School was just over, and Luna was on her way to the library as usual, when she got the message that Rina was on her way to the recreation building.

Luna changed direction and briskly walked to the business faculty. She texted Desmond, asking to meet him in the art room. Then, she called Erica’s number. Although the business faculty was not too far away from the science faculty, she feared that she might somehow miss Erica along the way.

The call connected almost immediately, and Luna ran into Erica at the same time.

Erica put down her phone and spoke directly to Luna, "Big sis? Is something wrong?"

"I just need some help with a business proposal I have to come up with for my elective." Luna smiled wryly. "But are you busy now? You looked like you were headed off somewhere."

"Mm mm!" Erica shook her head. "I'm free, I’m free, let's head to the study area there?"

Unbeknownst to Luna, Erica had been on her way to find her as well and was about to call Luna, which was why the call connected so quickly.

Her perfect plan was already in play.

Erica had carefully suggested models who might suit the theme of "innocence", which was the topic of her classmate’s work. Then, she created an intricate mechanism linking the door of the art room to the window hinges.

At this moment, both parties were headed to the art room. Because of their activities and venues, Erica was sure that her classmate would reach before Rina.

Everything was planned and timed with delicate care. It would all fall into place the moment Rina reaches the recreation building and her classmate opens the door to the art room. She even chose a day to minimise collateral damage.

Rina will be gone. Her new window design will boost in popularity. It would all end well. She just had to keep the only deviant in her plans from acting up. She must keep Luna away from the library.

Luna eventually found it odd that Erica looked and sounded extremely calm.

‘Wasn't she going for Rina earlier? She doesn't seem to be in any sort of a rush...’

‘...I should test her.’

"Alright, I got an idea now. I know what to do. Thank you, Erica."

“Oh, where’re you going now?”

"To the library, like always.”

“Oh, is it okay for you to take a break with me today? My friends are busy, and I have nothing on at school."

“Weren’t you headed somewhere earlier?”

Erica laughed. “It was to find you! I wanted to ask if we could go home together. Or maybe we could go somewhere else to have fun, like mom and dad had always intended for you to do.” Erica appeared thoughtful.

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‘...This isn't normal. I must have missed something.’

"Sure, but I still need to get something from the library.”

“Must you do it now?”

“I need them for this project.” Luna began to walk away while she talked, but Erica held onto her arm.

“Oh, we could have lunch together first, then get your materials, then-”

"Erica.” Luna interrupted. She was sure by now that Erica was keeping her away from the library.

“You did something again, didn't you?" A hint of sadness entered Luna's eyes.

Erica was stunned.

When Luna tried to pull her arm out of Erica's grasp, Erica panicked. "Big sis! Please stop interfering! As long as you don’t do anything, it'll all go well! It'll be a freak accident! Everyone will blame it on the old faulty windows! It’ll be fi-"

"It won’t be fine! Whether it’s because of Lucas's smarts or Victor's wrath, it'll somehow get traced back to you! I don't care if Rina dies, I don't want you to die or suffer meaninglessly!" Luna flung her arm out of Erica's grasp and ran off as fast as her legs could carry her.

Luna reached the entrance to the recreation building to see the windowpane begin its descent accompanied by a piercing scream. The scream attracted the attention of everyone present. They looked up and stood there frozen in shock, including Rina.

As Luna watched everything happen, her speed did not drop. Instead, she experienced an adrenaline rush and picked up her speed.

‘Just in time!’

Just as she took her last step to push Rina out of the way, another figure burst out from around the corner and covered Rina's tiny frame. Her eyes rounded in shock as her body slammed into not one, but two bodies.

Lucas stared at the empty seat at the other end of his table. She was late. 'Did something happen today?’

His guard had already been up, and he was feeling antsy. No longer able to bear the suspense, he left, intending to investigate the cause of Luna’s late arrival. When he heard the piercing scream, Lucas broke into a run.

Upon his exit, he saw Rina looking up with a pale expression. Like Luna, his speed increased as he could already guess what was happening. He jumped out, ready to tackle Rina down and out of the way of whatever was falling towards her.

Amid his jump, he found himself tackled down with Rina in his arm. He could not yet tell if it was done by someone or something.

Lucas fell in a different direction. Thanks to this, what would have slashed his entire back ended up grazing the side of his forehead and shoulder.

His head hit the ground hard upon landing.

A loud and crisp sound of glass breaking rang throughout the area and was accompanied by two sharp screams.

He struggled to find out what had happened but everything in his vision moved extremely slowly and was a blur. He tried hard to move but he felt so out of it that he was not sure if he was even moving.

It took time but he eventually made out the entrance to the recreation building.

He could hear Rina crying by his side and asking if he was okay but there was only one thing on his mind.

'Who?'

With his vision still blurred, he could only make out a figure hunched over what seemed to be a bloody mess. As hard as he tried, his vision refused to clear up. Instead, everything was getting dimmer. Nonetheless, he made a guess.

‘Luna Lee…’

Unable to hold onto his consciousness any longer, he passed out.

Meanwhile, Erica was crying her eyes out and begging Luna.

Erica had seen everything. When Erica recovered from her stupor to find Luna gone, she frantically chased after Luna, only to be greeted with the sight of Luna and Lucas running into each other.

"BIG SIS!!!" Erica shrieked while the window crashed directly onto Luna. She had pushed the other two out of harm’s way, at the expense of herself.

Erica desperately ran towards the bloody limp body on the ground, then dropped to her knees, completely ignoring the glass shards on the floor.

Erica’s face was covered in tears. Her voice was no more than a whimpering squeak. Her hands were trembling and hovering above Luna as if afraid that touching her would cause her body to shatter.

“PLEASE DON’T DIE!” She begged, the moment she found her voice.