Chapter 56: Impotent Tyrant
They fell deathly silent. So the principal kept going.
[You reckon yourselves safe now, I presume? Under the cover of that vile thing.]
Laughing dryly, it continued.
[At least thirty students and teachers, all killed to fuel your safety. You hide underneath their deaths and think yourselves better than me. More moral. This is the problem with you humans; you have such narrow minds. But that is fine, I suppose. I have no need for you now.]
It paused for a moment.
[From this moment henceforth, I consider all rats like you violators of my law and authority. The moment you step out of that field, into my domain, you will be met with instant disciplinary action. Perhaps you will learn your lesson then.]
Then its stale voice took on a cruel, mocking tone. Unmistakable hatred in its voice.
[It would do you best to remain there until you starve to death. Or perhaps you find a way out, and into the cold beyond here, where you shall freeze to death. It matters not. You will all die in the end, just like the uncivilized animals you are.]
It went back to normal the next second.
[As for myself, I will govern over the quarry still hiding in my domain. I shall bring them enlightenment and order. As is my duty.]
[I have never been a tyrant.]
The speakers from the cafeteria cut afterwards, leaving the kitchen silent.
Over the rage of the storm outside, Miles could barely hear the speakers loudly coming to life in the hallway beyond, and likely in the classrooms as well.
’There are others remaining?’
He’d imagined they were the only ones left in the block. Still, he didn’t hold any hope for saving them; stepping out of the pylon’s range was a death sentence now.
Besides, even if he were able to somehow contact them, they would need to make it down the hallway, into the cafeteria, and into the kitchen.
It might’ve sounded easy, but their group had lost nearly half its members just reaching here. That was with all the advantages they had, too.
They knew about the hallway illusion and how to escape it, they had brought a gun, they had flashlights to move in the dark, let alone having Morgan to deal with the monster that destroyed their formation. Luckily, it had stopped banging the now deformed cafeteria door, but it was certainly still lurking somewhere nearby.
Those students wouldn’t even have an ounce of that luck.
Dead. That was the best way of putting it. They were all dead.
Ryan let out a small sigh of relief as the principal vanished. His words hadn’t rattled the boy at all; instead, he looked more at ease now.
Miles understood exactly why. He felt the same, after all.
’The pylon is working.’
If even the principal couldn’t breach it, then they were safe. The entity had only been able to fume and taunt them before leaving.
Ryan’s relief vanished as quickly as it had arrived as his gaze landed on the bodies below. His face scrunched, as if in thought. Then he turned to Miles.
"He said something about hiding under multiple deaths. Does it have something to do with why those guys attacked us? Do you have any idea why they did?"
’Right.’
He hadn’t told them about what he’d seen when checking the pylon, or even anything about what Jayce told him before.
He nodded lightly before starting.
"It does..."
He slowly recounted everything he’d seen on the pylon’s screen, to what Jayce had offered him, and his theories regarding the matter. Miles watched as Ryan’s face grew sicker with every sentence he uttered, until he finished.
"...It was all for points in the end."
"Are they even human?"
Mia muttered in utter disgust, looking increasingly uncomfortable with standing in the pile of corpses. Ryan just grimaced before instructing them to all head back into the storeroom. He dealt with one of Sarah’s friends as he went in.
Miles dealt with the second, while Mia clenched her teeth and swung at the very last corpse. That of the pale girl who had been sitting at the back.
With that, all the latent threats were dealt with, and they headed back inside.
Chloe looked puzzled at their disgusted faces as they stepped in; even Brandon and Grimm looked unnerved. The only person not affected by it was Miles.
His face remained passive as he stepped in. Disgust, disdain, and all those emotions had been spent while he was fighting Jayce. He didn’t feel he had the right to judge the entire affair, not as he was.
After all, to an extent, they had all reaped from the fruits of that horrific act. It would’ve been much harder to upgrade the pylon without the points Jayce’s group had garnered. They might’ve even had to go back to the hallway.
Perhaps the others all understood that on some level. They didn’t say much after entering the room again, and just stood around, all disturbed and visibly uncomfortable.
Chloe, not wanting to be kept in the dark any longer, finally asked. Miles told her everything, just as he’d told Ryan.
The girl fell silent with a simple, "Oh."
There was a look of horrific realization on her face, like she’d had her suspicions too. She’d checked the pylon when she was trying to activate it.
But to go this far, it was truly just...
"...Monstrous."
Ryan sighed, running a hand through his hair. What difference remained between such people and ghouls?
"What do we do now?"
Chloe posed the question, her gaze still fixed on Sarah sitting quietly below.
"Answers. We need answers."
There was only one place holding answers now. Naturally, Ryan’s gaze turned to the pylon. With it activated now, it was very likely to have information, if not answers, regarding their current situation.
Miles glanced at the notifications still hovering silently in the corner of his vision, deciding to finally open them now. Four messages popped up before him.
[Nearby Pylon activated. User is in range of nearby Pylon.]
[Reality stabilization field now in effect.]
[Checking User’s vitals. Current injury status: Non-fatal]
[Executing first Pylon activation bonus. Rejuvenation.]
’Well, that explains a few things.’