“This is the place where they kept the kid?”

Edward, who, despite Zeke’s unknown whereabouts, was in a surprisingly good mood. After what happened in Erys, the entirety of the Vyrsan family will be seeking revenge. If Olivia were to die, they were would have sufficient motive and not even Solas would be able to completely stop them.

The incident was so big that the Department of Defense had already learned of this. Edward was certain that they would eventually figure out the truth and would pursue Zeke, but their intentions remain to be verified. They wouldn’t outright wish to harm Zeke, first because he was Edward’s family, and second because they weren’t knowledgeable about the System, thus making them wary.

“Yes, sir.”

Katrina stood at the entrance of the clean and empty office, politely bowing her head to Jan, who was accompanying her benefactor.

“Indeed… I can smell it. The strong and foul scent of blood. It wasn’t a normal spawn, I’ll tell you that.”

“The report says that his aging process was abnormally fast. However, so far, he has yet to do anything threatening, correct?”

Katrina solemnly nodded her head and explained, “The loanshark, Sulong, was able to sense my presence so I kept my distance and focused on Zeke. Regarding the kid; he seems to consider Sulong as his father, which might be why he didn’t go out of control.”

“That’s debatable.” Retorted Jan as she shook her head, “The spawn of the Blood God would always turn into a soulless abomination. The sooner they are killed, the better it is for everyone. Then again, I’m starting to think the ritual conducted in the sewers wasn’t a normal one.”

“The whole affair concerning the Blood Dusk Society is in the hands of the Special Forces Team, so we won’t interfere. As for this Sulong… I conducted a background check on him and his friend when you mentioned him in your report, but there was nothing special about him. Do you know how he’s befriended my brother?”

“No, sir. They were already acquainted by the time I started protecting him.”

Jan let out a mocking laugh and tauntingly stared at Katrina, “Well, if protecting was all that you did, you certainly didn’t do a good job at it.”

“My apologies.”

Stone-faced, Katrina apologized on the spot, seemingly unaffected by Jan’s attitude. The two had always been at odds, though it was better to say that Jan wasn’t fond of Edward’s ‘protegé’.

Basically, Jan saw Katrina as a love rival, which was totally not the case as the latter merely admired Edward and didn’t hold any romantic feelings towards him. However, since she never deigned to voice such thoughts, the relationship between the two women remained rough and barbed.

Katrina turned to face Edward, who was inspecting the shallow office with interest, seemingly trying to find a clue.

“Sir, I don’t know how, but Sulong had manifested powers way beyond his capabilities. I fear he might be a danger to Zek-”

“Don’t worry about it. One day a Defect, and the next he can use fire-aspected Magic, doesn’t that ring a bell? Indeed, it was most likely my brother’s doing. Anyway, you did a good job and I’m sorry that you keep getting into dangerous situations.”

“It’s no problem, sir. Your wish is my command.”

Edward smiled and gently patted her shoulder, feeling slightly guilty to entrust Katrina with such an arduous task. From the beginning, he knew it would be hard yet he still ordered her to follow Zeke. After all, she was the one who he trusted the most and, unlike Jan, whom he also trusted, Katrina knew about his childhood and untold complications directly related to Zeke.

After a brief bout of silence, Katrina hesitantly said, “Sir… I think he’s a different person.”

“A different person, you say?”

Her superior kept his smile as he caressed the dusty table while reminiscing.

“You see, Katrina, Zeke was never a person who voiced his thoughts. He always held it in and dealt with every inconvenience by himself, which is why it brings me joy to see him grow up and learn how to rely on others, even if those ‘others’ happen to be notorious loan sharks. Therefore, you need not worry about his ever-changing behavior.”

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

“As you say, sir.”

….

“You fucking… ugh!”

Maxine Orland was fuming as she was pinned by John and V, both of which surprised to see her this angry. She was about to attack Vanessa, going as far as activating her ability.

All of this was because Vanessa had previously interfered, thus rendering Maxine unable to help her cornered younger brother.

“I couldn’t let you do something rash, Max. Even if I didn’t stop you, my grandfather would have.”

“That doesn’t make it right! You just sided with the Principal and, like everyone else, was willing to sacrifice my brother… my brother, to the prosecutors!”

“Calm down, Max. You can’t blame her for this.”

The distressed V held back his childhood friend. Fortunately, after shoving him and John back, Maxine composed herself though her breathing was still heavy.

