Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 456 - 455- Normal

A heavy atmosphere surrounded the room as three people sat within it, not close to one another.

Ariana rested on the bed, her back against the headboard, a sheepish smile fixed on her face as though she was well aware of the trouble she had caused—and had no intention of feeling too guilty about it.

By the window stood Annabelle. Her posture was stiff, her hands clasped together as she stared outside for a few seconds before darting her gaze back to Ariana, then to the third person in the room. The unease on her face was impossible to miss.

The third person in question was, of course, Adrian. He sat across from the bed with his arms crossed, his back straight and his expression tight. The look on his face clearly conveyed one thing—complaint. And a lot of it.

For several moments, no one spoke.

Finally, the silence was broken by the silver-haired girl on the bed.

"It was just a joke."

"Oh, yeah?" Adrian replied instantly, his brows rising as he leaned back slightly. "You wake up after being unconscious for days, and the first thing you say is, ’Who am I?’" His tone made it clear he was anything but amused.

Ariana groaned, dropping her head back against the pillow. "I thought it was a good joke. Was it not, Bella?"

Annabelle hesitated, clearly unwilling to take sides. Instead, she stepped closer and asked quietly, "How do you feel now? Can you move your arm?"

Ariana hummed in response and slowly looked down at her left arm.

When she had fainted, she had completely lost all sensation in it after being charred by the thunder. Even now, though the numbness was gone, a faint discomfort lingered beneath her skin, like a memory her body refused to forget.

Her fingers moved unconsciously to her neck.

She remembered it clearly. Too clearly.

The way that bastard’s hand had wrapped around her throat, the pressure cutting off her breath, the overwhelming helplessness that followed. The echo of that moment clung to her chest, making her heart clench despite her efforts to brush it aside.

Adrian noticed the slight stiffening of her shoulders.

Without another word, he dropped his rigid posture and stood up. Walking over to the bed, he gently took her hand in his.

"Hey," he said softly, his voice far removed from the sharpness earlier. "You are safe now."

Ariana looked up at him, her silver eyes steady. She shook her head faintly. "I’m not anxious, Adrian," she muttered. "I’m just regretful that I didn’t punch that asshole in the face when I had the chance."

Annabelle let out a small chuckle despite herself. "That’s more like it," she said, stepping forward and wrapping her arms around Ariana in a sudden hug.

Ariana blinked, caught off guard by the warmth, before instinctively hugging her back. "Hey," she asked gently, "are you okay?"

Annabelle didn’t answer.

She stayed there, arms tight around Ariana, her head resting against her shoulder. She didn’t speak or move, but that silence alone told both Ariana and Adrian everything. She had been scared. Not just during the battle, but after it. Scared of what could have happened. Scared of what almost did.

Adrian released a quiet sigh. "She’s been really worried about you," he said. "Waking up in the middle of the night just to check on you."

Ariana hummed in surprise, her hand resting lightly on Annabelle’s back. "Annabelle sacrificing her precious sleep for me?" she teased softly. "That’s sweet, Bella."

Annabelle sniffled. "I didn’t think..." she mumbled, her voice slightly muffled. "...didn’t think someone other than Ruby and Darling could make me feel this anxious. Or this worried."

Ariana smiled, her expression softening. Glancing at Adrian, she said lightly, "Well, I’m happy to hear that Bella has finally accepted me as her elder sister."

Annabelle sniffled again before pulling back. "Who said you’re the elder one?" she protested. "We’re almost the same age."

Ariana shook her head, the smile never leaving her face.

Before she could respond, Adrian spoke up, his tone turning serious once more.

"How is your body?" he asked. "Your mana reserves were nearly dried out."

His concern lay less with visible injuries and more with what couldn’t be seen.

There was a minimum amount of mana required to keep mana nodes healthy. These nodes were the circuits that allowed mana to circulate throughout the body. If even one of them dried up completely, the damage left behind would be irreversible.

And that was something Adrian refused to take lightly.

Ariana remained silent for a few moments before she finally asked, "If I tell you the reason why my mana reserves ended up like that... can you promise me not to get mad?"

Adrian’s brows drew together at once, a deep crease forming between them. Annabelle blinked in surprise, her eyes flickering between the two.

