The dean didn't reply with anything and only turned his back from the anxious duo, no longer paying any attention to them.
Instead, he kept looking at the scene before him with shrewd, sharp eyes, skimming across every inch of the bloody field in hopes of finding a clue of some kind.
Just then, one of the forensic people who had been working diligently a few meters away, banged his burly fist on the device in his hands, seemingly frustrated about something. "Work, you piece of shit!" he muttered to himself, with a clenched jaw.
It wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for the high-leveled ability-wielders in the field to hear it as clear as day. Hearing the forensic person's outburst, the lieutenant who stood next to the dean asked, "What's wrong?"
The forensic person looked up and became slightly nervous, but composed himself as he said, "Oh, sorry sir, It's just the device… it's not working properly." he looked at the device in his hands and stated, "From the blood test we've taken from each of the deceased students, there are 3 whose X-cells are nonexistent, like they hadn't been infused at all when they were young… But that would be impossible because after cross-checking it with their identities, each three of the boys had in fact been infused with the X-virus, and also had an ability when registering within the school."
He added with a nervous grin as he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, "But I bet It's just something wrong with the device; maybe the device is too old and needs a repair."
When he finished, the lieutenant nodded, and said, "Yeah, that would never happen, it's definitely something wrong with the device, don't worry about it for now and continue working."
At the Lieutenant's order, the forensic expert turned his head back to his work, completing another task which required him to bore a sharp-looking device into a student's chest.
The dean stood there silently for a while before he said calmly, "Something doesn't feel right here… I want the forensic assessment to be done in an hour, and If the results of the report show nothing that could help us find the culprits, then I want to initiate a school-wide lockdown."
The lieutenant who stood next to the dean and listened to his order's eyes suddenly bulged from his skull when he heard the dean's last words. He couldn't help but exclaim, "You wanna lock down the school?!"
Without missing a beat, the dean responded, "Do you have a problem with that?" as his charcoal eyes bore into the lieutenant.
"N-No," responded the lieutenant as he was caught off-guard from the dean's gaze.
The lieutenant, whose name was Jakeup, was a burly man who stood at an imposing height of around 2 meters tall. He stuck out like a sore thumb wherever he went, and he was remarkably well-built, looking like his muscles could break rocks if caught in between them. He was bald, had a sharp jaw, and looked fierce from every angle, and he wasn't the most approachable. Though, after being employed at the 23rd military academy for 10 years and managing to climb up from Instructor, all the way to lieutenant of the 2nd years, people had learned to warm up to him, as he was inwardly loyal and kind— even if he didn't show on the outside
Any other person within the school or perhaps even on the planet wouldn't dare respond to the dean when facing his gaze, but given lieutenant Jakeup's rank within the school and his comfortability with the dean over his years of employment, he responded candidly, without hesitation. "But, are we even sure this was done by a mere student? Its level of goriness is something we've never seen before and is more likely to have been done by an external threat instead— like perhaps an infiltrator? Also, won't it make us look bad to the rest of the military academies if barely only a week into the semester we've had to initiate a lockdown?"
The dean's intense gaze faltered for a bit, and he looked deep in thought.
After a couple of seconds of appearing in thought, he spoke up, "Then we'll do a secret investigation…."
The dean cleared his throat and said, "If the result of the forensics report comes back as a dud, and the checkup on the security apparatus around the school shows no sign of a potential breach, then we'll perform a secret investigation. You see, whoever has done this must have suffered some serious injuries and is more likely to miss their classes tomorrow, but if perchance they don't miss any classes, then well do something viewed upon as ordinary— a routine medical checkup."
"That's an excellent idea, sir," said lieutenant Jakeup, "I'll have everything arranged right away!"
"Good, I'll leave for now then." uttered the dean.
After their exchange, the air around the dean became restless, moving around in circles like ethereal wind spirits were in worship over him. It coiled around him slowly for a few seconds till it suddenly exploded with pressure— making the trees in the area splinter and for the leaves to fly away. Even the forensic experts around him were having trouble staying on their feet and clasped the grass beneath them to remain raised. The same couldn't be said for Lieutenant Jakeup and the two instructors though, who was still standing completely upright amidst the strong winds that hit them— like unmoving rocks.
Although Instructor Alyssa's expression changed, and she was left utterly dumbfounded.
Shortly after, the wind rushed downwards so quickly that it made the grass lay flat against the ground as a projectile shot into the sky at a terrifying speed.
"What was that!" screamed Alyssa as she began readying her ability.
Seeing Alyssa's angst, Instructor Gamal put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Calm down Alyssa, that was the dean."
Alyssa stopped triggering her ability and looked at Gamal and she said, "That was his ability?" she then looked towards the sky in amazement and asked, "What kind of ability was that?" with gleaming eyes.
Gamal shook his head and answered, "It's not his ability. It's his overcoat, It's a magical weapon."
Alyssa was shocked.
She looked back at Gamal, "That was a magical weapon? I've never seen one like that before." Her eyes shone with awe, and she was utterly dumbfounded after what the dean had done. Not only was this her first time seeing the dean of the school up close, but he had shown his magical weapon's terrifying ability, which was something she had never seen before. It made her extremely curious, and she wanted nothing more than to ask.
Gamal, who looked into her eyes, could see the shimmer of curiosity within them. He chuckled as he said, "I don't know where it comes from, nor do I know how he got it. It's a complete mystery."
Alyssa looked downcast after hearing Gamal's statement, but her head shot back up again as she looked at Lieutenant Jakeup.
Jakeup, who was off to the side, and had heard the whole conversation, answered similarly as he faintly smiled, "I don't know either."
Alyssa couldn't help but pout at his answer, and the experienced Instructor, including the lieutenant, couldn't resist chuckling when they saw this. They both had been employed at this academy for many long years, and they had never been told about the dean's overcoat, even if they vehemently asked. Not even the lieutenant, who was one of the most trusted and longest-serving members of the academy was ever told — and he had even begged once.
After seeing the overcoat's mysterious display of power, there had never been a shortage of inquires from the newly-employed instructors.
But similar to Alyssa, they were never left with an answer, which resulted in the same expression Alyssa had to be plastered on their faces as well.
—-—
In the 1st year dorms…
Lachlan's sweaty body toppled forwards and hit the white alloyed ground, creating a "Thud" noise in the process that rebounded throughout the dorm room.
Oliver, who had been on Lachlan's back, fell with him, and laid motionless on the ground with Lachlan beneath him, not making a single sound. The same could also be said for Lachlan, who fell asleep on the spot as well, leaving the dorm room in absolute silence— apart from the occasional breathing and snores.