Sighing, I hastily strode out of the office and headed back to the forging hall.
I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone for the rest of the day, thanks to Nero, but I still had to finish the exam.
“Lucas?”
Just as I was walking down the corridor to head to the elevator, a voice reached my ears from the side. The familiarity of it made me halt my steps.
A somber frown appeared on my face as I looked to my side and noticed a certain black-haired girl, her clear emerald eyes staring back at me.
She donned a blue and white academy uniform, representing her status as one of the top 25 cadets.
Usually, I would feel slightly elated to see her for whatever reason, but right now, I was anything but happy to bump into her.
In fact, I wanted to stay as far away from her as possible. Yeah, after what happened the last time we talked, I never wanted to meet her again.
I took a deep breath and averted my gaze, an infuriated voice seeping through my gritted teeth. “Get out of my face before I actually hurt you, Amelia.”
“You’re saying that as if you haven’t tried that already,” Amelia retorted with a shrug.
To be honest, her carefree attitude after what happened was waning my patience more than what she did.
After what she did, how could she act so nonchalant?!
Amelia slightly rolled her eyes, sheathing her hands in the pockets of her long white skirt. “Lucas, you’re overreacting.”
I couldn’t help but immediately widen at her audacious statement. “Oh, really? Is that what you think I’m doing, Amelia?! Am I overreacting?!”
Amelia dropped her facade, the carefully crafted persona that she used to deceive me fading slowly. She shot me a cold glare and was about to speak up.
But before she could even open her mouth, I interrupted, “I thought we were friends. I blamed myself for what I did when in reality, I wasn’t even the one at fault!”
“Lucas–”
Amelia tried to speak, but I refused to give her the window.
“No, I should never have trusted you. Do I even know you?” I exclaimed. “Because as far as I’m concerned, everything you did up until now was an act.”
“Of course, you know me!” Amelia raised her voice but immediately calmed down. She massaged her face and sighed. “Let’s just talk somewhere else, yeah?”
“Save it,” I scoffed. “I don’t even know if you’re an ally or an enemy.”
Amelia gasped. “Lucas, I’m on your side. I have always been on your side! I’m the only one you can trust! And deep down, you also know it. Isn’t that the reason you didn’t talk about me to the NWO?”
I stood there in silence for a few seconds, staring straight into her emerald eyes that resembled a sunlit forest. Now, however, there was a hint of far more sternness and maturity in her eyes.
Finally, I shook my head. “I wish I could believe you.”
Without waiting to hear her reply, I walked away from there, quickly matching toward the forging hall.
†
Three months ago…
Outside the clear glass window of his apartment, rain fell relentlessly.
Grey clouds shrouded what could’ve been a sunny sky, and brisk, cold gales carried the distinct scent of pouring rain and wet soil.
Lucas sprawled lazily on his couch. He was wearing loose casual clothes while Sera’s head lay on his lap.
Sera herself was busy playing with his Edit Pen since it was arguably the most lustrous possession in Lucas’ possession that wasn’t a weapon or his expensive watches.
An array of blue translucent holographic screens illuminated the otherwise dark room, displaying multiple open internet searches in front of him.
On the couch next to the one where he was sitting, Amelia was also scrolling casually through holographic tabs while leisurely reclining back.
Both of them diligently noted down every minute detail that they came across in their research on the single paperback legal pad sitting on the coffee table in the centre.
After a few more minutes of navigating the internet, Lucas let out a sluggish yawn.
He nudged Sera’s head away and rose to his feet with a grunt, stretching his tired limbs before turning to look at Amelia.
For a fleeting moment, he couldn’t help but pause and admire the black-haired beauty sitting alone with him in his apartment.
She was dressed in a loose polka dot dress, revealing her fair knees as she sat cross-legged, her waist-long hair loosely tied in a bun.
The kitty-designed reading glasses she wore, for some mysterious reason, made her look incredibly cute to Lucas.
Feeling his gaze, Amelia turned to Lucas, cracking a bright smile that seemed to light up the dark grey world.
“What?” she asked with a giggle.
Lucas coughed, looking away briefly before regaining composure. “Nothing. Um, found anything?”
Amelia sighed, removing her reading glasses. “Nothing. No matter what or how I search, there isn’t a single useful thing. Well, it’s probably also because I don’t know what to look for.”
Lucas had briefed Amelia about what happened after he “died” during the first-year practical exam.
The reason was simple. He wanted her perspective. Two minds were better than one, after all, and Amelia was a genius. Even in the novel, her out-of-the-box thinking had saved the main crew many times on the battlefield.
Of course, he didn’t tell her everything, like the details about the prophecy or the information about the three heroes, for example.
He did report all of that to Kai and Hugh, though. He also asked them to conduct an evaluation and research everything he had disclosed.
But until then, he wasn’t going to sit idle. He asked for Amelia’s help in conducting his own research.
