The Stargazer

by Nikostar A

  He knew there were several cameras observing them at the moment; he needed to wait for the perfect moment to fly the keys to his pocket. When taking a turn, Alexander swiftly moved the keys without the guards noticing.

  They soon arrived at the courtroom where Alexander was instructed to enter. The two guards did not follow him inside and simply waited at the entrance.

  The door slowly closed behind Alexander as the lights were suddenly brightly turned on. The courtroom was not very wide; it had a simplistic design and gave a feeling of privateness. There was only a small bar for the culprit to defend himself and an elevated bench where the head of the discipline department, the director of studies and the headmistress were seated. There was no room for any spectators to Alexander's relief.

  Between Alexander and the judges, there was a small table holding Alexander's X-Driver and the small bag containing the recovery herbs he allegedly smuggled. Next to the table, was another one holding a single bottle containing a greyish liquid. Without a doubt, it was the dreadful End Potion.

  "We shall now begin Alexander Vagras' trial. For the sake of documentation, the entire process will be recorded."

  "Alexander Vagras, you are being accused of illegally smuggling the bag of herbs in the academy. What do you have to say for your defense?" asked the head of the discipline department with a severe expression.

  Due to his position, the head of the discipline department was the one presiding over the courtroom. The director of studies and the headmistress were both here just for show. Deep inside, they all knew that Alexander was going to be expelled from the academy and would be brought back by the forces of the UN to be interrogated.

  Alexander stared at the old man in front of him. "You know very well that I am innocent but no matter what I say, I will end up being guilty."

  The director of studies and Carmen both made strange expressions; they knew he was right but it was not within their power to protect him. He had indeed broken the rules and would need to be punished. Furthermore, the UN wanted Alexander for questioning and at the same time, a powerful force from Loha always wanted to question Alexander.

  "This means that you admit to your crime! Let us not waste any more time. Alexander Vagras, in accordance with the testimonies of the team of the discipline department and with the compelling evidence in front of us, I declare that you are guilty. You are officially expelled from the academy! You shall immediately drink the End Potion."

  "Let me remind you, it is useless for you to try anything. The room is made of the highest concentration of Aimantite; it absorbs so much mana from us that the effectiveness of spells is reduced to 5%. This room is completely locked and unless we give our approval, the door will never be opened. Just give up."

  'What the f*ck is this trial?' exclaimed Alexander in his mind. Could this even be described as a trial? He did not even get to defend himself but it was not like he was really intending to. Before this, Trials only occurred once in the entire history of the academy. It took place when the academy was first created. At that time, regulations were loose and it led to rebellious behavior but as soon as the first student was expelled, the situation improved; nobody wanted to lose their abilities as a mage.

  "Alexander. It might save you some pain if you share with us which organization you belong to and how you are able to use magic without using mana," said the headmistress. Her tone was strangely gentle and soothing; it was completely different from her usual domineering self.

  'Is she feeling pity toward me?' thought Alexander. He hardened his eyes and answered, "Thank you but I won't need it. Mr. Andrea. Do you remember when you ask me to use my power for the greater good of humanity? Do you remember what I answered at that time?"

  Alexander paused for a moment under the stares of the three judges. "You know very well who is in the wrong. If it was not for the organizations' greed, I would have never turned against you. No matter what I said, the outcome would have been the same."

  "Click"

  As soon as Alexander finished speaking, the cuffs and gloves fell off from his hands. He smiled as he slowly massaged his wrists. The rage he had been suppressing inside of him could no longer be contained. His eyes lit up as he fully activated the power of [Nunalee].

  "Alexander! What are you doing?" The director of studies exclaimed with a panicked expression. Similarly, Carmen took a step back. "Stop it, Alexander. You won't be able to escape. Even if you somehow get out of this room, how will you get off the island?"

  Alexander was calm. "You know everything about the power of mages but unfortunately, you don't know a thing about the stargazers."

  Alexander's eyes flashed. He saw the head of the discipline department make a move at the back. He quickly tried to grab his weapon at his waist but to his surprise, his weapon was missing.

  "Bang!"

  A gunshot resounded through the room and a few moments later, the lifeless body of the head of the discipline department fell on the floor. In the middle of his head, a huge bloody hole could be seen still bleeding profusely; the bullet had pierced his brain directly, giving him no chance to react.

  A white fuming pistol was still floating in mid-air where the head of the discipline department was standing previously. Slowly, the pistol started to rotate and point at the director of studies.

  "You leave me no choice. It is either me or you..." said Alexander. His mind was starting to hurt. Since he arrived into the room, he used his psychic power to check the bodies of the judges for weapons. The convict was usually strip-searched before entering the courtroom but it was different for the judges.

