"Crack-kick-kick-"
A heartbreaking sound suddenly sounded in the corridor outside, and then, Miriam, who hurriedly turned around, saw a piece of frost spreading in from outside the door.
Seeing the white frost marks instantly covering the door frame and gradually covering the walls and ground, she was immediately frightened and took a small step back.
The cold air billowed near the floor.
And just then—
"Oh, I'm sorry, please give way... Don't worry about the frost on the ground. It won't cause you any harm, but it may make you feel a little cold."
Another voice came from the corridor. Although it didn't sound like it was talking to the people in the room, the familiarity in that voice made Miriam feel a little at ease.
Sure enough, when Maka suddenly appeared at the door, even the shadow man Ahaz, who had been urging Miriam to take the opportunity to escape, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.
Even if he doesn't want to see Maka again, at least it's much better than seeing Halbo appear there!
"Mr. MacLean!"
Miriam subconsciously wanted to approach her, but soon she was unable to get closer because of the lingering cold air around Maka.
"This... what is happening? Why..."
"Oh, this is a side effect of my overuse of some magic just now," Maka shrugged, "Don't worry, it won't be cold after a while."
However, despite saying this, the frost marks around him are still getting worse as time goes by. Especially around his feet, a large number of ice crystals even froze the soles and the floor together, which looked quite amazing.
I really don't know what kind of magic he "overused", so that the remaining power afterward can be so terrifying.
Right now, Maka has become a walking ice machine!
"Well, if you are ready, I think we can go -" Maka was saying, suddenly smiled apologetically, "Oh, yes, yes... I think I'd better help you untie that Put the shackles on."
Then, he asked Miriam to lift her feet, and then quickly tapped a little on the ring of the magic shackles. The moment his fingers touched the outside of the ring, a frost-stained crack appeared on the shackles with a crisp sound.
When Maka's hand came close to her feet, Miriam couldn't help but feel a bit of cold air.
Especially at the moment when Maka cracked the shackles, even though Maka took the initiative to control the cold, she still felt as if there was a biting cold piercing her ankle like a needle.
"Okay, the magic on it has been completely destroyed. Take it off and I believe you can do it yourself." Maka waved her hand and said, "You can leave this time. Well, I have to take that one off later." Miss’s classmates are all being sent to the Federation!”
As he spoke, he pointed to the door. The little girl who opened the door for him immediately nodded. It seemed that she was a little anxious from waiting.
After saying that, Maka raised his foot with a click, and ice crystal fragments immediately scattered from the sole of his shoe. But he didn't seem to care, turned around and walked out the door again.
"Come on! Remember to follow me when you go up later..."
I saw him talking to the little girl outside the door, but before he finished speaking, he stopped and turned back.
"Well... Miss Miriam, I think you are planning to leave with me, right? So... uh, Mr. Ahaz, what are your plans?"
Perhaps because the scene of Maka's return was too inexplicable, the shadow man was still a little dazed at this time. But after Maka asked, he seemed to finally remember something and asked:
"Where's Haierbo? Dead?"
"how can that be possible?"
When Maka heard this, she immediately shook her head.
"Of course he only ran away temporarily... Oh, that may not be accurate. I personally prefer the statement 'he left temporarily'."
As Maka said, the word "escape" obviously sounded a little embarrassed, and correspondingly, Haierbo's departure was obviously much more leisurely and unhurried.
"Sure enough, you couldn't kill him..." After hearing this, Ahaz immediately turned his head and said, "Miriam, you'd better go back with me! The boss's side is undoubtedly safer than anywhere else."
However, Miriam didn't argue with him anymore and walked directly towards Maka at the door.
"you-"
Ahaz was obviously a little angry, but after hesitating for a moment, he finally followed them.
"Then I'll go with you..."
At this point, he suddenly seemed to realize something and cast a reluctant look at Maka who was walking in front.
"...Uh, Mr. McClain...? May I?"
"Of course," Maka said indifferently and without looking back, "It will be Christmas soon, and we will hold an event at Hogwarts, and many wizards from all over the world will come - Look, you picked a good time!”
