Chapter 18: Night Blindness

I glanced at my clock: 8:23 PM. I still had some time before the showdown. Ignar had demanded that I keep this meeting a secret, but it felt awkward to betray my team so soon after our discussion. Even so, I had a valid reason not to involve them this time.

I mulled over the possible courses of action. I would have informed my friends of the call, but I still didn’t have a full grasp on the Abilities of Ignar’s companions. There was a teleporter, a flashbanger of some sort, and maybe a…

I recalled that Spencer had yelled out my name when he saw me appear back when I rescued him, but Ignar had just addressed me by my full name in our call. Additionally, he knew who Kaede was as well. Finally, he knew my phone number.

This could mean two things: he had somehow gained access to our private details in the school network, or one of his friends had an Ability that could accomplish something similar. This would prove to be troublesome.

After debating for a while, I decided to gather the team in my room. Our group chat might be tapped, and if I explained what had happened over text, Ignar might punish us for that. If I had just asked my friends to meet without a reason, he wouldn’t be able to accuse me of sharing the details of the showdown with them.

Another reason was that if all five of us were together, I’d be better positioned to protect them.

“Could you guys meet me in my room? As soon as possible please. Block B, #08-22. I’ll explain later,” I texted our group chat.

“Okay, give me ten minutes,” Kaede replied immediately.

“Right on,” texted Scarlette.

They must have sensed that something was wrong.

Jonah replied a little later. “What’s up man?”

“I’ll explain once y’all come here. Mira, are you there?” I asked.

A minute or two later, Jonah was the first to show up, given that he stayed directly below me. However, our healer had still not responded to my texts.

“I’ll go check on her,” texted Kaede.

I sat tense, hoping that nothing had happened to her.

Scarlette was the next to arrive, worry etched on her face. “Still no reply?” she asked.

As if on cue, my phone buzzed. “Mira isn’t answering her door,” texted Kaede.

A chill ran down my spine. Surely nothing had happened to her already?

I was just about to head over myself when Kaede texted again.

“Ugh omg… she was just taking a shower. We’ll be there in a bit!”

Really? The three of us currently in my room heaved a sigh of relief.

“That got me nervous,” breathed Scarlette. “Anyway, your room is really, uh… organised? It looks right out of an office building.”

I noted that this was the first time that any of them had come to my room. While it was true that my room was extremely bare, I appreciated it if my friends wouldn’t judge me for it.

“Right? Do you not customise your room? Buy any decorations? Anything of interest?” fired Jonah.

I figured they were distracting themselves from the very obviously tense atmosphere by taking an interest in my room. “I don’t have many hobbies. Also, the room looks just fine by itself.”

Scarlette frowned. After a few minutes of discussing the layout of my room, Kaede and Mira arrived, the latter’s hair still dripping wet.

As they took off their shoes and stepped into my apartment, I noted that all my friends had rushed over as soon as they could, without even questioning my request. Well technically Jonah did ask what was up, but he too rushed over without an answer. The girls didn’t seem to mind the discouragement against crossing the boundary between the boys' and girls' dormitories either.

“Sorry! I didn’t have time to dry my hair. It sounded really urgent!” Mira babbled.

“Need a hair dryer? I have one right here.” Scarlette smirked, lighting a small flame on her palm.

“Please no fire in my room,” I announced.

I didn’t have enough chairs in my apartment, so we just decided to sit on the floor. I finally got down to business.

“Please stay calm—” I started.

“Whenever someone says that, it’s impossible to stay calm,” Scarlette laughed nervously.

“Please let me finish,” I snapped. “Anyway, I got a call from Ignar Maximus.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Upon hearing his name, Kaede flinched. I briefly described him to Mira, Scarlette and Jonah, who hadn’t met him yet.

“So anyway, they warned me that if I don’t meet them at Eastpine River at midnight tonight, Kaede will be in danger. Also, they told me not to tell you guys about it.”

My friends froze. Kaede clasped her hands anxiously. “Err… are you sure it’s safe to tell us?” she asked.

“Don’t worry, as long as I’m here, they won’t be able to touch any of you.”

There was a short silence. A chilly breeze blew past, rattling my windows.

“That’s true… I find it hard for anyone to attack us with you here.” Scarlette broke the silence. “Eastpine River huh… that’s the place where I first met you,” she said, glancing at me.

“Umm, shouldn’t we inform the school? This is a clear threat from students from another school,” suggested Mira.

“I did consider that, but the school can’t keep a constant lookout for us, especially since they have someone with what I think has a teleportation Ability. I’d rather we put a stop to this ourselves” I remarked. And frankly I just wanted to fight.

“So what do we do at midnight? Should we follow you?” asked Scarlette. It was a valid question— one where there wasn’t a clear answer for me either.

