“How many…?”- The headmaster asked hesitantly, the fact that he didn’t want to know the answer became more than apparent.

“Another two…”- The young fighting class teacher, Lee HongKi, answered, trying to keep a straight face as the headmaster grimaced.  - “Headmaster, if I might, this is getting out of hand… We have to contact the local authorities; our own resources aren’t enough even with the NIS covertly aiding us.”

The director sighed, flopping down on his armchair. A pregnant pause enveloped the studio as the two superpowered teachers that were inside with him waited for an answer.

He removed the sweat that had accumulated on his wrinkly forehead with his brown suit sleeve and allowed himself to close his eyes while he processed the information that was just given to him.

He was exhausted, they all were.

Him particularly, even at his old age, hadn’t gotten more than a meager wink of sleep during the last week, and the situation had only worsened.

“I’m afraid I can’t allow that…”- At last, after a few minutes of deep thought, the headmaster answered.

“But sir! The families of those students deserve to know.”- HongKi shot up from his seat, outraged but still managing to maintain his cool.

“And they will, once we get them back safely.”- The headmaster frowned, not because he was not used to HongKi’s brash attitude, but because he had at least expected him to maintain a certain degree of composure, especially in the situation they were in.

Still, he didn’t scold the young professor. The circumstances were taking a toll on everybody.

“We can’t be sure of…”- HongKi countered.

“I’ve seen it in one my visions”- The old clairvoyant stated, interrupting him, which seemed to light the professor’s short fuse.

“Your divinations haven’t always been right!”- HongKi answered, raising his voice, before a hand gripped his shoulder tightly.

“Calm down, losing your composure will not lead us anywhere…”- Bae Yoonjung, the “Morality, order and ethics” teacher and a recognized lawyer within the country, squeezed her colleague’s shoulder, compelling him to sit down.

HongKi narrowed his eyes, switching his gaze back and forth between her and the headmaster a few times before taking a deep breath and cooperating.

“I’m sorry sir…”- He muttered, sitting down with a bow. The headmaster only nodded in return before focusing on Yoonjung.

“HongKi is right sir, even if you believe you saw something, most of your divinations have always been abstract in nature”- She pointed out, and it was something the headmaster himself had to agree with, his visions weren’t always as one-dimensional as he perceived them to be. - “We have to risk it, it’s clear that we don’t possess enough intelligence to catch whoever is behind these kidnappings.”

Alex Christine was the first one to go, a sweet girl that had disappeared from her room, a place which was found in perfect condition when the teachers, led by a very apprehensive headmaster, forced the lock on her door.

He had seen it in his visions, her face disintegrating into nothingness, melting into the shadows as the fragments were consumed by a dark void, but he couldn’t make sense out of it.

In all his years he had never received such a cryptic message, but alas, she wasn’t there by the time they arrived. He had immediately contacted the Korean secret service and planned to issue a nationwide search when he received another vision.

It was the same one, an exact replica, but this time the student was Kim Yubin. This one continued, however, as the image dissolved into that of an angry mob storming the school, razing it to the ground, blood being spilt.

The next morning the found out that Yubin too had disappeared, and the headmaster completely dropped the idea of alerting the local authorities about it, deciding to rely only in the NIS and the academy’s own resources to find the missing girls. The whole Alex Christine was kept under wraps by the teachers with the help of a few people from the student council, but Kim Yubin’s recent disappearance did raise a few questions.

Yet two more had disappeared last night and they still didn’t have a single clue about their whereabouts.

Maybe hiding it was no longer a valid option, despite his fears.

“I’m afraid you two might be right after all…”- He was, indeed, very afraid. - “I just hope this won’t tarnish our reputation greatly”

“I’ll deal with the damages headmaster; you won’t have to worry about the public.”- Yoonjung confirmed with a dry nod, he was the headmaster’s most trusted associate, so in his head he knew she would do her best to avoid a fallout.

“That settles it then… please return to your act-…”- The headmaster rose from his armchair, ready to dismiss the professors, when an all too familiar feeling wormed its way into his conscience.

The sight of his studio and two underlings quickly dissipated, being replaced by a sight of fire and chaos, pure destruction.

And again, this time it was the academy shining bright as the fire consumed it, yet it wasn’t HIS academy, no, this one looked more technologically advanced.

The future?

The landmarks were there; places he would recognize despite the different technologies.

He heard the screams and the distant explosions, it seemed that a war was being waged inside the academy, but there was no one in sight at all.

No one except for a brunette, standing amidst the path of cherry blossoms that always welcomed students at the academy’s entrance gate. The pink trees were ablaze, consumed by a dark fire that was so scorching he could almost feel it.

Then, before he could concentrate more on his surroundings, there was a sudden flash and he was transported back to the same setting, but in the present, as he saw the woman falling, unconscious, from a gap in the sky onto the academy’s grounds.

“Are you okay, sir?”- He heard HongKi’s voice calling him as he came back to himself, shaking the remaining vestiges of the divination that kept playing his mind.

“Yes… yes… it was just another vision…”- He panted, sweat gathering again on his forehead, he wasn’t accustomed to visions that vivid. - “Someone… someone is coming…”

“Should we go greet them?”- Yoonjung asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, not that way”- The headmaster clarified, straightening himself - “Someone has transversed time and space to arrive here…”

**********************************************

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaah”- The explosion launched Kaeun across the burning academy, sending her flying backwards into a concrete wall.

She landed on the ceramic floor ungracefully, struggling to get up as her vision blurred. She snarled, clenching her teeth, as pain shot up through her right arm. She wasn’t sure if it was broken, but damn, it certainly hurt as if it was.

She heaved, pushing herself against the concrete wall, feeling her enemy approach as she tried, and failed, to get up with her healthy arm.

She had never, in all her 43 years of experience, met someone as powerful. Granted, she was past her prime already, but even at her best she doubted she could do any serious damage to her.

Her attacker was now standing in front of her, judging by her silhouette. Kaeun’s vision still hadn’t returned prope