"What happened after you were ensnared?"
The question hung in the air, instantly raising the tension in the room by several notches. For some strange reason, Nico felt a mixture of fear, guilt, and trepidation.
He swallowed, determined not to allow his inner anxiety to show on his face. Beside him, Beverly slowly tensed her muscles, ready to take action at a moment's notice.
Nobody would apprehend the little rascal. Not even the Royal Family.
"I… I'm not sure. The details are all very hazy," Nico replied with a sigh.
Vesaf frowned, clearly not anticipating such an answer. He looked at William and Phantom, who both shrugged in return.
"Then tell me what you know." the hulking man's eyes, which were the same colour as blood, narrowed thoughtfully.
Nico nodded. Looks like there was no helping it.
He steeled himself mentally.
"After we finished the trials, Instructor William and Phantom…" he let his gaze linger briefly on the two men, "as well as Instructor Nix escorted us through the East Leaf Wilderness. Our rendezvous was the City of Valdence. Along the way, we encountered a sudden beast horde, which Instructor William and Nix went to deal with."
The boy licked his quickly drying lips, before continuing, his gaze now fixed firmly on the floor. "After that, we retreated into a small clearing obscured by the cover of a bush, and barely a minute later, a Mana Beast abruptly appeared. Phantom, my teacher in the spear path, rushed to mitigate the threat. Following that, the White Cobras entered."
Nico clenched his fists, fury and hate swirling in his brown pupils.
Vesaf remained apathetic to the boy's emotions. He tapped his feet impatiently. Before he could act on any of his thoughts, a stern look from the priestess stopped him in his tracks.
"Lucas Stanburg betrayed our group and joined forces with the notorious bandits. Actually, that's wrong… he didn't join forces, he had hired those vile bastards to kill my half-blood friend," Nico's eyes turned several degrees colder as he raised his head and stared back at the investigator.
"I fought the Stanburg Heir briefly before the Boss used the magical mirror for the first time. My peers immediately became trapped. I and my companions barely avoided being ensnared the first time round. Unfortunately, we weren't as lucky the next time… and I became part of the mirror's spell… where it showed me my worst memories." the brown-haired boy involuntarily grimaced.
Vesaf glanced toward the boy's instructors. Even though they tried to remain professional, the burly man could discern the sympathy in their eyes from a mile away.
He scoffed internally, before softly shaking his head.
"Is all that true?" he asked.
"Yes, it matches up with the accounts of the other trainees. At least the first part, anyway." William replied.
"Do you have anything else to add?" Vesaf placed more weight on his gaze as he studied the former trainee.
He ignored the dangerous warning in Beverly's stare.
"Yes. I do," Nico rubbed his temples, straining his brain to recall any other pieces of information that could prove useful to the hulking man's investigation.
His brows furrowed, "What helped me escape the mirror's effect was a small pin-prick of light. I do not know what it was, or what it did, all I know is that it likely saved my life."
"Oh?" Vesaf rubbed his chin curiously.
"Care to elaborate?"
Nico acquiesced, not that he had much of a choice, really.
"Sure. I know it saved my life because at the very moment I woke up, I discovered Lucas's axe heading my way, ready to skewer me where I stood. I only survived because of the sacrifice… of a friend," his voice cracked towards the end, and he had to shut his eyes tightly to stop the incoming flood.
He felt his aunt rub his back in silent comfort.
The boy took a shaky breath.
"After that, the world went dark."
A hint of pity appeared involuntarily in the investigator's red pupils. He sighed, his mouth twisting in thought. All the pieces swirled in his mind as he tried to connect them with each other.
Yet, no matter how much he tried, there were a few gaps missing.
The boy's account didn't explain the remnant demonic aura in the clearing. However, that could be attributed to the Dungeon that cropped up in the core region of the East Leaf Wilderness - the cause of the beast horde the trainees had unfortunately encountered.
It also didn't give a cause for the Boss's mangled form. Maybe a stray dungeon denizen had escaped and stumbled upon the vile criminal.
As for the pinprick of green light, he guessed it had to do with the boy's body awakening a small portion of its latent potential. It wasn't unheard of for people to experience a pseudo-awakening of sorts in times of great stress and tribulation, giving an added boost to a random attribute.
It seemed the brown-haired boy was just extremely lucky to have received a boost regarding the sharpness of his mind.
However, in those instances, the individuals did not report any specific sort of colour. All they described was that it had been like some sort of haze had been cleared from their mind.
Vesaf unconsciously rubbed his thumb with his forefinger. He understood the boy had most likely passed out from the shock and trauma of seeing his friend cleaved right in front of him.
No matter how he looked at it, this line into the investigation was clearly a dead end. He would have to look at it from a different angle.
It didn't help that the Stanburg's were breathing down his neck, demanding to know the whereabouts of their missing heir.
This was another massive blow to the medium-sized House. Having already lost one heir in the Battle of Sreb, losing another one in the same decade was bound to hurt.
Vesaf inwardly mocked those conceited nobles. He shook his head and returned to the present.
Nico held his breath seeing the man turn silent and extremely thoughtful. He bit the inside of his mouth in worry and closed his eyes.
He focused on the passive blessing stored within his soul… and felt a small tremor run through it slightly.
The brown-haired boy had no more time to ponder on what had just happened. He saw Vesaf move his weighty gaze back on him, scrutinising his features closely.
The man's baritone echoed throughout the silence. "Okay, your account matches up with most of what your peers had said. You're off the hook for now… in the future, if any new information comes to light, I'll be giving you another visit…"
With that, the hulking investigator stood up and went to interrogate the half-blood.
His lips curled in a barely discernable sneer.