It wasn’t that Zeke was merely following Samuel’s whims, he was going to challenge Rodrick again to raise his rank and try to discover the peculiarity behind the sudden and inexplicable power-up.
Tuesday morning, right after Zeke finished the first batch of exams, he was unexpectedly called by Maxine, telling him to come to the meeting and lounge room of the Special Investigation Squad.
It was clear that Celestia wasn’t pleased with having him around, and she wanted to interact with him as little as possible, therefore, Zeke didn’t think they would invite him over.
While musing with himself, Zeke headed to the Administrative Bureau Building during lunchbreak and arrived at the cozy ‘office’ of his seniors.
All six members were present and sitting around a fancy and exquisite black wooden table. Maxine beckoned him to sit next to her, which he quietly did, a deep frown on his face.
“Before we begin, let me make a couple of things clear.” Stated Celestia as she piercingly stared at him, “You have become an official member and as per the established rules, you are to be present in a meeting such as this one. However, under no circumstances are you to be involved directly with the cases. This is for your own safety, understood?”
The person in question swept his gaze across all of them then nodded once. To begin with, he wasn’t interested in this ‘Special Investigation Squad’ and were it for the forceful attitude of Principal Solas, he would have avoided them altogether, excluding Maxine, of course.
“With that out of the way, let’s begin.”
Celestial stood up and walked to a large board hidden by a curtain.
Zeke saw the pictures of several First-Year, Second-year, and even Third-Year students, along with small notes.
“Around two weeks ago, some students became more active and started challenging people left and right. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn’t beget suspicions but… said students all won their fights. What’s more, their abilities have become much stronger yet, upon reviewing the records, no evidence suggests that they were hard-working enough to reap such results.”
‘It’s exactly like what happened with Rodrick. It started ever since he had joined Fylard’ circle.’ Thought Zeke to himself. He was here as a spectator, for the time being, he refrained from saying anything.
“For now, we have found exactly 11 students that had their abilities empowered, possibly through the use of exterior and malevolent means.”
Once Celestia finished her brief presentation, the hooded John said,
“There is no shortage of artifacts that can achieve that effect. It could also be the Black Magic.”
“Artifacts like that would have been sensed by the teachers overseeing the challenges. Black magic, on the other hand, is easier to notice and would, eventually, cause some damage to the body. This has been going on for two weeks but we saw no signs.”
John nodded his head and went back to complete silence.
“It could be a drug or an elixir.” Suggested Vanessa as she had her eyes glued to a folder. As everyone looked at her, the girl raised her head and continued,
“Alternatively, it could be the doing of The Ivory Oak Order.”
‘The Ivory Oak Order?’ Zeke was confused by the unfamiliar term. Fortunately, Maxine, with a low voice, explained, “The Ivory Oak Order is a secret organization that’s said to worship an evil god. It’s one of the stronger and more ‘famous’ ones, and its members have a tendency of suddenly exerting powers beyond their capabilities.”
“It can’t be them, right? Surely it isn’t that easy to infiltrate Erys under the watchful eye of the Dean.”-V
“We can’t rule out that possibility. Whoever is behind this could be supplying the drug to the students, or they could be one of the students. And even if it were the case, the perpetrator would purposely keep themselves hidden and not reveal their empowered abilities.”-James
A brief bout of silence flowed between the members before Zeke raised his hand and looked at Celestia.
“...”
Their leader, Celestia Black, stared at the black-haired youth for a few moments then motioned for him to speak.
“A student from my class, Rodrick, may be related to this. He’s had the same ‘symptoms’ but I don’t see his picture on the board.”
“We’ve yet to find all the affected students. We will add him later… anything else?”
Celestia neither rebuked him nor lashed out, she acted professionally and calmly, as befitting someone of her caliber.
“I’m actually going to challenge him later.” Zeke paused for a bit then added, “To raise my rank.”
