The Transmigrated Professor

As Touri prepared herself for her decision, Ophelia continued her countdown.

As the third finger was raised, a spark lit the tip of Touri’s hand-fan, but before the fire could follow its wild nature, an irregularity descended upon the mall.

“Seriously, you could have used that Skill much earlier.” Kyla complained as she walked into the plaza, which was full of statues. 

She waved her hand in front of The Fallen, expecting he might react. “Wow, I have seen you use this Skill many times, but it still creeps me out so much. It’s scary that you can just turn us into frozen statues whenever you want and we will never even know.” 

“They aren’t statues. I just froze them in time.” Ophelia corrected her partner. “Anyway, where were you and Miyu when all this commotion was happening?”

"Oh, we were there!" Kyla pointed to the first floor, where a frozen Miyu stood, staring in horror as her mom fought against the B-Rank villain.

“It would have been good if you could have come to help.” Ophelia pouted.

“There’s nothing I’d love more than a fight against those Demons. But when fighting a B-Rank villain, even I would have to reveal my true form. The High Queen will kill us if that happens, especially with the recent fights that happened between the Forest and the Continent.” Kyla explained.

“Speak for yourself. There is nothing that Camelia could do that can scare me.” Ophelia boasted.

“You may say that but you still won’t want to disappoint your godmother, now would you?” Kyla teased her friend. Everyone saw her as a really smart and mature girl, but Ophelia had her cases of childishness, which only those close to her could ever see. Kyla was always proud that she could be one of the special people.

“Enough chit-chat. Let’s get to work now.” Ophelia’s strict voice snapped Kyla out of her mischief. “Kyla, take Ryder and put him somewhere safe. And check if Rachel is breathing. We should administer her some Healing Potions just in case.”

“Should I punch this guy, just in case?” Kyla asked, pointing at the Fallen who was holding Ryder hostages.

“No. We can’t change a lot of things inside the timestop. Aunt Touri will question it if the guy she was attacking suddenly got beat up.” Ophelia explained.

“Fine, let’s do it.” Kyla quickly followed her friend’s instructions. She grabbed Ryder and quickly placed him in a corner. She made sure to check for debris nearby, so he could be comfortable.

“Poor guy. He’s already suffering from the Curse and now he has to go through this.” Kyla pitied the unconscious Ryder. She turned to Ophelia. “Don’t you think we should just give him a painless death? He will suffer less that way.”

“Even if he does, that’s a choice he will have to make himself. We can decide whether someone chooses to live or end his life.” Ophelia replied, acknowledging the complexity of such a decision.

Kyla gave Ryder a final glance, before leaving to help his sister. 

Ophelia looked down to check his condition. Dark veins were already crawling from his heart to the rest of his body. The Fallen might have accelerated the spreading of the Curse, but Ryder must have still been in excruciating pain, long before coming to the mall today.

‘I wonder if what Kyla said is right.’ Ophelia questioned what she had just said moments ago. ‘If nothing else, he has already made a commendable achievement, being able to endure this much.’

“Alright, I’m done here!” Kyla announced.

“Well then, let’s lift the spell now.” And with a snap of Ophelia’s fingers, time once again began to flow for those inside the mall.

A burst of enchanted fire engulfed the Fallen, who was too shocked to react as he witnessed his hostage disappear before his very eyes. 

Touri was equally shocked on seeing Ryder disappear. She darted her eyes, trying to find Ophelia. When she saw Ryder lying safely next to her, Touri quickly recovered her senses.

It didn’t matter how Ophelia rescued Ryder, but now she had no one holding her back. She quickly summoned her mana, ready to kill the enemy in front of her.

The Fallen, quickly realising the position he was in, decided his retreat, His original objective was already achieved, There was no reason for him to stay here and sacrifice his life. He quickly sprinted through the entrance but was greeted by two more B-Rank Heroes outside.

Ophelia turned away from the entrance and looked back at Kyla, who was back on the first floor. 

 They both nodded at each other with understanding passing in their eyes before Kyla sprinted away from the railings. Miyu, still focused on her mom, didn’t realise her friend had disappeared.

