Isolde rose to her feet. "Get out!"
Ulric chuckled, both hands buried in his pockets. "This club should be closed, or it will not end lightly."
Isoldeās eyes gleamed. "Are you threatening us?"
"We know if you touch a single one of us, your parents are going to drag you back home, away from your boyfriend here," Leofric smirked.
"Weāll keep breaking a limb or two until he publicly apologizes to Jon," Tank said with a deep voice, while the second of the triplets, Wulfric, leaned against the wall.
The temperature in the room dropped to the negatives instantly; ice began creeping on the walls and floor.
Just then, Jon walked into the room with Yuan, Lilith, and Edric. His eyes were locked on Isolde, totally disregarding Godfrey and the other members of the Shadow Club.
"Why are you going against me?"
"You banned Godfrey, and we created a club. Howās that going against you?" Isaac spoke up.
"Shut up!" Leofric retorted fiercely, about to take a step when a hand held his shoulder from behind.
Percival walked past him and sat on a desk, staring at the rest of the Nexus Club members. "It would be best for all of you to leave."
Jon frowned, his eyes finally resting on Godfrey before he left, grinding his teeth. Lilith snorted, flipped her hair, and left along with the rest of the Nexus Club.
After walking for a while, Jon stopped in the middle of the corridor. "Ulric, deal with the Freshman, and Lilith..."
"Speak no more, Iāll deal with the girl," Lilith replied.
"Good. This should push Isolde to act, and Iāll make sure she doesnāt return to this school. Weāll deal with the troublesome sophomore after all three are gone."
Everyone nodded.
***
After school, Isaac strolled back to the dormitory, and he saw the freshmen that once bullied him lingering around his path. When they saw him, they blocked the way.
"Is this a joke?" Isaac tilted his head as he threw his bag to the ground, but his expression changed as the Kingās Hounds emerged from the group of bullies.
"God! This will be fun." Leofric grinned.
***
Lucy emerged from a taxi with two of her friends some hours after school. They were out for a get-together at New Korea Town for karaoke.
"Hey Lucy, do you think itās good being friends with people like Godfrey? I mean, his summon sliced off the arm of your crab," one of her friends said spitefully.
"He also saved me from drowning. I would have died in there!" Lucyās voice rose a little.
"Hmm... thatās true," her second friend said, shaking her head with a pout.
"But isnāt your friendship with them costing you a little too much? Sam is your fatherās favorite, and heāll keep making your life a hell. I mean, you went to the hospital twice during the break because of home accidents, which we both know werenāt accidents," the first friend said innocently.
"And Iām sure you didnāt tell Godfrey and Isolde because, at most, theyāll beat Sam, but that will only make your dad loathe you even more. I honestly donāt see aā"
"Enough!" Lucy yelled, glaring at both of them. "Is that why you brought me here, to say all this?!"
One of them shook her head. "Weāre just worried. Oh? This is our room, letās just sing and forget about this."
Lucy snorted but broke into a smile. The moment the door was opened, she saw Lilith sitting with one leg crossed over the other.
"Hi, sweetheart! This is my dadās place." Lilith smiled, waving her fingers at her.
Lucyās expression changed. She took a step backward but saw Edric and Tank walking from both sides of the corridor.
Icy mist billowed out of Edricās hands. "Get in."
"Weāll be in the next room." One of Lucyās friends smiled, pulling the other to the other room with soft giggles.
They were all at the bottom, why did Lucy have to become friends with an unreachable goddess like Isolde and a strong and dependable boy like Godfrey? Whatās worse was that she didnāt even introduce them.
Lilith smiled as she stared at the trembling Lucy. "Shadow Sage, what a strong title. I donāt see whatās so sage about a low-tier crab summoner whose only achievement is being able to breathe underwater a little longer."
"She couldnāt even do that right!" Edric slammed his fist into Lucyās face, but Tank held her in place.
"Will you tell your teacher?" Lilith blinked.
Lucy shook her head vehemently.
"Good. Youāre not important; we just want to send a message to Godfrey, so..." Flames engulfed Lilithās palm, reflecting in Lucyās eyes.
In the other room, both girls pressed their ears against the wall but still couldnāt hear a thing.
"I bet sheās begging with those large eyes filled with tears, as she usually does." One of them scowled.
"If she reports to Godfrey, what will happen to us?" the second asked grimly.
"Canāt you see Nexus Club is out for them? Godfrey is next, and even if she does, weāll report to her father and make her life at home hell!" the first replied. "Also, Lilith said sheāll make sure we join her girlsā club, and weāll have enough cores to reach the peak of our potential!"
Both girls squealed in delight.
***
The next day, Godfrey stood in the nurseās office, staring at Isaac and Lucy, who were on the sickbeds. Both of them were healed, but he heard of how Lucy was found beaten unconscious at a place far from the school.
The management of the center had to call the school when they saw her ID. At least her injuries were totally gone, but Isaac had scars on his body.
Isolde flashed toward the door, but someone stood right beside it, blocking it with a golden trident.
"Get out of my way!" Isolde glared at Percival, who met her gaze. "Youāre also a target. They might not be able to put you on a sickbed, but they can send you out of school, and we donāt know how that will end up."
Godfrey took a stool and sat between both beds. "Iām sorry," he said to both Isaac and Lucy, who were taken aback.
"Itās not your fault, Godfrey," Lucy said, while Isaac nodded. "Theyāre not going to get away with it, though."
"Of course not." Godfrey smiled at them, rose to his feet, and leaped out of the window, to the nurseās shock.
"This is the third floor..." Isaac was dumbfounded while Percival lowered his trident.
"Heās king. Weāll act only if heās overwhelmed."
"I donāt think anyoneās overwhelmed by a guy that jumped off the third floor!" Isaac said aloud.
Meanwhile, outside, Godfrey dropped to the paved ground, cracking the blocks beneath his feet as he bent a little.
His eyes locked on the Nexus Club members seated on the bleachers across the large field, without a strand of warmth.
...
A/N: Almost 1.5k golden tickets! Wow!