“Hmm… that could be an opportunity. See if you can discover anything strange during the fight. We’ll be on the lookout nearby, checking the students that were interested enough to watch.”
Maxine was clearly against this plan, but before she could protest, Celestial looked at her and said,
“Max, whether you like it or not, Zeke is part of the squad now. He’s willing to contribute and as long as he’s in our sight and inside the school, he will not be in any danger.”
*******
“Besides Jonathan’s attacks, nothing major happened in or outside Erys. Still, I’m certain the new user is here… amongst them. How will I find him? How…”
Frederic Whitefront had successfully smuggled himself into the country and changed his identity into a common journalist. Using his new disguise, he interviewed a couple of students but there wasn’t anything fruitful. His search had come to a sudden halt and even when he used the Eye again, he got the exact same result and consequently lost more lifespan.
“There should’ve been something strange enough but no one knows. Solas must be keeping things under a tight wrap… which means he knows who I’m looking for. If my previous assumptions were right then it has to be a student.”
Frederic turned his head and looked at the wall, which was filled with pictures, documents, and words written using ink. The handsome young man paced around the room while absent-mindedly tapping his forehead.
----------------------------------------
As agreed with his new colleagues, Zeke was going to challenge Rodrick for the second time. Even with the supposed drug, he had become considerably stronger, so dealing with Rodrick’s Wind Magic was possible.
Finding the target wasn’t particularly difficult as Rodrick tended to hang out with Fylard and the rest in the ‘delinquent classroom’ which Julia used to frequent.
The second Zeke stepped in, he caught the attention of everyone. Not only wasn’t he a ‘regular’, but, as a former Defect, he wasn’t that liked, especially by these unruly and arrogant students.
“To what do we owe the honor, Zeke?”
Fylard stepped first, a shit-eating grin on his bony face. His beady eyes were intently fixated on Zeke.
“I came to challenge Rodrick Dontortyian.”
“Me? Hah!”
The burly Rodrick stood up, towering over his peers.
‘He looks even bigger than usual. Is this another side-effect of the drug or?’
After Fylard gave a subtle signal, Rodrick excitedly cracked his knuckles and licked his lips.
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“It’s about time I beat your sorry-ass and make you learn your place, Defect.”
“Come now, Rodrick. We must be lenient on our friend here.” Fylard spoke with a mocking tone as he motioned for one of his lackeys to go call a teacher.
Very soon, Zeke exited the room along with a big group of people following him. Fylard walked close to Rodrick and whispered a few things in his ear.
‘I can’t get a good look but Max and the rest should be nearby and watching.’
Within minutes, they arrived at one of the small arenas on the campus. Due to Fylard’s presence, the interested students who wanted to watch the fight held themselves back and minded their own business. Thus, when the battle was about to start, there was only Fylard and his ‘circle’, Azmer who appeared out of nowhere, and two unfamiliar Second-year Students.
Zeke stole a few glances around him, focusing more on the two upperclassmen.
‘I don’t think it’s Azmer. As far as I know, the two are no longer friends… or it could have been a ruse to avoid attention.’
Since Rodrick was one of the fighters, Professor Nayro took charge, this time glaring at Rodrick menacingly.
“If you overdo it again, it will be four Black Stars. If you add them to the ones you accumulated thus far, then it will be expulsion.”
Rodrick shrugged in disinterest as if he wasn’t afraid of getting punished. He kept his eyes on Zeke, eager to exact his revenge.
While they were making preparation, Zeke used ‘Aether Control’ and, unexpectedly, noticed dark purple particles of Aether emanating from his opponent’s body.
Ambient and pure Aether was always green in color, yet this one was foul and had a sinister aura.
‘He’s definitely consumed something.’
“Go easy on him, yeah?”
Fylard chuckled and backed away right as Nayro signaled the start of the fight.
Rodrick let out a loud roar as he stomped on the ground and launched himself forward with her help of his ability.
