Anything for You I / Delirium, Delusions, and the Dead

Although I had recovered in a matter of days, the wounds inflicted upon the academy were not so quick to heal. With nine students murdered in a single evening, it was no wonder fear and suspicion had infected the minds of everyone here.

In contrast to them, however, this turn of events might have created a safer situation for us Inheritors. Given Raplin and all three of our suspects had been killed, it wasn’t a stretch to assume all nine were connected to the Iccasius Army. Shina looked into the other five victims as well, and, from the meager data we had access to, none could be ruled out as possible summoners either. We didn’t know for sure, but it seemed likely that our enemies among the student body had been purged that night.

“I have to do this, or they’ll kill me!”

Ever since that day, Raplin’s words echoed in my head on repeat. It might’ve been a trick, but coercion would explain his apprehension and doubt during the attack. And, if nothing else, his statement crafted a convincing narrative when combined with everything else we knew.

Why would nine students, who were potentially behind an attempted killing themselves, be murdered? To cut off loose ends and silence them after their failure. That was the conclusion our group had come to, at least.

The masses, however, had arrived at wildly different verdicts. As the public was not privy to most of the information that connected the previous Anomaly Beast attack to this string of murders, the environment was rife with baseless rumors and fabrications. They spread across campus like viruses day after day, each one building on the last as further hearsay, embellishment, and conjecture were added into the foul mixture. The mass interrogations conducted by the faculty in the wake of these events only added fuel to the fire, as did the intensification of the school’s already-extensive security measures.

The atmosphere was tense and nervous wherever I went, among both students and staff. The normally lively dining hall I stood in was no different, despite the fact that it should be at peak occupancy at this time in the evening. Hushed murmurs replaced the typical clamor that characterized mealtime, and although the abundance of speakers had not necessarily decreased, they lowered their voices and clustered into familiar cliques to seal themselves off from untrustworthy strangers.

“You were still in the infirmary at the time, but this is better than it was a few days ago,” Shina whispered into my ear as we walked toward an open table on the far side of the room.

“I can’t even imagine what that would’ve been like. I know everyone’s scared, but I hope things go back to normal sooner rather than later,” I replied, matching her volume.

Even though crowded, busy rooms made me uncomfortable, wading through the mood permeating this chamber was even worse. Reaching the bench at our destination, we laid down our plates and sat.

Taking one last look at the state of things, I turned to my food and began to eat, digging through the meal as quickly as possible so we could leave.

“So, Everett,” Shina said as she leaned even closer toward me, lowering her voice yet another notch. “I’ve started researching that… thing. I’m only a rookie with sigils, so it’s taking a lot of time, but I think I’m finally starting to make progress on deciphering it.”

“Should you really be talking about that in public? Even if you’re whispering, it’s risky.”

“It’s fine; I said ‘thing’. No one would figure out what I’m talking about.”

It’s really not that subtle when side-by-side with everything else you said, Shina. I shrugged instead of voicing my objection.

I still wasn’t sure how she’d managed it, but Shina found and copied the sigil pattern Raplin had used to summon his Fragment before the academy got ahold of it. Even if few people could activate the spell, its very existence was dangerous, so she’d face severe repercussions if they learned of the replica.

I wanted to chastise her for being reckless, but I knew I had no right to do so. Plus, it was ultimately our duty as Inheritors to slay the Anomaly Beasts and, as long as they kept interfering, fight the Iccasius Army. Digging into the mechanisms of their warfare might be a necessary course of action in the long term.

“Anyway,” she continued, “the sigil is pretty esoteric, and it deviates a lot from standard conventions. At first, I thought it was of foreign origin, but after doing more research, I think it’s also somewhat ancient. Its style seems to imitate that of the Rasanic mages, so…”

Shina continued to ramble on about some magical history or something, and although I had no idea what any of it meant, I didn’t stop her. She always lit up whenever she went off on a topic like this, and I loved seeing her look that happy. If all it took was being a good listener, then I’d silently absorb her words until she exhausted every single one swirling around in her head.

