16 NOT THIS…. AGAIN

16 NOT THIS…. AGAIN

That arrow shouldn't be here. I looked around, sensing the presence of the person who owned this arrow. But I didn't find anything.

However the symbol of guardian is naturally imprinted on its holder. If an Augustia has already a connection with them, my soul will be completely at risk.

Guardians are the eternal protectors of the mortal realm. They were once Augustia, but centuries ago, during the bitter feud between humans and Augustia, the latter faded into obscurity within the mortal world. The Guardians are those who chose to remain behind, severing their ties to the Augustia kingdom. They sacrificed their heritage to preserve the delicate balance between humans and Augustia. In essence, they are neutral entities, neither aligned with humans nor Augustia.

Over time, the names of the Guardians became etched in history. Their origins and skills, their sacrifices for peace, are now recorded as part of the legacy they left behind. I hadn’t known much of this before, but after I first arrived in the mortal world, I encountered a Guardian while my soul was still adrift—lost, wandering between worlds.

I almost dispersed.

I am already a criminal in my kingdom.

And I became one of the hunted list of the Guardians.

My soul escaped in their grasp when Illeon called out to me and gave her body.

Since then, I've been concealing my presence.

YET, AS THE SKY SHOWED ITS WIDENESS, The boundary still shows its existence. Not to protect me but to keep me locked inside this barrier.

*****

CLASS BELL RINGS, all sounds from different directions echoes everywhere. The very last sound that the bell will make before it malfunctioned. Before rewinding the time, this event hasn’t been this interesting. No one doesn’t care of it. Because it happens again and again. So, everyone was already sure that it would come back to its function again. However, I didn’t notice this before but the barrier seems unstable.

I stood up and walked toward the door and opened it. The Transparent color of the barrier and its dome line is blinking in and out. As if the owner of this barrier is facing danger… I looked at the classroom, searching for someone who was missing.

no one.

Though there are three who still haven't come yet, but They are still on the ground, talking to MY GRANDMA. Apparently, none of my classmates has the power of the barrier. And it is totally impossible to find that person among the 10000 students and 1500 employees here.

“It’s you.” I leaned against the steel railings and looked down. Staring at the suspected person.

I can see that the barrier is well taken care of. It may not be noticeable, but it is properly concealed, with no visible signs of damage. Maybe because I have returned to the past, my perception of the barrier has become sharper. And the only person capable of encompassing the entire campus and known for their love for it is Principal Lourdez Timothy.

Illeon’s grandma.

The only one who doesn’t care ‘THE NEW ILLEON THAT I NOW POSSESSED’.

Suddenly, they disappeared from my line of sight, heading in the opposite direction of our building and into the narrow passageway between two others.

I frowned. The morning adviser for this time still hadn’t arrived—just like before. And just like before, I didn’t think much of it.

But that was my mistake.

Because of my lack of knowledge and care, I didn’t notice the small changes happening in my surroundings.

“Cutting Classes is not allowed.”

The class president said while standing at the door. SHE WAS SITTING IN THE FRONT A WHILE AGO, LOOKS LIKE SHE’D WATCHING ME.

“.....”

I didn’t give her a response however the sgt officer suddenly spoke and he was standing behind me, ready to stop me as he pleased.

“She’s right. You can’t just ignore the rules.”

“ONCE I ALREADY DID IT, THAT’S THE OFFICIAL IGNORING THE RULE. So, if you excuse me, I haven’t started it so…:” I tilted my head, watching him in my peripheral vision before I raised my head to tower his tallness and said,

“Back off.”

The moment I said that, he instinctively stepped back.

“Just because you are the daughter of the owner of this school, you will take that as a privilege to do whatever you want.”

I didn’t bother to listen to what the Torpin guy said. I just walked towards the stairs and walked fast. I can’t run with my extraordinary speed because not all students are in their class.

When I reached the ground, I sharpened my vision and focused on where they had gone. It took me a moment to spot them—they were behind the SPS building, seemingly struggling.

It wasn’t just my vision that had sharpened; I could also hear their ragged, uneven breaths, as if they were exhausted or in pain.

I took a shortcut to reach the SPS building. Different to our STEM building, I found no one roaming around nor a nearby presence of other students. Only their breathings are echoing in my ears.

No… Wait…

There are six footsteps. I can hear the footsteps of the four I was tailing, but the other two—one of them familiar—I couldn't hear their breaths, as if they weren’t getting tired at all.

I walked in the opposite direction of the fight.

But then, why do I feel so uneasy? I'm only going to watch their fight, yet my heartbeat is even worse than what they must be feeling. There’s no poisonous aura lingering around—just my gut feeling, which is slowly killing me from within. It’s as if it's taking my breath away.

As I move closer, my heart pounds faster, and I can’t comprehend what’s happening to me. My knees tremble, not out of fear of the potential danger ahead, but because of this irresistible, unknown feeling that’s eating away at me. And my curiosity only adds to the tension building inside me.

“What’s happening?” even my voice slowly getting hoarse as my throat roughened. I feel like all the liquid I drank is already dried out.

But it didn’t stop me.

Even as my vision blurred slightly, even as my hands clenched unconsciously at my sides, I took another step forward. Something was pulling me in, an invisible force that made it impossible to turn away.

Then, everything cleared up in an instant.

My breath hitched. My chest tightened.

And my heart—

Stopped.

I could finally see it.

The reason behind the suffocating dread. The thing that had been clawing at me from the inside, whispering warnings I refused to understand.

All my dark memories resurfaced before my eyes as time seemed to slow, matching the unsteady rhythm of my breath.

“THEY ARE THE LOYAL BEINGS I CREATED.”

“D-dad.”

It was THE SAME AS them BEFORE.

But not as they were before.

No.

Something was terribly, terribly wrong.

‘LIVING DEAD’.