They delved into military records, publically accessible abnormal calamity data, and similar stuff.
Lucas’ reasoning was, once again, very simple. He knew Kiara was strong. Even if the government had sealed her as she claimed, she would have put up a good fight, given her insane strength. The battle she was involved in must have been intense and destructive.
To cover up the cause of so much devastation, the government likely took measures, such as reporting it as a natural disaster.
However, Lucas knew that with a thorough investigation, they could see the truth behind the lies.
The problem was that they didn’t know exactly what they were searching for, and Lucas was uncertain about how to use the information even if he got it.
But nevertheless, he had to start somewhere, right?
“It’s fine,” Lucas said with a casual wave. “Don’t work too hard. We’ll figure out what we’re looking for if we find something.”
Amelia nodded, putting her reading glasses back on and swiftly typing on the virtual keyboard before her.
Lucas scratched the back of his head and ambled toward the kitchen. “I’ll fix us something to eat. It’s almost lunchtime, after all–”
But before he could even take a few steps, Amelia squealed and called out his name. “Lucas! I think I found something!”
The silver-haired boy raised his eyebrows and quickly hopped onto the couch next to the beautiful archeress.
“What is it?” he asked.
Amelia pointed at the holographic screen before them. “Look, there was an incident almost fifteen years ago in the Central Continent.”
Lucas furrowed his brow, squinting to read the headline of the news article Amelia was pointing at.
It read: “1,000 dead and countless injured as the mana reactor near Fifth Avenue malfunctioned, resulting in an obliterating blast.”
Lucas shook his head. “I don’t know. It doesn’t seem too abnormal.”
Amelia smiled. “Yes, on the surface, it doesn’t. But after reading the article, you’ll see that everything in a few kilometres radius around the Central Government house was destroyed, except the house itself. That… remained unscathed.”
Lucas touched his chin. “So, what are you suggesting?”
“Look, you said it yourself. The snake lady you met was powerful, right? To seal someone… or something… like that would require a great amount of energy. More than five or six Immortal-level warriors at best, right? And even then, only runic magic can hold that much power. In the middle of a battle, they wouldn’t have the time to measure the power of the runes. No, they would pour everything they have. The runes would hold the energy needed for the imprisonment spell, but the excess would ripple outward in the atmosphere, disrupting the equilibrium and creating an explosion, just like–”
Before Amelia could complete her explanation, a grin formed on Lucas’ lips as he cut her off.
“Just like my mana burst.”
Amelia jumped up in excitement, beaming while offering him her hands for a high five. “Exactly! To seal Kiara, they had to use so much energy that resulted in an explosion similar to your mana burst!”
The grin on Lucas’ face widened as he also rose to his feet and clapped her hands.
Sera looked at the two humans, noting their erratic behaviour for a moment before quickly losing interest and going back to playing with his Edit Pen. “Pa is weird.”
Ignoring her remark, Lucas exclaimed to Amelia, “You are a genius!”
Amelia puffed her chest, rubbing the base of her nose arrogantly. “Of course I am! Now, as a reward, feed me the meals most delicious!”
Lucas playfully bowed down. “As you wish, m’lady. What shall you have?”
“Burgers,” Amelia sat back on the couch, crossing her legs and placing her hand on the handrest as if she were sitting on a throne. “I shall have cheeseburgers.”
“Then cheeseburgers it is,” Lucas said, closing the internet tabs and opening the food delivery app on his smart bracelet.
However, as he was about to tap the screen, he abruptly stopped, frozen in place. The joyful smile vanished from his face, replaced by sheer and incomprehensible shock.
A tangible tension filled the air, thick enough that one could cut it with a knife.
Even Amelia, who had been sitting confidently, stopped smiling at some point in the conversation and was now wearing an unreadable expression on her face.
Sera stopped playing with the Edit Pen, her eyes slightly widened as she got up and walked to stand behind her Pa’s leg.
“Amelia…” Lucas called out, his voice trembling. He dropped his hands, turning to stare at her.
But Amelia dared not meet his gaze. Looking at the floor with her head down, she exhaled deeply and said, “Lucas, calm down and let me explain.”
But instead of calming down, Lucas summoned his spear in his hand. Amelia clicked her tongue, stepping back a few paces. The innocent look on her face from earlier was nowhere to be seen.
She conjured her bow in response as Lucas continued, “I never told you her name, did I? So, then… how did you know her name was Kiara?”
“Lucas! Calm! Down!” Amelia gritted her teeth. But in the next moment, Lucas’ body was engulfed in crimson flames, making him look like a demon who rose from hell.
“I give you four words. Convince me not to kill you,” he said.
“I’m not your enemy!” Amelia shouted.
There was a deafening silence filling the apartment for a few seconds before the young wolf tightened his grip on the spear in hand, and the flames burning around him blazed even more intensely.
“…Not convinced.”