  While the headmistress and the director of studies did not carry any cold weapon on them, the head of the discipline department did carry one of the most recent pistols, a model R-128 which could be used even in the worlds where technology did not normally work. The pistol had been specifically redesigned for this task and was very popular among the mages that roamed Loha.

  The director of studies and Carmen Ashmore went completely stunned by Alexander's actions. The situation was evolving way too quickly! They would have never thought that Alexander would really take action against them. They did not like the head of the discipline department that much but they were still colleagues. His death was too sudden.

  "Alexander! What are you doing?"

  The headmistress was quick to react. She was not appointed as the head of the Academy for nothing. She quickly took out a glowing orb from her blouse and stared at Alexander.

  The latter frowned. "An ancient relic?"

  The room they were in was made of Aimantite that significantly reduced the flow of mana but it did not affect ancient relics! The effect of those relics varied from each other but very often, they just needed a tiny bit of mana to be activated.

  "I should have thought about it. They are not defenseless after all!" said Alexander to himself. In the corner of his eyes, he also saw the director of studies take out a short scepter from his spatial ring.

  Alexander did not have time to react as Carmen activated the orb.

  [God Binding Chains]

  White dazzling chains appeared out of nowhere. Alexander frowned but did not react; he knew those chains would pursue him anywhere in the world until he was captured. [God Binding Chains] was an extreme spell that could restrain its target regardless of his position. Although the academy did not have records of any Extreme Spells, they did have a lot of ancient relics in their possession.

  Alexander found himself completely trapped, unable to move a single muscle. Only his head was spared. [Nunalee, the psychic] was still active but Alexander did not have time to use it. In the corner of his eyes, he noticed the director of studies pointing the scepter at him.

  Without hesitation, Alexander quickly activated his Seed and disappeared from Earth.

  Carmen widened her eyes in surprise. "How did he escape from the [God Binding Chains]?" In front of her, the dazzling white chains suddenly lost their target. They became loose and fel
l on the floor before quickly retracting into the orb.

  "I don't know but don't let your guard down," answered the director of studies. He also could not believe what he had just witnessed.

  However, before he could say anything else, Alexander suddenly reappeared. A bright orange flame danced in his hands as he threw it toward the headmistress.

  The latter was surprised but fortunately, she was wearing a talisman of protection. The talisman was triggered, barely saving her life.

  "Alexander. Stop! It is useless. You won't be able to leave this room without us. It's only us who know the procedure to unlock the door!"

  Alexander did not react. Instead, he moved his body, changing from [Cali, the Arsonist] to [Nunalee, the psychic]. He immediately tried to once again control the pistol but the director of studies was quick to react. He jumped on the pistol, sending it in his spatial ring, out of Alexander's range.

  Alexander frowned, "You don't have to worry about me getting out of the courtroom. I have my own ways."

  [Cali, the Arsonist]

  Alexander swiftly returned back to Cali's body posture. In this environment, it was the best offensive constellation he could use.

  Carmen frowned. She did not expect Alexander to be able to use so many spells in a room made of Aimantite. He was completely breaking the balance! Her earrings started to shine as she stared straight at Alexander.

  The latter immediately noticed the peculiar earrings and instantly felt a huge pressure being applied to him. "A psychic attack? Should be [Mind Destruction]... The academy really has a lot of relics."

  He knew if he stayed here any longer, his brain might explode. Just like last time, he did not hesitate and retreated into his Space where he was safe from all attacks.

  It was the guerilla-style of the Anterlope clan. There was a reason few people dared to fight the Anterlope clan. Whenever they were in danger, they could simply retreat to safety and come back later to harass the attackers. While they were in their space, there was nothing the attackers could do to harm them.

  Having no targets, Carmen's earrings started to dim and a few moments later, Alexander reappeared.

  "We cannot continue like this! I don't know if the guards have caught on the situation but we don't have an infinite number of ancient relics! They will need the permission of the chairmen to open the door anyway," exclaimed the director of studies in panic. He bit his lips as he looked into his spatial ring. There were still two unused ancient relics left but considering Alexander's annoying ability, they would not last for very long.

  "We should not have hosted the trial in the courtroom. We knew that Alexander did not need to use mana to use his ability. We are the only one at a disadvantage now!" said Carmen. A look of worry flashed in her eyes. She regretted not arguing with the chairmen; this situation could have been easily avoided if the higher-ups did not push Alexander to the edge.

  "It's too late for regrets. He won't listen to us now. Carmen! Do you trust me?"

  "Of course but what are you planning?" asked Carmen as she turned toward the old man.

