In the end, though Agnes Tachyon was pinned firmly by the other two girls, the pale-blue truth serum didn't get poured down her throat.
There was no need—everyone knew perfectly well she'd intended it for Kitahara anyway.
Besides the truth serum, once Eclipse and Tokai Teio finished restraining Tachyon, they conducted a thorough search and extracted a total of four vials from her pockets—and there might even be more hidden elsewhere.
Truth serum, ultra-concentrated stamina potion, a suspicious potion that promised "a day of shining energy," and a powerful orange-colored hallucinogen for self-defense, activated just by splashing it…
Aside from the last one, the first three were clearly intended for Kitahara.
"Confiscated."
Since these were technically spoils of war, the other three split the potions—excluding the truth serum—among themselves.
Teio imdiately claid the stamina potion, probably planning to use it after training. Eclipse, out of curiosity, picked the mysterious sparkling potion, leaving the hallucinogen to Kitahara for self-defense purposes.
Yet, as he pocketed it, Kitahara felt a peculiar sense of confusion.
Aren't those unconscious Uma Musu on the ground the attackers? How did we end up getting loot from our own teammate instead?
Never mind. Minor details weren't worth overthinking.
He shook the thought away, then turned to Eclipse. With her help, he pried open the mouth of the only conscious attacker left, pouring the truth serum in as she stared at him in horror. Her struggles soon ceased.
Her eyes grew vacant, saliva drooled from her mouth, and her body twitched limply on the ground.
Kitahara's expression turned complicated.
"Hey, Tachyon, are you sure you didn't mix up the potions? This really doesn't look like a truth serum…"
"It's definitely truth serum," Tachyon affird with a firm nod, then paused slightly. "It just happens to carry so minor hypnotic side effects. That makes interrogations easier, doesn't it?"
Kitahara stared at her wordlessly.
Minor hypnotic effects? This is clearly beyond safe limits! Just what exactly were you planning to do by feeding this to ?!
Having ntally increased Agnes Tachyon's danger rating by several notches, he turned his attention back to the drooling, semi-conscious Uma Musu at his feet and began questioning her.
The answers differed from his expectations.
Yes, she was indeed part of Black Forest, but this attack hadn't been ordered by their superiors—it was purely accidental.
Due to repeated recent failures, tension within Black Forest was high. Existing internal conflicts had intensified, splitting the organization into two factions—extremists and moderates.
The extremists advocated using any ans necessary, including violence, proclaiming there was no bloodless revolution. Moderates preferred gradual thods, steadily exposing Tracen Academy's hidden darkness until it collapsed under scrutiny.
These seven belonged to an extremist leader's squad. They'd been casually out for a stroll when they'd spotted Tokai Teio. Seeing she was only accompanied by three others—including a seemingly frail human—they'd impulsively decided to capture her to score so points with their leader.
And after that…
Well, the current situation explained itself.
Looking at the sorry state of the attacker drooling at his feet, Kitahara sighed heavily, his expression turning troubled.
Things are getting complicated…
Never mind—it wasn't sothing a laid-back trainer like him should worry about. He'd leave it to Chairwoman Akikawa and Rudolf to handle.
While Kitahara finished interrogating the attacker, Tokai Teio finally reached Symboli Rudolf. Shortly afterward, Narita Brian, the Student Council Vice-President he'd t before, arrived swiftly along with a group of Student Council mbers.
Seeing the scene inside the alley, their expressions quickly turned complex.
They didn't misunderstand Kitahara's actions—the Student Council had experienced Tachyon's potions before. It was strange, certainly, but they wouldn't jump to the wrong conclusions.
However, these were seven fully-grown, ard Uma Musu, each past their pri—and yet they'd all ended up in this horrific state.
According to Tokai Teio's explanation, neither she nor Tachyon had lifted a finger the whole ti.
This ant the entire carnage was singlehandedly caused by that quiet, black-clad Uma Musu—Eclipse.
Interesting…
But Narita Brian quickly set aside curiosity, knowing this wasn't the ti or place to dwell. After swiftly gathering a brief summary of events, she signaled with a wave. Imdiately, the accompanying Student Council mbers smoothly pulled tranquilizers and large sacks from their bags, sedated all seven Uma Musu, stuffed them into the bags, and hoisted them up.
They moved with practiced efficiency—clearly not their first ti handling such situations.
"What? Surprised?" Narita Brian noticed Kitahara's subtle stare and shot a glance toward Tachyon beside him.
"Who do you think has always cleaned up after her experints? You better watch out too. Soday I might have to co clean up your corpse."
With that, Narita Brian didn't waste any further words. She simply asked if Kitahara's group would return with them, and upon receiving a negative reply, quickly ordered her mbers to carry the sacks back to Tracen.
As for why they hadn't called the police, why those captured Uma Musu were being taken to Tracen, and what fate awaited them next…
Kitahara wisely chose not to ask.
Incidentally, a small episode had occurred during the questioning earlier.
Just as the potion started working and Kitahara had begun his questions, the drugged Uma Musu suddenly lifted her head, stared vacantly at Kitahara, and murmured a soft, incoherent whisper:
"The Three Goddesses…"
Yet, nobody paid it any special attention.
After all, invoking the Three Goddesses—the shared faith of all Uma Musu—was quite common when their consciousness slipped. It was entirely normal behavior.
Although that detail hadn't caught anyone else's attention, Agnes Tachyon beca curious about another aspect of what had happened.
Based on her past experience, the potion's effects shouldn't have been so powerful.
While terrifying in theory, the truth serum was actually limited against individuals with strong willpower. It forced truthfulness, yes, but didn't prevent silence.
The "hypnotic effect" Tachyon ntioned was rely an exaggeration—at best, it put the target into a hazy, half-conscious state, reducing psychological defenses but also impairing clear communication. Usually, answers in that state beca vague or jumbled.
Yet, monts ago, Kitahara had encountered no trouble at all. Every question was smoothly answered without any hint of resistance—in fact, the attacker had almost seed strangely obedient…
After careful consideration, Agnes Tachyon concluded three possibilities:
First: Kitahara was secretly a high-level Black Forest agent infiltrating Tracen. This whole incident was a staged performance, explaining the attacker's subconscious cooperation. But given Eclipse's combat prowess and the brutality of the scene, this possibility was essentially zero.
Second: Sothing was unique about this particular batch of potions. Maybe she'd accidentally made a breakthrough in potion-making without noticing, boosting their effectiveness significantly. This seed plausible.
Third—and most intriguing—sothing was unusual about Kitahara himself.
Eyes narrowed thoughtfully, Tachyon watched Kitahara's back carefully. She gently touched her pockets, confirming six remaining potions that hadn't been confiscated. Her gaze sparkled dangerously.
Guessing was pointless.
I'll just have to find a chance to test it myself.
User Comments
0 comments from readers