After the murders on the first day of the new students' welcoming ceremony, a lot changed at the academy.
The incident sparked outrage among the noble families.
The brutal deaths of three of their children caused a huge uproar, putting enormous pressure on Saruman and the academy's leaders to find the killer no matter who it was human or creature.
Things got worse when the noble families who lost their children received backing from powerful royal families like Artavelia and Malekith to push for a full investigation inside the academy.
Even though Saruman had publicly declared that a Chaos creature was responsible, the royal families were deeply suspicious that the killer was actually an Awakened human.
But who could this killer be? Who would have the guts and the strength to murder three members of noble families inside Lucaria Academy, right in front of the continent's strongest Saints?
It didn't stop there; word of the incident spread quickly, reaching the other major factions as well.
Apparently, Leonard and his team had informed Saruman of their conclusion during their investigation at the crime scene that the killer might be a student but Saruman completely rejected the idea and wasn't convinced by their reasoning.
Other investigative teams sent by the Court of Justice issued statements demanding the killer must be found as quickly as possible.
They dismissed Saruman's claims, saying it was impossible for a Chaos creature to be responsible, since there was no trace of one at the crime scene!
What made matters even more complicated was the method of killing itself. No one had ever seen an ability capable of draining the blood from victims' bodies whether human Awakened or Chaos creature.
This baffled medical experts, prompting the Health Organization to release a statement claiming the killer couldn't be human and must be a new type of Chaos creature.
If that was true, the killer would be one of the most dangerous beings humans had ever encountered.
How could a Chaos creature possess such a terrifying ability while also remaining invisible to the senses of Awakened people? Even Saints couldn't sense it!
Fifteen days had passed since the murders, and still no one had a logical explanation for how that murder happened.
That's why the woman known as the "Eye of the Continent" came to Lucaria herself to settle the debate once and for all, was the killer human, or a Chaos creature?
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"Welcome, great Saint Theresa," everyone said, lowering their heads and closing their eyes to avoid her gaze.
Theresa looked like a majestic old woman with long gray hair, a slender frame, and green eyes.
She wore a long brown coat over simple clothes and leaned on a strange black staff topped with a skull-shaped handle.
She smiled and said, "It's a pleasure to see you all."
Everyone kept their eyes on the ground, refusing to meet her gaze.
No one seemed happy to see her.
Everyone stood silently as Saruman spoke. "We need your help to continue the welcoming ceremony, venerable Saint."
Theresa looked at Saruman and said, "My child, it's rare for you to ask for my help."
She called Saruman an eighty-year-old man who looked older than her "my child."
Saruman replied, "No one is better to ask for help on this matter than you."
Theresa chuckled softly. "Very well. I'll help."
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Jin was lying on his bed, eating some apples while staring at the ceiling...
For the past fifteen days, he had done nothing but sit in his room because the administration had forbidden students from leaving their rooms due to the murder.
Every day, the guards came to deliver food and basic supplies to the students, then locked them in their rooms. It was somewhat like a prison.
As for the noble and royal families, they were hosted in the castles outside the academy. The nobles took the opportunity to show off their generosity to the royal families and other high-ranking guests.
Jin was so bored. For the first six days, he had still been afraid of being discovered as the murderer, but when he read the news articles, all his fear vanished.
Still… even till this day, he kept asking himself:
How did I kill them?
He clearly remembered the paper saying that Amon's spirit took over his body when he was in critical condition.
But what happened after that? What did Amon's spirit do while controlling him? How did it manage to kill them in such a brutal way?
Jin wasn't asking because he felt guilty. And it definitely wasn't sympathy for those bastards.
The real reason he kept thinking about it was obvious.
Amon's spirit must have used his blood powers.
Does that mean Jin could actually use his abilities… and he just didn't know how yet?
He remembered that day when he tried to hit the tree with a blood dagger, and how it ended stupidly because of that damn mana.
