The root and the fruit; Seen through the veil.

The education center existed as a tiny portion of the great building that made the nation. Not as prestigious as other sections; it didn't have a direct view of the outside or natural lighting. It was located on a very high floor, in the order of the thousands.

The great gates were framed by many of the public transports, like electric trains made of many cubic parts that moved and rotated swiftly through an intricate system of rails that went both horizontally and vertically. Inside the education center, and after the wide galleries where all the students united to receive the Representative, was the main hall… and through it, walked the troubled planner. He had both of his hands turned into fists, gripping the cloth of the white gloves and making loud stepping noises with his elegant shoes.

I don't understand. Something should have happened by now. Did I make a mistake? It's been over fifteen minutes, and I already went to the bathroom and the nurse's office, I can't use those excuses again. Not a single alarm or warning has come through yet… Is the army simply incompetent…?

I got a recording of the call on my phone, but I've had no opportunity to check it. I only set the audio to be sent and the time it'd be sent. That was in the bathroom, about sixteen minutes ago.

The room to the library's administration seemed closed, but at least I confirmed its location… no, it is just not good, I need to be able to separate from the main group and sneak into the library to check the inventory. If I'm lucky, the presentations and speeches are still going on and will continue for at least ten more minutes.

This is the door.

Once back inside…

No matter, I will figure it out.

I open the door, accessing the very back of the spacious lecture hall. Making sure to attract as little possible attention to myself, I take the same seat I had taken before: in the third row closest to the back exit, and the rightmost column.

The gray-haired Representative continues to spout blabberings about the importance of studies and our commitment to the Lord, at the front of the hall, in a podium. He's too calm… I can't believe they didn't take my call seriously, maybe that wasn't enough information? I'll already have to use plan B… and now that I mention it, where did Holly go to?

Two more minutes go by.

There's no doubt about it now. Maybe the Doctor isn't that big of a deal, or maybe that Ellis woman wasn't so famous at all. I'd rather die than be forced to execute plan C. The longer I can avoid direct confrontations, the better.

Another minute goes by...

A straight blue laser goes through the higher portion of the wall behind the Representative and over all of our heads, destroying the roof in an instant with a menacing tremble.

The upper portion of the education center is wide open, collapsing and showing the structure that holds this floor up with the next one.

"Attention to all students and all personnel!" What? The voice of a woman floods the room! "This education center is now under investigation for terrorist activity! Every single person will be checked! And no one will be allowed to exit the institution!"

Yes!

It's the L.U.A! They appeared!

Chaos takes no more than a few moments to settle in, as the young students and several teachers look in every direction, wondering what could have made this a necessary military intervention.

It's time. I see everyone standing up and begin asking questions, starting the mass panic. What a great entry they made! It's very likely they accessed every classroom at the same time and secured every exit of the education center to avoid possible leaks.

"Dan! Where are you?!" A boy calls out to someone.

"I can't see you!" Someone else replies.

…!

Right, even when the rubble had been considerably reduced in size by that strange light, the smoke and dust still fell and caused confusion. If so…

"Holly!" I begin calling out as well. Hesitating no more, I exit the lecturing hall and rush to the main hall.

Portions of the roof have been removed here too. There seem to be flying machines all over the place, and armed soldiers with… some form of blue light that shoots out of their backs, flying as well.

Some others rush next to me, looking for their loved ones.

This hallway quickly becomes crowded. I see, the United Army cares not about what happens inside the school, as long as we remain inside. Well… even better! I had no intention of leaving!

"Halt!" Damn it, I spoke too soon. A soldier stops us "Everyone! Calm down and return to your classrooms! It is of utmost import-!" People only stopped to listen to his first few words before running past him and pushing him aside.

"Stop this! The education center is now under the control of the army!" Another soldier steps in, with reinforcements. Six of them form a line to stop us from advancing. They all wear those fancy suits with blue lines… but this time, they also have a strange backpack, white and slim, fused with the back of their suits. Not to mention those visors that cover half the face, filled with shiny numbers and updating information, not quite readable from this angle "Everything is under control! Return to your designated classrooms right now!"

