"We change the rules."

Diane's words hung in the air, made thick with students' expectations. They leaned over their desks, their quill tips pressed on parchment until a black circle stained the milky surface.

In the silence before she continued, a thoughtful frown creased Adam's brow. Change the rules to counter long-range curses... how?

He knew the answer would come in a couple of seconds, and his mind raced faster.

The requirements—not the chant.

"The medium?"

His mutter was barely above a sigh, yet Diane snapped her eyes in his direction. The corners of her lips curved as she planted the back of her hand on her hip and gestured at him.

"Do you know why I didn't ask the class how they would do it?" It wasn't a question. "Because I've given up. No student ever found the correct answer. But you're on the right track. Continue. Two hundred points if you're correct."

Adam, fingers wrapped around his mouth, remained silent. But his mind buzzed with possibilities. He had to make the caster believe it would work—that was the baseline. Then, when he proceeded with the expensive ritual and paid the curse's cost, he'd find something wrong with the medium—the ritual might believe it had found the target, only to realise it was someone else, or that he didn't exist at all.

As he opened his mouth to give his answer, his hand tightened, and his eyes widened. It wouldn't work if names could guide curses as well.

For a moment, he closed his eyes. Then, he sighed. "I admit my lack of knowledge on curses."

Diane's lips twisted in a disappointed grimace. "A pity..."

"My idea still has value, teacher," he interrupted, and Diane nodded. "Mediums like blood and hair are used to track the target's body across distances. But what if we altered them as they left our bodies? Not major changes—just subtle shifts, enough for the curse to launch but stumble at the target. Transmutation can work, but keeping the spell active at all times will tire our minds, so a powerful enchantment seems more suitable. Of course, that doesn't take into account troublesome targeting methods that might not exist, such as by name or, even rarer, by soul signature."

Diane's lips curved back into a smile. "You'd bleed the caster while defending yourself? Your mind truly works in wondrous ways."

Whispers spread across the students, and through the hushed voices, Adam shrugged. "I'd make him regret targeting me. So, what do you think about my answer?"

"Worth a hundred points for the effort." The blazon on Adam's chest brightened as she waved her hand. "But as you said, ineffective if the caster names you. Why? Because there is only one Adam Laurentius Lux Aeterna, as there is only one Diane Nyx Virelda. Names are how the world recognises us, anchors of our achievement, identities, and what's left after our bodies rot and our souls fade from this realm. The most potent curses cast in the oldest languages always target that anchor to ensure the target's affliction."

Her amused gaze lingered on Adam. "Your method is quite convoluted, too." She turned toward the other students, retrieving a necklace from beneath the thick scarf covering her burned chin.

Golden lines of consecrated light ran across the winged edges of pale metal. At its center, carved feathers spiralled around a red gem that pulsed with liquid light whenever she moved.

"Think about the wand I used during our first lesson."

At her words, Jonathan and Brad, both accepted into the demonology course, widened their eyes.

"Demon blood!" Squealing, Brad gripped the back of his chair as if it could protect him from the unholy artifact.

Younger students reacted with less restraint. Chairs scraped and toppled against the ground as students scrambled to the door, their desperate footsteps echoing through the chaotic classroom.

"Silence!" When Diane's voice thundered, it was with the shockwave of her clap. Hair rustled, and a heavy silence crashed inside the room.

"Return to your seats," she commanded, but Elliot shook his pale face.

Icy sweat trickled down his brow as he half contested, half pleaded. "I've heard demon blood can corrupt us. My mom told me she'd make me swallow a bottle if I didn't behave! Teacher, please, keep that thing away from me."

"I'll make you swallow it if you peep another word," she snarled, her eyes narrowed like a beast of prey.

Shivering at the threat, every student rushed back to their desks, picked up the thrown chairs and parchment, and sat in shivering silence.

"Those are the exorcists of tomorrow..." Once calm returned, Diane sighed. "Blood, flesh, bones, any demonic body part can corrupt us. That's also what makes them useful. I've already told you that demons were the best at casting curses, but left the whys to Teacher Salem. Let's pick up the explanation from there and make it simple."

"Their guttural language is old and powerful, and their species is immune to curses. That's why they don't pay costs. That's why I don't teach how to cast them, but to protect yourself from their afflictions."

She traced the edge of the medallion. "The consecrated light suppresses the blood's corruption to turn it into a defensive artifact that works on the simplest principle. Since they're immune to curses, why wouldn't we use these immunised body parts to our advantage?"

Gasps echoed through the room, while Adam noticed Jonathan nodding, his somber face suggesting he had learned more from Salem's lesson. But he pierced the mystery in a heartbeat. His mythical bones came from Decarabia—an ancient demon imprisoned for fifteen thousand years—while the demonic cleaver's enchantments completed the puzzle.

'The corruptive vileness of demonic energy negates curses.' The thought echoed as he smirked. 'Perhaps the worst curse since it makes them violent, cruel, and prone to madness.'

Diane confirmed half of his deductions. "The blood clashes with curses, drawing and neutralising them within the gem. The demon's tier before death defines the artifact's potency." She glared at the students' eager grins, even Elliot's. "The lowest artifact is priceless because we sell none. The blood supply has been a nightmare for thousands of years, so don't expect to buy one at the closest grocery store."

Disappointed mutters filled the room when the college bell's crystal chime resounded.

"That's enough to give you the basics about counteracting curses. Perfect yourselves on your own, for we'll learn a whole new subject next lesson. Class is dismissed." Diane clapped twice, hopped down from the platform, and opened the door.

Students bid them goodbye on their way out, and Adam did the same. Yet, his mind was already on his next class with Haldris and how he could make the rector share his knowledge about golems without awakening his suspicion.