Leo and Gregor had barely recovered when the dorm door slammed open.
Pete stood there, breathing hard, looking like he had just sprinted across campus.
Leo arched a brow. "Back already? What happened to solving mysteries?"
Pete ignored him and walked straight up to Gregor.
Gregor blinked. "Uh, what—"
WHAM!
Pete punched Gregor straight in the gut.
Gregor doubled over, coughing. "What the hell was that for!?"
Pete crossed his arms. "For leaving your own kind behind, you traitor."
Leo grinned. "Hah! He's got a point."
Gregor glared. "Oh, shut up, both of you."
Pete sighed. "Just get ready. I think I pissed off some kind of ancient entity, and we're probably all doomed."
Leo cracked his knuckles. "Finally, something fun."
Gregor groaned. "Why did I pick this school?"
"RUN!" – The Boys Charge to the Rescue
Pete barely got the words out before the entire dorm trembled. A pulse of magic rippled through the air, shaking the walls and sending a gust of cold, eerie wind rushing past them.
Gregor and Leo exchanged looks.
Leo grinned. "Well, that's our cue."
Gregor groaned. "Of course it is."
Pete grabbed them both. "No time for banter—THE GIRLS ARE IN DANGER!"
And just like that—they ran.
The three of them sprinted through the academy halls, Pete in the lead, practically flying down the corridors. Leo kept up effortlessly, his beast-like agility carrying him forward. Gregor, despite his usual preference for shadowy escapes, was right behind them, muttering, "If I die because of you, Pete, I swear—"
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted from the direction of the Forbidden Tower. The air crackled with power.
Leo's eyes flashed. "They're fighting something."
Gregor scowled. "Obviously."
Pete's heart pounded. "Hurry!"
They rounded the last corner and—
Chaos.
The massive double doors of the Forbidden Tower were blown open. Magical energy swirled wildly in the air, the runes on the walls flashing dangerously. Inside, they saw Alya and Thera surrounded by floating symbols, their bodies locked in place by golden chains of energy.
And at the center of the room—
A monstrous shadow loomed, a figure of ancient magic, its form shifting between a skeletal guardian and a faceless wraith.
"UNWORTHY," it roared, its voice shaking the tower. "LEAVE OR BE CONSUMED."
Pete skidded to a stop. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU GUYS DO?!"
Alya, still restrained, just smirked. "You're welcome!"
Thera groaned. "Maybe less talking and more saving us?!"
Leo cracked his knuckles. "Alright. Time to hit something."
Gregor sighed, summoning his shadows. "Yeah, yeah. Let's save the idiots before they get vaporized."
Pete gulped. "…We're gonna die, aren't we?"
Leo grinned. "Not if we win."
And then—the fight began.
"Nope. Let the Principal Handle This – We're Out!"
Pete and Gregor locked eyes.
Pete raised a hand. "So… we fighting this thing or—"
Gregor cut him off. "Nope."
Leo blinked. "What?"
Gregor grabbed Pete and Leo before they could even think. "We're leaving."
Pete sputtered. "Wait, but—!"
FWOOSH!
Gregor snapped his fingers, and the shadows beneath them swallowed them whole.
One moment, they were in the middle of an ancient magical crisis. The next—
Darkness. Silence. Then—
THUD!
They crashed into solid ground.
Pete groaned, rubbing his head. "Ugh… where the hell—"
"BOYS."
A deep, commanding voice echoed through the shadows, and suddenly—
They were standing in the Principal's office.
The headmaster, a towering figure radiating pure authority, slowly set down his cup of tea. He adjusted his glasses, looking at the three of them with deadpan disappointment.
Pete froze. "Oh… crap."
Leo looked around. "…Huh. So we're not dead?"
Gregor, trying to play it cool, just crossed his arms. "I made an executive decision."
The principal sighed, rubbing his temples. "Let me guess… You abandoned your classmates in the middle of a catastrophe and warped directly into my office because you were too lazy to deal with it yourselves?"
Pete opened his mouth, then closed it. "...Yes?"
Leo grinned. "To be fair, he made us do it." He pointed at Gregor.
Gregor shrugged. "The girls started it."
The Principal stared at them for a long moment. Then—
BOOM!
A massive explosion shook the school as the Forbidden Tower erupted with magical energy.
The principal slowly stood up, adjusting his robe. "Excuse me, boys. I have a mess to clean up."
And with that, he vanished.
Pete exhaled. "Whew. Glad that's not our problem anymore."
Gregor smirked. "See? Problem solved."
Leo stretched. "So. What now?"
Pete thought for a moment. "Wanna grab lunch?"
