Draeyer Academy (Rewrite)

Chapter 33-Safe

"Thank you," Alec said. The four draelings nuzzled his chest in response as he held them one by one. "If you need help, come find me, alright?"

With happy chirps and feelings of elation through the empathic thread, the draelings flew off towards the city.

His gaze then turned to the group of prisoners being led into carriages. Every single one of them had fallen silent and kept their gaze on their feet.

Alec knew he had a scary and exaggerated reputation as Slayer. He also knew that he was fortunate that the animal traffickers recognized him and believed in those rumors. When he took the leader down, it led to the others dropping their weapons and surrendering. Otherwise, he would have had to fight everyone. It would have been doable, but tiring and annoying.

However, the moment Gael appeared with Asher looming over them all from above, every criminal changed color to resemble the ashes from Gael and Asher's Flame. They had huddled together, heads down on the ground, and refused to make eye contact with any of the city guards who came to collect them.

"People call him the Guardian of Ash," Areisha Roselintine said from beside him, noticing how he stared at Gael. She sat on some crates with Emera on her lap, waiting for the authorities to get her statement. The twins, along with their draelings, were carried off to the hospital. They were fine, but it seemed they had inhaled too much of the green fumes that Areisha Roselintine mentioned.

"Guardian of Ash?" he asked.

"It was actually Monster of Ash when he first started to use his Flame," she said. "It changed when he became a teacher. Serene City used to have a large criminal underworld, and they messed with Gael's students. Long story short, he was furious, went on a rampage, and drove out every single member of three criminal organizations. Suffice it to say that the streets on the east side of the city were filled with ash. Whether it was ash from property or people, no one could tell the difference."

Gael was very different from usual, and Alec's instincts were screaming at him to be careful. It reminded him of a time he had to sneak past the lair of a frost-iron tiger when he was still too weak to take one on. When the creature woke up from its nap, his body back then had refused to move and he was forced to stay in his spot until it went back to sleep.

"The underworld disappeared from Serene City, and no organization has dared to take root here again," Areisha Roselintine added. "The moment Gael caught signs of them, he'd move and stomp all over them before they could grow."

He was about to answer when Gael's voice came from behind them. "But since I've been so calm and quiet the last few years, they must have forgotten how ruthless I could be," he said. "I think they need a little reminder."

Alec nearly jumped, and Areisha Roselintine visibly flinched. He did not even hear him come up to them at all. Turning his body around, he found Gael scrutinizing him from head to toe. He refused the urge to fidget under his gaze and looked at him head-on.

"Is any of that your blood?" Gael asked him.

"Just theirs."

He did not notice Gael's tense shoulders until he saw them relax. He moved closer and reached into his pocket. Alec saw a clean white handkerchief before Gael carefully ran it over his chin and cheek.

He froze. What the blazen?

"You're a teacher right now, not a hunter," Gael said. "It would not do for you to be walking around covered in blood."

"I can clean it myself," he said as he moved away. A little bit of indignation bled into his voice. "I'm not a child."

Gael took a deep breath and forced the handkerchief into his hand. "We need to talk when we get home."