425 Suspect [1]

Haven medical facility. "How is he doing?" Atlas, the Chief Guard captain, the Doctor, and several other Professors gathered together outside of the medical ward where Julien was being treated. "His conditions are stable. It shouldn't take too long for him to regain consciousness."

"That's good."

One of the Professors sighed in relief upon hearing the Doctor's evaluation. He was a relatively short professor with balding hair and thick brows. He immediately turned his attention towards the Chief Guard Captain. "What happened? How could something like this be under your watch?" "I'd like to know that too."

The Chief Guard Captain replied, his tone extremely serious.

"It's strange. It's as if we've hit a blind spot."

The Chief Guard Captain started to explain, "The entire fight lasted probably no longer than half a minute, and by the time the stationed guards arrived, it was already over. But that's what I find strange. Given their abilities they should've been able to arrive at the place within several seconds. Furthermore, I find it hard to believe that nobody was able to pick up on the mana traces that were released." "...Are you suggesting that they were in cahoots with the assailant?" The Professor asked with doubt in his tone. There were many things that he didn't understand. What was the aim of ambushing Julien? How could it be possible to have the guards in cahoots with the assailant? Just how powerful would they need to be to pull this off?

"It could also be possible that the assailant used some sort of device to hide his mana traces for long enough to delay the guard's reactions." Atlas spoke softly as he reclined in one of the metal chairs, leaning back comfortably with his eyes half-closed.

The Chief Guard Captain looked at him for a brief second before nodding faintly. "That's also another possibility. We're still investigating. This is what we have for now. I'll inform you once we have more ideas on the situation. For now, we're sealing all information from leaking. It would be best if the public doesn't know of this information for now. Especially since there's an important event happening right now." "I'm in agreement." Atlas faintly nodded his head, his half-opened eyes closing. It was then that he asked, "Do you have any ideas as to who the possible assailant is?" "...." A strange silence followed after Atlas's question. It was enough to make him open his eyes, revealing his deep yellow pupils. Meeting his gaze was the Guard's Captain, a man with thick black brows, deep-set brown eyes, and short, jet-black hair. A long scar ran down the side of his face, adding to his menacing appearance.

In spite of his appearance, his presence was still completely overwhelmed by the warm-looking Atlas. The Captain swallowed silently before speaking, "We still don't know which side is the assailant." "Hm?" "....All we know is that a fight occurred. We don't know which side was responsible for the ambush." The room seemed to freeze as a powerful tension descended, thick and stifling. Atlas and the Guard Captain locked eyes, neither flinching.

Despite the eerie calm in Atlas's gaze, there was an unmistakable intensity.

It was as if the sun itself burned behind his eyes, a fire raging just beneath the surface, threatening to consume everything it looked at. His lips parted open, his voice gently echoing out. "Are you suggesting that Julien is the one who assaulted?" "…I am not. I'm merely suggesting it's a possibility,"

The Captain said, his tone even. "Considering that the other person involved has shown strength approaching the fifth tier, it's unlikely Julien can defeat him outright with his current level of power. The only plausible way I can think of—" "—is through an ambush." Atlas directly cut off the Captain, a thin smile spreading across his lips. The tension that lingered in the room subsided as his eyes closed again. "Well, I see. Your words make sense. We can't immediately jump to conclusions. Do you have any possible idea as to who the other person involved is?" "We have some ideas." "I'm sorry but we won't be disclosing for now. We'll do so once we are certain about their identity. It's standard protocol." "Understandable." Atlas appeared to be rather agreeable. After those words from the Captain, he no longer asked any questions and the surroundings fell silent. That was until the Doctor frowned and thought, "What about the Chancellor? It's strange that she isn't here. Do you know where she is?" "The Chancellor?" Raising his brow, the Captain mused for a brief moment. "Now that I think about it, I've already relayed the information to her. Given that she isn't here she most likely ignored it or hasn't seen it yet. I'm not sure which one it is." "....Hmm." Opening his eyes, Atlas glanced toward the room where Julien was resting. As he did, a faint crack appeared on his otherwise calm expression.

It was subtle, but not enough for anyone to notice. Staring directly at the wall, he let out a subtle breath before closing his eyes again. 'Maybe I'm just seeing things.' Yeah, maybe he was. *** The Academy was rather efficient. All news related to Julien's accident was completely sealed, preventing anyone from figuring out what had happened. Given how fast the situation had also been, and how secluded the area was, no rumors circulated across the Academy campus. However, an incident did occur. One of the Priests—Priest Johan Opersia of the Clora church went missing. Given that he was one of the Priests responsible for conducting the Confessional hearing for the Church of Clora, this situation quickly escalated into a significant issue.

