Chapter 89: Confirmation
[Death Flag]
Cillian carefully swept his gaze across the bustling ballroom and, after quite a search that didn’t take too much time longer, finally found Arthur among the crowd.
The moment he did, Cillian continued to watch over Arthur’s movements and every person he spoke with while Vin and Phillip stood right beside him.
It’s been quite some time already.
"How long are you going to be here?"
Cillian turned to the two men beside him, who hadn’t said a word since hearing his conversation with Fergus earlier. The curious expressions they had worn earlier had already disappeared, so there was no reason for them to stay any longer.
After a moment of silence, Phillip dared to ask a question.
"Are you really not Cillian?"
Phillip asked in a strange tone, enough for Cillian to know what he was trying to say.
Vin and Phillip had also probably noticed that the current Cillian was different from the one they had always known, which is the person who used to follow Fergus and occasionally revered him for how great he was.
Yet after Fergus was sent to prison, Cillian somehow underwent a sudden change in his personality.
Cillian was silent for a brief moment before answering in a way that did not confirm or deny his claim.
"What are you going to do about it?"
After that, Cillian calmly waited as he kept his attention focused on Arthur.
"Well, even if you’re not the Cillian we used to know and might be someone possessing that body, it’s not like we’re that close to begin with for me to worry about the past."
Vin began to tell his opinion about the ’different’ Cillian he was talking with right now, and added.
"However, I don’t dislike the new you. The old Cillian was unbearable to be around. Well, you’re not much different, but at least you don’t have that kind of... hostility, I guess, whenever I talk to you. You stopped looking down on me. I think I noticed this change started around the time you used the academy walls and entered the library where I was guarding at one time."
"Oh!"
Phillip seemed to be in the same boat as Vin, as he said in a rather jolly tone.
"So it wasn’t just me who noticed it? When I saw him back then, and when he asked to use the walls, he had already stopped looking at me as if I were some fat bastard who deserved to be shoved around and ordered about."
Vin and Cillian couldn’t help but look at Phillip at the same time. There was a second of silence until the two gave their own opinions.
"You’re still a fat bastard."
"Nothing changed, fatso."
Phillip pouted and avoided their gaze before turning serious. This time, his tone changed and gave an honest opinion to the current Cillian.
"You don’t need to tell us if you’re the real Cillian or the imposter. What I can tell is that you’re much better than before, and I’d like to remain friends with you."
Vin interjected.
"Same. I liked to keep the core of the Investigative Crew. Hanging out with you guys somehow made academy life fun."
Vin and Phillip chuckled, which somehow made Cillian put on a genuine smile, not like his usual ones he wore when he was done stomping on people or successfully carried out a plan.
It was a smile that appeared because he was happy.
’These two guys...’
"By the way—"
Just as Cillian was about to ask about the new Brotherhood members, a huge explosion erupted inside the ball.
Baaaaaaaaaaaaang—!
And it first happened on the second floor, near where Vin, Phillip, and Cillian were looking down at the first floor below.
They all got blown away by the impact.
After trying to make sense of the timing, the unknown cause, and the sudden explosion that erupted on the second floor, Cillian found himself lying on the ground of the first floor of the ballroom after falling from the second floor.
"Fuck... What’s happening..."
Cillian could feel his ears ringing from the loud noise as he shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He was thrown to the ground, bleeding from his head after it hit the floor, as he tried to make sense of his surroundings.
That was until he found a head rolled on the floor that slowly made its way towards his arms.
Cillian’s unfocused eyes were directed towards this rolled head. He slowly adjusted his vision until he was able to spot who it was.
A nobody.
Just one of the nobles who were invited to this ball that somehow got attacked, even if the ’security’ of the ball was top-notch.
’Fuck... I was already preparing for something to happen, but who would’ve thought this place was going to get bombed?’
Who’s the enemy this time around? What made them so bold as to attack this place with all those important people?
’Important people?’
The important people who made this ball, the three Lords of each family, were still missing at the ball. Even if it’s already been going on for a while, these people were still missing.