What an embarrassing thought. I have to make sure I don’t accidentally say anything like that out loud.

“… so then I went back to the library and looked into niche methodologies developed in the Eastern Kingdoms around that time period. I found some contemporary sources, but—”

A pair of hands slammed into the opposite side of the table, cutting off Shina’s monologue. The intruder was someone I’d never seen before, though I supposed that classification applied to most students at the academy.

“It was you, wasn’t it?” The boy, who looked a year or two older than us, raised his voice and pointed an accusatory finger at Shina. “You’re the mage one, right? It was probably you!”

On instinct, I flung an arm in front of Shina as if to protect her from a physical threat, despite there only being a verbal one as of yet.

“Do you want me to talk?” I asked her with my gaze.

She shook her head, and, accepting her resolve, I lowered my arm.

“W-what d-do you mean?” Shina squeaked out a response through stutters.

The student didn’t hesitate for a moment before laying out his indictment. “I wouldn’t say we were pals or anything, but Aston was a good dude. Why’d you fry him, huh? Just some target practice? Or are you one of those freaks that gets off from torturing people?”

“What the hell do you—” Even though she wanted to handle it herself, I couldn’t quell the immediate rage that flooded through my body as he hurled such insane accusations her way.

But Shina’s outrage surpassed even mine. She stood and slammed the table herself, stopping my outburst in its tracks. “You can insult my character as much as you want, but don’t you dare accuse me of using my magic for something that awful. As a mage, that’s a slight against my very lineage!”

Though its emergences were few and far between, something he’d said seemed to have awoken Shina’s combative side.

He was a little taken aback at her response but soon doubled down. “No human can cook a person like that, even with magic. It had to have been one of you mutants!”

Given the role of Inheritors in this world, we were something of celebrities by default, even if our lives hardly differed from the rest of the student body’s. I knew that would make us prime targets for gossip at each churn of the rumor mill, but I never figured it would get this bad.

“The Oryn’s specialize in ice magic! I can barely even cast fire spells.” I doubted he would listen to any argument she put forward, but she tried anyway.

“Hah! As if I buy that!” he retorted. “Either you’re lying, or that ‘lineage’ of yours is real shitty. Who the hell can only use ice magic? Fat chance.”

Something snapped in Shina’s brain. “If you’re that curious, then I’ll show you some of it!” She extended an arm outward, pointing it straight at him.

I doubted she’d actually do anything, but I couldn’t risk it. In a panic, I wrapped my arms around her torso and dragged her body back, physically removing her from the situation.

“E-Everett!?” The sudden jolt seemed to wake her back up.

“That is enough!” A loud voice boomed through the hall, and I spotted Professor Seris rushing up to us.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I lowered Shina. “Sorry I did that. I hope it didn’t make you too uncomfortable.”

Shina, however, didn’t seem to regard me as a look of mortification washed over her visage. She scanned the room, clocking the countless observers who had all watched the confrontation unfold.

“W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w…” Her logic circuits were stuck in an infinite loop.

“I-it’s okay. I’m sure no one will remember any of this by tomorrow,” I lied, having absolutely no idea how normal people thought.

Professor Seris was chewing out the other party for his wanton attack against a fellow student, but he eventually turned toward us as another professor arrived to handle the boy.

“I know you did not start this, Shina,” he began, “but your actions were likewise shameful as a student of this academy. You will have to come with me.”

Despite her brain being in a non-functional state, she somehow parsed the command and traced his path as he set out to exit the room.

Do I follow them? I wasn’t sure what to do. It seemed like he was just going to scold her, but…

Before he stepped out through the grand doorway, his gaze locked onto mine. He gave me a knowing nod, then left.

Or maybe he’s taking her for another reason…

I cleaned up the remnants of our meals then darted off into the hall to follow them.