novelraw Chapter 67 : Chapter 67
Chapter 67 : Chapter 67
Chapter 67 : Omen
“Hey, I'm really sorry for bringing this up! You need to focus on training right now. This issue is being handled, so I don't want to unsettle your mind for no reason.”
Divinity apologized with a sincere voice, but Sal shook his head.
“Have you been agonizing over this alone all this time? Why didn't you tell me! No, sorry. I'm not angry… I just can't believe you were carrying this alone all this while.”
Sal turned his body while remaining seated to look at her properly.
After all the team members had gone to sleep, Sal and Divinity had made time separately in the empty circular auditorium to have a proper conversation.
Sal exhaled slowly and chose his words.
“With this kind of possibility hanging over us, how could you sleep every night….”
Divinity straightened her back and slapped her knees.
“That's the problem! Maybe I'm really crazy. Scry is on that team. He can see the future too. We've seen how capable the Society is, and Recall saw everything we saw that night. They have all the reports on that incident, and they must know about the intruder too.”
She spoke brightly as if trying to tell herself it was okay, but there was a sharp edge to her words.
“I've been seeing the future since I was young, Sal. But this future… it doesn't change at all. That's what scares me the most. That event might really happen, but people just say it's okay.”
Sal didn't want to believe that thought itself.
If the faculty members were saying they were handling it but doing nothing, was it because they didn't trust Divinity, or because they wanted to let it happen?
However, Divinity had proven her precognitive ability with the Doom Society every weekend.
That should have been enough to gain trust… so the remaining conclusion was only one.
A much more terrible one.
Divinity buried her head in her hands.
“The only thing I could do was prepare myself. I thought I was going crazy… but what if that really happens? We have to become strong enough to at least survive. Only then might we be able to save Sinclair and the others.”
Sal carefully placed a hand on her shoulder so she wouldn't crumble.
“Let's assume the worst. Let's say it really happens. We are ready to fight other students right now. We learned formations too. But… among us, the only people who have actually seen those monsters are probably the ones who were at Sinclair's demonstration. If that becomes reality, our preparations so far are nowhere near enough. Just hoping for the best isn't enough. We need a proper plan.”
Divinity clenched her fists and let out a groan.
“If everyone had listened to us, this wouldn't have happened in the first place! How long has it been since we entered this Academy… do we have to stop a monster invasion ourselves? Does this make sense?”
She looked at Sal with tears welling up in her eyes, and Sal shook his head.
“Nothing has happened yet. We have time. We need more information to figure out what we need to do….”
Divinity shook her head and said.
“I don't want to see it again, Sal. In there… people die. You saw it too. What happens to Sinclair!”
Sal lowered the hand he had placed on her back and took a deep breath.
“I know this situation is a mess. But how about I borrow your ability and look instead? We might be able to check everything we need to know directly.”
When Divinity showed no reaction, Sal poured out other methods.
“We could invite guilds to the battle under the pretext of showing off the new weapons Mythos made. Saying it will be quite a spectacle. Shall we give a hint to Watcher and Blink too? There's always a way, Divinity. If we make a decision now… we can stop anyone from getting hurt.”
Only then did Divinity straighten up and look at the night sky.
“Right now, I have to choose whether to trust that the guardians will protect us, or trust my ability. I've never been wrong before… but I have misinterpreted events. Neuro's daughter is in the Gold Cohort! The person who calmed me down at the Doom Society meeting that day and told me it was already being handled was Neuro. Someone like that wouldn't push his own daughter into danger, right? That makes me even more confused. I have an eye for people. Headmaster Quest, Neuro, they are good people. Since they said it was okay… I've been forcing a smile and believing them for the past few weeks too.”
Divinity wiped her tears and spoke quietly.
“I'll look again. Let's check if that future has changed….”
Her two eyes clouded over white, and she soon became quiet as if seeing something.
After a while, her forehead began to frown, and she flinched slightly in her chair.
“This time… it's a bit different. But….”
Divinity continued to look at something in her vision with a deep frown still on her brow.
Sal waited quietly by her side, hoping he could be of even a little help to her.
Divinity's eyes widened ever so slightly.
“The location changed! It seems to be happening in an abandoned stadium. Maybe a newly reclaimed zone? Students are sitting in the stands… and four teams are entering the arena at once….”
Divinity let out a sigh of relief.
“There's a huge barrier around the stadium, and several guilds are in the stands too.”
She turned her face to Sal and smiled brightly.
“Maybe it really changed!”
But before Sal could rejoice with her, Divinity's face turned pale.
“No, no, please no! Damn it. No!”
She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face in her hands.
She didn't move for a while, then shook her head with a suppressed groan.
“…Yeah, we're still screwed.”
Her eyes returned to blue, and she looked at Sal with a devastated expression.
“It seems we made it worse.”
She quickly took out her tablet and started typing frantically.
“I'm contacting Headmaster Quest right away. Even if I have to wait in front of his office all night, I don't care. I can't let people walk into that. It's a complete trap.”
Sal frowned as if asking back.
“A trap? Wasn't it just a situation where monsters popped out?”
He tried to calm Divinity down and hear an explanation, but she was already deep in thought.
Divinity turned her head slightly and answered while keeping her gaze fixed on the tablet.
