Both of Raya's goons stood at the entrance of the hall, ensuring that the door was sealed shut, away from prying eyes.
They waited patiently, awaiting Raya to conclude his 'session' with the new target that they had caught.
"Hey man," one of the students said.
"What do you think is going on in there right now? It's taking a bit long, don't you think?"
The other student dismissed him immediately.
"You know how Raya is. Just let him have his fun, alright? Besides, I think that our boy has a rare case of possessing an incomplete demonic core..."
"... And you know how much Raya loves dismantling the cripple."
They both waited, chasing away any student that even dared to stare at the hall building. They were both at the Alpha rank, with each of them being in the red band category.
It also implied that they were strong celestias, but they still chose to follow Raya because he was at the peak of the alpha stage, almost breaking through to the S rank.
Raya's talent wasn't just a lucky occurrence. His strength and power existed because of the clan he was born and raised into.
Several large and powerful clans existed in the celestial race, clans that controlled world organizations, possessing secret skills and techniques that gave their members a unique style of combat and cultivation.
Raya was born in the Sunfire clan, a powerhouse that was arguably among the most powerful on their home planet. This granted him exposure and access to powerful skills, making him stronger than his peers. This was why, while other students in the institution were at the beta or early alpha rank, he was at the peak of the alpha rank.
Both of Raya's loyal followers were lost in their thoughts, seemingly waiting idly for him to come out. But then, something peculiar caught one of their attention.
Looking over to the side, he could see a faint red beam that seemed to pierce through the narrow slits on the side of the door, including the knob. He wanted to dismiss it as something random, but the beam kept intensifying as time went on.
The beam wasn't just red… it seemed negative, something foreign, and out of this world.
He swiftly brought his comrade's attention to the strange glow.
"Hey!" he said, almost yelling at the top of his voice, not taking his eyes off the crimson light.
"Look over there. Isn't that light a bit unusual?"
The other goon turned around, but before he could even get a view of what his attention was being called to, something unexpected happened.
A sudden explosion went off, deafening them for a brief moment. They felt the ground underneath them vibrate, like a brewing earthquake was manifesting directly around them.
Emitting out from the slits of the door was a quick blast of red energy that hit them, sending them skidding backwards slightly.
"What… the hell was that?" the student yelled in confusion.
Without wasting so much as a split second, he rushed forward, grabbing the knob of the door in a desperate attempt to unlock it. But the moment his hand made contact with it, he felt a searing and burning pain that instantly scorched his palms, leaving behind a red burn mark.
"Curses!!!"
He pulled both hands backwards, conjuring his celestial energy from within.
With a quick spin, he released the energy in an arc, destroying the door in a matter of seconds.
They stepped inside the hall to behold the horror.
The whole hall was in chaos, several artifacts and statues seemingly crumbled to dust, the flooring marked with a scathe mark, with large layers of dust reducing their eyesight.
"Over there!" one of them said, pointing to the side.
They both ran in that direction, and squinting their eyes intensely, they could see the silhouette of Raya as he lay motionless on the ground. They arrived at his position, and they could see the devastating state he was in.
His whole body was covered in burn marks, and his clothes were destroyed beyond recognition… but he was still breathing… barely.
Each breath sounded like a deep strain on his lungs.
"What the hell happened? How did this whole thing happen!!!" the student said in confusion and anger.
"Where the hell is the kid anyways?" the other student said, looking around the hall.
But the visibility was far too low for them to see any further. Their priority was protecting the life of Raya, and that was exactly what they were going to do.
"Help me lift him up!"
They both lifted him carefully, placing him on one of their shoulders. Without wasting a second, they sped in the direction of the infirmary, leaving Dean in his peril.
—
"Dean!"
"Where the fuck are you, Dean?"
"Uggghhh…"
"Dean? Is that you?"
"Yeahhhhggghh"
Dean lay flat, the only image he could see was the scorched ceiling above him. He could hear faint footsteps that seemed to get louder with every second, until two figures finally came into his view.
Right beside him were Razz and Sale. From the looks of it, Razz was still bruised, but he was strong enough to stand on his own.
"Dean, are you okay?" Sale asked in desperation.
"Uggghhhh…" Dean responded by releasing a groaning sound.
"Damnit! Alright, we just need to get you to medical, and you'll be okay," Razz suggested.
But before he could proceed to lift Dean, he felt a quick squeeze on his wrist. Looking down, he saw Dean holding onto him like he was about to say his last words.
"N… n… n.." Dean groaned internally.
"No… medical…"
Both Razz and Sale were shocked at what Dean said. He didn't want to go to the medical center for some reason.
What they didn't know was that if they headed over to medical, and Dean eventually got scanned by their machine in order to spot his injured organs, they were going to discover the demonic energy inside him.
And Dean couldn't risk it.
"Okay, okay! We'll take you to the dorm." Razz agreed.
And with that, they carried Dean over to the dorm room in anticipation that he wouldn't die in their arms…
—
The sound of a heartbeat monitor could be heard across the room, with Raya placed on the bed, still very much unconscious.
His two goons sat at the table, desperately waiting for a response from the healer. But they also couldn't help but think about the whole incident. It all felt confusing.
A click was suddenly heard on the doorknob, and stepping inside the room was a man dressed in all black, his presence felt unsettling for some reason.
It was Li.
"It seems like we've got an unfortunate celestial on our hands," Li said, staring over at Raya.
"And who the hell are you?" one of the students said.
"I'm the man that is going to get answers from the both of you," Li replied in a menacing and threatening tone.
The two students stood silently, seemingly ready to comply.
"Now," Li continued.
"I heard that a celestial with an incomplete core who happened to be a yellow bander was supposed to be the victim, correct?"
"Yes," they both said in unison.
"So how did he end up in the hospital bed instead?"
"Look, we stepped out of the hall, leaving Raya to do his thing. Then we saw this bright flash of red light, followed by an immediate explosion, and that's when we rushed inside only to see him in this miserable state," one of them explained.
"We didn't see the celestial because of the rubble and dust…" the other added.
Li stared at them for a while before speaking.
"A bright flash of white light, you say?"
"Yes," they replied.
"Now based on what I'm seeing, Raya over there couldn't have been the person that released this 'bright flash of red light'."
Li stepped forward.
"It only means that Dean… is the only person that could've released the energy."
At that moment, Li was extremely impatient to examine Dean's core in order to see its contents. Everything that had happened right from the training hall to the current incident felt too strange to be regarded as an "impulse."
"In two days' time…," Li smiled.
"I'll finally see what's hidden inside that little core of yours."