While walking and chatting, the four people soon arrived at the stone steps leading into the underground corridor. And along the way, everyone crunched every step because the ground in the corridor was covered with frost.
But when they followed Maka to the living room above the trap door, the ice-blue world that suddenly came into view suddenly covered up the small scene below.
"Oh, by the way, I have to remind you—just follow me and try not to touch anything."
In fact, there was no need for Maka to say anything, because the dense icicles that occupied almost half of the living room made it impossible for them to get past.
But I saw that most of the icicles were covered with a layer of ice crystals, but they still had a hazy light, allowing people to see at a glance whether there was something inside.
Of course, most of the crisscrossing icicles were just pure ice, but the thickest one seemed to have something frozen in the middle.
Maka didn't give any explanation for this - in fact, there was really no need to explain. After all, although he left the body behind, Haierbo's remnant soul had already left like lightning and disappeared without a trace.
He led the three people behind him out from the ice on one side. After a few steps, the four of them walked out of the "Ice Forest" and came to the other side of the living room to see that all the remaining students from the Xibohe Magic Academy seemed to be here.
"Okay, now let me send a message to the president of the Federation. When he comes, we can leave... Oh, or we can go outside? It seems to be very cold here..."
Maka said and opened the door to the living room with a wave of her hand. As the frost began to fall, the light from the front hall outside immediately poured in, and a sense of warmth arose spontaneously.
Only then did they realize that it was still afternoon.
…
That evening, when the setting sun illuminated the Hogwarts Castle, Maka, Miriam and the shadow man Ahaz finally appeared at the school gate.
Yes, after arriving at the "igloo" in Ajinbad, they were not able to leave immediately as Maka said.
Since Maka once again had an affair with Haier and even kept the body, Ajinbad naturally wanted to ask about it.
In addition, the teachers and students of Xibohe Academy have been transformed at the soul level by Haierbo using magic circles, and most of them have been petrified by the alienated Acromantula. All these messy things must be discussed with Maka before they can be solved. .
As a result, Maka had to stay in Haifa until nightfall before returning.
Fortunately, due to the time difference, the sun was just setting at Hogwarts.
It has been snowing heavily in the past few days. It is rare to have good weather today, and Maka finally has a sunny ending.
"It's a pity that it will probably continue to snow again tomorrow..."
Maka and Miriam walked on the grass in the front yard, and the snow that had not melted all day was crunched under their feet.
Behind him, Miriam tilted her head, looking at the red sun in the west and walking silently. After a while, she suddenly said softly:
"Mr. MacLean, do you remember my companion Asaph?"
Ahaz naturally still remembered what Miriam said before. When he heard the other party mention it, he who was looking up at the castle immediately turned his head and quietly looked at Miriam's side face.
However, at least there was no expression on the half of the face that he could see.
"Yes, of course I remember." Maka responded.
"Then..." Miriam continued, "Sir, do you know where he is? Was Asaph's... body found in the original school?"
"Well?"
After Haierbo left Shibohe College, the people from the Federation had already searched the mansion-style building inside and out. Speaking of corpses, they found a shriveled cat, and nothing else seemed to matter.
As for Asaph's body...
"As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be."
"Then I guess sir doesn't know where he might be... right?"
Maka remembered clearly that the man probably wouldn't live long under the circumstances at that time. But he may not be able to estimate accurately when and where he will die.
"Yes, I really don't know."
After Miriam asked these two questions, she was silent for a while. When the three of them were about to reach the main entrance of the castle, she stopped slightly.
"Mr. McClain, please..." She pursed her lips and said, "Can I... ask you to help me find where Asaph is? Whether he is alive or dead, I want to see him again!"
There were so many reasons that drove her to make such a plea that Miriam put aside the fact that she had just been rescued by Maka and wanted to plead again.
Because she understood that if she looked for it by herself, it would not matter whether she would find it or not. Just the fact that Haierbo had disappeared into the darkness again was enough to keep her from getting any closer.
"Meet him?" Maka seemed a little embarrassed, "It's not impossible... but you have to wait a few days."