"....Do you still have nothing?"

The secretary asked outside of the detention room. From the tone of his voice, he appeared rather flustered and rushed.

Javier shook his head.

"Nothing yet. I've tried multiple methods, but he doesn't budge."

"This is problematic."

Pacing around, the secretary mumbled to himself,

"Post Leader will be disappointed if we don't have anything soon. The information is also vital, and the cadet is our only source of information. It's obvious that he has something to do with the situation. We need to find something."

His head flicked to face Javier.

Licking his lips, he said,

"Try again."

"But--"

"I don't care what methods you use by try again! We need him to speak! If we don't get results soon, then the situation will be bad for both of us. Think about your children! Get this done!"

"....Are you sure?"

"Yes, yes. I said it before, I'll handle the consequences. You do your thing."

"Understood."

Watching the secretary leave, Javier stood still for several minutes. His mind ran with complex thoughts, but as he recalled his children, he clenched his teeth and turned around to face the room.

"...."

Facing the door, Javier stood with his hand on the handle.

For some reason, his hand just refused to turn the knob. It was as if his mind refused to let hi open the door.

Thinking about the words the cadet said, and the fact that he was now the same age as his children, Javier started to feel hesitant.

It was strange.

However, his circumstances coincided a lot with that of his children.

.....He kept getting reminded of them because of that.

'No, I have to do it.'

But clenching his teeth, Javier forced himself to throw those thoughts away.

Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

Clank--

It was silent upon entering the room.

Drip...! Drip.

Besides the dripping sound of the blood that flowed down the cadet's face, there was no other sound present.

"B... as..."

At least, that was until Javier picked something up.

It was faint, but he could hear it.

The sound.

....It was coming from the cadet's mouth.

He appeared to be saying something.

"B... a... sho... I.."

Frowning, Javier leaned in closer to hear better. Before he knew it, his ear was next to the cadet.

"B... a... sho... I... kil... m.."

But that was still not enough.

He couldn't quite hear what he was saying.

"What are you saying? Speak louder?"

The cadet didn't respond.

"B... a... sho... I... kil... m.."

Instead, he continued to mumble to himself.

Frowning, Javier stepped back.

Grabbing the cadet's hair, he pulled his head back to see his face. Their eyes met for a brief moment, and it was then that the cadet's eyes shot wide open as he screamed.

"B-astard...! you should've killed me like you killed my m-other. I wouldn't have had to suffer so much if not for you!"

Instinctively, Javier let go of his hair.

Clank! Clank...!

Trashing on the chair, the cadet glared at him with bloodshot eyes as blood spilled out of his mouth.

"You...! It's all your fault! She died because you couldn't do the one job you were supposed to do!"

His scream pierced the room.

"You! Why!? Why did you let it happen...!?"

The cadet's eyes were hollow.

It was clear that he wasn't fully conscious. That he wasn't addressing him.

.....And yet.

"You ruined my life!"

For some strange reason.

"You should've died with her!!"

Every word that came out of the cadet's mouth seemed to pierce directly at his heart.

"You're the reason I don't have a mother!"

"Haaa.... Haaa..."

Unknowingly, Javier felt his breathing starting to become rough.

"S-stop."

He tried to stop the cadet, but he felt sapped of energy.

It tied him down to the spot.

"Died! Died! Died! Died! I hate you!!!"

The screams continued.

They gripped the room entirely.

"All because of you!"

Alongside the screams, the pain in Javier's chest intensified.

"N-no, that's not..."

He started to grab onto his head.

"It... wasn't my fault."

It was a distant past of his. A total accident. Yes, a total accident. His wife and his two children were merely on a walk when a monster appeared.

In order to save them, he stayed behind to help them.

...Or at least tried.

In the end, his wife ended up dying due to his negligence.

Years had passed since the incident.

It was an incident that haunted him to this day.

"T-that's. It wasn't my fault..."

Excuses started to flow out of his mouth.

"I tried. I really tried."

"Did you really?"

"Ah, yes... O-f course."

"The monster you were facing wasn't a strong one. It was a monster that someone of your strength should've easily been able to defeat. You wanted to showboat, didn't you?"

"N-no, that's not it."

"Is it not?"

"I, it was--Uh?"

Javier's head flicked up.

His heart chilled the moment he looked up. Seated in his seat with an indifferent expression was the cadet.

He was looking at him expressionlessly.

.....The hair on Javier's body stood on end the moment he met his gaze.

"Wa-it."

He then realled the conversation they were having.

Ba... Thump!

He felt the beat of his own heart.

'How did he know...?'

The way the cadet spoke made it seem as though he had been there. But that was impossible.

Impossible!!

Despite knowing that, under that gaze, his muscles turned stiff.

