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DATE:6th of June, the 70th year after the Coronation
LOCATION: Concord Metropolis
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I woke up on the floor. It was the first time I ever fell from my bed so I was really surprised. As I live there, looking at the door that stays in his frame only as a gesture, I remembered I had a lot of work to do.
After I finished my classes and help. Alice, look around the outside of the library (or another points list survey), I got around to fix that damned door.
The heavy door lay awkwardly against the wall, its hinges dangling from the frame like loose teeth. Where the knob once stood, there was now an empty hole, its mechanisms removed and scattered. The wood around the hinge slots looked worn, with a few screw holes stripped from my past mistake.
I surveyed the damage, taking a moment to gather what I needed: a fresh set of screws, a screwdriver, wood filler, and the new knob that would soon replace the old, broken system. The work was straightforward but required precision.
First, I propped the door back into its rightful position, aligning the hinge mortises with care. The hinges were still intact, but the screws, weakened over time, had lost their grip. I took a few toothpicks, coated them in wood glue, and gently packed them into the stripped holes. It was a simple trick but an effective one, giving the new screws something to bite into. Once the wood filler set, I drove in the screws, this time longer and stronger than before, securing the door back into place. The hinges settled comfortably, and the door stood once again, hanging straight and steady.
Next came the knob. The gaping hole where the old mechanism had been was a reminder of how far the damage had spread. I worked carefully, inserting the new latch and threading the spindle through, then fitting the knob on both sides. With a few turns of the screwdriver, the knob was in place, firm and functional.
I tested the door, watching as it swung smoothly on its hinges and clicked shut with the satisfying turn of the new knob.
Mr. Perfect, was really surprised to see how " capable" I was. I'm not sure what he expected. He jokingly proposed that I should become the administrator's assistant after my temporary stay as a substitute teacher ended. I personally thought it was in poor taste cuz I want to stay here as little as possible. Alice also went on to praise me for how amazing I was but I don't like being treated like one of her idols. Expectations often hurt people when results aren't delivered.
Between my work I also got a call from John regarding the case of the Vampire. The police found her in the villain database as... I don't remember. I honestly didn't care to hear. Hear I mean if she was out on the loose I'm sure information would have been very valuable but I already killed her. Why would I feel my head with all of this meaningless stuff. To remember her? I certainly won't. I always say that people should born from tragedies, because otherwise they turn into trauma and they hold it back. The world already is against us. Why make your life harder?
Still our conversation wasn't all fine. The doctor had a strange tone almost... Scared? That sir that wasn't good. I'm sure the scene was gruesome, it must have shocked him, but I think a superhero doctor with with so many years under his belt wouldn't get scared from some gore. No, this was different.
As I took a break on the bench outside the main school building, I couldn't help but think deeply. I was looking at this "new generation of heroes" , and I couldn't help but be.... Disgusted?
Alice came to berate me about the dangers of smoking like some dork. She then sat to my left and also joined in watching the students.
Sure, not all heroes come from Zenik, but the ones with most influence do. UltraMan was the exception.
I'm having a hard time imagining that Maniacs like Blazer or the Crusader came from this Academy. These are men who killed people without a second thought, just like myself. But I never was a normal teen, pulling pranks and hanging out with my friends, having a crush... All of these are a mystery to me, and not even to say I was a loner. I just was brought up in a different environment.
The place I grew up in, you could die if you looked wrong at a man on the street. He would stab you right there. So how can these privileged fledgling heroes go from normal humans to monsters? Shouldn't that be studied? Or, is this the point? That they ar actually monsters and they let their urges control them when there isn't a Dean to punish them?
Should I just kill everyone here to do the world a favor? The girl sitting to my side wouldn't ever imagine the kind of thoughts I had. But really, why was she so dependent on me?
I went back to the dorms and for the rest of the day, trained my capacity for holding my breath. It wasn't the first time I did this, but I never liked the sensation. My time is about 4 minutes, but I always wanted to reach 5 like the seals. At first I was going to pools to practice, but cleaning myself of chlorine got old really fast. Nowadays I just hold my breath wherever I am.
"Hmmm hmmm hmmm~" Alice was humming a tune that reminded me of that ghost from yesterday. What kind of ability could throw someone's soul out of their body? And if such a thing is real, how come the math teacher's body is still alive? Even if she got unglier with age, the most impact on her appearance had her own superpower that she uses to create a protective layer of fat. Hell, a pencil sent at ultra speed just got stuck in all those layers, it didn't even hurt her.
