"Cough!"
In the midst of Nora, Joanna, and the others crowding around from every direction, chipping away at the mysterious reputation I had worked so hard to build, a slow, tired cough echoed through the noise.
All heads turned at once.
"Isn’t that...?"
"Vice-Director Vale? How did he get here?"
"Is he going to bring us back?"
"Alright, calm down, everyone. I need your attention for a mont."
Coughing again, the Vice-Director’s eyes languidly scanned the surroundings. His gaze settled on several people, including , and in particular Ariel, before he started to speak again.
"Congratulations to all of you who have made it to this point. From what I’ve managed to gather, this will be all the people who have made it in the trial. There are a few that have perished, but in this line of work, such casualties are normal. By now, all of you have understood that this wasn’t a simple trial."
No, no, it wasn’t.
This was just us doing your dirty work.
"To keep it short, we had you do our dirty work."
Murmurs instantly swept the surroundings as the participants looked at one another, their expressions changing. I was one such person, minus the murmuring, unable to hide my surprise at the honesty coming from the Vice-Director.
"I’m sure a lot of you have managed to figure this out before. To be honest, we never tried to hide it. At the end of the day, we needed you, and you needed us. We used each other."
Not so sure this was how things worked...
"Well, I’m sure you’re tired. I’m just as tired as you all are. And..."
His attention fell on Ariel.
"Do let them go."
Heads turned in her direction, prompting Ariel to click her tongue as she hopped off the shoulders of the poor soul she decided to torture. Patting him on the back a couple of tis, she sighed.
"Well, you were a good horse."
I looked away, pretending not to know her.
This...! This was exactly why I wanted nothing to do with her!
She was batshit crazy!
Not only that, but looking at my group and seeing them still wear the sunglasses, I realized that the craziness had rubbed off on them as well. Turns out, I was the only normal person in my own squad.
’I’m going to need to do sothing about this.’
"Thank you."
A bit of chaos ensued after Ariel released the people that she had brainwashed, with many of them threatening to attack her on the spot, screaming things like, ’crazy bitch! I’ll kill you!’, or ’You bitch! I’ll kill you...!’
So basically, the sa thing.
They only managed to calm down after the Vice-Director coughed once more.
"Huh? Vice-Director?"
"What’s the Vice-Director doing here?"
"Wait, don’t tell ..."
Many looked to be in despair after realizing that the trial had ended, their glares even more intense as they looked at Ariel, who moved to my side and smiled.
"Hello, Squad Leader. How are you doing? I took so liberties while you were gone. I hope you don’t mind."
At the sa ti she said this, she took out a pair of sunglasses.
Stop it! Don’t do it!
And she did it.
She put the sunglasses on, muttering, ’How is this? We’re all matching now.’
’Bunch of crazies. I’m surrounded by a bunch of crazies!’
No, most importantly...
Where the hell did they get those sunglasses from?
Of course, I didn’t let any of my inner emotions show. I simply nodded at her before turning my attention back to the Vice-Director, keeping my expression firm. In truth, that simple action of keeping my face straight proved far more difficult than I had expected. I could feel the weight of countless gazes pressing down on from all directions, each one sharp and resentful.
Among them, there was one in particular that stood out.
One that unsettled far more than the rest.
’Why does it look like she’s looking at as though I’ve killed her family and her ancestors?’
Feeling Liora’s gaze, I felt at a complete loss. Just why was she looking at ? I hadn’t even interacted with her in the entire trial. To make matters worse, her gaze seed to worsen as ti went on, feeling even more pressuring.
Did Ariel and the others do sothing to her?
No, I doubt they would still be here if that were the case.
’Just what is it then?’
I knew then that sothing was up, but I wasn’t able to think much further as I heard several loud sounds coming from a distance. Turning my head, I caught a glimpse of several large military-grade cars approaching our direction, the ground beneath them squelching as the engines roared throughout.
The cars ca to an eventual stop as the doors opened and several figures dressed in BUA uniforms walked out.
The Vice-Director’s voice followed.
"Get in the cars, as we’ll escort you back up to the islands. I’m sure all of you are tired from the experience. We’ll do the final rankings once everyone is brought back up. In the anti, I’ll stay here to wait and see if there are any more people."
I stood up then.
Seeing that there was no longer any reason for to stay, I turned and began heading toward the vehicles. I wasn’t the only one, with everyone else doing the sa.
The car was rather wide, with each one holding at least twelve seats, as my team and I entered. There were still a few empty spots, but nobody decided to approach.
Ah, right.
I suddenly recalled sothing.
Sothing really important.
’Where the hell is Kyle?’
I had been so lost in my own thoughts that I hadn’t even realized he was missing. Most importantly, nobody ntioned anything about him disappearing.
Leaning against the window, my attention soon fell on the Vice-Director, and it was then that I saw him surrounded by Clara, Zoey, and Rowan. They appeared to be saying sothing to him as he looked at them with a serious expression.
’Oh, shit.’
I looked back at my team, in particular Mia, who imdiately looked away.
"Ehm."
Thankfully, Ariel spoke up.
"We didn’t ntion it before since we weren’t sure about your condition after you disappeared for so long. Plus, given how you appeared after disappearing, we thought that there might be a chance that it was going to be the sa for him."
My heart sank.
Don’t tell ...
"He’s disappeared too. Nobody is sure where he is."
"What? How is that possible? Kyle...?"
I knew Kyle’s abilities well. In fact, I knew them better now that—Ah!
Two things snapped inside my mind as I thought back to how Kyle’s strength was higher than mine, and that he’d probably be suppressed as a result.
But not just that.
Thinking back to the mont I entered hell, there was only one thought that entered my mind as I hurriedly focused my attention inside my mind.
It was there that I felt it.
Kyle’s presence.
He...
’Shit.’
The mont my abilities had been severed by Paimon, Kyle had been recalled back into my Node as I felt his presence there, my expression turning weirder and weirder by the second as I looked back at the window.
’...How the hell am I supposed to handle this?’
At the sa ti the thoughts surfaced, the car began to move, and we all started to make our way back to the upper world.
Just like that.
The Congress ca to its final stages.
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