Sunday didn’t start out any better than the previous day had ended.

  Merlin was seated opposite the headmaster, in his office, though not alone, but with Nora beside him. This was not because of his petunt attitude, concerning the points that had been deducted from him. It was because what he had feared all through the night had ended up coming to pass. His parents had seen the video.

  “The only reason I’m not flying down to Korea right this moment to pull my children from that Academy is because my husband stopped me,” PhoebeTyrrell stated from the other side of the screen of the headmaster’s tablet, which had become the source of a video call between the Tyrrell parents, their kids, and the headmaster of the most prestigious Academy in South Korea. “Why would you let a child wander into such a situation? Is that how poor the safety of the children enrolled in your Academy is?”

  “I assure you, ma’am, that Prestige Academy is unrivaled in its security and treatment of its students,” Headmaster Im Ilseong replied amicably, despite the harsh tone he was being spoken to with. “Yesterday’s situation was more of a slip-up than a recurring event. It won’t happen again.”

  “And we’re just meant to take your words for it? He’s only been at your Academy a week, and…and… Goodness, he’d almost died,” Phoebe Tyrrell pressed on. Merlin had been avoiding looking at the screen—at the faces of his parents—but he stole a gnce now. They were seated in a rather familiar space. Not the one that had shelves of medical apparatuses lined on them, but one that reminded him of a space that had always felt so lonely for as long as he could remember: their home.

  So it only took a brush with death to bring them back, didn’t it? Merlin almost scoffed. Maybe he should do that more often.

  Headmaster Im Ilseong leaned further away from his seat than he already had, his hands clutched together to give his whole mien a solemn feel that showed he was truly sorry about what had happened.

  “I truly apologize. But, like I said, what happened yesterday is not the norm,” Headmaster Im Ilseong expined. “I assume no one would want an Academy to deny its students the liberty of movement. Your son went on a date, and the unthinkable happened while he was on it. A Dungeon was not meant to have appeared in that location, but it had, and no Mage was present. Which was why your son had to take it upon himself to act, if not, countless lives would have been lost.”

  Merlin’s brows narrowed at those words. For a moment there it had felt like Headmaster Im Ilseong was trying to defend his actions. But a quick recollection of how he had been deducted points made him think otherwise. Merlin was still yet to witness how the rest of the members of his Cohort would act towards him, but he wasn’t really eager. They were only behind Cohort Dragon Eye by five points before, but now it had become twenty-five points. And it was an unspoken rule that every point mattered.

  Phoebe Tyrrell tried to say something, obviously not yet satisfied with the headmaster’s analysis of the situation—and most likely never would—but Arthur spoke over her then.

  “We’re surgeons, headmaster. We do understand the urge to protect others and save life,” he said. “But you should also understand that because of our job, we have seen how even the most minor of injuries can take a life. We understand that being a Mage comes with its dangers, but our children haven’t even been in the Academy for a week and such a situation occurred. We’d just like something to assure us that we do not have to wake up every morning worried about receiving a call or mail about…well, the unthinkable.”

  Headmaster Im Ilseong nodded. “I do understand. And… I promise you, it won’t happen again. Due to yesterday’s events, we have been alerted to how spontaneous Dungeons can now spawn. And, as such, we have taken extra measures to closely monitor the movements of our students the best we can. We cannot deprive them of their freedom to move about, but what we can do is make sure they don’t get caught up in the worst of pces at the worst time. That I can assure you. There has been no case of a student dying during their stay at Prestige Academy, and your children won’t be the first.”

  Nora sighed audibly then, dragging the attention of the adults her way. “Do we really have to do this now, mom, dad?” she started, shaking her head softly.

  “What are you talking about?” Phoebe asked, frowning. “When else would you have us do this? How do you expect us to go about our day if we’re not assured that you both will be safe?”

  Nora clicked her tongue, this time not bothering to hide it. “It’s always about you, isn’t it?”

  “Nora…” Arthur sighed softly.

  “Can’t you see that Merlin is the one who’s having it the most tough at the moment?” Nora continued, now equally dragging Merlin’s gaze her way. “He’s the one who was out there—who almost died for goodness sake. If only you both could open your eyes and look away from yourselves for once you’d see that what Merlin needs now isn’t this meeting, but you both standing by his side. Yes, he almost died, but did you even acknowledge his actions? Because of what he did, not a single person died! Shouldn’t you be proud of him?” She gnced at the headmaster then who only stared back with that clear expression of his. “Instead of criticizing him and punishing him.”

