"Hey, why did you sto"

Evelyn almost bumped into Leon's body as she swiftly stepped to the left in time. She was just about to complain when she found herself stopping at the sight that greeted her eyes.

"Ah, this..."

Aoife, Luxon, and the others followed shortly after.

They too wore similar expressions.

"You did this...?"

The one who seemed to be in the most shock was Luxon who looked at the corpses littered on the ground in shock.

While they weren't exactly strong monsters, judging from the aura they gave off, there were still a lot of them. Even he felt that it would be difficult for all of them to handle these many of them at once. So for him to be able to do it all by himself...

"How?"

He found that hard to believe.

But...

Such was the reality of the situation as Julien calmly stood up from his spot to brush his clothes which were covered in blood.

A strange silence gripped the surroundings as all eyes fell on him.

That was until...

"Ah...!"

Evelyn's shout brought everyone back.

"What? What's going on?"

The first to react was Luxon who looked at her with a frown. She was looking toward the distance with wide-open eyes as she pointed toward a certain area.

"T-that..."

"Uh?"

"....!"

From there, everyone could see what she was pointing at, and their expressions shifted once more.

"Wesely...?"

A headless corpse. One that wore a distinctive uniform that could only belong to those who belonged to the Haven Institute.

Almost immediately, all eyes fell on the figure that stood in the middle.

He seemed completely nonchalant about the situation. His eyes weren't even on the corpse or them.

It was his behavior that made all of them grow wary as a sudden thought crossed their minds.

What if...?

"Julien."

Leon was the first to call him out. Of everyone present, he was the only one who didn't jump to conclusions.

"....What happened?"

Finally, Julien's head turned and their gazes met. As if he understood what he was talking about, he slowly answered.

"He died."

".....I can see that."

Leon slowly blinked.

"How did he die? Did you...?"

"No."

Shaking his head, Julien pointed toward a certain direction. Following his line of sight, Leon's eyes jumped up.

It was there that he managed to catch a glimpse of a severed head. One that was badly burned.

"I wasn't the one who killed him. I'm not capable of doing that."

"No, that makes no sense."

Aoife cut the conversation short as she moved towards the severed head. She closely examined it before turning to look at Julien with a frown.

"These scars... They're obviously healed."

"..."

Julien calmly stared at her for a short moment before turning to look at the severed head. For the briefest of moments, Leon saw Julien's face contort. However, he was quick to hide it.

"Possibly. I didn't have the time to check..."

"Right."

Aoife glanced at the surroundings briefly before nodding. She didn't seem too convinced but accepted the explanation. Especially when considering how differently the monsters had been slain compared to the corpse.

He could've perhaps done that on purpose, but there was no denying the burned-up face before them.

Julien...

He wasn't capable of doing such a thing.

And with such thoughts, Aoife looked at Leon who looked back at her.

"For now, let's head back. We'll report this to the institute. They'll do the investigating."

"Okay."

Leon readily agreed and turned his attention away from Julien.

The same was true for the others who looked anywhere but his direction.

.....There was something about his current demeanor that threw them all off. His eyes especially.

They were cold. Almost detached.

But within them, they could feel a certain rage that they didn't want to address.

They felt...

Maddening.

***

"Please come with us. We will need to detain you until we manage to get a clear understanding of the situation."

".....I understand."

The moment we returned from the cave and the situation was reported, I was immediately brought away by the Academy security.

I didn't complain and obliged.

"Please place your hand over the orb."

"Understood."

"Test results... 1.897."

"Mana Density... Tainted."

As I continued to undergo testing, a familiar set of results appeared in front of me. This pattern persisted for several hours until I was finally led to a small room furnished with a wooden desk and chair.

"Someone will come in shortly. Make yourself comfortable in the meantime."

"....."

I sat down and closed my eyes.

The lingering traces of the anger I had perceived from the vision began to fade, and I started to feel normal again.

I was confident in my chances of making it out without any problems. I didn't use curse magic when dealing with Wesley. Had I used it... There would've been a strong chance his death would've been linked to me.

But...

There wasn't. I made sure that to be the case.

It was likely that the Academy would attribute his death to one of the monsters.

"Hah."

But that wasn't the only thing they'd be worried about.

The fact that his true face had been revealed probably was what the Academy was investigating.

....They probably didn't care about his death as much as his real identity.

I couldn't blame them. After all, he had managed to sneak in right under their noses. It made me think deeply about the organization I was dealing with and their strength.

Surely, an organization that could sneak in 'spies' in such a prestigious institute had to be extremely powerful. Several times more than the Institute itself.

'The Inverted Sky.'

Was what they called themselves. At least, from what I had managed to glimpse from the memories.

They appeared to be a group of fanatics who kidnapped young children to brainwash them.

Even now...

Thinking about what I had seen, my stomach churned in disgust.

'Evil bastards...'

The memories of the vision remained glued to my mind. Constantly reminded of what I had seen, and just what atrocities they had committed.

There were a lot of things that I had managed to learn from the vision. However, what bothered me the most was the fact that I... No, Julien was part of this very organization.

And he wasn't simply a small member.

'Phecda'

Such was the name I was referred to back in the cave.

What did it mean, and what did it signify...?

I wasn't exactly sure, but... I knew that it meant a rather important position.

"...."

I sat in silence staring at the empty desk before me as I felt my back tense.

'They're probably going to come for me soon.'

Wesley and I were supposed to carry a mission.

The fact that he had died and I was present was rather suspicious. However, I knew the moment that I was part of this organization that there was no point in trying too hard to make it seem as though it was an accident and that I wasn't involved.

They weren't stupid.

I was sure they knew I was in some way involved in his death.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

I drummed my fingers over the wooden desk.

But...

'It's not exactly a bad position.'

This situation...

I could make use of it.

***

Within this area where the institute's discipline was upheld, several school board members tasked with administering disciplinary measures for the cadets were present.

The accused sat on the other side of the "invisible glass," awaiting his judgment.

He sat quietly behind a desk with a calm face.

"Julien Dacre Evenus. The Black Star."

The accused name and title were read out to the members of the room.

"How deeply is he involved in this matter?"

The disciplinary elder, a rough man with a thick frame and bald head stood at the center of the formation.

Besides him, a young man who appeared to still be a cadet held up a piece of paper as he spoke.

"The results have come back negative. The likelihood of him being the culprit is unlikely. There are no traces of curse magic, and given how cleanly the head had been severed, it is also unlikely to be done by a magician. The biopsy suggests that it's more likely a monster who did it."

"Right..."

The elder had also read the biopsy and after having observed the corpse, he also believed that to be the case.

However...

There was something off about the situation.

Something simply didn't add up.

He eventually turned his head toward his right where a woman sat. She had been silent the entire time, and her attention had been on Julien from the start.

"Chancellor."

He called out to her.

Only then did she turn her head to meet his gaze. The elder felt his breath leave his body the moment their gazes met, as an intense pressure bore down on him.

Thankfully, as a high wizard, he was able to remain composed.

Forcing those feelings down, he managed to ask.

"What do you think about the situation....?"

A strange silence filled the room shortly after he asked that question.

With her gaze lingering over him for the briefest of moments, she turned her attention back to Julien who seemed to have felt their gazes as he lifted his head.

Then, with a slight tug of her lips, she leaned her cheek on her propped-up fist.

".....I wonder."