Eternal Undying Chronicles

Anne and Elizalina didn't know what to do with him. Alicarde's usually confident demeanor had faltered, leaving them both unsure of how to proceed.

After a few heartfelt words of encouragement and a shared glance of worry, they sent him on his way to Malefica's office.

The door loomed ahead like the entrance to a dragon's lair—a place of inevitable doom.

The three pioneers, as Alicarde had begun to refer to them in his mind, followed close behind, each of them pale and visibly shaking.

Felix, the chubby blonde with sweat beading on his forehead, Alec, the lean dark-haired young man with a nervous tick in his eye; and Akimitsu, who looked like he was already imagining his funeral.

They had good reason to be afraid.

Professor Malefica, while undeniably beautiful, was also terrifying, known for her sharp wit and even sharper punishments.

The rumors about her having students expelled were shared among the older students like an old wives' tale.

Her strict demeanor made her unapproachable. Alicarde wondered how he had ever had the audacity to harass her, he didn't have that kind of courage now. Simply put, they were a student and a professor, and she held his academic future in her hands.

Alicarde kept a poker face, his expression cool and composed, but the occasional deep breaths he took betrayed his inner turmoil.

Worst of all, he was a repeat offender. He had been in this position before, and Malefica most likely hadn't forgotten what he whispered the day she caught him trying to sneak into her class.

'I really need to stop making comments about her melons.'

She had let it slide then, but any further talk about her large breasts, and he had a feeling she would make him pay dearly.

Outside of the academic setting, Alicarde wasn't intimidated by Malefica. When they met at night, she was just a witch he was working with—a collaboration built on mutual benefit. But this was different.

Here, in the harsh light of day, he was just a student, and she was a professor who held his academic fate in her hands.

His mindset at night was that of a hardened survivor, but now he felt like a lamb being led to the slaughter, about to face the consequences of his crude remarks.

"What do we do, man? We have to go in," Felix said, his voice trembling slightly. He stared at the door as if it might bite him.

Alicarde had learned their names on the way to hell. It was a strange camaraderie—suffering together had made him see them as kindred spirits, even if they were responsible for dragging him into this mess. He couldn't help but respect their free-spirited nature, even if it was misguided. As the old saying goes, birds of a perverted feather flock together.

"Shut up, Felix. I blame you guys for this," Akimitsu snapped, his nerves fraying under the pressure.

'I blame you guys too,' Alicarde thought.

"Now, now, boys. We're all toast, so we might as well stick together," Alec intervened, trying to lighten the mood with a shaky smile.

Alicarde watched them silently, a small part of him relieved that he wasn't alone this time. Formal settings always made him uneasy, and Malefica was not someone to show mercy. The fact that they were all in this together somehow made the ordeal slightly more bearable.

"Boss… boss, don't worry about these fools... we've got your back. All will be well," Akimitsu suddenly said, catching Alicarde off guard. The young man started calling Alicarde "boss" out of nowhere, a term of respect that confused him.

"Boss? Do you mean... me?" Alicarde asked, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Yes, you're the boss... only you can get us out of this alive," Akimitsu replied with unexpected conviction.

"What are you talking about?" Alec frowned.

"I think the pressure finally got to him," Felix chimed.

Felix and Alec exchanged puzzled looks, unsure of what Akimitsu was playing at. But then, Akimitsu pulled them aside and whispered something, their faces gradually shifting from confusion to surprise.

They would occasionally glance at Alicarde with disbelief, as if trying to reconcile something unimaginable. Finally, Akimitsu pulled out his phone and showed them something on the screen. Their eyes widened, and they gasped in an exaggerated manner, as if they had just witnessed a miracle.

They returned to Alicarde's side, their attitudes completely transformed. "Boss, we're with you all the way," Felix said, nodding firmly.

"Yeah, boss, just lead the way," Alec added, his voice filled with newfound admiration.

Alicarde was baffled by the sudden change but couldn't deny that it felt oddly comforting to have some support, even if it was based on some strange misunderstanding.

He considered focusing his hearing on them but didn't want to snoop, and his hearing wasn't perfect. If he enhanced it with magic, it would bombard him with too much noise.

He figured this was an opportunity to finally make some guy friends, something he had always lacked. They didn't seem to have any hostility towards him, or even jealousy.