Ophelia focused her entire attention on the boy groaning in front of her. The black veins slowly began to spread further on his body, his condition worsening from the exposure. She could only imagine the agony he was feeling at the moment.

“Don’t worry, Ryder. I am going to help you.” She quickly began to fish out different herbs from her purse. After making a pile next to him, she quickly set it on fire and dark purple smoke began to rise. 

She summoned a gust of wind to blow it toward Ryder. As he breathed it in, she could see his erratic breathing calming down. The black veins that had been previously spreading at a fast pace, began to recede back to his heart.

‘I am so sorry I can’t remove the curse for you, little guy. Hope this can take a bit of the pain away.’

When Ryder opened his eyes, he found himself staring at the familiar ceiling of a hospital room. He had spent half his life here because of his condition. But this time, he noticed something different. He actually felt refreshed, as if he was waking up from a nice nap. It was unlike the nightmarish nights he had spent here as the Curse took hold of his heart and mana.

‘Rachel!’ He parted with his new-found tranquility as he remembered the events that had occurred before he fainted. He quickly rose from the bed, kicking off the blanket, determined to search for his sister.

But thankfully she was peacefully sleeping in a bed next to him. Her body was completely covered in bandages, barring her beautiful silver hair with those funny red highlights. The monitor next to her showed that her vitals were stable. 

Ryder sighed in relief as he realised that both of them survived the Fallen attack.

“Oh my god!” A nurse stood in front of him, taken aback by Ryder's abrupt awakening. “I have to call the doctor.”

At the nurse’s call, rapid footsteps echoed in the corridor as the doctor quickly rushed in. She immediately began to examine his body for leftover wounds, and asked him questions regarding his physical and mental health.

“Ryder, how is your heart feeling? Are you experiencing any sort of pain?” The doctor asked him.

Ryder, his gaze fixated on his sister's slumbering form, responded. “There is not that much more pain than before.” 

The doctor's eyes widened in astonishment. “This defies all expectations! You were exposed to great amounts of demonic energy for so long. For a Cursed person such as you, you should be writhing in pain right now. Yet, it’s like you were never exposed to demonic energy at all.” She carefully examined Ryder's body, unable to conceal her amazement.

Ryder was shocked upon hearing his report. This was the first time the doctor had said anything positive about his condition. “Does this mean I can recover from the Curse?”

The doctor bit her lip at Ryder’s question. Her heart hurt, seeing the young boy’s glimmering eyes. 

She took a glance at Rachel to check if she was still unconscious, and then delivered a crushing blow to Ryder’s budding hope. “I wish I could say yes, but unfortunately, your Curse is still progressing as it was before. You will still die within a month.”

Ryder’s heart immediately dropped. A giggle escaped his lips, as he laughed at his naivety.

Right! It was futile for someone like him to believe that he could get better. He had already lived with this Curse for all his life. He had seen countless doctors giving up on him. There was no reason for him to hope.

The doctor tried to console him. “Ryder, I still believe you should tell your family-”

“No!” Ryder screamed at her. “Don’t tell anyone.”

Ryder quickly got out of his bed and left the room. “I need some fresh air.”

Unbeknownst to them, a few feet away, someone had awakened from her slumber. Wide-eyed and silent, she had heard every word.

 

---

 

 

Kurt's heart pounded from fear, as he jumped through rooftops, hiding in the cover of the night. Even with his demonic powers, it would have been impossible for him to fight with three B-Rank Heroes.

He still couldn’t believe that the hostage disappeared right in front of his eyes. He was just a few feet away from a sweet life of freedom, and a hostage so precious, the entire Hero League would have groveled in front of his knees. But now he was running away for his life. 

Soon, even Rufus Briar himself might join the search for him. That was how big a mistake he had made!

Sirens blared in the distance, as Heroes from various nearby Guilds patrolled the streets searching for him.

“Will it kill the League to just let me go? It’s not like one uncaptured criminal won’t ruin their reputation!” He mumbled, frustration radiating from his voice.

