I don’t understand. This doesn’t make sense. If I’m supposed to be her alibi, then why would she tell me all of this? She has no reason to reveal any of this information to me. She could’ve achieved the same effect if she’d kept her mouth shut. Unless...
I gulped. “Are you going to kill me?”
She looked at me with genuine surprise before a wide smile stretched across her face.
“Kill you? No. Why would I do that? I have a duty to protect every last student in this school, and that includes you. Besides, how would you work as my alibi if you were dead? That’d just cast more doubt on me, wouldn’t it?”
“Then why would you tell me all this? Even if it’s not true, I’m not going to pretend like I didn’t hear any of it. I’ll tell my order! I’ll tell the headmaster!”
“Will you, now? You’ll tattle on little ol’ me?” she asked with a teasing but bewitching smile.
“Do you expect your womanly, nonhuman wiles to work on me? Because they won’t. I’m a holy knight of the Magic Breakers, Rhand Foghiri. I will not be distracted from my mission.”
She stifled a laugh before answering me. “Your mission includes the oppression of races like myself, right? Go ahead. Give it a shot.” Still crouching, she rested her elbows on her knees and then put her head in her hands. She was completely defenseless. “Aim very carefully though.”
If I can just cast Mana Void, then even she’ll be powerless. I can do this. Through science, we humans will prevail!
“Then again...” she said slowly. Suddenly, the chill from earlier returned, but this time, it was much stronger. It was as if our surroundings had gone completely quiet—petrified with fear. I couldn’t tell if the ground had begun to shake from the pressure she was exerting or if it was just me shivering. “If you value your arm where it is, you’ll stand down. My intention here isn’t to hurt you. I simply wanted a speaking partner for however long the situation over there is going to take. I’m not looking to shed blood here.”
“Y-Yeah, right. You think I’m going to believe anything you have to say?”
“I do. Because you don’t have a choice really, do you? That is, as long as you’d like to remain in one piece.”
I gulped, and I felt my eyes freeze, locked onto hers as she sent her gaze once more piercing into my very being. How could I have been so foolish as to think I could do anything against her? How could I ever even hope to fight her?
“Oh no. No, no. Don’t get depressed. You’re plenty strong. In fact, I need your help. I can only count on you for this.”
“You...do?”
“It’s very simple really. You’re going to be my spy.”
“Your...what? Why? How?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll show you.”
She then took one of her long, slender fingers and moved it toward her mouth, placing it under one of her razor-sharp fangs. A tiny bit of pressure from it was enough to produce a small trickle of blood from her finger.
“This should suffice,” she said with satisfaction as she brought it to my mouth.
“What— Mmf!”
Before I could react, she’d shoved her finger into my mouth. I desperately tried to resist imbibing her blood, not knowing what her plan was, but struggled as I did, it was futile.
One tiny gulp later, she removed her finger from my mouth. “See? Not so bad, right?”
Suddenly, my body felt hot as if I’d been tossed into a fire, but then cold as if I was encased in ice.
“Don’t worry. I didn’t give you too much, so you’ll definitely live a lot longer than others.”
Her words began to echo in my brain. But as if there was a sweet aroma about each of them, every word stuck to my brain like honey. The world began spinning. I couldn’t tell what was up and what was down.
I fell to the ground, and I began to writhe and claw at my brain. Get it out! Get it out! Argh! I began begging anyone who’d listen to me to make this stop, but at this moment, there was only one individual who could bring an end to this, and she didn’t seem to be in a merciful mood.
“I won’t change you fundamentally as I’d do with those I turn into thralls. This is just a simple hypnosis because I need you to keep your eye on a few things for me. Hmm?” Her attention turned toward the arena, where the black dome had appeared. “Well, it seems they’re beginning to wrap up over there, so I should get my business done too. That shadow’s gonna check in with me soon after all. Listen closely...”
Her lips began to move, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. I was completely entranced, hanging onto every last word she said. She proceeded to tell me every last bit of what she needed from me. That’s right. She needs me. This is something only I can do. These are words she’d say only to me. Why was I so afraid of her earlier? Her commands—her words are mine. My own. My master’s words. I need to treasure them. I need to follow them. Her will is mine. I—
“Rhand?”
I came to a jolt, shooting up in a white room with matching white beds. Staring down at me with a confused expression was Doctor Paunsasoy.
“You good? You were writhing around like a worm. Oh, let me guess—hormones?”
“Wh-What? Where am I?” I frantically looked around.
“Ignoring my joke? Sheesh... I guess I’ll be serious, then. You’re in the second recovery room of the infirmary. The first room’s beds are kinda occupied, but don’t worry, you’re still receiving good care. Thanks to your armor, you actually didn’t sustain too much damage. You just have a small bump on your head. I’m just gonna check real quick to make sure there’s no damage.” She then proceeded to open my eyes and check my pupils. “Hmm. All good. I’m guessing you have a headache though, right?” she said, moving away from me.
“What happened? How did I get here? Where’s...” Where’s who?
I clutched my head, fearing it was about to split from the sudden sharp pain that came onto me.
“Relax, relax. Memory loss is pretty common with these kinds of head injuries, but don’t worry. I got just the thing.”
Then she happily skipped over to a shelf where she retrieved a glass bottle filled with green pellets.
“Take one of these. Just let it dissolve in your mouth, okay? Then lie down and rest.”
“How did I get here?” I asked.
“Hmm? Oh. President Victoria brought you here. I guess you were too passed out to remember. Man, El did a real number on you, didn’t she?” Doctor Paunsasoy chuckled, putting the bottle back on the shelf.
“President Victoria...” Thinking about her made my head hurt again, so I waved away any reservations I had over this suspicious pellet and quickly put it in my mouth, desperate for relief. “Ugh.”
“Yeah, pretty unique taste, right? But it works real well. Oh, actually, I gotta run, but anything I can get for you?”
“No. I...I’m just gonna rest.” There may be no point in thinking too hard about this. I’m in one piece, aren’t I? Nothing’s happened to me, so I must be safe.
I lay back down on the bed, shutting my eyes. I could acutely feel the softness of the mattress and the pillow as I sank into them. They tempted me, dragging me slowly but surely into a deep slumber. But as I gradually drifted away, I heard a voice echo in my head. Its sweet nectar seeped and oozed into every crevice of my brain until I couldn’t think of anything but these words.
“Find the Veil...”
✦ ✦ ✦
Volume 1: End