As the moon hung high in the sky while being surrounded by the smoky haze, its afterglow blended with the city lights, scattering shades of crimson throughout the sky as if it was reflecting a pool of blood.
From inside of an abandoned factory came a series of heavy, repeating pants accompanied by the smell of gore dispersed in the air.
"I love you, Mirissa!"
"I'm sorry, Mirissa!"
"I'm sorry! I love you! I'm sorry! I love you…"
In the dark, a person's shadow was wavering while chanting-like mutters echoed against the walls. Despite the fact that the figure's mug was concealed in the murk, all kinds of emotions—wrath, pain, love, sympathy—were reflected in a wobbly tone.
Scattered around were detached limbs as dense, gooey blood flowed like a waterfall in a pattern that suggested death, symbolizing the brutality that took place.
Meanwhile, the remaining body on the ground swayed to the movement of the silhouette. As the victim's golden hair messily whipped, the fearful and raged expression on what was left of her face indicated her struggle. While her once-elegant uniform was covered in blood, a silver badge with a logo of a withered Yggdrasil would reflect the moon ray in the dark.
***
It was another beautiful morning at Cassell College.
Getting up from his bed, Lu Chen stood at the window and stretched his bones. On the other hand, Finger, who rarely woke up early, was already organizing his business on his laptop.
"Right. By the way, Lu Chen. Aren't you curious to know who bought most of your photographs?" Finger wore a devilish grin.
"Isn't it Milana?" asked Lu Chen, though he wouldn't be surprised since he had heard about Milana's wealthy background.
"Oh, no, no! Sure, she's your biggest fan in the Lionheart Club, but she's not the one who purchased the most photos." Waving his index finger, Finger made a face so mysterious yet so provoking.
"Who is it, then?" Lu Chen, who was putting his clothes on after waking up early, didn't mind making some meaningless small talk with his roommate.
"It's your favorite señorita, Lutecia!"
At Finger's revelation, Lu Chen almost choked while drinking some water. Lutecia?!
After his enrollment in Cassell College, it had been a while since Lu Chen last met Lutecia as they were in different years. Also, with Finger, a veteran student, as his roommate, there wasn't a need for him to deliberately look for her. In his memory, although she wasn't particularly apathetic, she was quite a decent individual.
"Hehe! As I said, your female seniors do have weak spots for boys with a vibe like yours. Besides, wasn't she with you for quite some time?" While saying that, Finger made a sly smirk as he wiggled his brows.
"Is there something wrong with you? What do you mean by 'with you quite some time?' It was only one trip where she led me and Chu Zihang to college!"
Rolling his eyes, Lu Chen finished washing up and grabbed his phone as he got ready to depart for college. It wouldn't be smart to skip the chancellor's class. Just as he turned his phone on to check the time, his ringtone sounded. Apparently, it was an email from Norma.
'AI031718S. Dear Lu Chen, please head to conference room 1012 in the Executive Department's building thirty minutes upon the receipt of this e-mail.ʼ
chancellor's class. Just as he turned his phone on to check the time, his ringtone sounded. Apparently, it was an email from Norma.
'AI031718S. Dear Lu Chen, please head to conference room 1012 in the Executive Department's building thirty minutes upon the receipt of this e-mail.ʼ
Glancing at Finger, who was indulging in his "photo business", Lu Chen thought to himself, Talk about coincidence! We'd just talked about scrimmage missions yesterday and today I'm receiving mine!
After sorting his belongings, he walked out the door.
…
In the Executive Department's conference room where sternness drifted in the air. In front of a gargantuan projector screen stood a man with a strict aura, accompanied by Schneider seated by his side. As he was sporting a mask, there was no telling what showed on his face. Behind them was a cart used to transport oxygen tanks.
Meanwhile, the twenty seats at the long conference table were filled with attendees—Grade A senior commissioners and freshmen that were all of Grade A lineage, except for one Grade S seated in the front.
Since it was rare for Schneider to personally present the mission during meetings, it was clear to them how grave the matter could be.
"I'll introduce myself. I'm Fremont Cunningham, one of the Executive Department's commissioners, as well as the director in charge of the arrangements for this mission. There's no need for any more details as I'm sure you won't be interested. So, before we move on to the main topic, I want everyone to have their phones turned off to prevent information leakage." Standing as straight as a pencil in front of the screen, Commissioner Fremont exhibited his professionalism as Schneider was present to observe the mission meeting.
Without any noise, everyone turned off their phones and concentrated on the projector screen before them, signaling Fremont to proceed. Seeing that, Fremont was satisfied with the freshmen. As expected, composure, efficiency, and obedience. These Grade A's deserved their titles.
"Very well. I will begin with the mission's contents. Please prepare yourselves mentally and focus on the screen." As he finished, instead of starting the presentation, he stared at the students.
Lu Chen was slightly puzzled at that. Was he expecting them to take a deep breath? What on earth would require such immense mental preparation?
Shortly after, Fremont tapped on the remote pen in his hand and the screen lit up.
At once, hisses and gagging noises broke the silence. For a moment, there were voices of shock and disgust. Nonetheless, as Fremont commended, the room was filled with commissioners and a bunch of exceptional Grade A freshmen, so the commotion didn't last long—not even for a second.
Undoubtedly, the graphics displayed on the screen were rather overbearing. Even Lu Chen, who was used to the gore on the battlefield, couldn't help but twitch a little.
It was a woman dismembered, with what was left of her body remained. Visibly, the woman faced tremendous terror before and after death. As if the dread had passed through the screen, some students started wheezing at the sight of the footage.
With the slides constantly transitioning to the next, the screen eventually revealed a woman in a black coat, holding a large-caliber Desert Eagle in her hand while looking formidable.
"Cassell College's junior and one of our commissioners—Marianne Hershey. Grade A lineage with a Lightning Shade kotodama. Having accomplished two Grade A missions and twelve Grade B missions, she… was as outstanding as anyone in this room." As Fremont reached the end of his statement, his tone got heavier.
Momentarily, the scene was naught but silent. Although being Grade A's was something to be proud of, upon seeing such gruesome scenes and being informed of their senior's accomplishments, the freshmen couldn't raise their heads and claim to be different as that would be ignorant and, at the same time, disrespectful to the deceased.
"After seeing how one of our elites was obliterated by our target, I hope you acknowledge the seriousness of this case. The Executive Department had classified this mission as Grade AA. In other words, this is something to be handled by our leading commissioners and not suitable for freshmen's scrimmage classes."
Then, as he stopped talking, his gaze swept across the audience and finally landed on Lu Chen, who sat in the front row. His implication couldn't be more obvious.
"But we have a Grade S," Lancelot raised his hand and voiced as he glanced at Lu Chen.