“So? What is your answer?”
Magenta strolled through the door, ignoring No. 2 completely as she turned to Edris.
She was talking about the offer.
There were less than three minutes left, both until the end of the dash event and the deadline to accept her offer to join the Student Administrative Association.
Despite the imminent countdown, Edris did not answer her question. Instead, he strolled past her, retreating from the Principal’s Office and into the outer hallway.
The reason?
He had entered the office with the mission to capture the test-stealing culprit for the [FINAL EXAM]. Now that Alton's case was coming to a close, he wouldn't risk staying in there for another second.
With the Labyrinth’s current shenanigans, who knows what the consequences would be if players were to go against the regulations, which had already grown stricter in light of the approaching [FINAL EXAM].
Edris made sure to extinguish any sparks that may lead to unnecessary trouble.
Taking in his action, Magenta stifled a laugh. She shook her head as she joined him on the other side of the window.
“Now, can you give your answer?” She leaned by the wall. “The countdown is about to end.”
“No.” Edris matched her nonchalance, yet his response was curt. “My answer is no.”
As he voiced his answer, the message board on the corner of his screen flickered.
DECISION ON [Magenta]'S PROPOSAL:
[ACCEPT] [DECLINE]
TIME LIMIT: 00:00:03:27
YOU HAVE DECLINED [Magenta] 'S PROPOSAL.
Magenta only gazed at him in silence.
“You don’t look surprised,” Edris said.
“You’re not the first to reject.”
As expected.
Seeing how composed Magenta was throughout their interactions, it didn’t take much for Edris to suspect that she must have done this more than once.
Ever since Edris entered the Labyrinth, he had been observing the differences between the professors and students. The local students in this Labyrinth were often predictable in how they behaved; they didn’t have to “try” to act within a particular [ROLE]. This was their real world.
The professors, however, were a bit different.
Although they initially appeared to align with the Labyrinth’s settings, their adherence to the rules seemed to stem from a deeper collaboration with it.
Edris scanned around. Owein had headed back to the dorms (it was past 10 PM). The other professors were taking care of the aftermath of No. 2’s death. Usually, players would get assimilated for failing the Labyrinth, but Alton had actually managed to end himself before the Labyrinth did so.
It was his last attempt, although futile, to prove that he was his own person, not some puppet of the Labyrinth.
The moonlight beam gleamed between Edris and Magenta.
The latter spoke first. “May I ask why?”
“What? Did the Labyrinth ask you to ask this?”
“…”
The air grew colder.
Edris took a step forward into the beam of light between them.
“Why are you working so hard for this thing?” he asked. What did it promise you?”
Magenta remained silent, yet he could tell she was gauging his intentions. It was tug-and-war between the two.
The elevator sounded before neither could speak.
Frantic footsteps emerged from the end of the hallway, along with it an emerging shadow who proved to be none other than Ekaush.
The man bolted through the hallway, wobbling with every step and obviously not looking right in his mind. Edris watched as Ekaush ran right past him and the professors, throwing himself right into the Principal’s Office.
“Hey…” Aureolin called out halfway, only for Moss to stop her with a shake of his head.
“His [AFFINITY] is below 20,” he said. Despite the annoyance in his tone, he only watched, along with the other professors, as Ekaush stood dumbfounded in the middle of the empty office.
Alton’s limp body lay beside his feet.
“You said you would get me out of here,” Ekaush said. "You said you would!”
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His sentences flew out, repeating itself over and over again. Ekaush bent over and began digging through Alton’s blazer pockets.
“You said you would get me out of here, back to my family. That’s why I gave you my card!” Ekaush ripped through both pockets. He grabbed Alton’s collar, jerked his stiff body upwards, and broke down in both laughter and tears.
On the first day of the Labyrinth, Ekaush mentioned that he was dragged in here amidst a bonding moment with his son.
Edris lowered his gaze.
He had wondered how Alton managed to collect multiple copies of the [UNTRUTH SERUM].
From the looks of it now, some of those copies belonged to other players like Ekaush, who Alton had called here for support, having expected himself to succeed.
Knowing Alton though, the man probably planned to use Ekaush as a scapegoat if anything went wrong, just like he'd done with No. 39.
Too bad he had overestimated himself.
A piercing drill sounded above them, its reverberation spanning across the entire floor.
Edris glanced at the clock tower from afar.
10:30 PM.
The time was up.
THE [PRE-EXAM DASH] IS NOW OVER.
The curfew will be in effect shortly. All students should make their way to their respective dormitory rooms.
“No. 13. Not only have you entered a prohibited area, but you've also disregarded Rule #5 of MW Academy and are suspected to be the culprit behind No. 2's death,” Magenta announced, her voice flat. As a result, we have decided to call your parents and implement the punishment you deserve. You will also be sent to [DETENTION] to promptly receive your punishment.”
Even if Ekaush did not react to the first part of her sentence, his head flew up after hearing the second.