Taking a deep breath, though his legs felt weak, he mustered the courage and knocked on Malefica's office door.

For a moment, there was only silence, and then he faintly heard her voice from within.

"Come in," she said, her tone calm but carrying an undeniable edge of coldness.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Alicarde stepped into the large office, immediately feeling the weight of the atmosphere. The room was luxurious, every corner meticulously arranged with dark mahogany furniture, bookshelves filled with thick volumes on psychology, and various academic awards framed on the walls.

The scent of polished wood and the faint feminine fragrance filled the air, adding a layer of sophistication that matched the woman behind the desk.

Malefica sat there, her black hair styled in an elegant updo, her sharp features softened only slightly by the glasses perched on her nose. She wore a sleek, tailored black suit that emphasized her authority, her eyes cold and imperious as they locked onto Alicarde.

She looked at Alicarde, her brow lifting slightly in surprise to see him standing there. Despite her usual icy demeanor, her eyes held a hint of familiarity until her gaze shifted to the trio huddled nervously behind him.

"What brings you gentlemen to my office?" Her voice, colder than ice, cut through the tension in the room like a blade.

"Argh... I... ummm... we... we... this...

Professor Franklin asked us to come... here to see you," Alicarde stammered, struggling to find his words.

Behind him, the trio nodded their heads like chickens pecking at the ground, their movements so synchronized it would have been comical in any other situation.

Alicarde felt the urge to curse them for leaving all the talking to him, frustration bubbling beneath his calm exterior.

Malefica leaned back in her office chair, her piercing eyes never leaving Alicarde's face. The tension in the room thickened as she crossed her arms, her posture exuding both curiosity and impatience.

"For what reason?" she asked, her voice demanding. "Care to elaborate?"

'Shit, to think that after my bravado last night, I'd be cornered like this. I blame these bastards,' Alicarde thought.

He swallowed hard, his mind racing to piece together a coherent explanation.

"The... truth be told, well... I think..." he began, his voice faltering. He was grasping for the right words, but every sentence he formed in his mind sounded worse than the last.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to focus. "Malefica," he began again, and the trio behind him audibly gasped as he addressed her by name.

"Today, an incident occurred, which ended with us being sent to inform you of the details."

Malefica's eyes narrowed slightly, her frown deepening. He had called her by her first name in an academic setting, a breach of formality that only added to the tension.

Still, she decided to brush it off, curious as to why someone of Alicarde's caliber would be so nervous. What could possibly unnerve him so much?

Her gaze shifted to the trio behind him, suspicion growing. Was one of these three somehow connected to Zagarath? She was ready for anything, but the uncertainty gnawed at her. Even if they were, Alicarde wouldn't be reacting this way, she would expect aggression and bloodshed, lots of it.

Alicarde, sensing her suspicion, plucked up all his courage and took another deep breath. He needed to get this over with, no matter how painful it might be.

"It all started," Alicarde began, his voice steadying as he spoke, "with these three making some noise in class. They were... discussing... a hypothetical situation involving... well, you." He hesitated, knowing how absurd this was going to sound.

Malefica's eyes grew colder with each word. "A hypothetical situation?" she repeated, her tone dripping with disdain. "What, precisely, was this situation?"

"I don't have all the details," Alicarde tried to shift the problem to them.

Felix, sensing the ice in her voice, jumped in.

"It was just a joke, professor! Nothing serious!" he blurted out, his words tumbling over each other in a rush.

"We were just messing around," Alec added quickly, trying to sound casual but failing miserably.

"Yeah, we didn't mean anything by it," Akimitsu chimed in, his voice trembling as he forced a smile. "It was just... you know, guy talk. Stupid guy talk. A joke."

Malefica's gaze hardened as she listened to their excuses. Her fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk, a sound that seemed to echo ominously in the silent room.

"A joke?" she repeated, her voice lowering dangerously. "You interrupted your class because of a joke?"

Alicarde felt a cold sweat forming on his back as the temperature in the room seemed to drop with each passing second.

'Damn this witch. We haven't even gotten to the main point and it already looks like she's about to cook us,' Alicarde thought.

He tried to force a smile but failed, so he continued.

