Sudden Confrontation

Eli's eyes widened at the obvious provocation, slightly shivering at how little the gap between them.

She never thought she'd see Noah acting like this, nor did she imagine that he could muster such a cold expression and spout out such spiteful words.

There's something about the Student Council Vice President that's different from Hal and Allen. Despite the fact that they all have hidden personalities – in which Hal looks average at first, yet is actually an overwhelming guy while Allen acts composed all the time, but bottles up a lot of intense emotions in reality – this person, in particular, possesses a much more abstruse aura. He isn't trying to be pretentious like Hal, nor secretive like Allen. Noah has a candid approach and a tendency to act mostly on impulse, unafraid to be divulged for who he really is.

He's the type that can be seen as an open book, yet remains enigmatic.

Realizing these things made Eli shudder. Once more, she recalled that she's just a tool, that she's a 'nobody' compared to them, and that these Champions were just as terrifying as those summoned creatures. She also had nothing to say about their wrath towards the former Empress since it'll only appear like she's meddling.

Even so, Eli had enough of it.

"Is that so? Then, if you're finished, may I excuse myself now?" she muttered before returning his gaze with a lifeless one.

Dove grey eyes were now brimming with apathy.

Perplexed by her reaction, Noah continued locking eyes with her for a few more seconds before finally backing out. With an inscrutable look, she then finally took her leave and rushed upstairs in search for the book.

In the meantime, Hal and Allen just reached the rooftop.

They were greeted by the same beads of water that turned the people back in the greenhouse into stone statues. Since Hal had already explained the incident on their way there, Allen was able to evade them immediately. They eluded the droplets of hazard for several minutes before catching sight of their target.

The summoned creature was still metres above the ground, gliding through the wind and haloing the rays of the sun. There, they're flummoxed upon noticing that those liquid pebbles were actually its tears. Unable to inflict any fatal casualties due to their proximity, the two settled on dodging and darting around while furthering their observation on the creature as way to buy time.

When Eli gets there, they'll be able to find at least one weakness. Until she does so, however, they had to make sure it didn't vanish out of sight.

Eli, on the other hand, finally found the book after several minutes of rummaging around. Just like what Hal said, it was glowing when the summoned creature was using its power outside its realm. Perhaps that's the reason why they were still able to instantly find the forbidden books they needed even though Hal said that they never really read any of them.

Eli now remembered the title of the book, which turned out to be 'Calliope'. Fortunately, she had already finished reading this epic a week ago. The reason why she wasn't able to recall it immediately was because of the summoned creature's role in the story.

Although the book was titled after that legendary bird's name and the summoned creature itself had a major contribution in the plot's progression, it didn't invalidate the fact that it was just a minor character. Its existence was pivotal, but it had little screen time as it only appeared on the first few chapters of the book.

While having these thoughts, Eli returned from the chamber and paced downstairs.

Too focused on her mental endeavour, she didn't notice a pair of hands suddenly stretching out towards her. She loudly yelped in surprise when her back suddenly hit the wall. She then found herself cornered by a lean build of an unfamiliar boy . Strands of his lustrous tan hair were freckled over his damp forehead while his crystal blue eyes burned holes on her.

"You're Claes, right? Please, tell me you are!" he exclaimed out of nowhere, flummoxing her.

"Y-Yes?" she stammered in confusion.

"You're with that vile President who just knocked me out, aren't you? You guys were onto something, weren't you? Then, take me! Take me to that flappy bird!"

Eli just stared at him, stupefied.

She's perplexed as to why a handsome stranger was begging her all of the sudden. Evading his penetrating gaze, she then met Noah's indifferent eyes from behind him. Troubled by this odd situation, she mustered a pleading look to him, sending out an implicit call for help. However, she failed to recall their confrontation earlier, so when he only shrugged nonchalantly and gave her the cold shoulder, she felt peeved.

"Of course, he wouldn't help me... But still, that's really childish of him!" she mentally grimaced in dismay.

Miffed at Eli being such a helpless case, Venus decided to take over.

She then grabbed the boy's wrists and flipped him backwards, sending him to the ground in the process. The boy loudly groaned in pain before gawking at the ash-haired girl, bemused at her sudden aggressiveness. All the while, the flabbergasted Noah could only watch the cascading series of events from the side.

"That's a rude way to treat a lady! Where are your manners, young man?! Who do you think you are?!" she hollered out of nowhere, utterly irked and riled up.

"N-No, I'm not. My name's Ezekiel, and I'm sorry for that," the brown-haired boy replied, still baffled.

"People who don't know how to ask nicely don't deserve to be answered, and even more so, to be worthy of my time. I'll be leaving," Venus muttered before walking away.

Zeke's eyes widened at this.

In that moment, he realized that he'd just been running around in circles without accomplishing anything. Aside from being impatient and frantic, he couldn't approach things properly. He'd been heedless, which only showed how desperate he was. Now, even a petite girl could bring him down like this.

Watching her retreating figure, Zeke felt as if everything he gathered so far were slipping away from his grasp.