If he could use his powers, then he needed to figure out how.
And he absolutely needed to make sure he never fell into critical condition again… he didn't want a random spirit taking over his body again.
"This is so boring…" Jin sighed loudly.
Suddenly, a voice echoed throughout the entire room.
"Students, several days have passed since you were confined to your rooms, so I will keep this brief."
"The entrance ceremony will resume tomorrow. Make sure you are fully prepared."
"Ghkk—damn it!" Saruman's voice startled Jin.
He quickly sat up and nearly choked after swallowing a piece of apple without chewing.
Jin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Finally… I was seriously dying of boredom."
The next morning, Jin left the room and headed to the colosseum.
Everyone was full of energy and excitement. After days of being locked inside their rooms, they could finally breathe fresh air and escape the depressing atmosphere they had been in.
People were laughing, relieved. The ceremony being resumed meant they must have found the Chaos creature and killed it.
They gathered in the colosseum stage again, but this time, something was different.
Saruman's usual seat was empty. Instead, he was sitting off to the side with the other teachers.
As Jin was looking around, he spotted Henry, so he went to stand beside him.
"Oh, Henry. Haven't seen you in a while."
"Ahaha… yeah… it's been a while since… that day."
Henry seemed like he wanted to avoid Jin, and sure enough, he slowly moved away. Jin was a bit confused by his reaction, but he didn't think much of it.
"Guess he's just a really shy guy…"
Suddenly, whispers spread among the students when they saw an old gray-haired woman slowly take a seat in Saruman's usual chair.
"Who's that old lady?"
"Did Saruman retire or something?"
"Haha, looks like his failure finally forced him to step down."
Everyone was laughing and joking.
Meanwhile, the students from royal and noble families looked pale as if they had seen a ghost.
Especially Yumi, Jonathan, and Alucard. They were the palest of them all.
Even the teachers standing beside her were avoiding eye contact.
Jin felt something strange about this woman too… but he didn't think much of it. All he had to do was take the oath and leave.
Then Saruman shouted, his voice echoing across the stage.
"Quiet!"
"Today, we have an important guest. Many of you may not recognize her from her appearance."
"But it would be a shame for all of us if we don't know her venerable name."
"So, everyone show your respect to our beautiful Saint Theresa!"
The moment he said her name, the color drained from everyone's faces.
Suddenly, Jin saw several people shut their eyes tightly. Others lowered their heads to the ground. Some even dropped to their knees and buried their faces between them.
Everyone… except Jin.
He was stunned by their reaction. He didn't understand why they were acting like that.
Jin leaned toward a guy next to him he was pale and sweating heavily as he buried his face between his legs then asked him,
"Who is this old woman?"
Of course, his eyes were closed, so he didn't recognize Jin and answered without much thought to who he was speaking to.
"You don't know Saint Theresa? Have you been living under a rock or something?!"
"Tch. Just answer me."
"She's one of the Five Founding Saints of the Holy Order," he answered.
"The Five Founding what? The Holy Order? What does any of that mean?"
"You seriously don't know anything?"
"If I knew, would I be asking?"
He slightly moved one eye open to see which idiot was talking to him,
Then he suddenly screamed.
"Ahh! It's you, you fucking—"
Before he could finish, Saruman's voice thundered again.
"How disgraceful! Stand on your feet, you idiots!"
Everyone stood up when they heard Saruman's words, but they still kept their eyes closed.
"Welcome, students. I am Saint Theresa and I am here today to witness your oath."
Everyone on the stage except Jin knew the true reason for her presence.
And they knew she didn't come to witness a ceremony.
Theresa sat down and smiled at them.
The moment she did that, several students began to breathe heavily.
Jin leaned toward the same guy beside him and whispered,
"Why are all of you covering your eyes like that?"
"Fuck—why are you talking to me?! Get away from me right now!"
His reaction annoyed Jin.
"Just tell me or I'll punch you in front of everyone."
