It all happened so fast that the girls were unable to react on time.

Drip! Drip...!

Just when their attention was focused on the ones who were screaming, a subtle dripping sound echoed from beside them. Surprised, the girls turned to stare in the direction of where the noise came from and their gazes fell on Leon who looked out of sorts.

"Leon...?"

Evelyn was the first one to approach him.

The nearer she got, the more apparent it became to her and the others that something was wrong

"Leon!"

She called his name several times, but he didn't respond. He looked conscious, at least, he appeared to be aware of the fact that they were trying to talk to him.

And yet, he didn't seem to know how to react.

It was as if his cognitive abilities had shut down.

Drip.

The blood continued to drip down from his mouth as he blankly looked at them.

Coking his head, he blankly stared at them.

There was something particularly eerie about the state Leon was in. To the point where Kiera felt the need to step back slightly.

Aoife felt the same way.

Something about his current state made her chest constrict.

Evelyn was the only one that approached him.

"Leon? Can you hear me? Leon!"

Because of the screams around, their commotion went unnoticed. At least, until Leon's eyes eventually turned white and his body started to sway.

"....!"

The girls flinched at the sight.

Evelyn looked especially worried.

"Leon!"

But it was too late.

"Hieeeeeek"

He too started to scream.

His scream, just like the others, pierced through the surroundings. The worst part of it all was that he was also looking into the inner area of the bunker.

....Just like the other people were.

"Hieeeeeek"

Leon's abrupt change caught the girls off-guard, and none of them knew how to react. It took one of the members of the Guild to knock Leon down for them to snap out of it.

"Leon...!"

Evelyn rushed to see Leon, but she was abruptly pushed back by the Guild members.

"Stay back! The situation is sensitive. He's going into epileptic shock. We need to calm him down first."

Indeed, just as the words left the Guild member's mouth, Leon's body started to convulse on the ground. Foam appeared by his mouth as his body twitched in all areas.

Having learned from the previous experiences, the Guild members knew what to do and were able to quickly calm him down.

The same was true for the other people within the bunker.

"Quick! Get him out of here!"

"Hurry up!"

He was then put on a stretch before getting carried out of the area.

The entire time, Evelyn and the others could do nothing but watch.

"W-hat the fuck."

Kiera was the first one to break the silence, her voice trembling slightly.

She was clearly shaken by the ordeal.

".....I get the others, but Leon of all people? How does this make sense? Isn't he like the best after Julien?"

The two girls didn't respond to her words.

However, it was clear that they felt the same way as her.

"This doesn't make sense."

Aoife finally spoke.

Pinching her chin, a habit she developed over the years, she looked towards the inner bunker area and bit her lips.

"....Why is everyone staring in that direction? Could there really be something wrong with Julien?"

"Ah."

Evelyn unconsciously let out a sound at that.

Immediately, the two other girls looked at her, but she waved her hand.

"No, it's nothing."

.....It was just that she had been reminded of a past she wanted to forget.

'No, he's changed. He's changed.'

Though she had her doubts, she trusted Leon's judgment.

'....And yet, he was the closest person to him.'

Evelyn bit her lips.

From the way everyone was looking in his direction, to how Leon had also been affected. All evidence pointed out at Julien. The fact that she had also seen how Julien truly was in the past further added to her suspicion.

However, she didn't jump to conclusions.

'Julien is not stupid.'

Julien may have changed, but be it past or present, he wasn't stupid. There'd be no way he'd do something that would give away his identity like that.

He was most likely being framed.

"Julien is being framed."

Aoife seemed to think so as well.

"Uh? Framed?"

Kiera looked confused.

"About what?"

Glancing at her, Aoife didn't bother arguing with her and elaborated.

"Did you notice how the moment a person screams, they all turn to look in Julien's direction?"

"Oh, yeah."

"I'm saying that he's being framed. If he was really responsible, he wouldn't do something that would jeopardize his identity like that. He's either being framed, or targeted."

"....Oh, right. Sure I guess."

Kiera scratched her nose.

"But why would they target him?"

"How should I know?"

Aoife rolled her eyes and Kiera frowned. Pinching her fingers together in her pocket, Kiera leaned her head closer to Aoife.

"What?"

"....It's nothing."

"It's clearly something. What's with that face?"

"It's just how I normally look."

"Bullshit! You were clearly thinking some shit."

"Why are you so crude with your words?"

"And? How about you suck my balls?"

"....?"

Aofie was at first confused, but when Kiera's words sank in, she made a disgusted look.

"That's disgusting."

"Like I"

"Stop."

Evelyn suddenly interjected. Alternating her gaze between the two, she frowned.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?"

Both Aoife and Kiera turned to look at her. Just before they were about to speak, Evelyn raised her hand to stop them.

"No, I don't want to hear it. This isn't the time for that."

There was clearly something sinister within the bunker. It was hard to explain, but Evelyn clearly felt it. That their time was running short.

