'Ever since he became my bodyguard, I perceived Hayden as a gullible jerk whom I can easily manipulate with money,' Aubrey thought to herself while twiddling her thumb. 'But never have I ever expected him to be such a decisive badass.'
'It's as if he's plucked out of my delusional dream!'
These silly thoughts ran through her head as she was smitten upon seeing him pull up that chivalrous display. Her perspective of him took a perfect 180 shift, and since Aubrey was romantically enticed by strong men, it affected her critically.
However, Aubrey was consumed by her unreasonably high self-worth, and that narcissism gave her the strength to put up a facade to conceal her uplifted emotions.
She refused to accept the fact that the mere Hayden whom she initially thought was manipulable is now outperforming her expectations.
"There you go again, coming at me with your arrogant boasts!" she exclaimed, her voice laced with frustration. "I'm not a DH, so don't anticipate me to match your endless stamina."
"I'm not saying that you need to keep up with my pace, just don't slow me down. And save your complaints to yourself, it's unpleasant to my ears."
Aubrey lifted herself up, acting tough. "I swear I'll punish you when we make it out here."
Hayden was full of her, so he grabbed her again, making sure that this elusive bitch won't slip away like a lost child.
They eventually reached a tall wall not too far from the entrance gate and they climbed out to safety. Aubrey obviously had difficulties climbing since the wall was undeniably high for her size, so it requires Hayden had to assist her. Unbeknownst to him, Aubrey nonchalantly enjoyed the little contacts their bodies made along their way over the wall—primarily the time when his palm sent warmth to her wrist when they were running.
Beyond the wall was the parking area. There are no students in the place except them since all of the students who managed to escape are on the southern side of the campus.
Although there are no other students in their vicinity, the place was actually overloaded with concerned civilians and DHs frontliners from both Twilight and White Hawks guild.
Both guilds decided to team up despite their being in a dispute. The skilled members of each guild went through the barrier to rescue the students while the remaining others handled the civilians, restricting them to the barrier's proximity.
Hayden and Aubrey proceeded, and to their surprise, Grace and Jace were waiting for them outside their vehicle.
The reason Hayden took that risky route was because this sector wasn't covered in the barrier zone, and their vehicles were designated here which could be used to bring the girls to the mansion. As the 'first instruction' stated: the girls' safety comes first. And Hayden had it glued in his head, hence he was intending to drive Aubrey home after making it out of the gate.
Although, it seems like it's not only him who's brazen enough to take this unadvisable route since Jace was also here. Both enthusiastic bodyguards indeed share the same thoughts.
"I'm glad you made it out safe and sound," Grace said to her twin.
"Thank god you're also unharmed."
As the girls check up on each other, their bodyguards on the other hand are having a serious talk since they both share the same depth of knowledge.
"How did it go on your end? You took longer than it's supposed to," Jace said to Hayden.
"I did encounter light troubles. It caused unnecessary delays, but I managed."
Both bodyguards understood each other well.
"At any rate, we should finish the job," Hayden added.
"I concur. We ought to bring the protectees back to the mansion."
Hayden was still contemplating the stem of this mysterious and unorthodox umbrella gate. However, after encountering those demons that vanished upon being killed, the faintest idea surged through his perplexity. So, he asked, "Before we depart, I'd like to ask if you stumble upon a demon-looking creature that is not an actual demon inside the barrier?"
That question made Jace intrigued—and that's because he had.
"On that note, I was taking Grace to safety after the barrier popped up, but on our way, we came across a perturbed girl and she transformed into something creepy."
"So it was you who left its corpse on the pathway."
"Correct. It transformed right before my eyes, and then it attacked us. It was rather weak, so I took it down pretty quickly."
Hayden re-envisioned the moment when he watches the demons in the lines transform. Though he didn't notice those students acting discomposed, it's clear that they all abruptly transform just like Jace's encounter. Furthermore, the most important piece of information that he recalled from that event, was that all the students who turned monstrous were female.
"Are you certain that the demon-like creature that attacked you was once a girl?" Hayden wanted to ascertain.
"I can't be wrong."
At that very moment, it clicks into him.
It's as if every piece of the puzzle linked itself together and fell into place, forming the final picture that gravely shocked Hayden. It all makes sense to him now; the cursed students, the timing with the gate, the mission to assassinate Conor, and the demonic presence he felt yesterday when they passed by the front of the infirmary on their way to Liam's fight. All of that is not just a coincidence. It was all connected.
Finally grasping the potential danger of the situation, Hayden's current plan to bring the girls home changed. His original mission to kill the principal was back on the chalkboard.
'All along…' Hayden muttered, his eyes widening. 'Conor wasn't luring female students into his chamber to molest them. This entire time, his victims were nothing but hosts of his curse. He spread it and patiently waited for this precise moment before triggering the curse. It's Conor who orchestrated it all. His plan was only made possible, because all this time, he was a wolf in sheep's clothing—he is an archdemon.
'