What I want to say is that her body's degradation is mostly mental, and not actually physical. If someone like Mr. Perfect was hit he would.... Actually I am not sure, he is such a maniac, wouldn't having his soul taken out make him a better person?
In any case, why would someone even do a thing like this? Information probably. The teacher must have gotten across something she shouldn't have, something like.... Naaah, it couldn't have been the Dean. Aren't the teachers like family?
Except, a family with a multi generational conspiracy like The Zilliams would be the exact type of people do do something like this. It would be easier to just ask the ghost, but I don't want to meet her and neither know how I could even do it. In the first place I only saw her due to an overdose since I was basically dead.
Then I thought about the Gardner. He must have known something was strange with the garden if he decided to take care of it. A foreign Language teacher doesn't just "pick up" such a hobby. Even if he didn't actually see the spirit, he must have been affected. In the worst case, he may enlighten me about the math teacher. He was around her age and joined the Academy at about the same time.
I searched for the name I barely remembered as Aku, ignoring Alice's insistence on going together( I said we should cover more ground by splitting up), in the garden, yet he wasn't to be found. After calling Alice I heard he usually takes a nap at noon. It was 5pm so I have no idea why he would still be sleeping, but I had no other leads so I went to his room in the dorm. Pressing my ear against the door, I could hear him weeping. A grown man crying? I couldn't have that. I knocked on his door.
Eventually, he bothered to open it to his guest, revealing a middle aged man with asian characteristics.
"W-what is it? William?"
"Aku, I was searching for you! I had something to ask. You know anything about Linda... Pamela.... Whatever her name was?"
"Who?" He was quite confused by my lack of care, I should probably have asked Alice how she was called beforehand.
"The math teacher. Do you know why she is always so grumpy? Everyone says she used to be the opposite."
"Yes-" He leaned out of the room to look who was in the corridor( no one, obviously. There are just eight rooms on our area), before inviting me inside.
His room had a lot of photos and pages fixated on the walls with tape and connected with strings. How was he able to even read this conspiracy?
"I saw you looking around the Academy, but you were always moving so I didn't get to meet you one on one. I wanted to warm to warn you that it is very dangerous what you are doing. Especially involving Alice. She, she shouldn't be part of this." Wow, hold on there coy-boy, what is with this pluckiness.
" Well first I didn't involve Alice. She was the one that dragged me into this. Secondly, I am aware of the danger. This is why I came to talk.
What happened with the teacher?"
He looked away, meditating about something, before going to his desk and taking out a picture from his drawer. It was of three people. One was the math teacher, but before her beatification, the second was... I think Aku? He had small eyes and I didn't know anyone like that except him. The third was a Caucasian man with blonde hair, similar the the teacher's. I think I remember seeing him in other pictures as her husband? He is dead now.
" I think you remember Claid, Pamela's husband?" Yeaaaah, surely. " The biology teacher? Really?"
" Haaah" Aku sighed before continuing.
" We came to this Academy at about the same time. I heard of the job myself when I was moving between countries like a wanderer while Pamela and Claid went to this school in the past. They were actually colleagues of the current Zilliam."
"Yes, of course I remember!" I was told this information, but I never cared. I assumed this connection was why "Pamela" was afforded so many favours by the Dean.
"There is some secret at this Academy, something about the Zilliam family. Something ugly that could forever destroy their reputation."
" Claid found out a laboratory when he was looking for a private place to do some mushroom farming. I don't know what was in there, but after telling me about it, he disappeared. A day later. The man I knew for 5 years was gone, and the Dean was acting as if nothing happened." He clenched his fist and a tear dropped.
" Pamela, she... She confronted the Dean. Why wouldn't she? Her soulmate who she knew all her life was gone and yet nobody even realized. Afterwords, she became like she is now. I don't know what the Dean did to her, but it was unholy. I tell you. Get Alice to stop pursuing this. I don't want that girl to suffer." It's not really up to me. She doesn't listen
if her curiosity is piqued. Sometimes I wonder if she is autistic. I hear they have hyperfixations just like this...
" We can't just let this go if it's something so dangerous. The lives of all these students could be at risk." Didn't think I would ever defend Alice, but what if the Dean randomly decides to do what she did on Pamela to me? What would I do?
" Where is the laboratory?"
