One Day Later
"How then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?"
A woman covered in a cloak of pure white stood behind a podium.
"And how can they believe in the one whom they have not heard?"
Her words flowed like honey, smooth and sweet, yet their underlying aning was nothing but.
"And how can they hear without soone preaching to them?"
She raised her hand high and called out:
"Oh, heavenly tree. Aether. My father. My mother. Hear my call and-"
Tst!
The holoscreen suddenly turned off, and a tiny remote was thrown into the wall behind it.
Clack...
"Praying Lady, huh? Chick's got so nerve."
Judal's words echoed as he stood up, hitting the oval table he sat adjacent to.
'Tell your brother that.'
Emir rolled his eyes and glanced towards Judas, not hiding his contempt.
The man receiving such stares didn't react one bit, keeping his eyes on Amon, seemingly waiting for him to speak, which he did after a flick of his fingers:
"I bet one thought is dominant in your minds right about now..."
Judal, Judas, Emir, and a few senior professors chuckled in response to his words.
"Who will take the fall?"
Indeed, Amon spoke true. Most of the first-year and second-year professors hadn't yet cented themselves.
Their heads could still be presented to the chopping block.
Since the disaster yesterday, every single one of them tried their best to push the bla onto another.
Especially Emir; they targeted him the most.
But, unfortunately for them, he had already anticipated this and had planned ahead.
All they did was waste their ti, and they realized that too late when Amon himself had excused Emir of any responsibility, as did another senior professor, ntioning how he saved him even with a single arm.
He was described as a hero.
It was funny, and quite ironic, that the one who said that most was the one who least believed
it.
And rather than believe it, he thought the exact opposite.
Since their argunt in the ruin, Amon and Emir had yet to talk.
They were too busy dealing with the aftermath, accounting for their losses, and calming those affected, death threats and all.
Well, that last part was sothing only Emir did, but one could get the gist.
"You needn't worry. Everyone in this room is excused. You may go ho today knowing that your position as a professor is safe."
Sighs of relief t his words; even Evelyn, who wasn't present in the ruin or in the subsequent operation, was worried, so this certainly was a relief for her.
As it was for Ragnar and the other professors who had no cake in the upper levels of the Academy.
"Dismissed."
Without a word, they all stood up from their chairs, exiting the room.
Only three professors remained: Emir, Judas, and Judal.
They glanced at each other and then at Amon, silently asking an obvious question.
But Amon wasn't going to give them an answer, at least not to the twins.
He pointed at them and then at the door, quietly telling them to get out.
'Hoh~...'
Emir chuckled.
It seed that even the principal could hold a grudge.
The two didn't react to his disrespect; knowing when to hold back, they simply stood up and headed to the door.
"I liked the fight..."
Judal glanced at him but didn't stop moving, not wanting to test Amon's limits.
His older brother, however... he had a mind of his own.
Just before he could pass Emir, he leaned forward and pressed hard on his shoulder.
Reaching his ear, he whispered:
"I was serious at the end, you know... Guess Amon never tires of playing favorites."
Almost imdiately picking up on what he was getting at, Emir snickered and waved him off, finding it funny how he was so close to the truth but still so very far.
Judas didn't like that reaction, but not wanting to risk it any further, he exited the room in a
flash, literally.
That was when Amon finally spoke again, ignoring what just happened:
"I still stand by my words."
Emir turned to him.
"...I know."
They looked at each other and then shared a low laugh.
"You've gotten much stronger since I last saw you fight. Your progress is quite terrifying."
Emir shrugged his shoulders.
"I have a few secrets. Besides, like you, I know my way around the embodint thod." Amon opened his mouth, closed it, and then smiled.
"Is that a perk of being an Order's Chosen? Thought I'd be the only one on Earth to know of it."
"No, and you aren't. My students will join us by the end of the year."
"Are you sure about doing that? Won't you be killed by a binding contract of sorts?"
"The one for the soul? For Archons, you an? No, I got nothing like that."
Amon was shocked again, much more than a few seconds ago.
He seriously didn't expect Emir to know this much and it surprised him to no end.
"I... I won't ask why you know of that and just say great... I've always wanted to share this
thod."
Emir nodded.
"Don't worry; it'll fall in the right hands."
"I hope..."
Amon paused his words, wanting to ask a question but hesitating, indicating its sheer weight.
"...Can you tell of your embodint? What's your path?"
Emir chuckled, understanding his hesitation now.
"Will you tell yours?"
Amon shook his head.
"Why should I? You already know, don't you?"
"I do... You're a Devourer, but rather than a snake, you're noble. A wolf. A creature unable to
be mimicked by evil or djinn."
He nodded his head as Emir spoke as if agreeing with each of his words.
"Thanks for the complints."
Emir looked up at the ceiling for a while, then down, his smile disappearing.
"I'm a Puppeteer."
Amon imdiately clutched his hands, muscles flexing as he realized many things at once.
"...Is that why?"
His words were vague on purpose, as neither of them truly wanted to confirm what the other
was thinking.
"Yeah."
The principal leaned back in his chair.
"By all ans, I wish that you'll still love your family and friends after seeing them as they
are."
Emir's smile returned at those words.
"Don't worry. I've already seen all there was to be seen."
"Good. But how about others? , for example?"
"You..."
He took a mont, then pointed at the door with his thumb.
"Have a love-and-hate relationship with those two, even more than . You don't keep Judas around just because it's easier to control a known enemy, but because you want to teach him
what 'good' is."
Amon's eyebrows flinched, not liking how Emir could see through him so.
"...It's nothing close to love. People like them are just easier to handle."
Emir chuckled.
"Really now? You'd say that after 'failing' to catch the attacker?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"What can I say? Went to the other side of the planet but saw no one. I think he dug himself a
hole and hid to be FORGOTTEN about."
Picking up on Amon's not-so-subtle command, Emir shook his head.
"Unfortunately, that wouldn't be so easy. Soone spotted him before he hid."
Amon gave him a knowing look.
"Who knows?"
"...Aquila."
"Only him?"
"Yes."
Clicking his tongue, he quickly realized why Emir revealed Judas's na to the man of Eagle.
"Why... why do you want them killed so bad? I know it's not simple revenge for the fight you
guys had. There's sothing more to it."
"You seem to have forgotten."
Emir leaned back in his chair and looked up, his face appearing nostalgic as if going over
precious mories.
"Templar, I can't annihilate anymore; attacking a state religion isn't feasible. But the Liberation Army? I want them gone."
"I realize that, and you still didn't answer, why?"
His smile widened.
"Raven... So cyborg from who knows where kidnapped . She sent back to her base,
ordering her goons to have so 'fun' with . I was strapped to a chair, under a dangling
bulb, got beat the shit out of... now that I think about it, they were really trying to set the
mood."
Chuckling even more, he added:
"Since that day, I promised their destruction. I'd deliver even at a loss."
Emir looked back at Amon; this ti his face held no familiarity, as if he was looking at a
stranger.
"Will you stop ?"
"....."
They stared at each other for long, both seemingly analyzing whether the man opposite them
would truly pose a threat to their personal objectives.
Both knew this one thing: at tis, usually more often than not, it was better to let a bridge
burn than to watch as the wood rotted, even when the bridge was like no other.
But then, Amon awkwardly coughed and gestured for him to calm down, quickly switching
the subject.
"Alright, alright, enough about that. Let's get to business."
Emir played along with another shrug and waited for him to go ahead.
He did:
"I know you to be a mastermind, so tell how you'd go about finding a mole."
"Simple, you'd just..."
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