The silence of the annex corridor was broken by the distant echo of running footsteps.
Minutes passed. Garrick's ragged breaths came in shallow bursts, his chest trembling with each inhale. The acrid scent of burned ozone still lingered, mixing with the old leather smell of fallen books around him. His limbs twitched as residual voltage flickered faintly across his skin.
A shadow fell over him.
"Found him," a voice said softly, calm and clipped.
Two academy medics approached—both in white mana-stitched coats with blue trim and small Hunter's Academy insignias pinned to their collars. One kneeled beside Garrick, checking his pulse with gloved fingers while the other quickly scanned his body with a glowing crystal tablet.
"Mana burn, minor nerve shock. No cardiac damage," the kneeling medic reported, eyes narrowing at the reading. "But… he's unresponsive."
