Chapter 26 : Chapter 26
Chapter 26 : Disaster
The atmosphere in the principal's office was quite different from what Sal had expected.
The receptionist merely glanced at Divinity's Q-Card before immediately passing them through to Quest's office, and within minutes of their arrival, the two were face-to-face with Quest.
Sal and Divinity sat in ornate wooden chairs in front of a heavy mahogany desk.
The polished surface of the desk gleamed almost like a mirror, impressive enough to catch the eye.
There was another empty chair to their left, and Sal wondered if someone else was expected to arrive.
He nudged Divinity with his elbow to get her attention and tilted his head slightly toward the chair.
Divinity did not hesitate.
Just as her eyes began to cloud over to peer into the future, Quest's voice rang out from behind them, filling the office.
"No need for that!"
Quest closed the door as he walked into the office.
"Neuro is on his way, so we'll grasp the situation soon enough."
Quest walked decisively to the desk and pulled a remote control from his vest pocket.
He pressed a button once, and a voice recording of a stranger began to flow from the speakers.
Tower Security Report: A pillar of light appeared in the circular auditorium. The students present at the scene were identified as Salvatore Argento (Rank 19) and Divinity Khan (Rank 2). Witness statements describe the phenomenon as an "Angel," and the timing coincides with atmospheric Essence levels spiking to an all-time high.
The ability signature was identified as Divinity Khan, and the Essence signature was identified as Salvatore Argento.
Quest did not sit at his desk but stood in front of it, leaning back against it.
He was only a few steps away from Sal and Divinity.
"Now, this is the Skill Master, Salvatore Argento. From what we've already confirmed, this friend can copy any skill and push it to its maximum potential."
Quest pointed at Sal with his left hand and gestured toward Divinity with his open right hand.
"And here is Divinity Khan, who can peek into the future. Combining the report sent by the security team with the information we've secured so far, you can understand why I contacted Neuro immediately. We want to confirm the future you two saw. And the best talent to interpret that vision is Neuro."
Quest glanced at the closed door and sighed.
"By any chance, was there a big ass dragon or something in your vision?"
Sal's eyes went wide at the principal's sudden use of profanity.
Just as he was about to say something, Quest raised his hand and closed his eyes.
"No, wait... don't tell me. Let's wait until Neuro gets here."
As an uncomfortable silence filled the room, Quest shook his head side to side.
"Forget the dragon thing I just said. We have a few people on our side who can see the future too. The problem is that they're making completely different predictions, and some of them are quite convincing."
Quest waved his hand as if to dismiss his worries as trivial.
"Is there some kind of organization?"
"The 'Doom Society.' It's a team we put together. The name is a bit cheesy, but their skills are the real deal."
"Doom Society...?"
"We deploy resources and avoid disasters through that team. It's possible the vision you saw is already being blocked by them. So, you might not necessarily need to worry."
Quest's words sounded like encouragement, but an awkward tension still lingered in the room. Sal realized that the dragon he mentioned was likely one of the unavoidable or unstoppable scenarios.
Just as he was about to ask more about it, the back door opened, and a breathless Neuro appeared. His eyes sparkled when he saw Sal, and Neuro pointed a finger at him.
"So you were the reason I was called. Good to see you."
A relaxed smile hung on the corners of his mouth.
In those few short seconds, Sal felt far more comfortable than he had during the minutes he had spoken with Quest.
Neuro gave a slight nod to Quest as a greeting and immediately turned his gaze to Sal.
"Do you mind if I take a look inside your head? Just to confirm what you saw."
Sal felt even more favorably toward him due to his attitude of asking for permission, so he nodded in response.
Neuro placed his hand on the armrest of the chair, lifted it halfway, and dragged it around to sit facing Sal.
"Recall all the scenes you saw and pull them to the front. Don't worry if your mind wanders. I can skillfully avoid that stuff."
He closed his eyes and activated his ability.
When he opened his eyes again, there was no outward change.
He looked completely normal, without even a change in eye color.
Sal wondered if he would ever be able to use his abilities without his eyes changing color like that, and at that moment, Neuro laughed.
"I told you, Sal. You have to give me a destination. Think about the things you saw."
Sal shook his head lightly to clear his mind and recalled the visions again.
He tried to slowly ruminate on what he had seen, but the scenes flashed by like lightning, losing their order.
Sal didn't know how to arrange the sequence, nor did he clearly remember which scenes he had seen first.
He took a slow breath and tried to organize what he had seen again with focus, intending to pass as much information as possible to Neuro.
However, most of the scenes held little meaning other than the places he recognized.
As his heart calmed, Sal followed the instructions he had heard from Divinity and recalled the 'forest full of branches' in his mind again.
He retraced the path he had walked within the vision, trying to connect which branch each scene had appeared on.
"You're doing well, Sal. Keep going."
Neuro spared no encouragement every time he recalled a scene.
There was a scene Sal felt was particularly important, but it was one that would appear much later.
He wanted to escape the highest branch filled with death and destruction, but some strange force kept pulling him toward that scene.
That force showed the tragedy repeatedly from different angles, trying to identify the people and places.
Sal gritted his teeth and endured the scene again.
Then, finally, the force disappeared, and he was able to return to another point on the branch.
His shoulders relaxed on their own, and a sigh of relief escaped him.
"Perfect, Sal. Do you remember what happened before that? Let's go down along that branch."