  There was silence in the room for a moment, Merlin unable to utter a word, as well as his parents.

  Then it broke…

  “Don’t you see, sweetheart? We’re doing this because we care about you both,” Phoebe continued, her expression not the fierce one she usually puts on, but the solemn one she always kept in store when her kids proved far too stubborn than she could handle.

  “Then you should have called your son first and asked him how he was,” Nora said simply and coldly, dropping a bomb over the interaction.

  Merlin, on the other hand, was unsure how to feel at this moment. For one, his anger from the night before was not fully purged from his body as he had made no means to do so. He had avoided contact from Chima and Hakyun and had instead covered himself with his own sweat by working out as much as his beat up body could allow. And then he woke up to the headmaster’s mail, summoning him for a little meeting with his parents.

  It was not that he didn’t understand things from their point of view, but wasn’t it high time they just dealt with it? He was a Mage. Whether they liked it or not, his csh with the Ice Wyverns was the sort of thing he would be getting involved with on a regur basis. He didn’t like it any more than they did—no one enjoyed watching their life fsh before their eyes, unless they were a psychopath. But he didn’t have a choice. After his encounter with that mysterious dy, he now realized that things weren’t as simple as he’d thought. Being a Mage wasn’t all just fun and rainbows; there were things lurking in the shadows that they had to fight against. And not only those things, otherworldly threats too.

  He was a child, but so were the other Mages.

  He’d had enough of this.

  “After watching the video, weren’t you even a little bit curious as to why a Deficient Mage like me could fight those frightening monsters?” Merlin started, pulling everyone's gaze his way. He looked at his parents, no longer avoiding their eyes. “Was all you saw your scared little boy who you’ve always been protective of? The one who scraped his knee while riding a bike and was banned from ever doing so?”

  “Merlin—”

  “No. This is where you let me finish, okay?” he brazenly cut his mother off before she could utter anything more than his name. “Merlin, you can’t do this. Merlin, you can’t do that. I’ve heard those words more times than I can count, and you both never seem to grow tired of saying it. Well, I’ve grown tired of hearing it. For once in my life, I can finally do something that no one else can, and I will not let you both talk me out of it this time.”

  “What are you talking about, Merlin?” Arthur was the one to speak this time, Phoebe still somewhat shocked at her son shutting her down.

  “I can use anti-magic,” Merlin said without a second of hesitation. His parents' eyes widened and the silence between them stretched on for the longest ever when they were engaged in a discussion with him. “That is why I was able to fight the monsters, and that is why I must become a Mage. The world needs me far more than you both do.”

  Phoebe snapped herself back at those words. “I-I don’t understand. What exactly are you talking about, Merlin? Of course we need you. We’re your parents. We love you, you know that, right? It has never mattered what you are, and that isn’t changing now. We just want what's best for you.”

  And despite his anger, he wanted the same for them. The Cataclysm was coming, the world was becoming less safe by the day, and it was his job to change all that and make sure his loved ones could finally live safely without having to fear the appearance of monsters. And for him to be able to do that, then he had to grow out of their shell of protection. He needed to step into the dangers of the world.

  He wasn’t going to tell them about the Cataclysm, but they needed to know about how he truly felt.

  “I know,” Merlin said. “But what you think is best for me, might not be what’s actually best for me.” His words breathed silence. “All I’ve ever wanted is to be able to protect you guys and Nora. But then I was born a Deficient Mage who can’t use magic. That dream was crushed. Then I found out I am able to use anti-magic, something no other Mage can do.” Merlin exhaled. “I found out I am special. I found out that I am the bane of the monsters terrorizing us. Now I can protect you guys. I can protect everyone. I can make sure no one has to relive that horror of twenty years ago.” He clenched his fist and narrowed his brows. “So it doesn’t matter what you want for me, this is something I have to do. It is something no one else but me can do.”

  “Oh my God,” Phoebe muttered as she grabbed her husband’s hand, clutching it tightly. “What are you saying, Merlin?”

  A fluttering feeling rose in Merlin’s chest. His expression exuded calm and focus, and with an alert gaze, he said, “Your son is going to be having close shaves with death—a lot. You’ll just have to live with it.”