Truth

It has been a month and a half since the attack in the academy but the answers seem to evade everyone. There are a couple more smaller academies attacked but no one has any idea why and how they are doing it.

With only a month remaining before the first year students enter the Moon realm, these uncertainties are casting a shadow of doubt about the safety of thos who would go.

It was the of the day and Krios was headed to his dorm when a telepathic message came to him.

"Come to my office now." Headmistress Zelester sounded inside his head.

He didn't answer and quickly ran towards the admin building.

"What's going on?" He asked as he arrived.

"Janus Turf has finally woken up yesterday, and his parents assumed custody of him." Professor Ashburn answered.

Janus was the student who was attacked that ine faithful night.

"It took our healers this much time to help him recorver consciousness because his mana core was drained so much that it sent his body into shock." The professor added.

"That's nice. So are you able to ask him about the incident before he was taken by his family?" Krios asked.

"Yes. I had a chance to speak with him and he told us his side of the story."

Krios remained silent, quietly anticipating for the information.

"He told us that it was Kobert, the student who's still missing, who had attacked him." The Headmistress finally spoke.

Krios was not at all shocked by the revelation. Thinking about it, all of the attacks that happened in all of the academies involved one student going missing. It was too big of a coincidence to just forget about.

"But he was not alone. He told us that there were to people who came out of the forest, and together, the three perpetrators ganged up on him, rendering him unable to fight." She continued.

"This changes everything." The professor chimed in.

"Knowing that one of our students might be part of this coordinated attack would cause a panic amongst the student body." He added.

"Is everyone aware that Janus is alive?" Krios asked the Headmistress.

"No, only the three of us, the three healers that attended to him, and his parents know about his condition. I have kept things under the rug for now." The headmistress answered.

"Why do you ask?" The professor asked him.

"I have a hunch that the people behind these attacks were not supposed to let any one of their victims live. Knowing that they allowed one of the attackers to be someone the victim knows, that would mean that all of the victims were meant to be killed. Because if one of them lived-"

"It would be easier for us to identify them." The professor continued his sentence.

"They were not expecting for one to survive due to the malevolent energy they left. They knew that no one in this continent would be able to identify it nor counter it." The professor continued.

"But you were able to. And now one came out alive."

There were twenty two attackes in the continent overall. And all of the victims except for Janus has died. Which made the investigation harder.

"Exactly. And as of now, they probably do not know that Janus is alive. Which means that they don't know that we are aware of the probability of us having spies in our studentry." Krios added.

"Do not let anyone know about this for now. I will keep Janus and his family hidden for the time being." Headmistress Zelester spoke.

"Shouldn't we atleast inform the students to that they can also take precautionary measures? Especially with us going to the Moon realm by ourselves." Krios asked.

"I don't think that's a good idea. If we let the students know, we risk having potential spies in pur rank know that we have an idea they're there. It might cause them to act out and od something even more terrible l, or cause them to hide better, which would make our search more difficults." The professor answered.

'I guess that makes sense.' Krios thought silently.

"And the reason why I called you here Krios, is because I have a favor to ask you." The Headmistress spoke.

"Out of the three of us, you are the most sensitive ti the power these attackers use. You won't need to get close to them to he able to detect it unlike the two of us. Which is why I need you to observe and potentially detect that energy within the academy."

Krios just listened, knowing exactly what was being asked of him.

"You don't have to interact with anyone. Just be on the lookout for anything suspicious or amiss. It would be less suspicious if you're the one doing it as the two of us roaming around would probably make a few eyebrows raise." The professor added.

"I understand." Krios answered.

Sof for the next couple of days, Krios went out of his way to observe his fellow students. He would go into the mess hall during peak hours to get a good look of a lot of students.

Loras noted this change of activity from his friend but didn't question it. Together, they would roam around the campus and go to places where a lot of students go and hang out.

"I'm so excited to go inside the Moon realm." Loras spoke as he and Krios were walking around.

"Oh yeah, we would go there in less than a month." Krios answered.

"I heard from the second years that there are a lot of treasures there that can help us grow stronger."

"Treasures like?"

"High grade weapons, medicinal fruits, strong mana beasts, and the most important one would be the Moon orb." Loras answered.

"What's the Moon orb?"

"It's the grand prize of the Moon realm. The second years told us that at the tail end of the Moon Realm trials, the two students with the most would have the opportunity to battle against each other. And the winner gets to have the moon orb."

"What does the Moon Orb do anyway? Why is it so important?"

"The Moon orb gives uou enough energy to break through two minor realms in an instant!" Loras said excitedly.

"Oh now I understand why it's highly coveted. That would definitely give you a great boost."

"By the way, your weapon has not arrived yet right?" Loras asked changing the topic.

"Not yet, but I feel like it would arrive any time now. He did say that it would take about a month."

"I'm excited about how it would turn out to be. I bet it's going to look awesome."

"I'm excited about it too. I badly need it as I can't train with my current spear anymore. It's already at its breaking point."

They continued roaming around the campus, walking somewhat aimlessly. They were in the middle of the courtyard when a voice sounded in his head.

"How is your search going?" Headmistres Zelester asked him.

"I have not found anything suspicious so far." Krios answered.

"Just continue your search for now. But be careful. We still do not know what might come out of this situation right now."

"I understand Headmistress." Krios answered and the telepathic connection was cut off.

Another week came about with nothing remarkable or out of the ordinary happening. Krios was starting to think that there are no spies left inside of the academy. But he knew full well the consequences of being complacent, so he continued on with his daily secret guard duty.

The stress of the recent activity was now being replaced by the anticipation of their entry to the Moon realm. Most of them were excited, looking forward to the challenges and treasures they might encounter.

Krios on the other hand, was stressing about his weapon. It has been well more than a month now but there was still no weapon in sight.

"What's taking it so long?" He mumbled while laying on his bed.

"What are you talking about?" Loras asked.

"My weapon. He promised to get it delivered withing a month. It has been more than a month but it's still not here." He said, irritation evident in his voice.

"Maybe he's not good as we thought he was? You know, his place looked a little shabby."

"I don't know. I don't think Professor Ashburn would trick me. But I can't shake this anxiousness away. I still need to train with it before going into the Moon realm, so every tick of the clock matters."

They continued talking when a voice spoke from the communication formation inside their room.

"Krios Whiteflame, there is a package waiting for you at the lobby. It was sent by Halvin Mercene. Please come take it as soon as possible." The voice died afterwards.

"Speaking if the devil!" Loras exclaimed.

"Come on! Let's go take it!" He continued.

Krios did not answer. He just jumped out of his bed and ran outside as fast as he can with a huge smile on his face, with Loras trailing him behind.