A rather gruff commission mage with a western style trench coat had helped uncuff Tiberius and himself out of their cuffs. He had a scruffy white goatee and serious looking face, which coupled with drooping eyebags, exuded the air of an overworked merchant deprived of proper caffeination.

  Aurelius rubbed his wrists with a horrified expression, eyes darting around, as if a fae assassin were just around the corner. Tiberius looked at his fidgeting friend in puzzlement, similarly massaging the soreness out of his wrists.

  “Don’t worry too much about Ms. Yeltz, boy. She’s just a little worked up after her fight, that's all. She’s usually a decent boss and quite amiable to others.” The commission mage chuckled.

  “Plus it’s not as if you’ll be deprived of protection. The fae have too few resources to engage in an assasination or kidnapping in a stronghold of the commission. Plus, you’ll be getting some top notch commission escorts to safeguard our little informant!”

  Aurelius blinked rapidly to digest the information.

  “What about my friends and family? Won’t they be targeted if they were to aim to lure me out?” Aurelius asked incredulously.

  “Pft, they’re already being monitored by some mages from our covert division. You needn’t worry too much about them.” He dismissed with a wave of his hands.

  “The Fae and their liches have been quiet for the past 30 years. We naturally would provide the highest levels of scrutiny into the matter. This is an amazing opportunity for the commission to deal with such dangers…”

  “On top of that, we might be looking at a divine revelation from the Lost God Himself! It’s enough to get me out of retirement!” He exclaimed in excitement.

  Retirement? What was this strange old man doing here?

  “Wait, you’re retired? What’re you doing here?” Aurelius quizzed.

  With a flash of a toothy grin, the mage pulled out a pack of cigarettes, lighting it with a casual spark of mana.

  “The commission is a little understaffed at the moment with the civil war down South. Sometimes, even an old bag of bones like myself are called off of our asses!” He joked, taking a long drag of his cigarette.

  “The upper management has been busy shuffling personnel to accommodate for the war. I’m actually from the Western continent myself! They’ve promised me an excellent commission for my assistance with the combat divisions of the city, and given how much my wife has pestered me into taking her to vacation on the beaches of Luminara, I’ve graciously accepted!”

  Aurelius snorted at the amused old man. He certainly did not look very impressive…

  “Mazyl, report back on the evacuation.” The mage commanded.

  A humongous centipede stepped out of thin geometric lines, popping into existence next to the old mage.

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  It was almost unremarkable, comparable in size to the natural cave dwelling giant centipedes commonly found in dungeons. However, what set the monster apart was its intricate poise and the engravings all over its exoskeleton.

  The engravings shone with ignivite in a bedazzling manner, akin to that of stars in the night sky as the spirit familiar rumbled in an ethereal manner.

  “We’ve used a Bound Book to look out for potential undead or fae. But very sadly, we seem to have none among the Academy evacuees at the moment.”

  “Analysis of the mind magic cast on the academy compound is being handled on the spirit side withe the two Academy Guardians and we should be ok to bring the evacuees back after the repairs are finished and the fae magic is lifted.”

  Nodding approvingly, the man dismissed the spirit familiar.

  “Thanks Mazyl, keep up the good work.”

  “Hope you drop dead, old man.” The spirit shot back.

  As the giant centipede teleported away, Aurelius cracked a smile at this exchange. Their relationship was clearly one built over years of trust and affection.

  “Cheeky little shit.”

  “Anyways, my name is Wally Tona. I’ll be staying with you for around 2 hours until the repairs for the Academy are finished.”

  “We’ve got the reconstruction division coming down soon, and thankfully, the damage to the compound is honestly, minimal.”

  “Minimal? There’s a giant melted hole on the roof of our classrooms!” Aurelius retorted skeptically.

  The man snorted, cigarette smoke curling out of his nose as he replied snidely.

  “That was a battle at the level of Arch Sages! We’re lucky that everyone involved didn’t blast the whole city sector into oblivion! Count your lucky stars that you even have an Academy to go back to, boy!”

  “I’m unsure of their ‘refund policy’ on school fees, but I assure you that typical insurance does not in fact, cover ‘lich related attacks’ or ‘Arch Sage related damages’!”

  ???

  More magicars arrived, carrying contractors and commission mages specialising in construction.

  Aurelius, Tiberius and Mr. Tona sat in awkward silence on one of the Academy benches, the older mage burning through his smoke as one would munch on a bag of chips.

  Students had started to make their way back, trickling into the Academy grounds little by little. The Commission was not quite kind enough to teleport everyone back the way it had prior. The angelic contract had likely been quite costly too, so this was not too much of a shock.

  Some students had embarrassed looks on their faces as they made their way back to the school, their steps awash with shame.

  Aurelius turned to Mr. Tona, curious as to the reason for their strange gaits.

  “You curious why they seem so embarrassed?” He chuckled.

  “Forced teleportation doesn’t really consider the circumstances of the teleporter usually. And where do you think that those engaged in more… incriminating businesses are placed in?” He asked, a ridiculous smile on his face.

  Aurelius and Tiberius became completely horrified. There was a single perfect phrase to describe what would happen. Social death.

  “HAHA, don’t worry, the Commission isn’t quite dense enough to create a wave of mentally scarred teens. The contracts place those in such situations in private lockers to clean up after whatever it was they were in the middle of.”

  “Of course, the only issue is that they’ll be asked… ‘questions’ by their peers!” He finished deviously.

  Aurelius rubbed his temples, blinking rapidly as he started to feel a wave of sympathy for his peers with tainted strides.

  Then, out of the corner of his eyes, through the crowds, he identified his friend. Or more accurately, Tiberius’s dearest friend.

  Tiberius jumped up out of his seat in terror, the sudden action earning him a sharp glare by Mr. Tona.

  “Fuck I’m so screwed.” He muttered under his breath, his face paling with anxiety as he mustered up a lungful of air to call out to the familiar face.

  “LUCINA!” He bellowed. .

  https://ko-fi.com/madmarble!!!