“Targeting the same event twice can't be a simple coincidence. I misinterpreted it at first. The barrier wasn't breached and monsters popped out, they came up from underground!”
Divinity raised her head with an expression full of anger.
“This is an organized attack targeting the students!”
***
After reading all of Divinity's thoughts, Neuro frowned.
He smiled to reassure her, but Divinity, who had seen the terrible scene firsthand, knew better than anyone how hollow that smile was.
As Neuro sat back down and looked at the others, Quest looked at him seriously, resting his elbows on the desk and clasping his hands.
“How serious is it?”
Neuro shook his head slightly and sat in his chair.
“It's worse than we imagined. This time, a humanoid variant was leading the attack. Under a clear plan, a dungeon rift will open right under the stadium!”
Quest's eyes widened as he looked sharply toward Harlan.
The emergency meeting of the Doom Society was convened abruptly, and Divinity and Sal were also tense in the stuffy conference room.
Harlan leaned forward and looked straight at Neuro.
“Are you sure? Commander-rank monsters don't reveal themselves lightly. Leading an attack personally is absurd given the nature of the ones we know!”
Neuro answered, spreading his hands.
“It is a Commander. Fully organized monsters moved in packs. And they were definitely looking for someone.”
As Harlan tried to ask another question, Quest raised a hand to stop him.
Instead, he looked at Neuro with an expression of disbelief.
“Looking for someone? Like hunting?”
Neuro nodded.
“I find it hard to believe too, but I'm certain. Hulkers captured students and returned to the dungeon. Voisers and Prowlers charged straight for the defense line, sweeping away guild agents, and vampires waited above, attacking students who occasionally mustered up courage. Across the board, the monsters knew exactly who they were targeting.”
Quest blinked as if literally shocked.
He looked toward Harlan, but Harlan also had a look as if he had almost lost his mind.
Harlan, who studies monster behavior patterns, seemed shaken by what he just heard.
Harlan knew better than anyone how terrifying Commander-rank variants were, and he opened his mouth to explain.
“Commander-rank monsters wield Essence like us, but the level is completely different. The Essence exposure we've accumulated over years is just a taste compared to their innate abilities.”
Harlan turned in his chair and pointed at Divinity.
“If this attack was modified to match our preparations, it might be correct to assume that the Commander also shares Divinity's ability. Even when we faced Commander-rank variants in the past, they used multiple abilities simultaneously. That's why this one is more dangerous.”
Neuro looked straight at Quest and said in a heavy voice.
“We have to cancel this weekend's event. We can't send students out when there's a possibility of this happening.”
Quest frowned and looked at Divinity.
“The best way to confirm if the Commander changes its actions based on knowledge of the future is… to test it. I'll decide now. This event will be held internally within the Academy. Divinity, can you see the future once more?”
Sal turned his head to see Divinity's reaction, but her eyes had already turned cloudy.
The fear of seeing the future was gone, and a resolute will was revealed on her face.
Neuro got up from his seat, placed his hands next to Divinity's head, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
Time passed with everyone holding their breath.
Divinity frowned slightly, then opened her eyes wide and opened her mouth.
But it was not her voice that broke the atmosphere, but Neuro's cursing.
He cut the mental connection with Divinity, blinked a few times, then gently held her shoulders and cupped her face with his hands to calm her down.
Then he turned his head toward Quest.
“Do you want the good news first? Or the bad news first?”
When Quest just looked at him silently, Neuro smiled bitterly.
“The good news is that Jez blows one of its arms off. That's it.”
Neuro returned to his seat and slumped down.
“The bad news is… hundreds of students are slaughtered and several towers are blown away. Multiple portals open inside the buildings, and the situation becomes hell.”
He shook his head.
“Over a thousand student combatants, deployed guilds, all the defensive measures we can mobilize… everything is neutralized. Trying to protect the students, our forces can't pour out attacks, and the monsters dig into that gap. That Commander is definitely seeing the future. All attacks are instantly neutralized. It's literally a complete mess.”
Sal looked at Neuro in disbelief.
“What about the turrets on top of each tower? Weren't they there as a countermeasure to prevent such a situation? How did they breach the barrier?”
He looked around the room, but no one answered.
Quest rubbed his eyes and waved a hand.
“The barrier is only effective at stopping external intrusions. It's a different story if they come inside through a portal. The turrets don't attack areas where civilians or students are present. Our countermeasure is the faculty… but it seems even that is neutralized this time.”
He sighed in resignation and looked at Divinity.
“I'm sorry to put this burden on you. Scry will arrive soon. Then we can share the burden at least a little… and we will test various scenarios to find a path to stop this situation.”
Harlan looked at Quest with an anxious face.
“ shouldn't we report this to the Doom Council first?”
Quest scoffed inadvertently, then his face darkened.
“Honestly speaking, they will only hold us back. We only have a few days, and if we waste time waiting for their judgment, more lives could be in danger.”
Then Neuro's voice rang in the room.
Everyone looked at him, but his gaze was fixed on Divinity.
“Could you check if… canceling the tournament completely prevents that future from happening?”
Just as Divinity was about to activate her ability, Sal raised his hand.
“How about I see the future instead? I should be able to check all the outcomes. Divinity just needs to guide me.”