Advent of the Three Calamities

429  Suspect [5]

It covered my entire vision. It was all I could see. The hand reached out for me.

The more it moved, the larger it grew. It felt stifling. Suffocating. I couldn't breathe. "Don't move. I'm just going to check something real quick." Ah. I tried to move back, but it was as if invisible ropes bound me in place. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't move at all. A cold chill ran down my spine as the man in white's hand inched closer.

Just what in the... Plack! It all stopped when a hand reached down to grasp the approaching hand. "Chancellor?" Surprised, the man in white turned around. "Is there something that you're unsatisfied with? I'm merely doing a quick check." "....." n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

When I raised my head, I saw Delilah standing there, her hand gripping the man's wrist, stopping him from reaching me. Her expression was cold, and her presence seemed to suffocate the room.

She stood silently while staring at the man in white. Eventually, her lips parted open as her soft voice whispered out, "He just woke up." "Yes, I know, but the check won't do much harm to him." "It doesn't matter." Delilah's eyes darkened to an even deeper shade of black, and the atmosphere shifted.

It felt as though the air itself was pressing down, making it hard to breathe. Everyone in the room could sense the overwhelming tension radiating from her.

Her gaze alone made her words seem like an order that one couldn't refuse. "You may carry out your tests later when he's fully healed, but now is not the time." "Bu—" "Just like you don't trust the Academy we don't trust you. Unless he's fully healed and it is under our supervision, you will not be allowed to approach the student." A cold chill ran down the room. The surroundings grew so intense that I found it hard to keep my head raised. We were talking about three powerhouses. It was nothing short of a miracle that I could still cling to consciousness beneath the crushing weight of the pressure emanating from their bodies.

"Alright."

Thankfully, the man in white relented, pulling his hand back. It was only then that Delilah let go of his hand. "Since you insist, I won't be checking now. I'll do so once the cadet fully recovers." Though I couldn't see it, I could feel the trace of a smile form beneath that hood of his as he looked at me. "...I do apologize for barging in so suddenly when you just woke up from such an ordeal. I'm just a little bit... how do you say? Impatient? Yeah, I'm a little bit impatient considering that one of the people involved is a member of the church. If they're indeed the ones who have assaulted you we would have to go through a lot of internal investigations." Chuckling, the man in white stood up. "At the same time, you must also understand that I'm the one in charge of protecting them. If something happens to them the responsibility lies on me. I hope you don't blame me for my 'impatience'." He made sure to emphasize the word 'impatience' quite a few times while speaking. I didn't know whether he was purposely doing it to send me a message or to Delilah. Either way, I could understand what he was trying to hint at. 'I won't bother you now, but I will be bothering you soon.' "No, you won't be checking him at all." "Hm?" Just when I believed the atmosphere couldn't possibly grow any tenser, Delilah's voice cut through his voice, freezing everything in place.

Even Atlas appeared surprised as he turned to look at her. "What do you mean by this?" The tone of the man in white was no longer light and friendly. His tone dropped to a low murmur, and the slight tremor in his voice betrayed the rage he was struggling to contain.

"You must—" "He's not guilty." Deliah extended her hand to display a familiar-looking orb-like device. 'Recording device?' I recognized the item almost instantly. It was the same recording device that I had given to Leon. Then... 'She had it all along?' I raised my head to look at Delilah. She didn't once look at me. At this very moment, she felt like a completely different person to me. It soon became clear to me. Right now, she was the Chancellor of Haven; The One Beneath the Zenith. An existence that overlooked the entire world. I swallowed dryly. "This is...?" Confused, the man in white looked at the recording device. Without giving him a moment to comprehend the situation, Delilah pressed the orb, and instantly, a small projection flickered to life.

It was a bird-eye view of the Academy, displaying the cadets beneath. Delilah pointed towards a certain section. "This is the Priest Opersia." Indeed, looking at the recording, everyone saw the priest emerge from one of the areas that he was assigned to. Leaning closer, the man in white kept his gaze fixed on the recording device. It seemed like he was trying hard to see if there were any problems with the recording. However, seeing that there were no irregularities with what he was seeing, he faintly nodded his head. "That does indeed look like him. But how does that—" "Look here." Delilah traced her finger back, revealing a scene where another figure emerged from the same room as the priest.

Unlike the priest, this individual wore attire that allowed him to blend seamlessly with the cadets, and his appearance was markedly different from the priest's.

