Xylia was inside the student council room reviewing documents when Liliana and Zoey suddenly barged through the door.
She immediately frowned after seeing how pale both of them looked.
"What happened?" she asked calmly.
"X-Xylia, you need to come to the gym!" Zoey stammered. "I-It's Aciel!"
Xylia remained seated, still confused by her words.
Instead of panicking, she calmly took a deep breath, silently encouraging the two women to relax as well.
"Now," she said steadily, "repeat that properly. What happened?"
"Aciel got into a fight with the third years!" Liliana blurted out frantically. "They're in the gym right now! You have to stop him!"
Xylia sighed quietly.
The last thing she wanted was to involve herself in Aciel's problems.
For the past few days, she had actually been trying to avoid him completely—especially because Chelsea kept scolding her about her feelings for him.
"Where are the professors?" Xylia asked while standing up.
"They're in a meeting with the board," Zoey answered nervously.
Xylia walked toward her desk and opened one of the drawers.
Liliana and Zoey exchanged confused glances when they saw her pull out two wooden sticks.
Xylia took another slow breath before calmly walking toward the door.
Meanwhile, news about the fight had already spread across the university.
Students rushed toward the gym out of curiosity, eager to witness the chaos themselves.
The moment Xylia arrived near the entrance, Chelsea and Leiam quickly approached her.
"Xylia, we can't stop him!" Chelsea said anxiously. "Simon and the others already tried, but Aciel keeps beating the third years!"
Leiam looked confused.
He still could not understand why the student council members called for Xylia instead of immediately searching for the professors.
Even if the faculty members were busy, they would surely intervene once they learned there was a violent fight happening.
Xylia merely nodded calmly before walking inside the gym.
The crowd instinctively parted for her.
Everyone silently watched as the student council president approached the center of the chaos.
The boys especially could not understand what someone like Xylia could possibly do against Aciel De Silva—the infamous Black Prince of the De Silva Clan.
The moment Xylia saw the condition of the third-year students, her expression darkened.
Several of them were already lying on the floor, bruised and bloodied.
At the center stood Aciel.
One of his hands tightly gripped another student's wrist while his other fist repeatedly struck the boy's face without mercy.
Xylia did not hesitate.
"Mr. De Silva!"
Her voice echoed sharply throughout the gym.
"You are disturbing the peace and order of this university. As student council president, I am officially apprehending you!"
Silence instantly filled the entire gymnasium.
Everyone waited for Aciel's reaction.
Aciel delivered one final punch before slowly turning toward Xylia.
His silver eyes were dark and dangerous.
Then—
he smirked.
His gaze slowly traveled from head to toe, clearly examining her.
Aciel stood over six feet tall while Xylia was only around five-foot-seven. Compared to him, her build looked far too delicate.
No one believed she could stop him.
"And how exactly are you planning to do that, President?" he asked mockingly.
Truthfully, Xylia herself was uncertain.
This would be the first time she would use her martial arts training against someone like Aciel.
But she had no choice.
She needed to fulfill her responsibility.
Instead of answering, Xylia quietly observed him.
She immediately noticed signs of exhaustion. His breathing had become heavier, and both of his hands were already swollen from fighting.
Then her eyes landed on the deep cut across his forehead.
Finally, she glanced around at the injured third years and the broken equipment scattered across the gym.
Slowly, she walked toward him.
The entire crowd watched nervously as she stopped directly in front of Aciel.
Xylia stared into his silver eyes before softly biting her lower lip.
Then she sighed quietly.
"You were not the one who attacked first," she said calmly.
Shock instantly spread across the gym.
Even Aciel looked surprised.
Murmurs erupted among the students.
How could Xylia conclude that Aciel was not entirely at fault?
But before anyone could react further—
Xylia suddenly moved.
Without warning, she struck Aciel hard in the stomach using one of the wooden sticks.
The attack was so fast that Aciel failed to react in time.
He had lowered his guard the moment she approached him.
The impact was powerful.
Pain exploded through his stomach, causing his knees to weaken instantly.
To Aciel's shock, the strike felt unbelievably heavy—almost like being punched by another man.
He nearly collapsed.
But before he could fall completely, Xylia immediately supported him with her shoulder.
From the crowd's perspective, however—
it looked almost like she was hugging him.
"Never underestimate a woman like me again," she whispered near his ear.
Before Aciel could recover, Xylia struck him once more—
this time directly against the side of his neck.
Everything went black.
Aciel lost consciousness instantly.
The gym fell silent.
Nobody could believe what they had just witnessed.
"Simon," Xylia ordered calmly, "bring your friend to the infirmary."
Then she turned toward Chelsea.
"Call security and make sure the injured students receive treatment immediately. We'll investigate what truly happened afterward."
Her voice was authoritative and composed.
As if defeating Aciel was something completely normal for her.
Simon and the others stared at Xylia in disbelief while she calmly walked away from the gym.
Everything had happened too quickly.
None of them expected Aciel to lose so easily.
"Your president is amazing," Chris blurted out.
Chelsea crossed her arms proudly.
"She is," she answered. "Why do you think she remained student council president for four straight years? Xylia isn't just some wealthy heiress."
Liliana nodded excitedly.
"She's a black belt in taekwondo! And she knows how to use lots of weapons too!"
Simon frowned slightly.
"Weapons?" he repeated. "What kind of weapons would she even need to learn?"
"A lot," Liliana answered proudly. "Knives, guns, bows, swords—"
Suddenly, Chelsea sharply interrupted her.
"Liliana!"
Liliana immediately froze.
"You're talking too much," Chelsea warned seriously. "Help the others already. You heard what Xylia said."
Liliana's eyes widened after realizing what she nearly revealed.
She quickly covered her mouth nervously.
Simon noticed the sudden fear in her expression.
And because of that—
his curiosity toward Xylia only deepened further.
Eventually, Simon brought the unconscious Aciel to the infirmary.
To his surprise, Xylia was already there waiting for them.
She held a first-aid kit in her hands, and despite her calm expression, she looked genuinely worried.
For some reason, Simon suddenly felt like he was seeing a completely different side of her.
A side far removed from the cold and fearless woman inside the gym earlier.
"Are you worried you accidentally killed him?" Simon teased lightly.
Xylia ignored the joke and quietly waited for him to place Aciel onto the infirmary bed.
Afterward, Simon looked at her seriously.
"Look," he began, "I don't know what really happened in the gym."
He glanced toward Aciel briefly.
"But I know it wasn't Aciel's fault."
Xylia stared silently at Aciel's unconscious face before finally looking back at Simon.
"I know," she answered softly. "But he still made a mistake when he chose to fight back like that."