Chương 53: Visit

Ch 53 - Visit

"Chief! Are you al—" Catherine burst through the door but stopped dead at the sight before her.

"Don't come in," Ryusei said as he rose to his feet. What the hell had just happened? Only moments ago, Victor had been restrained, his mana suppressed by the cuffs. Then his head had exploded like an overripe tomato. Ryusei crouched beside the headless corpse and placed a hand against the body, examining the remains. There were no signs of an external weapon, no puncture wounds, cuts, or any other injuries he could identify.

It was as though an explosion had been planted inside Victor's skull and detonated from within.

"Heh. Interesting," the parasite inside him chuckled. Ryusei frowned.

"Shut up."

"Oh? You want me to shut up? Are you sure you don't want to hear what I have to say?"

"You know something?" Ryusei whispered.

"You didn't do this, did you?"

"Hmph. Always accusing me. Fine then. I'll keep my mouth shut since you hate listening to me so much."

"Wait. You still haven't answered my question." Ryusei waited, but the parasite offered no response. His jaw tightened at the silence, but he decided not to press the matter further. He stepped out of the chamber and turned to Catherine.

"Don't let anyone inside." Catherine nodded, taking position outside while Ryusei headed straight for the surveillance room. The door slid open, revealing dozens of monitors that cast shifting blue and white light across the walls. Camera feeds from every corner of headquarters flickered across the screens as officers monitored the building.

"C-Chief!" The officers sprang to their feet and saluted, though a few of them could not hide the slight tremor in their hands.

"Did anything unusual happen after I left?" he asked.

"Pull up the footage."

"Yes, sir!" The officers brought up the recording. Victor sat in the chair as Ryusei remembered, showing no signs that anything was wrong. Ryusei's expression hardened. Something had happened, but what? The only possibility that came to mind was a curse. Had those fanatics placed one on Victor before sending him here? But why would that madman allow such a thing? Insane as Victor was, he had never seemed like someone eager to die.

"Ready to listen now?" the parasite asked. Ryusei left the surveillance room and stopped in an empty hallway before replying.

"What killed him?"

"Heh... it's a rather clever curse. Simple, too. Pop." The parasite laughed.

"One moment you've got a head. The next you don't."

"I already figured that much." Ryusei glanced down at the bloody footprints trailing behind him, remnants of the pool he'd stepped through in the interrogation chamber.

"It requires a great deal of Demonic Energy, so it's usually only effective against ordinary humans. Awakeners like you have mana protecting your bodies, but your little criminal? His mana was suppressed by those cuffs. He couldn't have been a more perfect target." Ryusei recalled the man's final words. Someone had planted a curse on him during the brief moment Ryusei had stepped away. But who?

Headquarters was under constant surveillance, with every entrance heavily guarded, yet someone had managed to eliminate a prisoner inside one of the building's most secure areas without leaving a single trace. Worse, the footage revealed nothing at all. His mind raced through every possibility, but none of them made sense. Meanwhile, the parasite in his mind chuckled, sounding far too amused by the mystery unfolding before him.

Evan had no idea why he was still stuck in the hospital. Frankly, he would have much rather gone home, but the doctors insisted that keeping him under observation for a few days was standard procedure after everything that had happened. With no other choice, he settled back against the bed and started doomscrolling. As expected, the stadium attack had thrown all of Nova Terra into an uproar, making it impossible to escape online. Every platform was flooded with discussions and debates about the incident.

When he opened NovaTube, a wall of trending videos greeted him.

"The Dark History of Victor Osborn, the Mad Awakener""How Did a Wanted Criminal Reach the Academy Festival?"

"F-rank Student Challenges A-rank Criminal?!"

"Chief Shinomiya's Response Under Fire""Inside the PSRC's Response to the Into the Frontier Performance Attack""The Craziest Incident in Nova Terra History" Evan didn't bother clicking on any of them. Instead, he switched over to Chatter, only to find the situation there was no different. Nearly every post was about the recent attack.

"What was the PSRC even doing??"

"Victor Osborn should've been executed years ago."