" No, William. You don't understand!"
" I don't care about my life Aku, and apparently neither does Alice for hers. Aren't we supposed to be heroes?"
The Asian was left silent, and he kept looking at all the pages littering the room.
"I... Understand. Go to the warehouse building. The entrance is somewhere in there."
"Yes, thank you Aku. We'll do a lot of good with this information." I left to the door, but was called out just before exiting.
"And William?"
"Yes?"
"Aku is not my name. It... Is a slur...." Eh, whatever.
"Ah. Guess you aren't like that anymore!" With that I closed the door.
I left to the nearby handyman store( surprised there would even be one of those. Wouldn't rich people just buy stuff online or have people fix things for them?) and got myself an IR Flashlight before returning to the warehouse.
It was a small auxiliary building, slightly removed from the academic hustle, its utilitarian design a stark contrast to the more ornate architecture of the nearby classrooms and administrative offices. Built from sturdy, weathered brick and reinforced with steel, it had the appearance of an industrial hub, with large, metal-framed windows stretching along the sides. These windows, though old, allowed sunlight to spill into the building, illuminating its vast interior during daylight hours. It was renovated to look like this, that much was clear.
Inside, the warehouse was a model of organization. Towering shelves reached toward the high, sloped ceiling, their contents carefully cataloged. Rows of crates and bins held everything from sports gear to art supplies, while neatly stacked boxes contained laboratory equipment and other teaching essentials. The scent of cardboard and wood lingered in the air, accompanied by the occasional whiff of old papers from the archive section. A small office space at the far end housed a simple desk and computer, where an administrator kept track of the inventory. Luckily said administrator was away so I was free to look around. Security cameras mounted discreetly in the corners watched over the valuable items, ensuring nothing went missing.
The concrete floors were polished and marked with yellow safety lines, guiding anyone walking through the warehouse to the various sections. Though the building was purely functional, it played a vital role in the academy's daily operations, quietly ensuring that all departments had what they needed to keep the institution running smoothly.
That is what I went here for. To recon for security we would need to disable. Of course, if I already found the cameras then this should be over, but with my experience of infiltration I knew there always was a catch. I don't know if Zilliam bothered to place secret cameras on campus. Frankly I don't care about most of them, but here? I couldn't be seen doing anything suspicious here.
I was supposed to get some maps for my classes from the warehouse, a task I have been avoiding for over a week so I had the perfect alibi. I turned on the IR Flashlight, without turning on the warehouse lights and looked for any secret cameras that would be there. The actual ones we could disable just by going to the security room next to the Dean's office, but not this ones. These I would have to instantly remove with my ability.
There were about 6 of them.
I then returned to the dorm where I found Alice, waiting for me in the lounge. She was crying alone. Do these people do that as a hobby?
Sitting near, she bursted with worries and explained about how she was concerned of what will happen due to this operation. I guess Aku also talked to her.
She pressed herself against my arm, shivering. I don't get the gesture as I took was cold. I patted her on the back with my other hand. Why was I supposed to be her moral support?
"If you don't want to continue this, I can understand."
"N-no, we have to! What would Kevin think if I ran away, just like I have been doing up until now?" Was this about UltraMan? Was she talking about how she almost committed suicide? What is my deal in all of this?
"I... Thank you will. I really do. I wouldn't be able to continue my life without you..." Fuck off. Is this a confession? I was having a hard time not cringing at what she said. So corny...
Apparently she took my hardly earned silence as a "thank you~" "oh myyy!!!"... I honestly don't know what goes through her mind, but she gave me another peck on the cheek. I really should be at her one of these days, but then I remember that I can't. Perhaps under the caffeine supplement? A man can only dream. If I wasn't concerned about antagonizing someone who knows so much about this secret identity I wouldn't afford her so much lenience. I don't even know her superpower.
Actually, why don't I just ask?
"Hey, I've been thinking, what even is your power? I mean, you are UltraMan's apprentice."
"Haha, that is a long story.... It's about the moon." Yes, I could tell that much." It's not that I don't want to tell you, but it's getting late and we need to be rested for our... " Mission". These days you've barely even slept so I want to make sure you go to bed. We should continue this tomorrow. "
Damn, what a cliffhanger! And who the hell does she think she is to say that to me?
Even then, what else could I do?
I went to bed unsatisfied.
That night I slept well.
But tomorrow.... I would break this school.