Kraken (5)

Kraken stepped over the sewer. It was the scene beyond the portal that Frondier had seen.

The sewer had a foul odor, as one would expect from such a place. However, Kraken was not put off by it.

He had devoured the smells of everything in the water. Everything that had rotted in the water had become his nutrients.

"Hmm~ Frondier, you were a more interesting guy than I thought."

Kraken muttered, feeling as if it had just come back from a blind date.

Its original purpose was just the "business cards", and Frondier was not something it should be involved with yet.

Frondier was just right as a sacrificial pawn to raise Indus' status, but it himself was not a big deal.

"However, I need to vent my anger a little, Frondier. Everything in the world won't be solved by emotions."

Kraken mumbled inaudibly for a moment and stopped.

It felt something approaching from afar, or rather, flying.

No, it's too fast to just call it flying.

"What the heck?"

While Kraken was murmuring like that.

Thud-

Crackle-!

Something came in through the sewer, changing direction several times so fast that even Kraken's eyes couldn't follow it, and

Splat-

In an instant, it pierced Kraken's right knee.

"Ugh?!"

Kraken screamed, its body collapsing.

Right knee. Kraken looked at its pierced knee with disbelieving eyes.

Its heart was there.

Thud.

Kraken collapsed.

"Hah! Gasp! Ugh...!"

Saliva dripped from its mouth. The saliva and the foolishly open mouth repeatedly tried to stretch out like tentacles, then returned to human form.

After a few seconds, Kraken finally caught it breath.

'An arrow...?'

He couldn't be sure, but what he barely caught sight of seemed to be an arrow.

He clearly remembered Frondier taking out a bow just before he crossed the portal.

"One of my hearts..."

Kraken has three cores. It's just pretending to be human, so it doesn't have a heart. It calls its cores its "hearts."

No matter where you cut or burn Kraken, it can restore its original body, but if all three cores are destroyed, he dies.

One of them.

Unexpectedly, it was just gone.

'The plan...'

He's a member of Indus. They, whose sole purpose is "revolution," have countless preparations to make.

Kraken also has missions that require him to risk his life.

Among the three lives, he had already planned to give up two.

Something like this arrow just took one of them...

"Kuh..."

But Kraken smiled. Frondier would surely misunderstand this.

That I'm dead.

Frondier doesn't know that I have three hearts, so he must be mistaken.

"Kuh... Heh heh..."

Therefore, this life will someday become a fuse that will drive Frondier into a corner.

Look, Frondier. I'm alive.

Since I'm not dead, the plan can still proceed. With a few minor adjustments, it will be fine.

Because I'm not dead, it works.

Because I'm not dead.

"Ugh...huff...Frondier..."

However.

Why is the corner of its mouth gradually tilting upwards?

Why are his eyes bloodshot?

Trembling, it raises its head.

"Froooondieeeeeerrrrr!!!!"

Even Kraken itself didn't know why it was screaming like mad.

* * *

After Gregory woke up, I ordered him to disband the orders given to the students.

Fortunately, even though Serf was the one who gave the orders, it was Gregory, the one who handed out the business cards, who was responsible for canceling them.

Pascal handcuffed Gregory's wrists. Having planned to get caught from the start, Gregory obediently complied.

"Let's rest for now. It's the teachers' turn from here on."

"Teachers..."

Hearing Pascal's words, I suddenly thought of something.

"Come to think of it, what happened to the other teachers? Did they also receive business cards and...?"

But that didn't make sense.

If they had received the business cards, they would have been manipulated into attacking me, but none of the teachers did that.

Pascal nodded.

"Yes, it seems like they all received business cards. However."

"However?"

"Every single teacher resisted."

Pascal said it as if it was a given.

"As soon as the order to 'kill Frondier' was heard through the speakers, all the teachers in the vicinity stopped dead in their tracks. They didn't lose consciousness, but they didn't move an inch from their spot. It was quite the display of resistance."

At those words, I thought of Sybil.

Sybil had also received Serf' business card and resisted without losing consciousness. However, her resistance had become so intense yet she almost ended up killing me.

But all the teachers managed to resist? And for this long?

"The principal acted completely on his own accord. He even used magic. I was surprised."

"Magic...what did the principal do?"

"He maintained a barrier to trap the teachers. In case a teacher who failed to resist tried to kill you, it would have been a major incident."

Certainly. Osprey, a 'Zodiac', is capable of such things.

Just then, the door to the auditorium opened.

"Ah, there he is! Frondier!!"

Sybil was the first to enter. She waved at me and approached. Behind her came Elodie, Aten, and the other students who had helped me.

"Are you okay now?"

"I can't do it anymore! I don't have the energy to lift a finger!"

They came up to me and said a few words each. I felt gratitude swell in my chest as I looked at them. Yes, without them, I would never have been able to resolve this incident.

"Thank you. If it weren't for you all, we would have been in real trouble."

I said this sincerely, looking at Sybil, then at Elodie, then at Aten, and then at Frondier.

......

Frondier?

"Huh?!" [T/N: Loll!]