Episode-734
Chapter : 1447
The cat was an illusion. A glamour. This... this parasite was the truth.
"It's you," Lloyd whispered. "Rubaiya."
The realization hit Lloyd like a bucket of ice water. Rubaiya. The strategist. The woman who helped him hunt. The woman who tutored students for free.
She wasn't a hero. She was a monster.
"So," Lloyd said, stepping away from the wall. "You're hiding behind a student. Very brave, Rubaiya. Very noble."
Kian—or the thing controlling him—tilted his head. "Who is Rubaiya? I am Legion."
"Cut the crap," Lloyd snapped. "I see you. I see the parasite. I see the connection."
He pointed at the leech-spirit. "That's your real spirit, isn't it? 'Parasitic Control'. You don't have a cat. You have a tick. You latch onto people. You drain them. And you use them to cast your illusions."
The spirit on Kian's back hissed. The boy's face twisted in anger.
"You see too much, Ferrum," Kian said. "You should have stayed blind. You should have stayed dead."
"I get that a lot," Lloyd said.
He needed to break the connection. He couldn't hurt Kian. The boy was innocent. Just another victim.
Lloyd moved. He used [Void Steps]. He flickered across the room, appearing behind Kian.
The leech tried to turn Kian around, but Lloyd was faster. He grabbed Kian's shoulders.
"Black Ring Eyes: Seal of Severed Connection," Lloyd commanded.
He channeled his Void energy into his hands. He visualized a pair of scissors cutting the thread between the parasite and the host.
SNAP.
There was a psychic scream. The leech recoiled, detaching from Kian's spine. Kian collapsed, unconscious.
The spirit hovered in the air for a second, a writhing mass of shadow and teeth. It glared at Lloyd with hateful yellow eyes.
Then, it dissolved. It didn't die. It just recalled itself. It went back to its master.
Silence fell over the tower.
Lloyd stood over the sleeping boy. He was shaking. Not from fear, but from rage.
"She played us," Lloyd whispered. "She played us all. She framed Jamie. She tricked Daniel. She almost killed Elara. And she was sitting right next to me, drinking tea and pretending to help."
He checked Kian's pulse. Strong. He would be fine. Just a headache and some memory loss.
Lloyd picked up the boy and carried him to a cot in the corner. He covered him with a blanket.
Then he sat at his desk. He stared at the empty space where the spirit had been.
He had the proof. He had seen the truth with his own eyes. Rubaiya was the traitor.
"Why?" Lloyd wondered. "Why destroy the Academy? Why hurt these kids?"
He remembered Tulip's story. Rubaiya was an orphan. A commoner. She had fought her way up. Maybe she resented the nobles. Maybe she hated the system that had discarded her.
Or maybe she just liked power. Maybe the parasite needed to feed, and the Academy was an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"It doesn't matter," Lloyd decided. "Motive is for the trial. Right now, I need a plan."
He couldn't just walk up to her and arrest her. She was a master of illusion. She could make herself look like anyone. She could make him look like the attacker. She could turn the whole school against him with a single spell.
"She thinks she's safe," Lloyd thought. "She thinks her spirit escaped. She thinks I only saw a minion."
He smiled. It was a cold, predatory smile.
"Let her think that. Let her think she's still the hunter."
He needed to confront her. Alone. Away from witnesses. Away from illusions.
"Tomorrow," Lloyd said to the darkness. "Tomorrow, we have a little chat."
He leaned back in his chair. The game had changed. He wasn't hunting a ghost anymore. He was hunting a colleague. A friend.
It hurt. It hurt more than he expected. He had liked Rubaiya. He had respected her mind.
"Trust no one," Lloyd reminded himself. "Lesson learned."
He watched the sun begin to rise through the window. It was going to be a long day. And an even longer conversation.
"Good morning, Rubaiya," he whispered. "I hope you slept well. Because your nightmare is just waking up."
The next morning, the faculty lounge was bustling. Professors were grabbing coffee, complaining about students, and generally acting like the world hadn't almost ended the night before.
Rubaiya was at her usual desk. She looked calm. Composed. She was grading papers with a red quill, slashing through incorrect answers like a butcher.
