"We've let our guard down for some reason..." Looking back to the mess that unfolded, everyone from the Section C class started deeming themselves with peculiar responsibilities and sources of problems.
They were hesitant to say anything, rather, Eunice made the call that they let their guard down. Judging by the look on their faces, it is quite clear that everyone blames themselves for not being able to do anything.
"No..." However, as the silence continued to cover, Nikki stood up from her seat. She has overwhelming confidence in her stance. The others were rather surprised by her odd volunteering nature.
"It is my fault... I am so sorry, everyone!"
She bowed while keeping her arms and legs intact. Everyone was perplexed by her formal apology. No one knows the reason why Nikki is doing this, they were waiting for an explanation.
"Nikki... I don't think you're the one to blame for all of these–" Stopping Eunice on her tracks, Nikki continued to speak up.
"No! I am the reason why this is all happening. You guys already knew that the witch is trying to get me. She has fixated on me alone, and because of that, I... I let everyone around me in danger and you guys saved me like... I twisted nature. if only I was s-strong enough to protect myself..." Nikki's words were stammering on the important parts. It shows how she deeply cares about her classmates and how she is bonded with the same amount of responsibility as the others despite knowing that she was the target.
"Nikki..."
"I hate to admit it, but... I am scared... I-I never really intended to lure her here... And because of that, many people almost die... A-Aran was part of that as well... I am so weak! I-I am so sorry! I am sorry!" She repeated her words with full sincerity. She was blaming herself because she was the cause of the problem in the first place, it was rather implicit and hard to forget. However, you can't say that you are exempted in the right terms as well.
When a great danger is bestowed upon you, your surroundings including those with who you are close will share that same responsibility. There was no indication that the problem will die out just because you ran away with it.
The responsibility and danger that you carry will be placed upon your companions and friends and they will be the ones to share the pain with you. That's why the feeling of being the burden is strikingly effective in Nikki's case. Considering her agony from being a target of a killer witch. She ignored the problem at hand. She didn't report what she felt and it leeched her ability. If she have taken drastic measures, there wouldn't be any problem.
The class went silent after opening up her feelings. No one is interjecting because Nikki is saying the truth. Eventually, everyone will have to consider that she is a part of the reason why the witch has taken the spotlight yesterday and caused a lot of trouble. She was thinking that if only there was a way to actually escape that pre-defined future that William has warned.
"You're not at fault here, Nikki..." Everyone's mood simply calmed down in an instant after hearing his voice. It was Eita who walked forward in front of the whole class.
"I think it was only natural that we and the other class would be helping each other to take the risk and defeat the Witch." He continued with a smile on his face.
"Eita's right, Nikki! You're not the one who's at fault here. You are just getting manipulated by that Witch. She is the whole reason why you can't control yourself!" Penny immediately jumped in after hearing his opinion.
"We're not blaming you at all, Nikki. We're actually happy that you are fine. We tried our best to protect our school. You're a victim of this problem, that's why you are scared. And being the victim actually scares me as well and puts me on spot. I don't think I would be able to handle that if I have no friends." Aine also gave her opinion on the other side of the table.
"Yeah, nothing was wrong here. Apparently, we literally just mocked the future and we didn't do the preparation. Still, though, it is wrong for you to blame yourself for something that is considered impossible to solve without any help. I think we can emphasize with you..." Eunice approached Nikki who was on the verge of tears and started caressing her hair with a gentle stroke of her hand. She calmed her down like a professional.
"G-Guys..." After that, she placed her full hands on her face and started sobbing. The class went back to its own progressive state and the others were relieved by that.
The unity of each one of them is shining light upon each section of the room. The class was simply despising the thoughts of being alone in the fight.
Major talks were held after Nikki's crying session.
The sun was about to go down.
"Let's head back, shall we? I am pretty sure everyone's tired right now..." Huck initiated the process. Everyone nodded with this and they all started heading outside of the room. Each of them said goodbyes to each other except the trio.
"Are you okay now, Nikki?" Eunice asked. Huck eventually moved forward to join them.
"Mmm..." Her response is timid but she was getting better in any case.
"Where's Aran?" Eunice asked.
"He was brought to the city's Sanatorium. Apparently, he suffered a severe injury. Things will be a little bit steep for him at this point." Huck answered her.
"Still though, I am still preoccupied with the thought of how did the Witch enter the state. I know for the fact that she was using portals because I witnessed it. But then again, she wouldn't be able to use it without some sort of a connection..." Eunice placed her hand on her chin while thinking.
"I heard from William that it was a cursed book..." Nikki said.
"A cursed book? Really?"
"Yes, apparently, someone delivered a cursed book inside the academy and set it out in that secret room. Commander Henry said that they wouldn't able to trace whoever puts it." She continued.
"A delivery of the cursed book. It is like controlling a puppet. If that is the case, the number of traitors inside this academy is likely."
"That's true, the school didn't even consider checking. I think we need to be warier about our surroundings." Replied, Huck.
"In any case, we won't have any class until the venue is fixed. I hate to say this but this year had been pretty much full of trouble. At this point, we won't be able to reach advanced magic spells lessons."
"Nikki, earlier on that match, you are actually on fire..."
"Huh?"
"He's right, Nikki! When did you learn that?!"
Pressed by the two, Nikki leaned back and made a weary smile.
"I umm... to tell you the truth, it is not really a learned experience..." She answered without some spark in her tone.
"Wait, what do you mean? Are you actually saying that..."
"Yes, I have inherited my father's elemental magic ability."
"For context's sake, what is the name of your father...?"
"It's–"
She was almost close to revealing it, however, the door of Section C slammed and someone took their way in. It was Lisa and Mahrisse.
"Guys!" Lisa called out to them.
"Lisa? What are you guys doing here?" Eunice asked out of confusion.
