Chapter 138: Awakening [ XVIII ]
Everyone in the city wanted nothing more than to find and kill the bastards who tarnished the graceful image of the school and took the lives of innocent scholars.
Thus, when rumors that the killer had been caught spread across the city, everyone left their tasks and rushed down to the school to see what was happening.
It was nighttime already, but the city was still very bright as many houses and stalls put up glowing crystals to illuminate the area. The streets remained lively despite the late hour.
At this moment, citizens of Yellow River City from all parts rushed towards the school as fast as they could.
"I hope this is not just a rumor!"
"My son was killed! I hope the school burns that bastard—I want to witness it myself!"
"This monster is so evil; he killed everyone and left no survivors. I hope he receives the worst torture ever invented!"
The people voiced their anger and grief as they rushed towards the school. Each street was filled with crowds heading to the same location.
Dragun and Vishirk were among them.
Vishirk ran ahead of Dragun, suddenly serious and quiet after hearing the rumors—quite the opposite of his usual talkative self.
Dragun understood these changes; he knew how Vishirk felt at this moment.
He himself felt emotional, but unlike Vishirk's anger and desire for revenge, what he felt could be described as fear.
According to Vishirk's story the day he found him in the forest, the description of the dark mages who killed his schoolmates matched closely with Xandros and Alister. Heck, even the elements they used were the same.
Dragun naturally felt scared for his life.
At the same time, he was confused—how did the school manage to get their hands on any of them?
Alister was a cold and calculating mage. He was cunning like a snake and could easily escape any situation.
Xandros was a ruthless and aggressive hothead—he would rather die than let anyone capture him.
"Is it really one of them? I understand the school has a lot of powerful magic instructors, but those two are leagues ahead!" Dragun thought to himself.
He didn't really understand his situation right now.
He was only going to the school to see the culprit.
Both of them mixed with the crowd and got closer to the school premises.
After some time, they finally arrived at Wishiros 7th School of Magic.
It was a vast and excellent structure. The buildings inside were like castles for high-ranking royal families. It was guarded with strong and heavy walls, and a large sturdy gate, which was currently open, stood at the entrance of the grand school structure.
A lot of people were standing outside, muttering amongst themselves. The streets were filled to the brim. Some mages who had learned floating magic couldn't help but float into the air in order to witness everything.
Dragun and Vishirk made their way to the front of the crowd for a clearer view.
Not too far away from them, standing in front of the sturdy gate, were seven powerful-looking mages dressed in the same uniforms with the insignia of the school.
Two of them could be seen dragging the disfigured suspect closer to the crowd. The suspect was dressed in a dark cloak; he had black hair and possessed a huge, muscular physique.
Dragun and Vishirk observed his appearance, but it was nothing like the culprits in their minds.
"He is not the one, Senior," Vishirk whispered to Dragun.
Dragun only nodded.
"What is this? He's suspected of a crime he didn't commit? This can only be the handiwork of one person—Alister!" Dragun's mind wandered.
While he was deep in thought, the rioting voices of the crowd behind him erupted, demanding the torture and death of the suspect.
"Torture him and kill him without mercy! He doesn't deserve to live anymore!"
"Chop off his limbs and make him beg for his life, then let the beasts have him!"
"Kill him!"
"Torture him!"
Their voices thundered across the area.
Vishirk could not tell how to react at this moment—the person they captured was nowhere related to the killers he saw. He had black hair and a huge muscular physique, which were the exact opposite of those two.
Vishirk was confused.
He wanted to watch the killer of his schoolmates die, but the killer in question this time was not related to their deaths. He was being falsely accused of a crime he didn't commit!
"Senior, what should we do? He's going to die for a sin he didn't commit," he turned and whispered to Dragun.
Dragun was deep in thought, watching and analyzing the scene, and didn't reply.
The magic instructors holding the suspect made him float into the air.
"Confess your sins!" one of them barked at him, sending a spark of electricity through his body, causing him to groan in pain midair.
The huge figure floating in the air looked at the crowd for a few seconds before opening his mouth to confess.
He told everyone he killed them because he was in dire need of money and wanted to steal the resources with them and exchange them for gold.
His confession was so genuine that Vishirk and Dragun would have believed it if they weren't aware of the real culprits.
Vishirk was perplexed why this person would confess to something he didn't do, knowing full well he would be executed for it. Dragun, on the other hand, wondered what kind of game Alister was playing—he believed only Alister could pull such a thing off. He could not only manipulate situations but also the minds of others; this man could be one of his numerous victims.
While both of them wondered how to react, the floating suspect suddenly halted in his speech and scanned the crowd slowly, his gaze landed on Dragun.
"But I never committed the crime alone. I had an accomplice, and he is here right now," he said, his eyes still fixed on Dragun.
"Show us that worthless accomplice! Both of you will face the wrath of your bloody crimes together!" someone in the crowd shouted.
"He's in the crowd? Good! We'll kill both of you today!"
"Point him out right now!"
"Both of you deserve to go through a painful death for killing my innocent genius. He was only 17!"
The crowd rioted, this time with even more rage in their voices.
Dragun's eyes widened as he saw the suspect's gaze fixed on him.
"Damn!" he cursed inwardly.
"This is definitely the handiwork of that devil—Alister! He already knows of my presence!"