I Raised the Demon Queen (Now She Won't Leave Me Alone)

The school hallway, if one were to describe it charitably, looked like it had hosted a minor earthquake. A less charitable description would be "a war crime committed by a fire-obsessed teenager with boundary issues." The floor tiles had split in an almost perfect radial pattern, like something had exploded from the center. The ceiling bore a dark scorch mark in the shape of a humanoid smear. And a decorative statue of some long-dead archmage was now headless and sulking in two pieces.

Principal Margelin stared at the scene. Then at the three students standing before him: Revantra, Theo, and Elias.

Then back at the statue.

Back to the students.

He exhaled slowly, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Let me guess. Spontaneous architectural failure."

Revantra coughed into her hand. "Er. Technically... yes?"

Theo stepped forward, nodding far too enthusiastically. "She's right! I mean, we were walking and talking—definitely not dueling or invoking forbidden knowledge or chasing cultists—and then suddenly, BAM! The floor just... gave up. I think it had existential fatigue."

Margelin stared at him, eyes like slate. "Existential fatigue."

Theo didn't blink. "Yessir."

"I see." Margelin turned his gaze on Revantra, who suddenly found a scuff mark on her boot extremely fascinating.

Elias was the only one not trying to perform either improv comedy or tactical camouflage through silence. He cleared his throat. "Principal Margelin, if I may—"