"This..." Finally, a change occurred to the man in white as he leaned closer. "As you're well aware, the second assailant was wearing clothes similar to his. The clothes may have been damaged, but they're undeniably the same. I'm sure you were aware of the fact that his clothes were different, right?" "...." It was the man in white's turn to remain quiet. "Look at the path where the two are heading. It's completely different. One is heading in the same direction where Julien was found, and the Priest is heading in a different direction." "....It does seem like that. But we don—" "Keep watching." The footage continued. Instead of following the other person, it followed the Priest who walked around the Academy for quite some time before moving towards a more secluded area where his entire figure faded into particles. ....It was then that the entire room grew silent. Delilah didn't speak. Atlas didn't speak. The man in white didn't speak. Everyone stood in silence, staring at the footage in silence. That was until Delilah spoke. "Is that enough?" "....It's enough." The man in white answered, his tone fading. "You can hand over the evidence to me later and I will be handing it over to the other Keepers." "Um." Delilah retrieved her hand back, placing the recording device away. The tension that once lingered in the room faded with the disappearance of the recording device. It finally felt like I could breathe again. "It looks like I owe you an apology." Turning around, the man in white looked at me. Though his gaze didn't feel as intense as it once was, the moment his eyes traced down my forearm, it felt as though a thousand ants were crawling down my back. That was when I understood, 'He's still suspicious of me.' I balled my fist under the blankets beneath.

Still, I managed to force a nod. "It's okay." "...Mhm, we'll compensate you for what we did. Don't worry too much. For now, I hope you rest well." He tried to press his hand against my shoulder but suddenly stopped when he felt Delilah's gaze. "Right." Pulling his hand back, he quietly left the room. Atlas followed him from behind. From beginning to end, Atlas remained silent. He just stood still watching everything unfold. When the two finally departed, only Delilah was left in the room.

She didn't say anything and just looked at me. I stared back at her, but just when I was about to open my mouth, I stopped. '...She feels different.' I wasn't quite sure how to put it, but she felt a little colder than I was used to. The way she looked at me was different than it had been before. 'Did something happen? Why is she looking at me like that?' Considering all the chocolates that she had left, I'd assume she was okay. But... 'No, something is up.' My heart sank when I realized I couldn't think of any way that I couldn't possibly cross her. No, there was one way. 'Oh, no.' It was during the time when Julien took over. My heart sank. 'What did he do...?' Clank! Before I could make sense of it all, the sudden sound of the door closing echoed through the room, plunging everything into a tense, unnerving silence. Lifting my head, I realized that she had left. "Haaa."

Holding my head, I sank down on the bed. The sheets were damp from my sweat and my head spun. Turning my head, I reached out for one of the chocolates and plopped it in my mouth. "...Salty." *** Outside the medical ward. "A few delegates will be coming over later. You may send the recording to them when they arrive. I'm sure you won't do it, but I must warn you in advance. If any sign of tempering is found, the entirety of Haven will be implicated." Though the Keeper's voice was light, the gravity behind his words was enough for Delilah to feel. In spite of this, she didn't show any reaction. She merely nodded her head. "Okay." She had checked beforehand. The recording was solid. There were no signs of tampering. She had even arranged for someone to check on them beforehand. Everything came up clean.

"Then it looks like the investigation is over."

Bringing his hands up, the Keeper laughed. "Who would've thought everything would be solved so easily? If you had the recording why didn't you show it beforehand? Could it be that you had forgotten?" "....Maybe." "Maybe? Well, considering how much work you must have I don't blame you. I'd also be forgetting a lot of stuff if I had the same workload as you. Thankfully I don't. My job is rather carefree, you see?" "...." Squinting her eyes, Delilah looked at the Keeper. She didn't trust a single word of his. The more cheerful he appeared, the more it became clear he was concealing his true intentions.

Thankfully, in this case, he didn't hide his real intentions for very long. "Say...." Pausing for a moment, the Keeper leaned closer to Delilah as he whispered, "...I really like the show you put on. Waiting until the very last moment before showing me the recording. Be truthful. Is it really true that you forgot about it, or were you testing someone?" A sudden unnerving smile spread across his lips. One that Delilah could see through his hood. "Who was it that you were testing? Me? Julien? Or..."

Turning to look at Atlas, his eyes squinted.

"...Him?"