Leo grinned. "Now you're talking."
And just like that, the three of them walked out of the office—leaving the Principal to deal with whatever nonsense the girls had unleashed.
The headmaster appeared in a flash of blinding light, hovering mid-air inside the wrecked tower.
Alya and Thera were still trapped, the chains of magic tightening, the monstrous guardian roaring louder, drawing in more dark energy from the broken runes.
The ancient entity turned toward the principal, sensing something far stronger than the students.
"You—" the guardian rumbled. "Old one… you bound me here."
The principal's eyes narrowed. "And clearly, I didn't bind you hard enough."
With a simple motion of his hand, the entire room froze.
The chains holding Alya and Thera crumbled into light.
The swirling chaos settled instantly.
The guardian itself began to shudder.
"Return to your slumber," the headmaster said calmly. "These children aren't ready to pay your price."
The monstrous shadow let out one last earth-shaking growl before its form dissolved into thin air, the room returning to silence.
Alya coughed, brushing dust off her skirt. "Well… that was anticlimactic."
Thera floated beside her, wide-eyed. "That man is terrifying."
The principal landed gently, his robe fluttering. He gave them both a sharp look.
"You two. My office. Now."
Alya tried to play it off. "Technically, Pete and the boys broke in first—"
The headmaster raised a brow. "And technically, you're the ones who touched the cursed lock."
Thera whispered to Alya, "We're dead."
Alya nodded. "Yep."
Pete, Gregor, and Leo were halfway through massive plates of food at the academy mess hall when—
BOOM!
The entire announcement system flickered on.
"Pete Lagrith, Gregor Lagrith, Leo Carp—report to my office immediately."
The three boys froze, forks halfway to their mouths.
Pete groaned. "Well… we're screwed."
Gregor shrugged. "I regret nothing."
Leo stuffed one last bite in his mouth. "Let's go face the music."
As they got up, Leo glanced at Pete. "Next time, can we just fight a dragon or something normal?"
Pete sighed. "Yeah. That would've been safer."
"And who do you think our headmaster is , isn't he a dragon " said Gregor
"Well let's just hope fate gives us a more easier challenge to go up against with " said Pete "
Gregor enough of this walking let's just transport ourselves to the principal office" said leo
" Ok hop on I guess " said Gregor
The principal gave them a fierce look and said "so you had the power to travel here fast and you still wasted my time"
"but ummm" pete stammered
"Anyways sit your troublesome butts there " said the principal
The three boys awkwardly shuffled over and sat down like scolded children, each of them trying not to make eye contact with the headmaster, who was now towering over them, arms folded, golden eyes burning like fire behind his glasses.
Gregor, trying to lighten the mood, muttered under his breath, "Technically, we saved energy by teleporting…"
SMACK!
A book flew out of nowhere and hit him square on the head.
"Enough with the backtalk," the principal growled. "You three managed to awaken one of the most dangerous guardians sealed in this academy, got two of your classmates almost consumed by forgotten magic, and then—you ran away."
Pete scratched the back of his head. "We… thought you'd handle it better."
The principal's gaze darkened. "Of course I handled it. I've been doing this before your parents were born."
Leo leaned back, stretching casually. "So, we're done here, right?"
The principal snapped his fingers.
In a second, Alya and Thera were teleported into the room, both of them crossing their arms and glaring at the boys.
Thera hovered slightly above the floor. "You left us to die."
Alya added, "And we almost did, thanks to you."
Pete laughed nervously. "We knew the headmaster would save you! Totally part of the plan!"
Gregor mumbled, "No, it wasn't…"
The principal cleared his throat, instantly silencing them all.
"You're not done here. From now on, all six of you will be placed on the same squad. You cause chaos together—you suffer together."
Alya blinked. "Wait, what?"
The principal continued, "Welcome to Squad Lagrith. Effective immediately, you are responsible for each other's lives, grades, field missions, and screw-ups."
Leo's eyes widened. "You're pairing us permanently?"
The principal smiled darkly. "Think of it as… punishment."
Pete dropped his face into his hands. "We're doomed."
The principal sat back in his chair. "Dismissed. And for the love of the realms… try not to destroy the school on your first week."
They all stood awkwardly, exchanging glances. Thera whispered to Alya, "I blame you."
Alya smiled sweetly. "You're welcome."
They all went back to the dorm, some with a little feeling of joy that their little squad has been acknowledged by the principle
"As punishment for bailing on us we'll like to see you guys battle each other" said thera
"Ok I can agree only because of I bailed you , well I guess it'll be me and my big bro against you Leo " said pete
Gregor crossed his arms, looking at Pete with a smug grin. "Actually… change of plans, little bro."