Had they been missing?
Is this what they planned? Attacking people from their own territory?
’I can’t think straight. Where the hell are Vin and Phillip?’
Cillian threw the severed head away and looked for the screen that pointed out the flag above his head.
[Red Flag]
"Nearby Flag Presence..."
After checking for the flag above his head, Cillian used the skill and saw whether the people who had survived the explosion were going to be all right.
[White Flags x13]
[Red Flags x23]
[Black Flags x32]
Fortunately, there were no new Death Flags.
The ones who died are those who were directly hit by the explosion.
Were they even wearing Death Flags above their heads before they turned into a puddle of blood, or were the flags above their heads to begin with to cause harm to themselves?
’Are you serious?’
For some reason, Cillian felt he had misunderstood the system.
Cillian had always thought that Death Flags were the only things that truly endangered his life, but with the way this happened, his flag had only turned from white to red.
He was caught up in the fact that anything below a Death Flag was something he could afford to handle. Even when he saw black flags, he treated them as threats he could overcome rather than threats capable of ruining his life.
They were still dangers capable of affecting someone’s life, like being struck by a knife or having their arms severed. The only difference was the level of possibility and severity behind them. It just has some levels.
Death Flags are just the worst type of danger, and it had come to the point that Death became one of its expected outcomes.
’Now I’m realizing why this text in the descriptions said actions may or may not require... I was too focused to think that only Death Flags were the only ones mattered and that thinking below possibility flags are just warnings before coming to the Death Flag... It looks like I should’ve taken an action by knowing more about this ball instead of just wasting my time to fucking come here...’
A small complaint escaped his lips.
"You’re still confusing as hell, system. Just what are you, really?"
[Death Flag System!]
The system somehow answered him in such an excited way before Cillian let out a sigh and tried to stand from his place.
But he was unable to do it, which made him remain lying on the floor. His whole body was in pain.
"Mimicry."
Letting out a sigh, Cillian decided to keep his current arsenal, Vin’s Buddy, on standby in case something suddenly pops out of nowhere.
He might have to reveal that he’s a Ruiner just to ensure his safety.
After all, Cillian still wasn’t sure whether this was just a sabotage attack decided on by the Viola Family or an attack from the Shepherds of Creation. In fact, it might have even been Arthur who decided on this attack, and it was finally time for him to show his true colors.
’Or it could be three of them! Who knows how these fucking people think!’
But.
[Death Flag x1]
Cillian saw Arthur nearby from the corner of his eye, bleeding. He weakly stood up from where he was, his eyes turning cold for a moment before he shouted at the people inside the ball.
"Help everyone! Those who can move, move!"
By the looks of it, Arthur didn’t orchestrate this attack.
He actively played the role of a helper, something that even made Cillian doubt his identity, but he didn’t waver because someone reliable kept saying so otherwise.
"What the hell... Why has this place exploded?"
Mouthful Eye was shocked as he peeked through the pocket and saw Arthur walking around, helping people.
However, he noticed something.
During the trip in this world, as if Mouthful Eye, Aiden’s fragmented consciousness, were bringing back memories, he couldn’t help but complain that only he could understand.
"Is that the bastard you’re talking about?"
Mouthful Eye paused.
"I’m sure of it. He’s a ***!"
Cillian’s lips twitched, unable to control the tip of his lips from curling upwards.
"Ha...haha...hahaha..."
A broken laugh emerged from his lips.
Even though it happened this way, with him being blown from the second floor to the first floor by the explosion, Cillian was still able to achieve his second objective for coming here.
He was planning on getting closer to Arthur by the time the ball was entering its final stages, but it didn’t happen. Though at the very end of the day, he found it out in the most ridiculous way.
He can now confirm that Arthur’s identity was false.
Amidst the falling debris from the explosion site and some unconscious bodies scattered around the destroyed ball, Cillian laughed.
"Haha..."
He was the only one laughing at this ridiculous situation.