Chapter 19: Helion Core [4]
"We have to act before this gets worse." Alden said and immediately drew fire from every direction.
"And why should we listen to anything you say?!"
"Nobody asked for your opinion!"
"Just leave already! you don’t belong here—"
Leon raised one hand.
"Don’t." He looked around the crowd. "Stay quiet."
Alden hadn’t looked at any of them. He just walked forward.
Sierra stood right in his line of sight, completely unaware she was in his way.
The crowd saw him getting near her and lost its mind all over again.
"Hey! Didn’t you hear us?!"
"Stop right there! Not another ste—"
He walked right past Sierra without a single glance, eyes already locked on the two people further ahead.
The crowd went quiet. They were expecting something, and it didn’t happen.
Sierra stood where she’d been left, watching his back.
Alden stopped in front of Seris and Roselle.
Roselle started immediately. "What exactly are you trying to—"
"Seris."
She blinked. He’d cut straight past her like she hadn’t spoken.
His eyes stayed on the Vice President.
"What’s really happening? What is the Headmaster hiding?"
Roselle stepped forward with annoyance in her voice. "And why would the Vice President tell you something the Headmaster specifically ordered us to keep confidential?"
"It’s about the Helion Core," Seris said. "An ancient artifact."
Roselle turned to her sharply, lost all of her composure. "Vice President—? Headmaster ordered every council member to keep that information secret!"
Murmurs swept through the crowd immediately.
"The Helion Core?"
"An artifact?"
"What happened to it?"
Roselle lowered her voice. "Senior Seris... you weren’t supposed to reveal that."
Seris lazily folded her arms and tapped one finger against her cheek like she was genuinely trying to remember something.
"Oh? Was it a secret?" After a pause. "...How unfortunate. I suppose it slipped my mind."
Not a trace of guilt anywhere on her face. If anything, the faint curve at the edge of her lips suggested she found this mildly entertaining.
Roselle stared at her. Speechless.
’Helion Core...’ Alden turned the name over in his head while the crowd buzzed around him.
’So that’s what caused all of this.’ His eyes moved slowly across the devastated academy grounds.
’Then where is it now?’
He took one quiet breath.
’Insight.’
[Concept: Insight — Activated.]
A faint shimmer passed through his pupils, there and gone in half a second.
The world changed. Walls became transparent outlines, layers of pale blue light he could see through like glass. Every building stripped down to its bones. The ground beneath the academy stretched open to his vision, descending level by level.
Mana flowed through everything like glowing rivers. Every living person was a distinct point of light.
He swept his gaze methodically, sector by sector.
’If someone is carrying the Helion Core, there has to be something different about their signature...’
’Where are you—’ Nothing in the upper levels, or in the damaged wing, or even in the outer grounds.
He dropped his gaze lower.
Far beneath the stone pathways of the academy, down in the sewage tunnels that ran under the whole structure, a small orange sphere pulsed like a trapped sun. Wrapped tight around a single human silhouette that wasn’t moving.
Roselle had been talking.
"Even if Senior Seris revealed the Helion Core’s existence, it doesn’t actually help us. The hardest part is locating the bearer in the first—"
"Found it."
She stopped. "...What?"
"The Core’s bearer." Alden pointed at the ground. "They’re below us. In the lower sewage tunnels."
Silence held for a moment.
Roselle stared at where he was pointing. Then back at him.
"...You’re joking." She narrowed her eyes. "You can’t just point at the ground and claim you’ve found the culprit. And even if you’re somehow right — how? You haven’t searched anywhere. You’ve been standing here for two minutes."
"I have a skill related to vision." He kept his answer deliberately vague. No mention of Soul Rendering.
Roselle’s frown deepened.
’Mana Eyes?’ She’d heard of vision enhancement skill. But seeing through an entire academy, straight down through layers of stone into underground tunnels? No
’That’s not any vision skill I’ve encountered before.’
A few steps away, Seris had been watching Alden quietly through all of it.
’Vision skill.’ Her eyes moved over him. ’He’s deliberately giving vague answers to whatever it actually is. Doesn’t want us knowing more than necessary.’ The faint curve at her lips settled into something more considered.
’You really are interesting.’
Alden clapped his hands once.
"Alright. We know where the bearer is. Next question is simple... Who’s coming with me?"
The crowd immediately erupted.
"You expect us to just believe that?!"
"Everything out of your mouth is a lie!"
"Who’d willingly follow someone like—"
"You know?" Alden said, cutting through the noise without raising his voice.
The crowd faltered.
He finally glanced over his shoulder at them. "It’s honestly impressive. You people keep barking at someone who’s made it completely obvious he isn’t listening." A pause. "Doesn’t it get embarrassing?"
"What did you just—?!" Several students stepped forward.
Alden met every glare without blinking.
"I said exactly what you heard."
His voice carried across the courtyard without any effort behind it.
"If you hate me, then stay out of my way. I’m not asking you to trust me. I’m not begging for your help. So stop acting like your opinions are worth my time."
The courtyard went noticeably quieter.
"I’m here to speak with the Student Council. My business has nothing to do with the rest of you." He took one step forward. "If you think I’m a Villain, fine. Keep thinking that. But either help save this academy or shut your mouths and get your asses out of my damn way. And if you keep getting on my nerves—"
His foot came down.
BOOM.
Cracks split outward across the stone around him in a ring. The sound hit the crowd like a wall. His gaze swept across every face slowly.
"I swear I’ll burn you all alive and feed you to the beasts."
Not another word from the crowd.
Alden let the silence sit for one more second.
"Good." He looked around. "So. Who’s coming?"
A young man stepped forward first.
"I will." He extended his hand. "Name’s Legion. I saw what you did with those first-years." His grip was firm when Alden took it. "I’ll trust what I saw with my own eyes."
"Appreciate it."
"Count me in." Leon stepped up beside them.
The crowd buzzed immediately.
"Leon? He’s joining him?"
"The guy who went to drag Alden back is now—"
"Three." Alden counted quietly, looking at the small group. "I’d have preferred four, but we can make it work—"
"Then make it four."
Seris walked forward.
She crossed the space between herself and the group.
Alden raised an eyebrow. "Aren’t you supposed to stay here? You’re the Vice President. These students need someone to—"
"You worry too much." She turned toward Roselle.
"Roselle. Keep everyone organized while we’re gone." A pause. "Can you handle that?"
Roselle straightened. The hesitation lasted exactly one second.
"...Yes. I’ll take responsibility."
"I knew you would."
Leon rolled his shoulders. "Then it’s settled."
Seris’s crimson eyes moved back to Alden.
"So. What’s the plan?" Her voice was light. Almost casual. "I doubt the Core’s bearer is sitting down there waiting to greet us."
"I’ll explain on the way."
He was already moving toward the eastern corridor.
Legion’s hand rested on his sword. Leon fell into step a beat behind. Seris followed last, adjusting her coat with two fingers as she passed the edge of the crowd.
"Let’s move."