Chapter 251: A Brief Respite for a Pack of Broken Hounds
The ferry cut through the blue-green waters and left a frothy wake behind as New Vein Academy’s atoll shrank in the distance. I leaned against the railing while enjoying the salt spray on my face and the brief reprieve from Braxton’s torture sessions that he insisted on calling training.
A stiff breeze carried the scent of brine and sothing that almost felt like freedom, and I couldn’t rember the last ti I’d seen my classmates looking so damn alive.
The light danced across the water’s surface in a hypnotic pattern that almost made
forget the constant weight of the System’s expectations pressing down on my shoulders. The ferry itself wasn’t particularly impressive with its chipped paint and seats that had seen better decades, but today it felt like a luxury cruise ship simply because it was taking us away from that hellish island for a few precious hours.
Sothing about escaping that prison, even temporarily, had transford the whole pack. The promise of new gear and an entire day off campus worked wonders for morale. Hell, even Raphael wasn’t scowling for once. His typically furrowed brow had relaxed into sothing almost approaching neutrality, which for him was practically euphoric.
The sea air seed to wash away layers of tension from everyone’s shoulders, and even I felt lighter sohow. Though I knew better than to let my guard down completely since a day off was still a day to advance my plans. Old habits died hard.
At the prow, Jai and Hikari were hosting an impromptu flexing competition that had drawn a small crowd of amused ferry workers. Jai’s biceps bulged as he struck pose after pose with each one accompanied by dramatic declarations about his beloved idol.
"Sakura would want
to represent her properly!" he bood while transitioning into a most-muscular pose that strained his t-shirt to its structural limits. "This one’s called ’The Crimson Promise’!"
His green hair caught the sunlight as he twisted into another absurd position with his face flushed from exertion and joy. Hikari matched him with frightening enthusiasm as her compact fra proved deceptively powerful while she mimicked his poses with her perpetual sunshine smile.
"That’s nothing! Watch this one! I call it ’The Green Thunder’!" She pumped her arms and the veins in her forearms stood out from effort, but that permanent grin of hers never faltered.
The ferry workers exchanged glances like they were wondering if all Hunter academy students were this bizarre or if they’d sohow gotten stuck with the special cases. They weren’t entirely wrong on either count.
"That’s not even a real pose na," Raphael muttered from where he stood nearby, though there was a hint of amusent beneath his usual contempt. His arms were crossed over his chest, but his typical white-knuckle grip had loosened. His explosive Aspect might make him a walking disaster zone, but even he couldn’t maintain his perpetual rage in the face of such ridiculous enthusiasm.
I had to admit there was sothing almost endearing about their stupidity. Almost. The keyword being almost.
Across the deck, Jacob was practically bouncing as he showed Malachi sothing on his datapad while his words tumbled out in that rapid-fire pattern he used when excited about conspiracy theories. His glasses kept sliding down his nose and he’d push them back up without breaking his monologue, a nervous tic I’d co to recognize as a tell for when he was truly invested in a topic.
"See this energy signature pattern? It matches the one from the Singapore Gate incident. The VHC claims it was just equipnt malfunction, but look at these wavelength similarities to the Beirut anomaly from three years ago. That can’t be coincidence!"
His fingers flew across the screen while zooming in on charts and graphs that ant absolutely nothing to
but apparently contained the secrets of the universe according to Jacob’s worldview. The most surprising part wasn’t Jacob’s enthusiasm since that was standard operating procedure for him. No, the real shock was that Malachi was actually listening with his unblinking dark eyes fixed on the screen in what appeared to be genuine interest.
The silent shadow of our group rarely engaged with anyone except Marco, but sothing about Jacob’s conspiracy theories had pierced his usual veil of isolation. Maybe the idea of hidden truths resonated with soone who spent half his existence in a literal shadow realm. Or maybe he was just being polite. Hard to tell with that guy.
Near the snack bar, Emi and Soomin shared a bag of dried fruit with their heads bent together in private conversation that occasionally erupted into giggles. Emi’s sapphire hair caught the sunlight in brilliant flashes whenever she turned her head, and those distinctive antenna strands bobbed with her laughter. Her eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled, a genuine expression so different from the ones I usually wore.
Soomin clutched the edge of her pink cardigan with one hand while reaching into the shared snack bag with the other. Her rose-pink hair fell in a curtain that partially obscured her face as if she were instinctively trying to hide even in this mont of joy.
"He did not say that," Soomin gasped while her fingers twisted in her pink hair with nervous energy despite her smile. Her voice carried just enough for
to catch the words.
"He absolutely did! Right to Professor Valentine’s face!" Emi insisted before dissolving into another fit of giggles. She leaned in closer and likely shared more details too quietly for
to overhear.
From my vantage point, I could see Skylar sitting alone on a bench with her indigo hair and pink highlights moving slightly in the breeze. Her eyes were closed behind her sunglasses and her head was tilted back to catch the sun’s warmth.
One might mistake her for relaxed if not for the way her fingers frantically tapped against her thigh while keeping rhythm to whatever was playing through her headphones. Even in repose, she seed unable to fully let go of her restless energy.
It was strange seeing them all like this. Almost like normal teenagers instead of the traumatized super-soldiers Braxton was attempting to forge us into. I’d spent so much ti analyzing their combat abilities and psychological weaknesses that I’d almost forgotten they were just kids barely out of high school, thrust into a world that wanted to use them as monster-killing weapons.
The thought was oddly discomforting and I pushed it aside before it could take root. Sentint was a luxury I couldn’t afford in this ga. These weren’t friends despite what my traitorous brain might suggest.
They were tools and potential assets, or obstacles in my path to power depending on how the cards fell.
The fact that I needed to remind myself of this was concerning.
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