Both of them had assumed the same thing.

In the heat of battle, Ariana must have pushed herself too far. Used several high-ranking spells back-to-back. That kind of depletion, while dangerous, would at least make sense.

But at the same time, the thought felt strange.

Ariana’s mana capacity was abnormally high. Even reckless casting should not have left her that drained.

"Ariana..." Adrian said slowly, his tone lowering. "What happened back then?"

The way he asked made the silver-haired girl even more nervous. She fidgeted slightly, her fingers tightening against the bedsheet.

Then she let out a quiet sigh.

"I... actually..." she hesitated, glancing at Annabelle before looking back at Adrian. "...I tried chanting a spell."

"What spell?" Annabelle asked, curiosity outweighing her concern for a moment.

Ariana’s gaze flicked back to Adrian again. She swallowed before finally muttering, "Agatha’s Fortress."

For a split second, the room seemed to freeze.

"...!!"

Adrian’s eyes widened as disbelief flashed across his face. For a moment, he genuinely thought he had misheard her.

Annabelle tilted her head. "If I’m not wrong... isn’t that spell fifth-tier?"

"It is," Adrian answered immediately, his voice rising despite himself.

Ariana lowered her gaze, guilt written plainly across her expression. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Spell tiers defined complexity, stability, and strain. To chant a spell of a certain tier, one required an armament of the same tier to safely channel and stabilize the mana flow.

You could chant a second or even third-tier spell using a fourth-grade armament without too much risk.

But attempting a higher-tier spell with a lower-grade armament?

That was another name for disaster.

"Broken mana channels," Adrian began, his voice sharp now. "Recoil severe enough to leave permanent trauma to the brain. Rune overload. Internal mana backlash." His jaw tightened as he continued, "I can list dozens of consequences for what could have happened."

He looked straight at Ariana.

"And you," he said, barely restraining himself, "you did something that we—as teachers—drill into our students as something they should never attempt."

The room fell silent again, the weight of his words settling heavily over the three of them.

Ariana kept her head lowered, shame weighing heavily on her shoulders.

The truth was simple, and yet difficult to say aloud.

The moment she noticed Nytharos, her thoughts had stopped racing and narrowed to a single instinct—protect the Academy. No matter the cost.

Her arm had already been burnt. Pain was screaming through her body, her grip on mana unstable. And yet, in that desperate moment, she chose to chant a spell meant to fortify everything around her. One that would have completely surrounded the Academy in an unyielding barrier.

A spell far beyond what she should have attempted.

The only reason she hadn’t suffered any backlash beyond completely emptying her mana reserves was because she had been using an armament made by Adrian himself. Its structure, its stability, its tolerance—everything about it was exceptional.

And that was also the reason she had even gathered the courage to try something so reckless.

Annabelle moved quietly and sat beside Ariana. She lowered her head, her voice calm but heavy when she spoke.

"I am to be blamed for what she did too."

Ariana stiffened.

"I failed to protect the Academy," Annabelle continued, fingers clenching lightly in her lap. "And I even injured her. I cornered Ariana into a position where she felt she had to do something reckless."

Ariana shook her head immediately. "No," she said firmly. "It was irresponsible of me. You have nothing to do with it, Bella." She took a breath. "I panicked. I became desperate and did something utterly foolish."

Adrian watched the two of them in silence as they took turns pushing the blame onto themselves.

He let out a huff. "Look at you two," he said, rubbing his temple. "Defending each other so fiercely that you’re making me look like the bad man here."

Ariana and Annabelle glanced at each other.

And then, without meaning to, they smiled at the same time.

The tension in the room eased just a little.

Adrian’s shoulders relaxed as well. His tone softened, but the seriousness in his eyes did not fade. "But Ariana," he said, meeting her gaze, "remember this always."

He paused, making sure his words reached her.

"Trying to chant a spell beyond your armament’s capabilities is a suicide mission."

There was no anger in his voice now. Only concern, and the weight of someone who knew exactly how close she had come to crossing a line she might never return from.

A wave of violence and blood had flooded the academy. But, thanks to a friend’s help, everything returned to normal.