“Who’s death?” He said, eye unfocused. When Magenta did not reply, he shakily pointed to the body on the floor. “His?”
Edris glanced sideways at the pink-haired professor.
What a joke.
This was the way the Labyrinth had always worked. Not on fairness, but on what’s considered “reasonable.”
Here, one’s rankings deserved their worth.
Although Edris managed to get rid of Alton by manipulating the SAA, the man was ultimately still one of the higher-ranked students here. Unlike other students, No. 2’s death could not be easily buried.
In a situation where they desperately needed someone to blame reasonably, Ekaush’s appearance was like a pollen-glazed flower amidst a sea of bees.
The next thing he knew, Shadows emerged from the walls and infiltrated the office. In the span of seconds, Ekaush found himself backed to the corner. His entire back was covered in sweat, and his eyes darted at the approaching black figures.
The Shadows surrounded the man from all directions, hovering over him like a dense fog.
As the Shadows turned, however, Edris’s eyes widened.
For what they held captive was no longer Ekaush, but someone else in his place.
Someone familiar.
No. 12 glanced around, his mouth agape.
“I… What?” He glanced around, dumbfounded. “What’s going on? Where am I?”
Edris’s eyes narrowed. He thought back to Ekaush’s series of “manic” actions. He thought back to when the man dug through Alton’s pockets. There must have been cards that didn’t have a chance to be activated.
For example, a card similar to the [SWAP PORTAL].
It was a gamble, but Ekaush had won.
The freckled boy turned to look at the Shadows holding him by the arms, then at the people observing from outside the office. He tried moving his arms, but the Shadows’ grip on them only tightened.
Amidst his struggles, he made eye contact with Magenta.
“No. 111!” If he’d been floating in the ocean, Edris’s appearance was like a lighthouse. “No. 111! What in the world is happening?”
At the same time, Moss stepped between them, blocking off the view as he looked at Edris.
“No. 111,” he said. “As the student witness and informant, you are required to stay behind with me to make an official report for the records."
Edris gazed back at the man. He could still feel the extent of No. 12’s desperate gaze, trying to claw past Moss’s body. The latter, however, was content to finally seize an opportunity to put Edris in his place.
“No. 111, please come with me now.”
Under his relentlessness, Edris rubbed his temples and turned to Magenta.
As he said that, the [AFFINITY] value on his interface decreased by one.
Edris wasn't supposed to show interest in anyone other than his "unrequited love."
“He shouldn’t be the one punished.”
His [AFFINITY] decreased by another.
“All that matters is that someone is.” Magenta looked back amusedly. “You can try to save him. But just so you know, once the Shadows secure their hold on the punished, they will not let go until their mission is fulfilled.”
She redirected her gaze to No. 12. He stood amidst the office, his planted heels powerless against the Shadows who slowly dragged him towards the exit.
“That boy is done for.”
As if to confirm her words, Moss carried on the baton. "No. 13. You will come with us."
"Wait, but I'm not No. 13. There must be some misunderstanding." The freckled boy looked around frantically. "I'm No. 12!"
"No." Moss shook his head. "You are No. 13."
The boy peered towards him incredulously, a slow sense of futility devouring him whole. "I..."
Edris knew he could not move to save No. 12. With Moss on his tail, doing so would only put all the progress everyone had achieved up until now to waste.
Although the Shadows had emerged from the walls, they had to take the regular route out with a student at hand. They dragged No. 12 towards the end of the hallway and, ignoring his cries of pleads, stepped into the elevator.
Upon arrival to the base floor, the doors opened once more.
“Master! Are you okay-”
Celio, with one foot out, found himself eye-to-eye with the freckled boy.
He blinked twice. “You...”
It took him a few seconds to register what was going on. He was certain that the freckled boy had been with them throughout the [PRE-EXAM DASH]. Celio had rushed here right after it was over for Edris in case the latter needed help.
But how did No. 12 end up here?
Not to mention being held down by the Shadows.
Although Celio didn’t know what was going on, he knew that No. 12 wasn’t the type to make errors severe enough for [DETENTION].
His gaze travelled to the black stripes binding the boy’s arms, and Celio’s first reaction was to push them away.
“Stay here! Don’t touch me!” No. 12 yelled just as he was about to reach forward. In his voice was a rare sense of urgency. “Don’t come close, or they might take you as an accomplice.”
“You…” Celio frowned. “How did you end up here?!”
“…I guess it just somehow ended up this way.” No. 12 tried to scratch his head out of habit, only to realise his body was restrained. He mustered a sheepish smile instead.
Not waiting for Celio’s reply, the Shadows began to slither into the elevator behind him, carrying the freckled boy with them. As they brushed shoulders, Celio heard a whisper.
“The fireworks, I worked really hard on them, you see.”
Celio spun his head around. The freckled boy had a small smile on his face as the elevator doors closed between them.
"Please watch them well.”