His large physique notwithstanding, he was quite agile, but his velocity paled in comparison to Julia’s.
With the use of ‘Sreyzhanian Arts’ and ‘Voltage Manipulation’, Zeke stood his ground and extended his hand, catching Rodrick’s incoming first and twisting his whole arm.
In an impressive and shocking display, Zeke exerted all of his strength, lifting Rodrick’s body then slamming it against the ground.
Dizzy and startled, Rodrick crossed his arms just in time to block Zeke’s swift leg, which was wrapped in dense lightning.
The shock ripped the burly student’s uniform and cracked the ground, but other than that, he was relatively unscathed.
‘It’s not just his ability. Rodrick’s physical prowess might be above average, but even during out last fight, I was stronger than him. Appearance-wise, there are subtle differences, but he seems to have become more resistant to Aether-charged attacks.’
Zeke was simultaneously using ‘Aether Control’ and ‘Voltage Manipulation,’ which was taxing and inefficient, especially during a fight. However, the main objective of this challenge was to study Rodrick and see the changes within his body in order to figure out the truth.
Seeing Zeke jump back just in time to dodge the invisible and violent gale, Rodrick clicked his tongue and got to his feet, spitting a bit of blood.
He felt the gazes of his new friends, which made him feel ashamed and enraged. He roared and unleashed the full potential of his ability; A tornado formed in front of his palm, and when he threw it, it became larger and larger until it stood at a towering five meters.
Seeing the dense purple particles imbued into the tornado, Zeke had a revelatory thought. He faintly smiled and recklessly charged toward the danger, his left hand raised and the Rune of Death letting out a mysterious and barely noticeable black light.
The result defied Rodrick’s expectations as the Rune of Death acted like a vacuum, devouring all the corrupted Aether and immediately converting it into Life Aether.
Feeling empowered and rejuvenated, Zeke used one ‘Voltage Zap’ to extinguish the weakened tornado. However, he didn’t continue attacking and taunted Rodrick instead,
“All bark, no bite. Who’s the loser now?”
“We’ll see!”
His face was red and veins were bulging out like squirming worms. He lunged again, his open hand like a claw, trying to rip Zeke’s face into shreds. Unfortunately, Zeke was prepared for such a predictable attack; Through the Rune of Life, he made use of the absorbed Aether to greatly empower ‘One-star Side-kick’.
His right moved so fast it became blurry, hitting Rodrick’s side and sending him flying away like a tennis ball.
By the time he crashed to the ground, lightning crackled around his body, scorching his clothes and burning his skin.
Generally, such injuries would automatically make him lose. However, Nayro didn't end the fight, either because he noticed something or wanted Rodrick to taste his own medicine.
Hearing nothing from the overseer, Zeke appeared next to Rodrick using 'Life Motus' then stepped on his chest.
"Is that all?"
Zeke wasn't one to gloat, but he needed to mock and provoke Rodrick to incite a worse reaction that might expose him.
'That's enough, Rodrick.' Fylard's disembodied voice echoed within Rodrick's mind, making him sober up.
"A Defect like me crushed you with so much ease. Do you even deserve to be a student of Erys?" Zeke sneered and spoke with a loud voice, snapping the final string of reason in Rodrick.
His biggest mistake was his foolish pride, which made him unable to cope with this loss of face.
His skin turned red and a purple malevolent aura burst forth, this time visible to all spectators.
Fylard's face turned ugly but he didn't comment or intervene.
It was the Zyth professor who tried to finish the fight but he quickly discovered that Zeke had it under control.
The moment Rodrick 'transformed', his skull was hit by a thick lightning bolt that knocked him senseless and extinguished the savage aura.
“You did good, I’ll take things from here.”
Nayro solemnly nodded and using a telekinetic ability to lift Rodrick’s body and fly toward the Administrative Bureau Building. Now, there was undeniable evidence that Rodrick’s power-up wasn’t natural, and as a teacher, Nayro had to follow the protocol and isolate Rodrick then interrogate him.