As if she came to a realization, the huffing and puffing Maxine swept her cold eyes across her colleagues and stated,

“I understand now. And I don’t care. Each and every one of you have ambitions and aren’t willing to risk it, but I am! Even if it means going against the school, I will stand by my brother’s side… no matter the cost! I’m leaving this squad! Fuck all of you.”

“Come on, Max. You don’t mean that.”

V, who was the closest to her, tried to de-escalate the situation but his words bore no significance as she took out her badge and throw it at the stoic Celestia.

However, when she was about to leave, James unexpectedly blocked her way with a stack of papers in his hand. He looked more serious than usual, his eyes narrowed as he said,

“Instead of berating us and refusing to listen to anything we have to say, how about you act like a responsible adult and, for once, not storm out of the room once you’ve said your piece. This is not a game, and you’re not a child, Max.”

“...”

James too, was one of Maxine’s two closest friends, but he was a stern and generally pragmatic individual, siding with reason and logic rather than relying on emotions that were spontaneous and foolishly erratic.

Seeing the tears forming within the usually strong-hearted girl, James felt a bit sad but he stood his ground, immovable like a mountain. He knew she could blow him away with a single punch, but he didn’t move.

“I agree with James. Let us all sit and discuss the whole matter. Don’t forget we were personally chosen by the Principal and if we act like this, we would be no different from the Student Council.”

Once Celestia spoke, a brief silence followed, in which everyone except Maxine sat around the exquisite table at the center of the room.

After pondering for an indeterminate amount of time, Maxine had managed to calm herself down and sit down, though she refused to acknowledge Vanessa’s presence.

“Since you agreed to stay and talk this out, I expect an apology from you, Maxine. For your behavior and cursing both.”

“I…I’m sorry. I was wrong and shouldn’t have said that.”

Celestia nodded while softly smiling. Following after that was the ashen-haired Vanessa, who looked at the disheartened Maxine and sincerely said,

“I apologize too. I should have chosen my words carefully. It was also wrong of me to stop you, but I really thought you’d be hurt, especially since Elder Vas was there.”

Maxine, who turned from angry to timid, meekly nodded her head in Vanessa’s direction and kept her head lowered.

When that simple matter was dealt with, James cleared his throat and put the stack of paper on the table.

“Max, I knew you were acting in your brother’s best interest and that you weren’t obliged to tell us, so if you want to hit me after what I’m about to say, then you’re welcome to do so.”

Then, the young man wearing a luxurious black suit instead of a uniform handed each one of them the same number of papers, which turned out to be recent reports of an individual investigation he had secretly conducted.

“Ever since Principal Solas had bid Zeke join our squad, I felt the need to learn more about this matter. Yes, I know it was wrong of me as it concerned a personal matter of a dear friend of mine, but precautions needed to be made. If we were going to be implicated in unknown and dangerous cases specifically related to Zeke Orland, I thought we needed to, at least, know a thing or two.”

With everyone looking at him with their ears perked, and with no interference or reaction from Maxine, James continued,

“The details still escape me, but I partially learned of what happened to Zeke in the past. Max, I know you don’t want to talk about it, so I won’t ask and I hope no one of us will.”

“You don’t know when to stop, do you?!” V banged his fist on the table as he glared at his friend with a menacing look.

“Max hasn’t stopped him. Let him talk, V.” Celestia.

When she signaled him, James sighed and resumed, “Zeke Orland was kidnapped by the Ascetic Blasphmeres. He was rescued within a day, but following that incident, reports say that he was bedridden for six months. However, his whereabouts during that period were unspecified and unrecorded. I dug a bit more and after spending, I confess, an exorbitant amount of money, I learned part of the truth.”

As everyone held their breath, including the tearful Maxine, James said,

“The Ascetic Blasphemers had apparently conducted an experiment on Zeke. I don’t know what it was, but it led to him being hospitalized for a prolonged period of time.”

Before he continued the last shocking piece of news, James, who sat next to Maxine, leaned closer to her and whispered something. When he got her approval, he cleared his throat for the second time and stated,

“The birth certificate and all other forms of identification regarding Zeke Orland were all fake. Meaning: He isn’t actually the biological son of Anthony Orland and Olivia Vyrsan. In fact, no matter how much I was willing to pay, the person who sold this information to me refused to disclose any more details.”