If I left them here, they may get ambushed without my protection. If they came along, while it was highly unlikely, there may be an off chance that I may not be able to guarantee their safety. In the event that they had a secret weapon of their own, I would at least be able to fend for myself.

More importantly, I considered the event of a trap, where instead of meeting me at Eastpine River, they would instead teleport to our dormitory directly and go after my friends. In that scenario, I would be alone at the river, unable to protect them.

After a while, Kaede stood up. “I think we should go. I trust Cadel to protect us.”

Mira nodded. “Yeah, I feel safe if we’re with Cadel.”

Scarlette looked a little hurt, but she agreed as well. “Don’t worry, at the end of the day, I’m still a 5-Star. I’ll watch your back and cover the rest of us.”

Jonah had been unusually silent, but he gave in as well. “It’s all on you dude, help keep us safe alright?”

I nodded. “Of course. This time, I won’t hold back.” Adrenaline surged through my veins. I was ready to hurt the Horizon High students if I had to.

My friends looked a little more secure. “Alright then, we still have some time before we meet them. What should we do now?” Kaede asked.

“Should we come up with a battle plan?” Jonah offered.

“It’s simple right? We just sit back and watch Cadel tear up the enemies! That said, it’s a little hard for us to chill now… how about we come up with a redesign for Cadel’s room? It’s freakishly plain,” Scarlette teased, poking at me.

“Hey, I like plain,” I complained.

“Let’s redesign it hypothetically then. We’ll just give you some ideas then you can consider it!” Kaede offered eagerly.

We had a dangerous mission later that night, yet my friends were trying to keep the mood light-hearted. I agreed with Scarlette though, any battle strategy too complicated would just hinder me. It would be easier if they just left it all to me while they watched from one corner.

We then bantered over the potential makeover of my room, before someone suggested we start doing some housework. “It’s better than just sitting still,” they said.

As we got to work, wiping dust off surfaces, Kaede approached me.

“You know, with the five of us here, I really feel so safe right now,” she whispered.

I had to admit, it did feel quite cozy with the company here. “Once we get back, we should hang out in your room more often! Oh, don’t forget, I have a study session with you on Thursday!” she whispered, before retreating to another corner of my apartment.

I was glad to see she was trying to cope well with the situation, especially since the enemy had specified her as the target. Deep down, I knew she was terrified. Her hands were shaking when she was dusting the underside of my study table. Yet, she still tried to put on a brave face, knowing I was the one under the most pressure.

Soon, it was time to head out. My friends wanted to make a quick change of clothes, since they had rushed over to my room in rather casual attire. Once done, we gathered at the dormitory square and set off for Eastpine River.

We took the same path I took on our Orientation Day to the river. For that, we had to take a dirt path through Eastpine Woods, which would be scarily dark at this time of the night. The Woods were located just outside of the school compound. Once we stepped out, we technically wouldn’t be under the protection of our school, which was why Ignar had requested us to meet them at a neutral location.

Well, the surroundings would have been dark if not for the fact that our team included two sources of light. Scarlette ignited a small flame on her hand, using it as a torch. I absorbed some of the ambient heat and moonlight from our surroundings, creating a small but bright spark at the tip of my finger, careful not to absorb Scarlette's flame.

We trudged on silently, sticks and leaves crackling under our feet. I checked my watch—11:48 PM. It was almost time.

It was then that I remembered something.

“Okay guys, so they have someone with a flashbang Ability.” I briefly recalled the blonde girl who Ignar had addressed as “Lumia” back during our last encounter. “When she activates her Ability, it blinds and rings the ears of whoever she’s targeting,” I explained.

Kaede shivered. “I really don’t want to experience that again.”

“Once we see the enemy, I will instantly absorb all light energy from their surroundings. We perceive things by having light enter our eyes, so once I deprive them of that ability, they will be completely blind. Of course, I will also be freezing them in place.” I wasn’t here to play games. My only mission was to force Ignar into backing down by whatever means necessary.

As we continued further on, we saw our designated meeting spot. We immediately fell into a defensive stance, crouching low and moving forward with careful, deliberate steps.

“Just ahead, watch out,” I whispered.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps behind us.

My friends and I turned around, just in time to see a short blonde girl with startling blue eyes staring right at us. On sight, I began to activate my Ability, but it was too late. A blinding white light filled my vision, a shrill siren once again piercing my ears.

My friends buckled to the floor, their cries of pain filling the cool, night sky.

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Administration Notes:

School: Horizon High

Name: Lumia Evermoore

Gender: Female

Year: First-year

Rank: 3-Star

Division: Combat

Ability: Lumia doesn't offer much firepower, but serves as an effective support. Her Ability emits an extremely bright light from her eyes directly to her targets, while also inducing a shrill ringing in their ears. In this way, she is able to selectively stun people. Note that she cannot contain all her light, and may leak some if there are many targets. Her Ability can be partially negated by eye and ear protection.

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