His mind in disarray, Elior walked away, Kurotsume dripping with blood.
'I could not get anything'
Although Elior had written the novel, he was sure things would be changing from now on.
Stopping the Astralis Massacre had altered a lot of things in the book he had written.
*Ping*
The blue screen appeared
[STATUS: STOPPING THE ASTRALIS MASSACRE: SUCCESS]
[STORY IS CHANGING]
[STORY PROGRESS:???]
"Kuhh" Elior said in frustration
He had expected it, so now nothing was in his hands anymore.
Elior just prayed some things would remain the same
Although Elior was thinking of the future, his mind was in disarray.
Looking at his sword and hand stained with blood, Elior felt like barfing
It was the second time Elior had killed—all in one night. It was taking a toll like never before.
As Elior approached the academy, someone was waiting for him in the tunnels
"Miss Arwen" Elior said slowly
"You brat, how are you doing" Arwen replied in an irritated tone
As Arwen looked at Elior's hand and sword covered in blood, she asked quietly
"Are you alright?"
"Yes" Elior answered calmly although his face said otherwise
'I am feeling dizzy'
Those were the last words Elior uttered before fainting.
Luckily, Arwen caught Elior right on time
"You have to make me stressed up"
Elior's consciousness resurfaced slowly like rising through a thick suffocating water
His body aching before he opened his eyes- deep, grinding pain that seemed to weigh down every muscle and bone
The first thing he noticed was the light
Soft.
Pale.
Artificial
The scent following after: clean, antiseptic sharpness mixed with faint herbs and mana residue
Finally, as Elior peeled his heavy eyelids open, the full view came into focus
Whitewashed stone ceiling
Hanging lamps filled with arcana crystals
Rows of tidy cots separated by thin white curtains
The faint creak of wood and low hum of minor healing spells saturating the air
'Great'
'The Academy Infirmary. Again'
The familiarity made Elior stomach churn. It was irritating how easily he recognized it now
Before Elior could push himself to sit up, a sharp voice cut across the room
"You are awake" Miss Sora said
Miss Sora's expression was the same: stern, blank and unreadable
She stood beside Elior bed, her arms crossed, glaring down at Elior like he was a troublesome assignment
"I know I said we would be seeing each other more often"
Miss Sora said as she put her hand on her face to hide her frustration
Elior shifted slightly under the thin blanket, groaning as his muscles protested
"How long?" he croaked, his voice dry and hoarse.
"Four days" Miss Sora said simply
Elior blinked once.
Paused.
Then exploded:
"FOUR DAYS?"
Shouting made Elior ribs ache again as he held it slumping back to his pillow gritting his teeth
'Four fucking days unconscious'
'Shit'
Inwardly, Elior knew it was fair
Throughout the Astralis Massacre, Elior had pushed his body to its limits.
'A whole month of overtraining, arcana depletion, blood loss, brutal duel, destroying bombs, fighting the hooded figure, killing Moren'
'His body had to give up at some point'
Hearing it out loud though just proved Elior had a long way to go
Miss Sora clicked her tongue setting a tray of bland food on the bed beside Elior
"Eat and get some rest. The headmistress wants to have a word with you once you are strong"
Elior groaned softly dragging his hand across his face
'Perfect'
As Miss Sora left, Elior looked at his food halfheartedly before munching down on it
"Tasteless" Elior said with disgust in his mouth
As Elior ate his food, laying back on the bed, Elior began putting his thoughts together
The mission
The bombs
Hood
The big boom
Genesis
Killing Moren
Tracing his thoughts back to killing Moren and the hood, Elior remained quiet
'Did I do the right thing?'
The same question Elior had been asking himself since this had taken a heavy toll on him
"I never expected I would actually Kill" Elior said looking down at the cloth
Taking a look at his status, Elior smiled briefly.
Elior now had items that allowed him to disguise as others, the Lunathorn veil, Kurotsume
Seeing it just reassured Elior that everything was real
More Tangible
But if the story was changing, Elior knew he too had to change
He needed every advantage he could get as fast as possible without stopping the protagonist from growing either
'No rest for the dead'
Heavy footsteps echoed outside in the corridor snapping Elior back to reality
Approaching
The door creaked open
And Headmistress Vale stepped into the infirmary
Elior was tensed, he had never seen her up close, so seeing her now put him under a lot of pressure
Headmistress Vale stopped beside his bed and smiled at him calmly
'A gentle smile but the gaze and weight behind it says otherwise'
Vale asked: "You were the one that rescued me alongside Arwen, right?"
"Yes"
"Thank you but I must ask, how did you find the location?"
Elior and Vale locked eyes with each other for a minute before Elior spoke up
"I saw Miss Arwen tailing some people and I followed her from behind"
Vale kept quiet for a few seconds before speaking up
"Come on kid, it is just you and me, no point lying right"
'Cat's out of the bag huh'
Elior sighed
"Yes, I was the one who knew the location"
"Thank you once again" Vale said
Elior chuckled dryly, grimacing as his ribs protested
"Did not do it to be thanked though"
"Okay" Vale said. She pulled her chair closer to Elior and sat down. "Tell me everything"
Vale's eyes were ice piercing cold and calculated as if she had already known from the start that Elior was hiding things from her
'What a nice checkmate she has given me'
"What do you mean by everything" Elior said as he leaned his back against the bed
"Everything. I take it that you have more information than most"
"Alright." Elior started
"I need something in return" Elior said
Vale surprised "Hmm, okay. What do you want"
Elior spoke calmly as he bowed his head "I don't want my name or identity disclosed as the one who found out everything. I want to keep living in the background"
'I expected something grand' Vale thought to herself
'He does not want to be out in the open huh'
"Alright, I can do that for you" Vale said
"Then I will start" Elior said calmly
"It began when I noticed three students sneaking out at night. It looked suspicious piquing my interest"
"You followed them" Vale said
Elior nodded slightly.
"Apparently, they were following the tunnels from Veryven hall that led to the abandoned building. They must have realized that place held no significance hence becoming their base of operations"
Vale did not interrupt, only watching Elior speak closely
"I kept tracking them" Elior continued
"Watched, listened. Saw them entering a weird door"
"What did you do next?" Vale asked calmly
"I infiltrated them" Elior said
"On your own?"
"Yes, I did not know who to trust. I used an artifact and went in disguise as one of them. Got into their meetings and learned about the explosives"
"Did you see the leaders face, Nicholas said he fought him"
Elior paused for a minute
"No, I did not see the person's face"
Elior had to lie. He had no way of explaining that the person was Professor Moren and he had killed him.
No one would have believed him and the act would have been considered treason
After hearing Elior explanation, Vale nodded
"Fair but risky"
"I think it is reckless but it all worked out" Elior answered calmly
Vale leaned back in her chair folding her arms.
"Past is in the past. You made dangerous choices but you saved lives"
"No, I cannot take the credit. I only got the information. It was the staffs and the school that fought and won, not me"
"Quite the humble one I see" Vale said rubbing Elior's head
"Speaking of." Elior asked quietly, "how bad was it?"
Then she replied:
"Thanks to everyone's efforts- and yours- there were thirty dead and fifteen injured"
"Although it was a loss, I can't imagine what would have happened if you did not get the information"
Elior blinked.
Stared at the ceiling.
Then let out a sigh.
"Huh"