"You, how did you know...? It's im--"

"....You wanted to let your children and wife see just how strong you were, right?"

"What...!"

"The monster was weaker than you, and you were on vacation. You were clearly not tired like you told the others."

"I..."

Javier's eyes started to line with anxiety.

Memories of the past resurfaced in his mind. They were in the woods outside of his estate. The day was clear, and the monster was standing right before him.

It was a two-fanged bear.

A rather weak creature that was known for being nimble and ferocious.

'Haha, watch how I kill it! I'll show you just how strong I am.'

'Go dad! Go...!'

'Kill it!!'

'Haha!'

'Honey, please be careful!'

'Don't worry! I'll tak'

It was just a momentary lapse of attention.

'Akh...!;

'Ahhhh!'

That was all it took for everything to go wrong.

He could still vividly recall the screams of terror coming from his wife and children.

"She died because of your carelessness."

"Haa... Haa..."

".....Am I wrong?"

Javier wanted to refute, but he found the words unable to escape his lips.

His chest felt heavy, and the hidden pain he kept hidden started to surface from within him. But that wasn't the worst part.

No, it was those eyes.

His eyes.

"Let me ask again, am I wrong?"

"No...!"

Javier shouted.

"That's exactly what happened!"

Anger started to build from deep within him. It was an anger that was built upon the guilt he kept hidden.

"She died because of me...! Are you happy?!"

His scream reverberated throughout the room.

By the time he was done, the room plunged into silence again. But the only focus of Javier's attention were those two cold and indifferent hazel eyes.

Javier seemed to be able to see his reflection within them.

"....So why are you still here?"

The cadet repeated, his voice layering slightly.

Javier felt his breath caught at his throat.

"H-haa..."

"How can you live knowing that you're such a weak man? All that strength and power. And for what?"

The cadet's voice layered again.

Javier felt his chest squeeze.

'Something is wrong.'

He clearly understood that there was something wrong with the situation. From how the cadet knew all the information, to the subtle layering in his voice.

He knew, and yet...

"H-ha."

He could do nothing about it.

....It was too late for him.

As if two hands had grasped his mind, he found himself unable to move at all. He was stuck in his spot, continuously thinking about the past.

"If you can't even protect your own wife, what makes you think you can protect your own children? "

"H-haa... Haa..."

".....If you can't even protect your own children, what right do you have to still be here?"

"Haa. Ha. Ha."

His breathing grew faster and faster.

"Ha. Ha. Haa. Ha."

He had started to hyperventilate.

'Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop. Stop.'

Javier continuously begged for all of this to stop.

Clenching onto his chest, he begged and begged and begged.

And yet,

"Your children know of your sin. They just act like they don't."

The voice never stopped.

It grew louder and louder in his mind, completely overtaking it.

The hands squeezed at his mind.

Stop.

Sto.

St.

s.

And then,

"...."

The room fell into silence.

In the silence, the only sound that was heard was the rapid breaths coming from Javier which slowly started to calm down as his head drooped.

That was until Julien's voice broke the silence.

"Look at me."

"...."

Javier looked up.

His eyes were hollow, devoid of any light.

Staring into those eyes, Julien brought his cuffed hands forward.

"Release me."

"...."

Javier stared at the cuffs with a hollow gaze.

"....You know I'm innocent."

Julien's voice reached his ears again.

"Don't let your sins pile up. What would your children think of you? You let your wife die, and then, you torture an innocent cadet?"

His voice, though quiet, seemed to resonate loudly within Javier's mind as he finally began to move, taking out a small key from his pocket.

"Unlock it."

Javier moved forward, bringing the key towards the keyhole of the cuffs.

Clink, clank

With the turn of the keys, the cuffs opened.

Removing his hands from the cuffs, Julien massaged his wrists before looking at Javier. He looked like a complete husk of the person that had tortured him.

"You've done well."

Julien spoke, moving the cuffs away.

Tak.

Taking a step forward, he looked at Javier in the eyes.

"It wasn't your fault."

".....?"

Julien's words seemed to have brought some clarity back into Javier's eyes.

But such clarity only lasted for a few seconds before he added,

"This is the first time I've tried this. I'm not quite adept at it just yet. You were clearly aware that I was manipulating you, and yet, your guilt seemed to have overridden that fact."

Extending his hand forward, Julien placed the tip of his finger against Javier's forehead.

".....There's still so much I have to work on."

Xiu!

Javier's world turned blank shortly after.

Thump!

His body fell back, and blood slowly started to pool from behind his head where a small, almost imperceptible, hole appeared.

Staring at his body, Julien closed his eyes.

Then, opening them up again, he started to get undressed.

This was merely the start.