Sal, barely realizing that Neuro knew the branch concept he had discussed with Divinity, simply tried to show everything he could remember in a state of pure focus.
Sal wanted to be as helpful to them as possible.
The sharing of visions only took a few minutes in reality, but for Sal, it felt like hours.
When he reached the point where the branches finally diverged, Sal consciously brought out the scene he had judged to be the catalyst.
The surprising part was that Neuro read that intention perfectly.
He couldn't explain how, but it felt as if Neuro was approving of that intention.
"Amazing, truly... amazing."
Neuro tapped Sal's knee lightly and leaned back in his chair.
A wide smile was plastered on his face.
"You can open your eyes, Sal. The scenes you showed me were truly incredible."
Then he glanced at Quest and snorted.
"That dragon didn't appear. Can't you worry a little more quietly?"
He turned his chair to align with Quest's desk again, sent a reassuring smile to Sal once more, and began to speak in earnest.
"I'll have to submit a report to the Doom Society and share the information obtained from Sal, but I can tell you the basics right now. Sal confirmed four disasters in his vision, and they were clear to a level I couldn't even imagine. Like I said earlier, it has nothing to do with Chronos. So, the Dragon Apocalypse won't happen."
Neuro spoke in a nonchalant tone and raised his hand, spreading four fingers.
"The first is the Luna Tower we already knew about. Sal saw a scene where the northern defense wall collapsed and an invasion occurred because we failed to kill the Lord of that tower."
When he glanced at Sal and Divinity, the two looked terrified, but Neuro shook his head.
"We are already monitoring that tower, and the strongest guilds are going to strike when it's at its weakest. Don't worry."
Quest drummed his fingers on the desk, sending a meaningful look, and Neuro didn't miss it.
He folded one finger and continued.
"The second is a portal collapse in the hospital district south of the city center. Many injured heroes are wiped out at once, and enraged guilds rush in only to die. But we know the exact date and time of that portal collapse. We'll evacuate the hospital in advance and clear the portal before the collapse happens."
Sal watched the third finger fold.
Neuro's voice was still calm, but this time, a strange curiosity lingered at the end of his words.
"We knew a dungeon break would happen, and all the information we had was about what happened after... But would you believe it if I said Sal saw the breaking point?"
He pointed at Sal and continued.
"We thought it happened on the coastal island because the break left victims from the Darwin Cruise. But the actual location was the underwater port. I need to investigate this more closely, so I want to invite Sal to the Doom Society. I think he can dig a little deeper. It would be good to bring Divinity along too, to let her get a feel for things before officially joining."
Neuro kept his eyes fixed on Quest as he spoke.
Only then did Quest's expression change.
He realized they had obtained new information about one of the upcoming disasters.
And as if there was no reason to stop it if that information could save more lives, he smiled faintly and shook his head.
"Sure, naturally you can take them. Just make sure it doesn't interfere too much with their classes. What is the fourth disaster?"
Neuro smiled at Sal.
"One of the academy students gets expelled before they even get a chance to enter the Red Zone. That child's ability grows the most when facing death. Without the academy's guidance, their mind eventually breaks, and they become a disaster."
"How dangerous is it?"
"Considering that child's ability, the fourth disaster has the greatest potential destructive power. But Sal has already proposed a way to stop that child."
Quest's face went pale. Although he stared piercingly at Sal as he spoke, the question was ultimately directed at Neuro.
"You're going to entrust stopping a disaster... to a kid?"
Sal looked at Neuro, and he nodded, granting permission to speak.
Sal pondered how to explain the vision.
He remembered the girl's pain, which couldn't be understood without seeing it firsthand, and he felt how great a wound her time at the academy had been for her.
Before speaking, he looked at Divinity beside him and smiled.
"We're going to become her friends."
Then he turned his head to face Quest and said.
"And we're going to help her get into the Savior Class."
Quest finally smiled and leaned back in his chair. He glanced at Neuro, giving him a look of realization, and Neuro raised both hands, laughing playfully.
"But where does the confidence come from that you two will get into the Savior Class? It's thirty people out of a thousand; that's barely 3 percent. Surely you aren't resting on your laurels with your current rankings, right?"
Just as Sal was about to open his mouth, Divinity stepped forward first.
"Then are you saying you won't give us any reward or recognition even though we identified and prevented a disaster?"
There was a hint of confusion in Divinity's voice.
"I don't feel motivated at all to look into the future again for this Doom Squad or whatever."
The principal crossed his arms and shook his head at that answer.
"Neuro, you knew they would react like this, didn't you?"
Instead of answering, Neuro rested his chin on his hand and smiled.
It was a look as if he was waiting for something.
Then, looking past where Sal sat toward Divinity, he added.
"But hey, aren't you hiding something you really need to tell us? Normally I don't pry, but... honestly, that thought is just radiating from you right now."
Divinity coughed awkwardly, looked at Sal first, and then turned her gaze toward Quest.
"When Sal copied my ability... I think he opened something that was blocked inside me. I can't explain it well, but I feel stronger. The future looks much clearer, and I can see for longer."
Neuro let out a long whistle and turned his head to look at the principal.
"This student can create Mythos Crafter gear, see the future, and even draw out other people's potential?"
He laughed loudly upon seeing the surprised expressions on both Sal and Quest.
"For this friend, 3 percent seems like a lousy probability."