The Villian Who Broke The Story

The next morning, Kael decided that attending class was simply too much effort.

He had already spent the previous day studying, though most of that study session had involved Verdia repeatedly waking him whenever his head dropped onto his books.

Besides, he had a new position to worry about.

He was now officially a Protégé of the Head of the Disciplinary Committee.

So, naturally, Kael decided his first responsibility was to skip class.

He left his dormitory early and made his way toward the Disciplinary Committee’s headquarters.

The academy was already busy.

Students moved through the corridors in groups, some heading toward their classrooms while others rushed to avoid being late. Kael walked against the flow, hands tucked into his pockets, looking completely unconcerned.

When he reached the Disciplinary Committee’s room, he pushed the door open without knocking.

Cairo noticed him almost immediately.

There were five other people inside.

Cairo’s expression tightened the moment he spotted Kael.

"Aren’t you meant to be in class?" Cairo asked.

"Well, I really didn’t want to go to class," Kael replied.

Cairo stared at him.

"You’re serious?"

Kael smiled.

"Hmm, you know that you’re the top-ranked student of the first year and you’re coming to the Disciplinary Committee to skip class?" Cairo asked.

"So you can see how committed I am," Kael replied with a smile.

For several seconds, Cairo said nothing.

He simply stared at his newly acquired Protégé.

Then he sighed.

It was the sort of sigh that suggested he was already regretting his decision.

"Alright. Come in."

Kael walked inside.

The room wasn’t particularly impressive.

It looked more like an office than the headquarters of one of the academy’s most important organizations. Several desks were scattered around the room, each occupied by someone doing their own work.

One person was reading through a stack of documents.

Another was checking what appeared to be a magical recording device.

Someone else was asleep.

Kael looked around.

He had expected something more dramatic.

"Hello guys, meet your newest team member," Cairo said with a smile.

The people in the room turned toward Kael.

Their gazes lingered on him for a few seconds.

Then they returned to what they were doing.

Kael blinked.

That was it?

No congratulations?

No welcoming speech?

Not even a handshake?

Cairo seemed satisfied.

"There, I’m through with the introduction," Cairo said.

Kael immediately raised his hand.

"Wait, what do you mean through, I don’t even know their names yet," Kael stated.

Cairo held his chin, clearly pondering something.

For a moment, Kael thought he might actually give him a proper introduction.

Instead, Cairo grabbed Kael’s hands and pulled him toward the table.

Kael stumbled forward.

"Hey, careful."

Cairo ignored him.

"Well if that’s the case, these two are beast-kin, you can consider them twins. Their names are ?."

Kael looked toward the two beast-kin.

They did, in fact, look remarkably similar.

Both had animal-like features, though their exact differences were difficult for Kael to determine at first glance.

One of them looked at Kael.

The other gave him a small nod.

Kael nodded back.

"Then we have a Dark elf, her Lynx, he normally sleeps in, and George an earth mage, and a fellow, Knight; Jace, he uses short swords," Cairo introduced before turning to Kael and, "you already know me," He stated.

Kael looked around the room again.

The Dark Elf was the one who had caught his attention.

Lynx.

The same student who had been standing beside Cairo the previous day.

The same person who had claimed that Kael’s shadow could consume him.

And judging by the way Lynx was currently resting his head against the desk, he seemed completely uninterested in everything happening around him.

Kael narrowed his eyes.

Interesting.

Cairo returned to his chair.

"Well, I guess that’s something. I really didn’t expect you all to gather together like this and skip class together," Kael stated.

George looked up from his papers.

"We aren’t skipping class."

Kael looked at him.

George returned to his work.

Kael turned back toward Cairo.

"What do you mean skip class, we’re on a mission, but you aren’t privy to it yet," Cairo stated.

Kael’s expression immediately changed.

He placed one hand against his chest.

"Is this how you treat all your new members by restricting information from them? I am your protege after all," Kael said with his eyes watering as though he wanted to tear up.

Jace glanced toward Cairo.

George stopped writing.

Even one of the beast-kin looked amused.

Cairo, however, had already learned enough about Kael to recognize the performance.

He didn’t react.

But after a few seconds, he finally gave in.

"Alright, well if you are that serious, we suspect that the Velvet gang are operating secretly in the academy," Cairo stated.

Kael froze.

Only for a fraction of a second.

His expression quickly returned to normal.

But internally, his mind was already moving.

The Velvet Gang.

That name alone was enough to change the atmosphere in the room.

Kael had encountered them before.

Their involvement in the tournament had already caused enough chaos.

Now Cairo was telling him that they might be operating inside the academy itself.

"What do you mean by that?" Kael asked.