  The latter wordlessly tossed his spatial ring at Carmen. The headmistress grabbed the ring, her face full of confusion.

  "At this rate, we will both perish here. You are still young and have a long life in front of you. Take good care of yourself." The director of studies spoke quietly and let out a long sigh.

  "No. Andrea! What..."

  Before Carmen could finish her sentence, the director of studies activated the one ancient relic he kept on him.

  [Frozen Coffin]

  Chapter 46: Escape

  When Alexander returned to Earth, he was surprised by the scene of the courtroom. Half of the room was completely encased in ice. The Headmistress and the director of studies were both completely trapped inside a thick layer of ice.

  Alexander frowned, "[Frozen Coffin]? You are very decisive..."

  As soon as he saw the ice, Alexander knew he would not be able to harm them any longer. [Frozen Coffin] was an advanced spell that could be used both offensively and defensively. The point was, the layer of ice was thick and resistant to magic. It would take Alexander several minutes to get through it and at the moment, time was precious.

  The ice layer was clearly thinner around the director of studies, indicating that he was the caster of the spell. It would not take as long to break the ice around him but Alexander could not afford to take the risks.

  "Calm down Alexander."

  He took a deep breath and recollected his thoughts; he had yet to vent his feelings but Alexander knew he would not be able to get out of the room safely. The guards outside were probably already making their move but all of this did not matter.

  Alexander quickly grabbed his X-Driver and sent a quick message to his mother. Fortunately, the X-Driver still maintained all its functions.

  "Mom. I am safe. I will come back for you within two years. Don't call this number anymore. I will contact you when I'll be able to."

  The message was brief; Alexander did not even explain the situation. He did not want his mother to worry. He was about to disappear for a very long time and wanted to reassure her to some extent. The news of his treason would soon spread.

  Alexander bit his lips. He had accomplished one of his goals in coming to the courtroom. He wanted to contact his mother one last time before running away. The other reason was simply his wishful thinking. He knew it was impossible but Alexander still wanted to find a way to meet Aila.

  He wanted to know why, why she did all these things. Was he not good enough? Alexander already knew her motives but he wanted to hear it directly from her mouth.

  Alexander did not have a lot of time left. He looked at the two frozen judges. Carmen's face clearly showed her surprise; her arms were raised up as if she was trying to protect herself. On the other hand, the director of studies looked serene and held a small cross in front of him.

  "You are very decisive. You knew it might affect your health but you still used such a powerful ice spell. With your old age, you won't have very long to live now," said Alexander as he walked past the frozen director of studies.

  He turned his attention toward the two remaining items on the tables and without hesitation, he sent them inside his space. The recovery herbs were very useful for his advancement and the End Potion might turn out to be handy.

  Then, there was only one thing left that Alexander was interested in: the corpse of the head of the discipline department.

  As his space increased in size, Alexander was now able to send larger objects into his pocket dimension. He did not know how long he had before the guards would storm into the room. Therefore, Alexander did not bother to check and sent the entire corpse in his space.

  "I did not expect that I will be leaving the academy so soon. I thought I would be able to comfortably increase my strength here for three years but in the end, I only got three months of peace," said Alexander to himself.

  He was still unresigned. He could not accept the fact that he had been backstabbed by the person he trusted the most. It was his own mistake for blindly trusting her. He should have been more careful.

  Before returning to his space, Alexander turned toward the camera behind the bench of the judges. He knew there were other cameras in the room but he focused on the most obvious one.

  "You should enjoy the few years of peace you have left. Three years. That's all the time you have left."

  With this final message, Alexander vanished from the courtroom. He had already warned the different forces of the incoming invasion of the Xals. He had done his part and was not planning on clarifying the situation. Since they turned their back to him, Alexander had no reason to help Earth.

  ***

  Alexander reappeared inside his space. He instantly felt tired. The short fight exhausted him both mentally and physically but for now, he was safe.

  Inside his space, Alexander was untargetable by the academy or the UN. He let his tired body fall on a small
patch of grass as he sighed. "That's the end of my school life. I hope that mother won't worry too much."

  The situation had changed too suddenly. There were so many things Alexander had planned for his school life but all of it would have to be scrapped. The most important part was that Aila had betrayed him. He was completely devastated but he needed to move on.

  He had paid her back for sacrificing herself in her past life. Alexander did not owe her anything from now on.

  "Let's not think about this sort of things. Aila is not the only woman in the world. I just need to let time heal my wounds," said Alexander to himself. He tried to be convincing be he knew that deep inside, he would not be able to move on so easily. He had loved her for more than seven years and still did.