Pete blinked. "What now?"
Leo stepped beside Gregor, stretching his arms casually. "**Yeah, we talked. We're gonna spar, but this time—me and Gregor against you."
Pete's eyes widened. "What?! Both of you against me? That's not fair!"
Gregor smirked. "Life's not fair, baby brother. And you're the one who wants to challenge people all the time. Let's see how you handle pressure."
Thera leaned over to Alya, whispering, "Oh, this is going to be good."
Alya nodded. "Pete's going to get folded."
The principal, now casually sipping tea from the observation balcony, spoke without looking up. "You started this, Pete. Now you're going to finish it. Arena's ready. Try not to die."
Pete sighed, gripping the hilt of his dagger. "Fine. You two want to gang up on me? Let's see if you can even catch me."
Gregor grinned. "That's the spirit. Let's go."
Leo cracked his knuckles. "Let's dance, light boy
The ground shimmered beneath their feet, the enchanted arena reacting to the tension between the three.
Pete stood alone at one end, rolling his shoulders and spinning his dagger effortlessly. Light flickered around him, gathering at his fingertips. His eyes sharpened, calculating.
Across from him, Gregor and Leo stood side by side.
Gregor's shadow energy was already spilling around him like black smoke, calm but dangerous.
Leo bounced lightly on his feet, cracking his neck, that saber-griffin grin stretching across his face. "Ready to get folded, Pete?"
Pete smirked. "You'll need both your arms and shadows to even touch me."
BOOOOM!
The starting bell echoed.
Leo lunged first, fast like a cannonball, claws slashing forward. Pete twisted, light dancing around his body as he barely dodged, the wind of Leo's strike brushing past his cheek.
Before he could counter, Gregor's shadow spiked from the ground, trying to grab Pete's ankles.
But Pete vanished in a flash of light, reappearing behind Gregor and throwing a dagger straight at his back.
Gregor didn't even flinch—his shadow wrapped around him like a cloak, catching the dagger mid-air.
"You're gonna need better tricks than that, little bro," Gregor taunted.
Pete didn't answer—he dashed toward Leo, light flaring, trying to out-speed him.
But Leo anticipated it.
His beast senses kicked in, and he spun, catching Pete's wrist mid-attack and slamming him backward.
Pete flipped in the air, landing on one knee, breathing hard.
"You're working together well," Pete muttered, wiping sweat from his brow.
"Good. Makes it more fun."
Suddenly, light burst from under his feet, and Pete shot into the air, light arrows forming all around him.
Alya and Thera, watching from the stands, leaned forward.
"Is he really gonna go all out?!" Thera asked.
Alya smirked. "About time."
Pete threw the arrows down, raining light like a meteor shower.
Leo roared, summoning his inner beast aura and slashing the arrows mid-air.
Gregor's shadows swirled into a dome around them, absorbing the blasts.
The dust cleared—Gregor and Leo still standing.
Gregor pointed at Pete. "Round two?"
Pete grinned wickedly. "Bring it.Alya leaned back against the railing, arms crossed, shaking her head. "You boys… The way you're blasting light and shadows like it's the end of the world—you're gonna flatten the entire dorm! And honestly, I can't afford to be roomless."
Thera floated beside her, giggling. "She's right. Look at Pete, he's hanging on by a thread."
Down in the arena, Pete was panting, bent over slightly, sweat dripping down his face. His light aura was flickering weakly now, while Gregor stood calmly, shadows lazily dancing around him like smoke.
Leo was grinning wide, barely even tired, bouncing on his feet like he was just getting warmed up.
Gregor casually spoke over to Pete. "You know, you could just yield. Save us all the trouble."
Pete, trying to catch his breath, wiped his forehead. "Tch… Never."
Leo cracked his knuckles. "**Well then, let's just say it out loud—you've already lost the game, light boy."
Before Pete could even react, Gregor's shadow zipped under him and wrapped around his legs. At the same time, Leo zipped forward and tapped Pete's forehead lightly with two fingers.
Tap.
"Checkmate." Leo said, smirking.
Pete groaned, collapsing backward onto the arena floor. "Fine, fine. You win… But next time, I'm choosing Thera and Alya on my team."
Alya shouted down, "Smart choice! We're the only ones with sense around here!"
The principal's voice echoed again from the balcony. "Enough! I'd rather not rebuild the entire arena on day two. Clean yourselves up. Squad Lagrith—training continues tomorrow."
Thera floated down beside Pete and flicked his forehead. "You boys are hopeless."
Pete laughed weakly. "But you love us.