Not ideal. I'd very much rather someone else do this but… if no one raises their voice and takes control now, I won't be able to-

"We are looking for our family and friends! Your people just quite literally vaporized our roof!!" An older student yells "Can you confirm that they are all safe?! Can you at least tell us that!? Why did you come here like this?!" His cap falls to the ground, revealing dark purplish hair.

That was a good speech.

"Just tell us the name of the person you are looking for and we will sort this out!" Another soldier steps up, with a big floating device hovering next to him.

"Will you do it for all of us!?" This time a girl screams "I'm not going to wait! You didn't even give us a warning! This is insane!"

Hm… they are really invested in this caring thing. It doesn't matter that I don't understand it, though. It works for me.

"Until we can identify the source of the reports, letting you move freely would be-!" The soldier's sentence is not allowed to end.

"Shut up! We have rights! This center is of high STATUS!" Another student yells.

What… what does that even mean?

The expression of the soldier changes dramatically upon seeing new information in his visor "…All of you!" Referring to the other soldiers next to him "Accompany the students in groups! Remain in this section of the center! A mage has been spotted! Check your visors!"

What? A mage?! Does he mean an actual enemy has been spotted…? No, that's impossible! I- I was bluffing in my call! That was the whole point…! Maybe mages are something different? No… judging by his reaction…!

"Excuse me!" I yell to the student who took control. I must try to contain all of these thoughts as I say "I will go to the library!" Why? Why did an enemy of the army appear right now? At this moment? How… did the masked man do this? No, there was just too little time to figure it out and act accordingly… and even if he had some informant, why respond like this?! "My friend Holly is missing! Could you check if she went to get her bags in the luggage room? If not, could you bring them to me so I can give them back once I find her?!"

"Right!" He nods and rushes away "I'll find you in the library in a few minutes! Be careful!"

There's a chance she's just there, and that'd be the end of it. But if I have any luck, I'll be able to get ahold of her backpack, and hopefully, she still has her registration forms with her phone number. She said it herself, that she's new here too.

I left my own phone inside my left pocket, so I could use it without being too obvious. The camera quality is excellent, so I'll just set it to record now. The lens is just over the cloth of my pocket, so as long as I don't move around too carelessly…

Good. The soldier that entered the library with us was more concerned with looking for people in distress than observing us, but… But I can't concentrate… Why did a mage appear right now…? What even is a mage…? I don't believe for a second that this is a coincidence… but what could it…

The door to the administration is wide open. The worker here clearly left in a rush, fearing for their lives. I-I was right, they left a device displaying information with their passcode already in. There don't seem to be any cameras here, but I can never be too sure "Holly!" I go behind the desk and make sure to hit the device with my hand so it falls on the ground. I swipe with my fingers, causing the display to go up and show every single book title and code on record. I just hope the camera is good enough to record the movement with minimal quality loss…

I leave the room as soon as I can. I only have to compare the data here with the public display of books. That way, it will be obvious which books are restricted to common people. I will find a way to get those books sooner or later.

Well, it… can't hurt to ask "Sir" I approach the soldier, between tall bookshelves "Is this happening in every education center?" It must. Hold on, I should make it more appealing to him "I have a close friend in one nearby, and I can't reach him right now…"

Excellent, his reaction was full of that sweet empathy.

"Don't worry" He smiles at me "This is the only one with such hard measures. We did set a post on every other center though, so your friend should be fine! I assure you" He grabs my shoulder.

Here?

Why here?

Did I slip something unnecessary? No! Background noise…? I-I don't think so… I distorted the audio with so many layers I wouldn't be able to turn it back to normal myself. Granted, I only read some articles about software and information… But they managed to pin it down to this education center? Are they this good…? No… I have to get rid of this phone before they trace it back to me!

Wait… if they could, I'd already be dead meat. It's a scary thought, but… my encoding must have been only partially effective. It's not a surprise that the anonymous channel is not anonymous at all, I did expect them to find out the general location of the call but… in a few hours, at least! They not only got it was indeed coming from the capital but narrowed it down to this education center? I was… reckless…?