Chapter : 1448
Lloyd walked in. He looked tired. He made sure to look tired. He wanted her to think he had spent the night chasing shadows and failing.
"Good morning, Lloyd," Rubaiya said without looking up. "Did your ritual work? Did you catch the boogeyman?"
"No," Lloyd said, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "It was a bust. False alarm. Just a mana surge in the ventilation."
Rubaiya smirked. "I told you. Your theories are dramatic, but they lack substance."
"Maybe," Lloyd said. He leaned against her desk. "Can we talk? Privately? I have a... personal question."
Rubaiya put down her quill. She looked at him. Her eyes were mocking. "A personal question? Lloyd, are you going to propose to me? Because I must warn you, the line is very long. And I do not like commitment."
She laughed. It was a light, cruel sound. She was enjoying this. She thought she was untouchable.
"Not a proposal," Lloyd said, his face unreadable. "Just a question. About cats."
Rubaiya raised an eyebrow. "Cats?"
"Yes. Let's go to the roof. The air in here is... stifling."
"Very well," Rubaiya sighed, standing up. "But make it quick. I have a lecture on 'Theoretical Mana Displacement' in twenty minutes."
They walked up the stairs to the roof of the main building. It was a flat, stone expanse overlooking the entire Academy. The wind was blowing hard, whipping their cloaks around them. It was isolated. Quiet. Perfect.
Lloyd walked to the edge and looked down at the courtyard. Students were walking to class. Innocents. Prey.
"So," Rubaiya said, joining him. "Cats. Are you thinking of getting a pet?"
"I'm thinking about your pet," Lloyd said. He turned to face her. "Shadow. The wild cat spirit. The one that can 'pierce anything'."
"He is very effective," Rubaiya said. "Why do you ask?"
"I ask," Lloyd said slowly, "because I didn't see a cat last night."
Rubaiya froze. Just for a second. A tiny, microscopic flinch. Then she smiled. "Last night? You said your ritual failed."
"I lied," Lloyd said. "I saw a student. Kian. He was possessed. And on his back... there was a spirit."
He stepped closer to her. "It wasn't a cat, Rubaiya. It was a leech. A parasite. Ugly. Too many eyes. Very hungry."
Rubaiya's smile didn't waver, but her eyes went cold. "A leech? Sounds nasty. But what does that have to do with me?"
"Everything," Lloyd said. "Because I know your secret. You don't have an offensive spirit. You have a parasitic one. Illusion. Mind control. That's your real power."
He watched her carefully. He waited for the denial. The outrage.
But Rubaiya didn't shout. She didn't act offended. She just sighed. She took off her glasses and cleaned them on her robe.
"You are smarter than you look, Lloyd," she said softly. "I thought the 'dumb noble' act was real. But you... you see things."
"I see you," Lloyd said. "Why, Rubaiya? Why hurt the students? Why frame Jamie? Why destroy the school that saved you?"
Rubaiya put her glasses back on. She looked at him, and her face changed. The mask of the strict professor fell away. In its place was something cold, hard, and utterly remorseless.
"Saved me?" she laughed. It was a bitter sound. "Valerius didn't save me. He collected me. He saw a talent and he took it. He put me in a noble house where I was treated like a pet. A trick pony. 'Look at the clever slum girl! Look how she does magic!'"
She walked towards the edge of the roof. "This Academy... it is a factory. It takes children and turns them into soldiers for the King. It grinds them down. It kills their dreams. I am not destroying it, Lloyd. I am liberating it."
"By turning students into bombs?" Lloyd asked, disgusted. "By feeding on them?"
"My spirit needs to eat," Rubaiya shrugged. "And chaos... chaos is the only way to break the wheel. If the Academy falls, the system falls. And from the ashes, something better can rise."
"That's a nice speech," Lloyd said. "Did you practice it in the mirror? Because it sounds like justification for murder."
"Call it what you want," Rubaiya said. "But you are alone here, Lloyd. No witnesses. No backup. Just you and me."
"And your leech," Lloyd added.
"Yes," Rubaiya said. The air around her shimmered. "And Legion is very hungry."