“You sure have guts to try to kill the League President’s grandchildren and then expect to be left alive.” A voice suddenly resonated on the silent rooftop.

“Who’s there?” Kurt was startled, hearing the unknown voice. Running from the authorities the entire day, his senses were at an all-time high. Yet, he still couldn’t feel any presence near him. “Where are you hiding?”

“For a B-Rank, you are quite insensitive. How can you not see I am standing right behind you?” A voice spoke directly behind his ear. He quickly turned around, his fist filled with power. 

But in the split second, it took him to react, a hand swiftly blocked his attack and broke his wrist before flinging him off. Kurt crashed into the wall.

“Now, now, Kyla! We don’t want to damage him too much.” A second voice chimed in. 

A shiver travelled down his spine, as Kurt heard the voice. He could sense a strange arrogance radiating from the voice, much like from the one that had captured Victor during the Exhibition. 

The voice wasn’t laced with a Duke’s level of demonic energy. But Kurt could sense she was someone who believed herself to be above all.

Struggling to rise, Kurt could feel a fingernail slowly pressing itself to his neck. 

In the darkness, he caught a glimpse of the woman, in whose hands his life dangled. 

Dark brown locks like the earth had risen to give rise to her. She bared her fangs at him, as Kurt noticed her hands. The skin had turned scaly like a lizard’s and two large spikes grew from her elbows. 

“Y-you are a Beastwoman!” Kurt realised, seeing her inhuman appearance. “Why are the Woodland Races on the Human Continent?” Kyla pressed the spike deeper against his Adam’s Apple, causing a drop of blood to trickle down. 

“I will advise you to keep your mouth shut. Otherwise, she’ll truly kill you.” The second girl advised from behind.

Both radiated weak C-Rank Auras, yet their abilities greatly surpassed the threshold of their Ranks, even as Beastmen. 

Then there was only one answer. 

They were hiding their true Ranks to infiltrate the Human Cities. But Artifacts that can conceal your true Rank are very rare. For them to possess two of them, someone with significant influence must be supporting them, such as the High Queen of the Fae Forest.

He realised he had to tread cautiously. These two could very well be A or even S Ranks, formidable opponents he couldn’t dare to fight against.

“Are you going to kill me now?” He inquired carefully. 

“What’s the fun in that?” The black-haired girl laughed at him, her tone full of amusement. “But first, we will take the Egg you bought from the Auction.”

"You know, when you say it like that, we actually seem like the villains here." 

"Just hand over the ring." 

The first girl swiftly slipped the dimensional ring off his finger. “Wow, you managed to snatch quite a collection of artifacts from the Exhibition.”

“Those are all fakes, Kyla.” Ophelia interjected, dousing her friend’s excitement.

“That’s a bummer! So, what do we do with him now?” Kyla asked her friend.

“Let’s send him to the Fae Forest for now. We can torture him for information. If he proves useless, they will dispose of him.”

Suddenly, Kurt’s body began to shake, as black blood dripped through his teeth. After a few seconds, his body went limp in Kyla’s hand. “What just happened?” 

“I guess we weren’t the only ones who followed him here.” Ophelia scanned the nearby buildings for signs of activity. “They seem to have left already.”

Kyla just stared in disgust at the corpse in front of her. “Looks like nobody in the Alliance trusts each other. They killed him off the moment we captured him.”

“We should leave this place too. Heroes are already swarming in.” Multiple Auras were already surrounding the perimeter. It would be almost impossible to go out undetected. Well, that would have been the case if not for Ophelia’s Skill.

Just as they were about to disappear in the darkness, a butterfly illuminated the starless sky. As it flew above Ophelia, the butterfly began to shed its beautiful blue glittering scales like pixie dust.

“Isn’t that Nyra’s butterfly? What does she want?” Kyla asked, surprised at seeing a message from their friend.

“Hmm. It looks like she has a job for you Kyla.” Ophelia replied, assessing the message she had received.

“Then why didn’t she send me the message directly?” Kyla asked, confused. “Anyway, what is the job?”

Ophelia’s lips arched into a mischievous smile. “I guess you should get ready for your first Prison Break!”