He looks worried. "Are you ok…?"

"Ah-" I got lost in thought. That was an embarrassing sound I made… "Yes, thank you" I step back so his hand no longer reaches me. The other guy should be getting back here soon if he runs in.

Something's odd. I feel odd. There's something very cold in my eyes.

My head feels like it's… spinning. Too late, the soldier already noticed it. I don't know why I'm feeling like this, but it gave me a good idea.

I let myself fall, and he holds my body so I don't hit the ground. Not a surprise, he seems foolish and empathetic.

The student with Holly's bags arrives… alone, not with her. He got inside in a hurry, so the soldier looked up to see his face. Done, I got a great glimpse of the inside of the visor.

29, 14, 82, 11V. I guess those are the coordinates because they are under the words 'Sighting'. I'll have the chance to find out where that is later. I stand shakily, exaggerating my weakness "Sorry, sir" My hands to the older student.

I receive Holly's purse. He told me there's a mechanism that opens most locks in the educational center, so that no one has to waste time opening their lockers or the doors out of a room, in an emergency like this one. That was lucky, maybe the administrator of the library did lock the room, so they didn't bother to secure the device properly. Thanks to the emergency system, it wouldn't have mattered if they did.

…

Not with the bags, not seen by him or the other students, or even the soldiers. Once we left the library, I made sure to keep asking for her to maintain my façade, yet… no one had seen Holly.

I peek through her stuff…

No registration forms. I found some pictures of the woman who was decapitated, a small notebook, pencils, and ballpens. This bag is too empty. I approach the same guy who helped me get it "Was this all she stored? She wasn't carrying anything else with her when I last saw her"

He frowns slightly "Yeah, that was all. Maybe we should go to the exits and see if she is there? I already found my sister around here, and everything really seems to be under control" He starts walking, and I walk behind him "Name's Kellan, by the way" Smiling.

"I'm Lysander" People like to smile when giving out their names, so I certainly gave him mine. We make our way back to the main galleries, where we find a whole lot of soldiers. Since the sighting, they appear to have calmed down around here. Of course, they have secured every door with guards and we were patted down before exiting every hallway.

I got to see some medals on their chests. All the guards look similar, but some of them have clearly greater equipment than others.

"You needed something?" A soldier with no helmet or visor, just long, wavy, orange hair. Quite tall, I must say—about 6,3ft (192cm). The man is taller than Kellan, and Kellan is already taller than me. The soldier is a grown man, with developed muscles and a beard. His suit is similar to the others, but the circuit colors are more of a violet shine.

The soldier seems serious and to the point, so I ask for Holly Ellis rather quickly.

…

"She is what…?" I ask again. My ears didn't quite catch that answer.

A few kilometers from the education center, soaring through the sky, a girl could be seen amongst the clouds and between the floors and trains of the enclosed capital.

The man raises an eyebrow "Out in the field. It seems someone told her about what was going on, and she took it upon herself to use one of her mother's suits and gear. She's out, she left before we arrived!" He shrugged softly "A special strike team is on her way as well, so you don't have to worry about a thing, boy" He sighs "But what she did is quite illegal"

The girl had equipped all but the visor, as she didn't know how to reconnect it to the main database.

She… she found out and left even before a soldier got the information in his visor…? She left to fight? If this is the case, that means the mage, or whatever he is, appeared, too, quite a few minutes before the information of a sighting got to the army…

The girl was close to the mage, closer even than the S.L.S.T.

After my call, but before the rest of the army made a sighting. Holly and the Archon… do they both have an informant? They both managed to react well before the organized systems…

 With blonde hair over her yellow eyes, she slowly descended from the sky and hovered over the ground with straight blue wings that grew from the thin white backpack. The energy suit mostly adapted to her size, even when she is much smaller than her mother.

The man, with the skin of a human face over his own, had several red stones between his long and sickly fingers.

She did not know, but she was facing a man who worked directly under her mother's murderer. Some civilians were still around, and along some shops, they were slowly realizing this would soon become a battlefield.

The young girl, Holly, going against all protocol… was raring to fight.