"I can't believe they kept someone that dangerous alive."

"I'm honestly scared to leave my house now."

"I don't think I'll ever be able to go to another concert after this." As Evan continued scrolling, one heated argument caught his eye.

"AstraLoveXoX: I feel so bad for Stellaris. Their performance was ruined."

"CuddlySeaUrchin: Seriously? People almost died and you're worried about the idols?"

"AstraLoveXoX: They almost died too. Since when are they not victims?"

"CuddlySeaUrchin: Funny how your fandom keeps saying 'poor Stellaris' when there are videos of fans screaming at students to go fight." You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"InesIsLIVE: Are we really blaming civilians now?"

"BladeMango: Victor's obviously the one at fault, but those clips of fans telling teenagers to protect them were hard to watch."

"AstraLoveXoX: They thought they were about to die! People panic!"

"CuddlySeaUrchin: Panicking is one thing. Telling kids to risk their lives for you is another."

"HistoryCoyote: You guys are arguing about idols when the real problem is the PSRC. Victor should've never made it into that stadium."

"Hypnotastic: What's the point of keeping criminals like him alive?"

"RetroBot: Because he's an A-rank. Bet that's the only reason."

"BladeMango: Doesn't change the fact that the guy is completely insane."

"HistoryCoyote: That's how it always goes. Awakeners get away with things the rest of us never could. How many of them have ugly records that got buried because they're 'too valuable' to Nova Terra?" Evan closed the app and rubbed his temple. As someone who had spent countless hours browsing internet forums, none of the debates really surprised him. Even so, he couldn't shake the unease that came from seeing the criticism shift so quickly from the PSRC to Awakeners as a whole.

Then again, the divide between ordinary people and Awakeners had always existed. All this incident had done was fan the flames of a conflict that had been simmering beneath the surface for years. Knock. Knock.

"Come in," Evan called. The door swung open, revealing Hiroto carrying a paper bag. He held it up with a grin.

"Want a burger?"

"Give me!" Evan had been stuck eating bland hospital food ever since he arrived. The moment he unwrapped the burger, the savory aroma hit him, and he took a huge bite. The beef patty, tangy sauce, crisp pickles, and fresh tomatoes tasted far better than anything the hospital had served. After swallowing, he asked, "What are you doing here? I thought you'd be sticking with your sister." Hiroto shook his head.

"No. Mother already took Reika back to District One."

"So I'm the only one still trapped here?" Evan protested.

"Technically, Reika still has to remain under observation," Hiroto explained.

"Just not here. As for me..." He shrugged.

"I figured you could use some company." His attention shifted to Evan's right arm.

"So? How is it?" Evan flexed his fingers before giving his wrist a few rotations.

"Good as new. You shouldn't underestimate my brother. There are very few injuries he can't heal. Besides, all he had to do was reattach my arm." Hiroto let out an exasperated sigh.

"Please don't act like it's no big deal. Do you have any idea how horrifying it was watching your arm get blown off? When I agreed to use you as a decoy, I wasn't agreeing to let you lose a limb."

"It's not like I asked for it," Evan said.

"I'd say things turned out pretty well. We were two F-ranks going up against an A-rank." A thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Come to think of it, didn't you say your dad wanted to have you reassessed?"

"He did," Hiroto replied.

"But after talking to a specialist, they said I should wait a little longer before going to an Assessment Center."

"Why?"

"They want my mana reserves to finish developing first."

"Hmm." Evan chewed thoughtfully as he considered it. That was probably for the best. It meant all of Hiroto's training and hard work had produced results significant enough for even specialists to notice. Evan couldn't wait to see Reika's face and everyone else's at the academy when they discovered that the F-rank they'd been looking down on actually possessed S-rank potential. Too bad Hiroto was far too nice. In any other story, this would've been the perfect face-slapping moment.

Instead, Hiroto would most likely just stand there awkwardly while everyone else lost their minds over the reassessment results. The two continued their conversation over lunch. Evan washed down another bite of his burger with a long sip of cold soda when the door opened. He half expected Reid to walk in, but instead, a brown-haired woman stepped inside wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, and a face mask.