Cairo’s expression became serious.

"Well, their was a student, in the second year, Sean. He was killed in his bedroom, we initially suspected that he was attacked by a fellow student, till we found out that he also a member of Velvet gang and maybe he was killed due to score differences between them," Cairo said with a frown.

Kael listened quietly.

A second-year student.

Sean.

A member of the Velvet Gang.

Killed inside his own room.

That alone was suspicious.

But Cairo wasn’t finished.

"And we’ve been tracing his movements. The day he died, the last person he fought was you and your duel seems quite odd," Cairo stated, as he turned to Kael.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.

The room suddenly felt quieter.

"Do you know illusion magic Kael?" Cairo said, turning to Kael.

Every member of the Disciplinary Committee looked at him.

Even Lynx opened one eye.

Their gazes locked onto Kael with varying degrees of intensity.

Kael didn’t answer.

His mind went back to the duel.

Sean had fought him.

Then something had happened.

The man’s movements had become strange.

His eyes.

His body.

The way he had simply stopped responding.

Kael remembered it clearly.

But he hadn’t thought much about it afterward.

"Cat got your tongue," Cairo stated as he stepped behind Keel placing both hands on his shoulder.

Kael’s expression hardened.

Lynx reached for the recording device.

A magical projection appeared in the center of the room.

The recording began.

Sean stood opposite Kael.

The two were preparing to fight.

Then Sean suddenly stopped.

Completely.

His body became motionless.

His eyes locked onto Kael.

Kael stepped forward.

One step.

Then another.

Then another.

He closed the distance between himself and Sean.

The blade rose.

It came down.

Sean didn’t resist.

The image froze.

Cairo paused the recording.

Silence filled the room.

Kael slowly turned toward him.

His crimson eyes seemed brighter than before.

"I- is this the reason you told me to stop by?" Kael said with obvious anger in his voice.

Cairo removed his hands from Kael’s shoulders.

"Of course not, you just happened to come here when we were investigating this, so we decide to question you."

Kael stared at him for a few seconds.

"I see," Kael nodded to himself.

He looked back at the frozen recording.

Something about it bothered him.

Not because they suspected him.

That part was expected.

What bothered him was the recording itself.

Kael knew what he had done during the fight.

But the scene didn’t look normal.

There was something missing.

A moment.

A transition.

Something that the recording couldn’t properly capture.

Kael crossed his arms.

Now that I think about it, Lilith could actually be the person that killed Sean, but, the members of the Velvet gang in the second year have someone that too oversees all their activities, he should have noticed all this happenings, and at the very last covered their tracks, Kael thought inwardly.

The possibility bothered him.

If Lilith had killed Sean, why?

And if she hadn’t, then who had manipulated the situation?

Kael’s thoughts moved through the possibilities.

Cairo watched him carefully.

The other members remained silent.

"Come on keel, we don’t suspect you for being a member of the Velvet gang, that would be too much- bit of a stretch, after all you are a Noble, I’m more suspicious of another person late the first year," Cairo said with a serious expression.

Kael raised an eyebrow.

"Another person?"

Cairo didn’t immediately elaborate.

Instead, he returned to the recording.

"But, what happened at the fight, you still haven’t given an explanation," Cairo continued.

Kael looked toward the screen.

The frozen image of himself stood beside Sean’s unmoving body.

He shrugged.

"Well ok, as I was told to find an opponent that Days and I really don’t think Sean was all that strong, because, at the end of the day he was following me and also happened to have a death wish," Kael stated.

Cairo stared at him.

"That’s not an explanation," Cairo stated.

Kael turned to Cairo.

"Have you ever watched my other fights?" Kael asked.

"Yes," Cairo replied.

Kael nodded as though that had proven his point.

"Then you’ll hope, that I fight all my opponents with the latent to kill, I guess he couldn’t bear my killing latent," Keel stated.

Silence.

Cairo stared at him.

Lynx stared at him.

George stared at him.

Jace stared at him.

Even the beast-kin twins stared at him.

There was only one thought running through the minds of everyone in the room.

"Bullshit!"

Kael smiled.

The tension in the room finally broke.

But Cairo’s expression remained serious.

Because beneath Kael’s ridiculous excuse, there was still a genuine mystery.

Someone had interfered with that fight.

Someone had killed Sean.

And whoever had done it had either been very careful...

or had wanted Kael to take the blame.

Kael glanced once more at the recording.

His smile faded slightly.

For the first time since entering the Disciplinary Committee, he realized that this wasn’t going to be another school responsibility he could treat casually.

There was something moving beneath the academy’s surface.

And somehow, he was already standing in the middle of it.