"It escalated... someone brought up the idea of you... having a boyfriend," he confessed, each word carefully chosen, "and things got out of hand. Professor Franklin overheard, and... well... here we are."

Malefica's expression remained unreadable, her eyes flicking from one nervous face to another.

"A boyfriend," she said slowly, her tone colder than ever. "And you thought this was an appropriate discussion topic during a lecture?"

Felix, Alec, and Akimitsu shook their heads vigorously, trying to distance themselves from the words that had landed them here.

"We swear, professor, it won't happen again!" Alec pleaded.

"We were just caught up in the moment," Akimitsu added, his voice nearly cracking under the pressure. "It was stupid. Really stupid."

"It better not," Malefica replied, her voice a razor-sharp edge. "Or next time, you won't just be standing in my office explaining yourselves."

Alicarde stood silent, realizing just how much trouble they were in. The coldness in Malefica's eyes was not just from anger; it made the air around them feel like it had frozen solid.

She was not a woman to be trifled with, and they were learning that lesson the hard way.

"Now," Malefica continued, her tone unwavering as she faced Alicarde. "What exactly did you say? And I want the truth. No more excuses."

The trio hesitated, their eyes darting toward Alicarde, hoping he would take the lead. But even as he opened his mouth to speak, he knew there was no easy way out of this. They had to tell her everything—and pray for mercy.

Alicarde didn't know how to answer her question, his words may have been the worst of the four. If he said those words, their punishment would move from gossip to bordering on sexual harassment. He felt a cold sweat on his brow as he finally spoke up.

"During the incident in question, I may have made a crude remark."

Malefica's gaze sharpened. "What did you say? Tell me."

Alicarde gulped. "I may have said... something about you... getting a boyfriend and... a little about how big your... breasts are and...

how soft."

Malefica's eyes became even colder, her expression one of utter disdain, as if she were looking at an insect. She forced a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

"Why don't you tell me your exact words in detail?" she demanded.

Alicarde stammered, "I-I... something something melons... I can't remember the exact words."

Malefica's gaze grew even icier. "Tell me exactly what you said."

"I really can't remember my exact words..." Alicarde's voice was shaky, his confidence crumbling under the pressure.

To Malefica, this was a surprise. The arrogant bastard was actually brought to his knees. He was completely different from the version of him filled with rogue confidence.

Akimitsu, seeing his boss in trouble, stepped forward with the expression of a man about to die.

"Leave it to me, boss," he said, placing a hand on Alicarde's shoulder, his face set like a man about to sacrifice himself for a great cause.

"The boss said, and I quote," Akimitsu began with the solemnity of a soldier going to his death, "Malefica with a boyfriend? That's news to me. Who the hell would date that witch? Although... I can see someone taking the fall due to her ginormous melons... I mean, those things are huge and quite soft too, the millennia spinster with a boyfriend."

Akimitsu's expression was that of a dead man walking.

Malefica was at a loss for words. She looked down at her ample breasts and then back at Alicarde. Was he groping her when she rode his bicorn? She remembered the demonic steed with its three horns on its forehead, and she remembered Alicarde in his dark reaper vestments grabbing her in a princess carry. Malefica felt a minor headache coming on.

"I see. So my breasts are that captivating, are they?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom. "What about my bust seems to entrance you so much, Mr. Asad? Millennial spinster, hmmm?"

When she said the last part, she almost looked like she wanted to incinerate him with an inferno spell.

"It was a slip of the tongue," Alicarde replied, desperately trying to salvage the situation.

"Your tongue must be very slippery," Malefica's cold words cut through the air like a knife.

"I should have you rusticated, but I am willing to let this go with some minor punishments. Should you fail to meet my objectives, you will have a semester rusticated."

The four of them nodded, dread settling in their stomachs as Malefica began to lay out their punishment.

She handed them stacks of paper, her eyes glinting with a mix of malice and anger.

"You will transcribe every word of this semester's lectures by hand," she said, her voice leaving no room for argument.

"And you will write a ten-page essay on why making crude remarks about your professors is unacceptable. It is due by next week. Fail, and I will see to it that you spend the next semester away from this university. Keep in mind that you will be presenting your topic to the entire classroom."

The weight of the punishment hung in the air as the four young men took the papers with trembling hands, knowing that they had narrowly avoided a far worse fate.