"Yeon-ah?" Evan asked. She closed the door behind her and removed her mask, flashing them a smile.

"I thought I'd come visit, but I didn't expect you to look this lively." She spotted the meal spread across the bedside table.

"You guys are actually eating burgers in a hospital?"

"Why wouldn't we? I'm hungry," Evan answered.

"I suppose that's a good sign." Yeon-ah's eyes drifted to his right arm, and Evan was beginning to suspect everyone he met would instinctively check whether it was still attached. Did they expect him to be walking around with a prosthetic already? Then again, having a mechanical arm did sound pretty cool... though the maintenance would be a nightmare. With the only visitor's chair occupied by Hiroto, Yeon-ah sat on the edge of Evan's bed. Before long, she noticed the untouched fries and chicken tenders beside him.

Remembering how she'd eaten at her house, Evan picked up a single fry. Sure enough, Yeon-ah's gaze followed the movement.

"Are you here to visit me," he asked, "or steal my lunch?" Yeon-ah looked away, her cheeks flushing.

"Of course I'm here to visit you!" Grrrnn… Her stomach disagreed.

"If you want, I can go buy another meal," Hiroto offered.

"The burger place isn't far. I should return in fifteen minutes."

"No, no! You don't have to do that!" Yeon-ah waved her hands.

"Really, I'm fine. I can eat later." Despite her words, her stomach gave another loud protest. Evan sighed and shoved the carton into her hands.

"Go eat."

"I said I don't need them!"

"I'm not eating them, so either you do, or they're going in the trash."

"You can have mine too," Hiroto added, sliding his untouched fries toward her. Now holding a handful of food, Yeon-ah hesitated for only a moment before picking up a fry. The instant it touched her lips, something changed. The elegant idol vanished, replaced by a ravenous goblin devouring the meal at frightening speed. She shoveled fries and chicken tenders into her mouth one after another, abandoning any concern for manners or appearances. Hiroto's mouth hung half open while Evan casually finished his burger.

It wasn't long before Yeon-ah had devoured both servings. Once she was done, she gave a small, delicate cough, as though trying to reclaim the dignity she'd abandoned moments earlier. The chicken seasoning still clinging to her fingertips, however, rather undermined the effort.

"Thank you for the meal," she said with a sheepish smile.

"Sure," Evan said. Hiroto nodded, still looking mildly traumatized.

"So," Evan asked as he crumpled up the burger wrapper, "how are you and the others?"

"None of us were injured," Yeon-ah replied.

"Though Olivia and Ines are still pretty shaken up. I don't think Stellaris will be performing again anytime soon." After what had happened at the stadium, Evan wouldn't recommend making any public appearances either. Public opinion was far too volatile right now, and appearing on stage would only reignite the controversy. It was better to give things time to settle and let the public's emotions cool.

"So does that mean you'll focus more on Awakener training?" Hiroto asked. Yeon-ah blinked.

"Um... maybe."

"You're attending that small Awakener training center in District 11, right?" Evan asked.

"Do they even offer full-time courses?"

"You could always apply to Central Awakener Academy," Hiroto said.

"I'm sure they'd gladly accept you, Ms. Lim."

"Just call me Yeon-ah." She gave an awkward smile.

"As for attending the academy... I'll have to think about it." Evan found her reluctance a little strange. From what he'd seen, she didn't seem particularly passionate about being an idol in the first place. Then there was the house where her father lived. Did she really not help support him financially? The two hadn't seemed distant when Evan visited. If anything, they appeared quite close. Something didn't add up. His instincts as a reader pointed straight toward the company managing Stellaris.

Was she trapped in some predatory contract? Considering how awful her manager had been, he wouldn't be surprised. Still... was any of that actually his problem? He already had his hands full helping Hiroto grow stronger. Did he really have the time or mental energy to involve himself in Yeon-ah's situation as well? [New Quest!] [Objective: Convince Lim Yeon-ah to become a full-time Awakener.] [Time Limit: 30 Days] [Reward: ■■■■■■] Evan nearly choked on the last sip of his soda.