"Huh? Someone like you? Punch me—?"
Before he could finish, Jin casually ran his fingers through his hair, smiling mischievously.
"If you're not gonna talk, I'll force you to open your eyes."
"Fine, fine! Just stop, you fucking bastard!"
He wanted to scream but kept himself calm, refusing to open his eyes no matter what.
"Listen, you little shit… since you didn't close your eyes, you're going to regret it."
"Huh? Why?" Jin asked.
"Saint Theresa can see the truth through our eyes. Not only that, she can also look into the past of everyone here."
"Of course, we all have embarrassing or dark pasts. Things that could get us expelled instantly."
"And no one on this continent can escape her gaze once she looks at them!"
Jin's expression changed instantly.
The blood drained from his face. He nearly fainted from the fear.
He lifted his hand from the guy's hair, his hand trembling violently. "Ah shit... I'm done..."
Seconds later, Theresa suddenly raised her hands and tied a blindfold over her eyes.
Almost no one noticed, but her hands seemed to be shaking slightly as she put on the blindfold.
"You all have beautiful pasts," Theresa said gently, yet strongly.
"There is no need to keep your eyes closed anymore."
Everyone's fear increased, and their faces turned blue.
Then she looked toward Saruman and the other teachers, who were silently waiting for her judgment.
"I now know who the killer is." She smiled.
Then she turned toward the students and spoke loudly.
"As you know, three students were killed a few days ago."
"You were told the killer was a chaotic creature, but it turns out he wasn't."
Everyone's expression changed in shock.
"The killer," she continued, "was something far worse."
Hearing what she said made Jin feel dizzy; he almost fainted in that moment.
Convinced he had been exposed and would be publicly executed. "No, no, no, damn it, I'm still too young for this shit..."
Then suddenly she said loudly,
"The killer was a Corrupted Awakened."
"But he is no longer with us. He was killed as well."
Suddenly, everyone was shocked.
"What the hell?!"
"A Corrupted Awakened? What is that?"
"Corrupted… huh?"
Even Jin stared at her in disbelief.
"Haaah…?"
Saruman and the other teachers also looked visibly stunned.
Saruman leaned closer to her and asked quietly,
"What do you mean he was killed?"
Theresa replied calmly as she whispered to him while preparing to leave,
"There was no killer among them."
Saruman nodded slowly.
"Are you sure?"
"I searched their memories. I found nothing connected to the murderer, so I had to at least give everyone some excuse, otherwise you'd be in trouble, Saruman."
"…I understand. Thank you, Saint Theresa."
She stood up from her seat and walked away from the platform.
After she left, Saruman returned to his usual chair, irritating those who had mocked him earlier for supposedly retiring.
He raised his voice.
"We will continue with the ceremony, so everyone should take their oath in front of the statue!"
The oath-taking ceremony continued, and everyone felt relieved that the supposed killer had passed away.
Everyone… except Jin.
He stood frozen in place.
A crooked smile slowly formed on his face...
"Hah… haha… it seems like Amon's spirit is way stronger than I thought"...
The students finished swearing their oaths before the statue and returned to their rooms, concluding the end of the second phase of the entrance ceremony.
Meanwhile, Theresa returned to her carriage.
Inside, a short girl sat beside her, casually eating rice and chicken.
"Hey, Theresa… was that Corrupted Awakened really killed?"
Theresa replied calmly, "No, he is still alive."
"Then why did you tell them he was dead?"
"…Because I couldn't discover who the killer was."
"Huh?! How could you not?!"
Theresa looked at her, her expression unusually troubled.
"Because that killer is powerful… and terrifying."
"Terrifying to the point that when I tried to uncover his identity… he damaged me."
The girl froze. "He… did hurt you?"
Without another word, Theresa removed the blindfold from her eyes.
The short girl's face twisted in horror.
Blood was slowly streaming down from Theresa's eyes...