(Julius Argenti POV)
Back at Ausburn Hotel:
*Slash*
'That's one more down.'
Every since they breached the dining hall, I've been trying to cut down as many enemies as possible. Unfortunately, I'm only one person and I still have to deal with the C rank attacking me.
I was definitely stronger than him, giving me leeway to attack others simultaneously. I didn't focus on him, as it would have at least 2 minutes to deal with him which I didn't have.
And unlike everyone else, I was less affected by the dust and noise. I could detect people based on their mana signature so, I knew where everyone was. Though I didn't what they were doing, on their position, I could guess their actions.
While I was fighting off the C rank, he was suddenly tied in mana strings.
'This technique!? It's Nica's technique.'
The dust cleared revealing many dead bodies laying around with all the soldiers tied up with mana strings. They were also in a semi-comatose state so she could interrogate them later.
The person who was the cause of this was standing in the middle of the room looking like this had nothing to do with her.
Veronica was as beautiful as ever and hadn't changed a bit since I met her. I hadn't met since I left for Central High.
"Jules, you're here! How have you been."
I saw her approaching and I hugged her. I noticed she was nearly half a head shorter than me. I was taller than her back before I left, but the height difference increased again.
"Sis I've been fine. I've learnt a lot at school. Also, this training camp was quite eventful. How's being the Director of SUITE been."
I also started calling her sister ever since she insisted on it. I didn't mind after a while. She was the one that usually took care of me. Even though she was 16 years older, I still treated her the same way as my older sister back on Earth.
"Tiring. Thank god teach took up the position again. Even though he's still injured, he can still do management work."
"Also how's Amina? Is she fine?"
I remember sending Amina outside to fight two C ranks. I could sense her mana so I knew she wasn't dead.
"Yeah, she's fine. The cuts that were inflicted on her were coated with a special poison that's stop the wounds from closing up. The agents outside are treating her so she'll be fine in a week or so."
The teacher all rushed in soon afterwards and started accessing the damage. Nica then broke the hug and spoke to Mrs Rumbles about this event.
Everyone was traumatised so it was best to rest here. However, since they didn't want to risk getting attacked again, the teachers decided to bring everyone back to Central High and treat them there.
We were given the next week off the recuperate and help deal with any trauma. Many therapists arrived so they could talk to the students. Their recovery was the number one priority.
***
Back to the present
I was checking Amina's wounds while James was watching over Violet. Despite James having just murdered someone, he seemed to be all right.
He mentioned that he talked to the staff who helped him get over it. He also noted that he would eventually have to kill others as a mage and getting over it earlier would help him.
While I was at the infirmary, Violet woke and we explained to her the current situation. I was debating whether to tell them everything I knew. I eventually conceded and made up my mind to do so, especially since they were going to try to investigate it by themselves.
***
(Violet Storm POV)
"I guess I'll explain it. From my connections, I have a basic idea of what's going on. This is classified information that I shouldn't even be telling you, but I don't want to keep you in the dark."
Julius finally spoke. He stopped talking as soon I woke up and seemed to be contemplating something.
I immediately perked up and listened to what he had to say.
"The organisation that was the cause of this is called Ataxia..."
"—What does that organisation do."
"I was just getting to that Violet. No need to cut me off."
"Sorry about that."
I was getting impatient. I was desperate to know what happened.
"The organisation's purpose is to attempt to fix the current state of the government. They are basically revolutionaries."
"Wait why would they rebel? Though it isn't perfect, the current state of governance is fine and most are happy."
I wasn't naive enough to say any system of governance was perfect. Even back on Earth, the American justice system was far from perfect, but it served the needs of most of the population.
"That's true, but you don't know anything. The current system is built on lies and many layers of propaganda."
"What do you mean?"
"Have you noticed that haven't been many public arrests of mages?"
I tried to recall the last time a mage has been arrested or made the news because of their crimes. All the crimes that have made the news were civilians with little combat power.
"You know human nature. When someone obtains power, they naturally want to abuse it. Superhumans all following the laws only happen in fantasy. Mages are more likely to commit crimes."
"Then what happens to them?"
"They are killed in secret. If they are well known, the government usually says they died in the war. Mages must be seen as an honourable job. It's all propaganda."
"So they all die?"
"Not necessarily. The higher the rank you go, the less likely death becomes. For B ranks and higher, the government usually covers up their crimes."
"Even crimes like murder and rape?!"
"Unfortunately, yes. There are two main reasons for this. One, high-ranking mages can easily cause massive destruction to their environments, meaning if they aren't isolated, civilian casualties would be unavoidable when trying to capture or kill them. Secondly, these mages are important combat assets, so losing them will hit humanity hard."
"This is especially true for S ranks. They usually have leeway to act however they want. As long they don't cross a line, the government will cover things for them."
"What is the line?!"
I was truly angry now. Hearing that mages can just get away with murder and commit crimes disgusted me.
"Well, the murder or rape of other mages isn't tolerated depending on the rank. For example, an A rank killing a D rank would allow them to escape punishment, but killing B ranks or other A ranks will mean harsher sentences. All mass murder of many civilians automatically adds them to the hit list."
"But a single murder of a regular civilian is fine!"
"Yes, though depending on why the mage committed the crime, they may be placed under surveillance and sent to dangerous missions to kill them off."
"But that still doesn't make it okay."
"It doesn't. But capturing some mages such as S ranks are practically impossible. The government can only use hostages or send other S ranks. The first has a chance of failure and the latter will cause massive damages."
I leaned back onto my pillow. I looked over at James who was similarly disturbed as me. Amina seemed to already know this so she was unaffected.
I understood the points he made. Trying to forcefully capture or kill mages was at the height of folly. Maybe D and C ranks could be dealt with without issues. But anything higher would cause massive damage.
The government could only cover it up if they didn't want to incite the wrath of the civilians.
I understood that, yet I found it too unfair. This was the reality of having real-life superhumans.