"We came to check on you, we're really worried about what happened, and Nikki..." She said as she gets closer to her.
"I see, so how's progress?"
"All of the civilians were safe to go, the commander really did a good job putting a lot of knights in case something happens. We've managed to secure everything and with the help of Section A, the venue is now ready to operate." Mahrisse answered.
"Oh, that's reassuring!" Huck replied.
"Yeah, it is hard work though, cleaning the whole venue with the zombie's disgusting blood is filthy." Though Mahrisse reported what they did, it seems like she scorned her way out of it.
"Since we are still on the verge of danger, there won't be any more additional class. Oh, and you guys should probably head back to your dorms now..." She suggested.
"I don't think we can do that, we're still kinda surprised by what just happened."
"I see, that's understandable..."
"Well, to tell you the truth, we're planning on visiting Aran tomorrow!" Mahrisse lightened their mood by mentioning him.
"HUH?! Wait! Mahrisse! I told you that I was just going to be the one who will visit him!" Lisa huffed.
"What are you saying? Aren't we allowed to visit your friend?"
"T-That's... umm..." Lisa reluctantly answered. There was nothing malice in Mahrisse word's so it is reasonable to visit him since they are his friends.
"Well, in any case, I want everyone to meet outside of the gate early in the morning. We need to visit him. And Nikki..." She moved closer to him. Her eyes eventually meet with Mahrisse, she was waiting for the continuation of her words.
"You should thank him properly, all right?" She winked. Nikki smiled and breathed out a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, I need to make sure that he hears it," She replied.
***
The night goes on and the whole academy was put into a deep sleep after that tough battle. Despite all of the ruckus and destruction, they were able to have a peaceful night.
However, deep inside the place where no one can enter, the group that wears a black robe gathered once again. The moonlight shined upon their location, however, only their visually colored eyes got the gist of it.
"That stupid witch got in the way... I am glad that they managed to take care of it." A man's voice in the middle of the dark field echoed. It looks like he was the one running the whole mysterious group.
"Suppose that we have the time now, shouldn't we execute it?" Someone asked from the back.
"We can't let them know that we are here to expose ourselves... Our job is to expose that boy and strip him from this side," He replied with a serious tone.
"You're planning on taking it out on him?"
"That's exactly what the leader wants us to do... If we can't bypass the system of this country, then we need to silently operate behind the shadows."
"So what are you intending to do?"
"The academy's term will end for the next few months, we need to use that opportunity to reveal everything to him and get out of the location as fast as possible."
"The Winter Selections you mean?"
"Yeah, that event will be the final examination for all of these candidates. If we, no... If you can participate in the winter selection and have him reveal his own nature, that will be easier for us to get through this mission."
"Still though, hiding is going to be difficult from now on..."
"There's no problem, we have already secured the route. We can just get out of here by our strength."
"That boy knows our existence, but he doesn't know where he belongs. We, the Jurah Organization will bring back one of our members. We will kill those who oppose us, we will strike those who want to kill us." He followed.
"Aran Crossford... Your time is up, you're now going to come with us..." The menacing voice resonated across the discreet location. Someone on the backside made a squeaking noise but no one noticed it.
It was the girl who Aran met from the previous encounter. She didn't make any actions, however, it was clear that she was trying to conceal something.
There was more to this organization than the usual creepy atmosphere. No indication has been taken for granted, but the idea of being able to hide as a spy is peculiar and weird. Despite the gradual encounter, no one seems to understand why they should wait for the Winter Selection to settle if they can just get Aran right now while getting vulnerable.
"I have a question..." The woman with the sky blue eyes called out.
"Hmm?"
"Aran is currently staying in the sanatorium right now, wouldn't it be much easier for us to get him right now while he is still unconscious?" She proposed. With this in mind, everyone showed some slightly surprised expressions while thinking about the strategy.
"Even though he is currently unstable right now, it wouldn't work well with our plan." The master replied as he glanced over to the woman's location.
"And why is that?" She asked.
"Our goal is to have him forget about humanity and destroy all possible excuses he can formulate, not to kidnap him. We need that boy to consider himself as one of us, he needs to realize that he has the blood to be with us."
"Aran is not a toy you can just pull! He despises us! Our whole organization! We are the reason why he was stripped out from his village!" Complained the woman.
"That's true, we made a grave mistake by destroying his home... But that was to be expected..." A silent interval interrupted their conversation.
"The village... That's not the only one you destroyed."
"Right... Thanks for reminding me, we also killed his father."
"T-That's..." She whimpered.
"Let me tell you something, humans have already taken a lot from us. Starting with our families, kids, friends, and companions, they were sold as a slave, and right now, we have the opportunity to save them. Our work will be a great advantage for Haegar, don't you think?" He asked.
"And aside from that, half of our population has been killed because of them..."
"Don't generalize it!" She screamed.
"'Generalized'? You seemed to be working in the wrong direction. I didn't generalize them, it is the sole truth for every human mind. All of their nations are working together to conquer the world. And they see us like we're just a mere pest. We are living together in harmony and in peace, and those humans destroyed their connection to the outside world with their selfish schemes. After that, they will proceed on killing every monster or demi-humans that live peacefully in this world. In other words, they are the true enemies." He proceeded as he approached the woman.
"We didn't do this because we want to get revenge on them. We did this to save our allies who are presumed to be locked within this filthy country."
"Aran is not pure!"
"Oh yes, he is indeed not pure. But he still has the blood. And we will use that secondary facade to make him one of us. In order for him to forget about his own human side. We need to awaken that sleeping lycanthrope inside him. He is the most ferocious monster we can get."
"You're cruel..."
"I am not... I am just doing what we are told to. We're going to save every single werewolf from this land and save our nation as well. I am not going to let these bastards kill our families again!" He raged.