become too curious themselves.
"I don't know. But I believe they were having a meeting... My elder brother is among the Student Council. He said something about a meeting with the Board of Directors," the short boy said.
"Is that so? But pardon me for my sudden question—who are you?" Ma Feng asked.
"Oh, I forgot you're still a new student. This is the former Student President's younger brother, Jude Islop. And besides, he's in the Assassin Department as a Blacklist Assassin," Romeo said, doing the introduction.
"A Blacklist Assassin? There are different types of assassins, but a Blacklist Assassin is a freelancer who works for many nations at once. Lemme guess... You're the son of a rich merchant," Ma Feng said.
"Yup... How did you know that?" Jude asked.
"Hmph, it's quite obvious. Only the son of a merchant would choose Blacklist Assassin as a role. If you were a royal prince, you would've become an assassin who works for your kingdom," Ma Feng said.
"Oh really? You're quite smart, aren't you? Well, that's true... But being a Blacklist Assassin will gain me more respect, though—"
Jude couldn't complete his statement when arrows suddenly shot down from the sky.
Ma Feng screamed out as he fell to the ground with an arrow pierced into his back!
Jude unsheathed his sword while staring in the direction of the arrows and swiftly cut down numerous arrows raining from the sky. Romeo quickly dragged Ma Feng out of the danger zone.
"Are those the Syndrome?" Jude asked, when Ma Feng suddenly stopped screaming and snapped his fingers. Time stopped as he turned to the sky and stretched forth his hand.
"Dragon Magic: Qura For Dera," Ma Feng chanted as a dragon's head appeared in the sky. A massive lightning ball was unleashed from its mouth before the dragon head vanished, and time resumed.
"What is that?" Jude asked in shock as the massive lightning ball hurtled straight toward the Academy's rooftop. Everyone scattered in fear of the incoming attack.
Then, a red aura was unleashed from the rooftop, and the lightning ball swiftly exploded in the air. Ma Feng continued screaming, a dark grin plastered on his lips as he stopped his blood from continuously flowing.
. . .
Raisen could be seen standing inside the Academy's First Building, on the tenth floor. He was watching from the window of his empty classroom when the room suddenly reeked with darkness.
Four masked figures appeared before him and immediately fell to their knees, bowing their heads before Raisen Bourne—a fourth-year upper student in the Assassin Department, and one of the Academy's best sniper assassins.
"Are you sure that the boy you shot was Ma Feng?" Raisen asked.
"Yes, sir. I projected my magic into the systematic arrows to target the one who bears the name Ma Feng, and he got shot. Jude of the Assassin Department, third-year upper, got himself involved," one of the figures said.
"Hmph... I'm quite surprised. This isn't the Ma Feng I saw that night. And besides, what's with that sudden, mysterious lightning ball? Who summoned it?" Raisen Bourne asked, his hands in his pockets.
"I don't know, sir. Even I—a sensory type—can't figure out what magic that was. It's an ancient type of magic that hasn't been recorded before," the second figure said, and Raisen Bourne took a deep breath.
"Tell the rest to be alert... The Syndrome will take care of this matter," Raisen Bourne said, and he teleported out of the classroom while the rest of the figures sighed deeply.
Ma Feng was quickly rushed to the Health Center. His proctor was summoned because of the injuries inflicted on him, and when no one was present in the health ward, Ma Feng giggled softly.
"Someone was able to directly deflect my Dragon Magic... This Academy is quite fun."