As a result, all Confessional hearings were immediately put on hold.

"One of the priests went missing?" "...Yeah, that's what they said." "How does that make sense?" Aoife came out of the dorm rooms with Kiera. The two were just about to head over to the confessional hearings when its cancellation was suddenly announced. There wasn't much information regarding why it was canceled besides the fact that one of the priests had gone missing. The entire academy was now looking for the man in question. Aoife turned to look at Kiera. "What do you think?" "How should I know?" Kiera shrugged, a licorice stick hanging by her lips. Nibbling on the stick, she casually looked around before taking it out. "I don't really mind, to be honest. I'm not really into this stuff. I might as well do other things. If anything, this is just saving me time." "Um." Aoife didn't refute her statement. She had been at a confessional hearing in the past, and it was rather boring. All they would do was talk with one of the priests and share some embarrassing secrets before repenting to the gods.

In her eyes, it was a total waste of time.

The fact that it got delayed was good in her eyes. Well, to some extent. "Even so, it's not like it's canceled. We'll still have to attend it soon enough." "....Yeah." Kiera clicked her tongue while mumbling, 'Fucking annoying bullshit.'

Lifting her head to gaze at the sky, she casually flicked the licorice stick aside. Aoife frowned but decided to ignore it. While it was littering, it was also just a stick. Plus... She could already imagine what would happen if she started to nag at her. And so, Aoife decided to remain quiet. She wasn't in the mood to fight with Kiera. At least, not now.

Perhaps later.

These thoughts ran down her mind until her eyes caught sight of a faint lock of hair peeking from one of the trees in the distance. "Um?" Aoife's brows furrowed tightly. Again? 'No, the hair color is different. The hair looked red.' Red...? Aoife looked to her right where Kiera was. She half-expected her to notice something, but she just seemed lost in her own world. When Aoife turned to look at the tree once more, the lock of hair was gone. Aoife stood quietly for a brief moment before walking ahead. 'Surely, I'm not seeing things right?' ".....!" Aoife's head flicked to the left. That was when she felt a presence and she immediately dashed in that direction. "Uh?" Her abrupt actions caught Kiera's attention as she looked surprised. "What is this bi—" Swoosh! But before Kiera could finish her words, Aoife jumped into one of the bushes and shouted. "Got you!" She pulled out a bunch of sticks and leaves. "....." "....." A strange silence followed suit shortly after that. Turning her head, Aoife saw Kiera look at her with widened eyes. Her expression seemed to say, 'Has this bitch totally lost it?' Aoife tried her best to ignore Kiera's expression and shifted her attention back to the sticks and bushes in her hand. 'I could've sworn I had caught something.' It... just disappeared before she could fully grasp it. But what could it be? Aoife brows tightened considerably. She had been feeling a presence ever since the dorm rooms before. And yet, whenever she tried to investigate, she would find nothing. Just what sort of—

"Eh?" A certain high-pitched voice snapped and caught Aoife's attention. Lifting her head, Aoife noticed a figure appearing in the distance. Her purple locks danced under the faint breeze that lingered in the air and her expression appeared troubled as she reached out from behind one of the trees. Before Aoife could comprehend the reason behind Evelyn's troubled expression, her mouth fell when she saw Evelyn pull out her hand from behind the tree, holding onto a small hand.

Soon, a small head peeked out from behind the tree, revealing a young girl with soft red hair, wide watery eyes, and chubby, rosy cheeks.

'A kid...?' The sight left Aoife stumped. How could a kid appear in the Academy, of all places? Aoife couldn't understand what was happening at all. To add insult to injury, a sudden hot, searing pain flared up in her right arm. When she glanced down, her heart skipped a beat.

"This...!" A faint glow manifested from within her skin. In there, she could see her bone. It glowed a faint red hue. Aoife's mouth opened and closed several times as she struggled to process the sight before her. She knew exactly what it was, but that very fact that she knew made her mind grow blank. "H-how?" Aoife's lips trembled as she took a step back. Staring at her hand, and then the little girl in the distance with whom she suddenly felt a connection, Aoife's chest shook. Taking a step back, she pressed her hand against her arm. It felt hot, and information flowed into her mind. 'T-this... It really is a bone. But when...? When did I receive the bone?' ...And who exactly was the kid in front of her?