013. Irresponsibility

The blinding light of the explosion gradually began to fade, shrinking into flickers before vanishing altogether, leaving only a thick haze of dust and scattered chunks of earth in its wake.

The ground was littered with broken stone and scorched soil, the aftermath of unleashed power still trembling faintly in the air.

Kael, who had instinctively thrown out his hand in a desperate attempt to deflect the incoming flaming vortex, stood frozen for a moment.

His fingers were still outstretched, palm facing forward, as if trying to hold back the very memory of what had just happened.

Slowly, cautiously, he opened his eyes, blinking away the settling heat and smoke, his heart thundering in his chest as silence fell over the battlefield.

"What the hell happened?! How did we not die?"

Then, just as the silence settled, a soft chime echoed faintly in his ears—clear and unnatural amidst the fading chaos. A glowing prompt flickered into view at the corner of his vision, hovering weightlessly in the air before him.

«System Notification»

[Sub-Skill Tree: Shadowborne Affinity successfully activated.]

[Skill: Soulfade successfully used — incoming damage absorbed into the Shadow Realm.]

[Stored damage available. Would you like to convert it into gradual healing?]

↳ ⟪Confirm⟫ / ⟪Reject⟫

Kael stared at the glowing system notification hovering in his vision, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. The words didn't register at first, their meaning distant.

But the disorientation lasted only a moment. A sharp jolt of awareness struck him, and he remembered he wasn't alone. He was still protecting Seraphina.

His gaze snapped toward her, urgency overtaking hesitation. She was lying motionless now, her body crumpled to the ground in a quiet heap.

At some point—perhaps in the chaos of the explosion—she had lost consciousness, and he hadn't even noticed until now.

"No, no, why now?!"

The two senior cultivators who had been sparring earlier burst through the lingering smoke screen without hesitation, their silhouettes cutting through the haze like shadows on a mission.

They spotted Kael standing over Seraphina and slowed just enough to exchange a brief, awkward glance with him—uncertain, and wary—but said nothing.

Without wasting another second, they dropped to their knees beside her, their expressions shifting from surprise to concern as they began checking her condition with practiced urgency.

"She's still alive! But it's impossible, how did you survive that explosion?!!"

Kael didn't answer the question, instead he immediately changed the topic to the emergency at hand.

"Forget that, we need to get her to the school clinic!!"

He glanced back and forth between Seraphina and Kael, his face clearly betraying his shock and confusion. The other senior, silent and composed, bent low and gently gathered Seraphina into his arms, careful not to jostle her unconscious form.

Just as he turned to leave, his steps faltered—he noticed his companion hadn't moved, still rooted in place, eyes fixed on Kael with a lingering, unreadable stare.

"What are you looking at? Come on, let's go—quick!"

That was when he saw it—thin tendrils of black steam drifting from Kael's back, rising slowly into the air like smoke from smoldering embers.

It wasn't violent, but it was unmistakable, curling upward in a slow, steady stream that shimmered against the fading light.

Subtle, yet visible enough to catch the eye of anyone paying attention.

"What the hell?! What are you emitting from your back?!"

Kael caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye and turned his head slightly. There it was—the black smoke, curling in thin, wispy trails from his back, rising steadily into the open sky.

For a brief moment, he just stared at it, unsure whether it was real or some lingering afterimage from the explosion.

Without hesitation, Kael tore off his school uniform, the fabric sticking slightly from residual heat and dust. He flung it to the ground with a sharp motion, hoping the smoke would vanish with it—but it didn't.

The black tendrils continued to curl upward, rising from his bare back now, unbothered by the discarded cloth. They moved slowly, deliberately, as if drawn by something far beyond his understanding.

"What the hell?!"

The fire user sighed and turned away with Seraphina still in his hands.

"Forget that, it's probably from the explosion. Let's go immediately, we don't have time to waste!"

Kael and the water user locked eyes for a fleeting moment—neither speaking, but both reading the tension thick in the air. Then, without a word, they broke into motion.

The senior had already started moving, Seraphina cradled carefully in his arms, and the others followed close behind, their footsteps pounding against the earth.

They ran as fast as they could through the smoke-streaked training field, urgency driving their pace. Fortunately, the academy—prestigious and well-prepared—had anticipated situations like this.

With six fully equipped clinics distributed across the campus, one in each sector, help was never far. And right now, every second counted.

They got to the clinic within minutes and rushed in without asking.

"Emergency, there's an emergency here!!" he called out as he carried her into one of the rooms.

An older woman, who appeared to be one of the school nurses, immediately responded to his urgent call.

Her eyes landed on him the moment she arrived, sharp and alert, as if she'd already sensed something was wrong even before reaching the scene.

"Primus? You again?! What did you do this time around?!"

From the way she reacted—and the pointed question she asked—it didn't seem like this was the first time someone had been rushed into the clinic because of him.

"Just help her out, we can discuss this later."

She turned and glared at the other senior (the water user) before she moved toward Seraphina to examine her in case of any emergencies.

"Can you all leave so I can examine her properly?"

They all nodded and left without opposing.

Minutes later she emerged from the room, with a steady expression.

"She's fine. She just happened to fall into shock from something. She should be fine after a long rest for a couple of hours."

Kael released a sigh of relief as he heard her words.

She turned to Kael and noticed some bruises on his body. "You need some first aid, follow me."

Just as she was about to leave, she took both seniors by the ear and dragged them along with her.