Whatever was happening, it was slowly creeping its way into them.

In fact, since Leon had also fallen prey to whatever sinister situation was going on, there was no guarantee that they were safe. Looking around, and seeing the evident panic on the people's faces, she forced herself to calm down.

"At this rate, we're going to be in trouble. What was it again? Tree of thorns?"

"Ebonthorn."

Aoife corrected, and Kiera frowned.

"Tree of what?"

"I just said it."

"Yeah, I heard it. But what the fuck is that?"

Hearing Kiera curse, Aoife's face squinted slightly, but she was able to keep herself from lashing out and started to explain.

"It's something Leon and Julien were looking into before all of this happened."

"Uh? Really?"

"Yes."

Aoife took a deep breath and was prepared to continue when Kiera suddenly interrupted.

"If that's the case, do you think that the reason they are in this situation is because of that? You said they were framed, right? What if the ones behind them realized that those two were snooping?"

At the start, Aoife was prepared to dismiss Kiera's claims. However, when she thought about it, she found that she was unable to do so at all.

In fact, her words made sense.

Raising her head, she looked at Evelyn who appeared to have a similar look of realization on her face.

".....Shiat."

A curse slipped Aoife's mouth.

"Ah!"

By the time she realized, it was too late. Covering her mouth, she glanced at Kiera who was looking at her with a frown.

Biting her lips, Aoife prepared herself for the inevitable 'hypocrite' call, but unexpectedly, Kiera didn't do that.

Rather,

"That's not how you say it."

She seemed more bothered by the fact that she didn't say it properly.

"It's shit. Not shiat. The hell is wrong with you?"

***

"Hooo."

Taking a deep breath, the roots that had been tangling my body vanished just like usual. I didn't feel relieved by that fact. Rather, I felt an even greater sense of urgency.

I was running out of time.

"....What do I do?"

Looking around the room, there was nothing that I could do. Given my current abilities, I couldn't force my way out of the room.

Not only that but even if I were to get out, what would happen then?

There were so many people who were stronger than me.

"Haa."

I felt a sense of helplessness.

Clank

Breaking me out of my thoughts, the door to the room opened and several figures walked in. Confused, I looked at them. Wearing black uniforms, they stared at with serious expressions.

I didn't like where this was going...

"There's been an incident in the outer sector."

A tall man with combed black hair, squared-framed glasses, and sharp eyes spoke. As he spoke, he slowly put on a pair of black leather gloves.

"Do you know anything about that?"

An incident in the outer sector?

'Did something happen again?'

Before I even had the chance to ask what it was, several of the men dressed in black lined up behind me.

"Uh?"

I looked around in confusion.

"WhatUk."

I felt my hair pull from the back as the leading man stared at me straight in the eyes.

"A similar incident from before occurred. Guess where they were looking at."

"...."

It was at this moment that I finally understood what was going on.

'Things just don't seem to be going my way.'

"I'll ask you kindly now. What do you know about the situation? Speak now while I'm being kind. I understand that you're an important figure, but we can't afford to treat you like the person that you are given the current circumstances. I'm sure Haven will understand the reasoning behind our actions."

"...."

I remained quiet.

Regardless of whether I was going to answer or not, the situation was going to be the same. If I said I didn't know, they'd say 'bullshit'. In that case, I just remained silent and kept my gaze firmly locked on him.

"Not speaking...?"

Bang

I felt my head smash against the metal table in front of me.

Immediately, the world blurred and my mind became dizzy. Despite that, I didn't let out a sound.

"Speaking now?"

"...."

I continued to remain quiet.

Bang

And the process repeated.

My head yet again came smashing against the table.

"I don't want to do this. If you speak now, I won't have to do this."

"...."

Bang

"Going to speak now?"

"...."

Bang

"Still not speaking?"

"...."

Bang

I had lost count of the amounts of times my head had been bashed against the table. The pain was there, but I could manage it. The problem came from the fact that I was slowly starting to lose consciousness.

My eyesight was blurry, and I felt a wet sensation trailing down my nose.

Thankfully, the 'interrogation' didn't last for very long.

"....Sir, the cadet is unresponsive."

"I can see that."

Finally letting go of my head, I felt myself slump back on the chair. Though I was conscious, I could hardly move. My body refused to listen to me.

Within my blurred sight, I could make out the outline of the man from before.

"We'll take a break now. I'll be coming to visit you again. When you feel like talking, all of this will stop."

He then proceeded to leave alongside the others, leaving me in the room alone.

Clank

A stifling silence covered the room as I blankly stared at the ceiling.

One that I broke myself.

"....He didn't notice."

Turning my head slightly, I managed to catch a glimpse of my right arm.

Words flowed out of my mouth as I squeezed my hand shut.

"Javier McDaniels. A single father of two. Wife died in an accident last year."

Closing my eyes, several other memories flashed within my mind.

"Haaa.."

Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes again.

'I need a bit more time.'