Even though he wasn’t officially declared the winner, Zeke didn’t care that much. He turned to face the gloomy Fylard and imitated his provocative grin.
“Mind you, I went easy on him.”
Unlike Rodrick, Fylard didn’t get emotional, he threw a glance at nearby Azmer and left thereafter.
When things had calmed down a bit and Azmer left, John and Vanessa appeared.
“That Fylard was highly-unusual. I couldn’t probe him.” Commented John.
“It wasn’t actually him. There was another student proficient at obfuscation. We will conduct a thorough investigation of every student in that class. Good job, Zeke.”
The ashen-haired girl faintly smiled at Zeke, making him feel slightly embarrassed.
‘What’s wrong with me? Do I have a crush on her or what?’
“N-no problem.”
Vanessa was indeed a beautiful girl, but Zeke wasn’t interested in romance and whatnot. Nevertheless, his heart was beating loudly when she stared at him so intently and smiled. Feeling a bit uncomfortable, he averted his eyes and shrugged.
John and Vanessa left moments later, but they didn’t instruct Zeke to do anything. Despite of his reluctance to work alongside Celestia, Zeke still felt left out. He was curious about the circumstances behind this strange power-up and though it wasn’t a want of exerting Justice, he still felt strangely connected to the whole affair.
With the morning exams done and the lunch break almost over, the First-year Students were free to train on the campus or study in the library.
Zeke wanted to seclude himself in the forest and train by himself. However, on his way there, he suddenly fell to his knees and clutched his head.
‘Save him. Save him. Save him. Save him. Save him.’
The voice felt more intense than ever and he was pulled into a wholly different environment. He smelled the foul and nauseating stench of feces and other ungodly materials, felt a bone-chilling wind wash against his skin. He laid eyes on the slim man still curled in a corner, sobbing.
“I don’t want to… p-please leave me alone. G…g-get out of my head!”
He started ripping the few strands of hair left on his head while shouting manically. His face looked absolutely horrifying, with squirming bulges near his cheeks and eyes, and blood leaking out of his hollow eyes.
Zeke wasn’t someone who got easily disturbed by such sights, but even he was left speechless and unsettled.
“Hey! You okay?”
He approached the man and tried to check on him but there was no reaction as if he was just an invisible ghost. Moments later, he was back in the small forest in Erys, drenched in cold sweat.
‘It’s getting more and more urgent. I can’t even ignore it anymore.’
Determined to see this inexplicable occurrence to its end, Zeke immediately left Erys. The sewers under the Sunken Metropolis were as big as the city itself, therefore, trying to find that specific spot was like finding a needle in a haystack.
Instead of wasting his time like that, Zeke headed to his new friend, Sulong.
“A-ah! Oh.. it’s you!”
The bald and muscular thug was startled, his forehead covered in sweat.
“Can’t you knock first? You can’t barge in as if you own the goddamn place!”
“Whatever.” Zeke unceremoniously waved his hand and walked to Sulong’s desk, rummaging through the stack of dusty papers.
“What are you looking for?”
“I remember you having a map of the city.”
“It’s here. But why do you need it?”
Zeke ignored him for a while and examined the large map, focusing on the sewer lines. Unfortunately, he wasn’t an expert map-reader, and apart from a few known places, the rest of the regions were unfamiliar to him.
“The sewers, do you know anything about them?”
Seeing the youth’s serious expression, Sulong didn’t beat around the bush. He shook his head and responded, “The majority of the sewers are nothing but a mountain of scraps and literal shit. Only the most desperate and deprived would go there to survive.”
Sulong circled a few spot on the map with a red marker and continued, “These are the three ‘official’ entrances, but they are heavily, and I mean heavily guarded by police officers. No one can go inside or leave as the sewers are the home of deadly diseases and plagues.”
“...”