Chapter 37 : Chapter 37

Chapter 37 : Sudden Academy Conflict

As a low rumble echoed from the sky, it was as if a veil had been lifted.

Twisted cracks spread outward from a point in the air, and scorching heat and light seeped through the gaps, distorting the atmosphere and blurring the sky.

More and more senior sisters from the academy flew toward the torn section on their brooms.

It looked like the sky was collapsing, with terrifying flames licking through, widening the rift.

The edges of the crack resembled shattered glass, fragments falling but dissolving in midair before hitting the ground.

Everyone seemed prepared, ready for a potential battle.

The ground’s tremors grew more intense.

I shut the shop’s glass door and crouched in a corner to avoid being crushed if the building collapsed.

My hand tightly gripped the badge on my chest, my only means of attack, though I’d never used it.

Senior Tang had warned me about the power of spells, so I took her seriously.

If danger strikes, this might be my last resort.

I occasionally peeked through the glass to check outside.

With something this serious happening at the academy, where were the teachers?

Why weren’t they stepping in to handle it?

Instead, the senior sisters seemed to have an unspoken understanding, forming a defensive formation in the sky.

With only me in the shop, the lack of security was unsettling.

Why hadn’t Senior Tang returned yet?

As I grumbled, another loud boom shook the sky.

This time, it felt like the heavens were falling.

I cautiously moved to the shop’s entrance.

If things went south, I was ready to abandon the shop and run.

Manager, senior sisters this wasn’t something I could handle!

I wanted to protect the shop and keep this job…

It was only my second day, and I hadn’t even been paid yet…

My mind raced with thoughts, but when I looked up, a massive scar-like gash stretched across the sky, as if someone had slashed it open.

The terrifying flow of energy was almost visible to the naked eye, twisting the edges of the rift, creating a scene I’d never forget.

The dissipation and transformation of energy formed a massive heatwave, with blinding light

resembling a second sun in the sky.

I could feel the temperature in the shop rising.

Out of fear, and because it was my first time experiencing this, my sweat was soaking my uniform.

I wasn’t sure if it was from fear or the heat.

As expected, when gods fight, mortals suffer.

School hadn’t even started—how could the academy face a situation like this?

I’d never heard of external threats in this world, no beast invasions, no abyssal demons…

Society was peaceful.

So why was there such a terrifying battle aftermath?

My brain felt like it was overloading, leaving only fear of the unknown.

All I could recall was Bai Yu mentioning the Curtain Wall.

This terrifying situation must be the academy’s Curtain Wall being breached, right?

The Curtain Wall could be broken?

In novels, wasn’t that supposed to be the final barrier?

How could this happen?

I gripped my phone tightly, unsure what to do.

Should I call someone?

Senior Tang had said to call her if I had problems, but was this something I should call about?

In the end, I dialed her number.

I figured she couldn’t solve this, but as a senior who’d completed her studies at Witch Academy, she’d surely know what was going on.

“Hello… Senior Tang, can you hear me?”

“I hear you, Xiao Han. How’s it going there?”

Her voice came through quickly, mixed with the sound of howling wind.

“I’m fine. Senior, what’s happening? It won’t affect us, will it?”

I asked urgently.

“It’s those bird people from Holy Angel Academy teaming up with the Wizard Academy folks to attack our Witch Academy. They’ve got some nerve.”

“What?”

Her words stunned me.

An academy war?

How did this happen so suddenly?

Shouldn’t the academy mobilize all students for a proper counterattack?

How was there no warning, just a sudden assault?

I had too many questions.

“It’s fine, Xiao Han. Stay in the shop, and you should be okay. Protect yourself—safety first.”

“Okay, got it.”

After I agreed, Senior Tang hung up abruptly.

She sounded rushed, with no time to explain further.

I looked at the senior sisters flying on brooms in the sky.

Could one of them be Senior Tang?

Barely a few seconds after the call ended, my phone rang again.

This time, it was Bai Yu calling.

She must be worried about me.

She’d probably been trying to call earlier, getting through right after my last call ended.

I answered without hesitation.

“Bai Yu.”

“Xiao Han, are you okay?”

Her voice came through, tinged with panic.

“I’m fine, totally fine.”

“Good. Protect yourself. The fighting’s too close to where you live. Safety first.”

“Got it. I don’t want to die. Wait, Bai Yu, do you know what’s going on?”

“Yup. Judging by the energy and the battle, it’s probably students from Holy Angel Academy.”

“Students?”

I looked at the scene in the sky.

Could students cause this?

“Another academy’s attacking us, and the teachers aren’t doing anything?”

I asked hurriedly.

“Of course not. They can’t. The attackers are students—how could teachers intervene? Even if they wanted to, the academy’s students would stop them. This is a student conflict. If teachers got involved, it’d be admitting Witch Academy students are weak. Understand?”

“Sort of…”

I looked outside with mixed feelings, fear mingled with longing.

This kind of power was so captivating.

Was this what strength looked like?

“Xiao Han, are you at your dorm? I’ll come find you. Stay put.”

Her voice came through again.

“Huh? Come find me? Wait, I’m not at the dorm.”

“Not at the dorm? Where are you? You didn’t go near the battlefield, did you?”

Her tone grew tense.

“No, I’m not that reckless. I’m at my part-time job, in Xinmeng Li Street, at a bakery…”

“The Red Velvet Bakery?”

“Huh? Red Velvet Bakery?”

Her question threw me off.

The shop didn’t explicitly call itself that, but it did specialize in red velvet cakes.

“Probably? It’s not far from my dorm…”

“Alright, stay there. I’m coming to find you.”