Chapter 73: Change. Evolve..
The voice was cheerful as if he was talking to someone about a festival that was about to take place.
They whirled around, all of them except Julius, who was already resting his back against the wall.
And beside him was a man in his early thirties who wore brown trousers and an overlong black shirt with stains on it. His eyes were light black. He smiled, one of his hands resting against Julius's shoulder.
"Eh? Don't you hear my greetings? HELLO GUYS!"
They heard him.
But they were simply too shocked to reply.
Even Severin, who was expecting something, wasn't expecting something like what was happening.
He got a sinking feeling then, as if stones were thrown into his stomach, dropped right in the middle.
'...shit... the author didn't really go into detail about this character... he is incredibly dangerous...'
And Severin acted.
While others were frozen still in surprise, he acted.
Several things made him act at that moment, but the top of all was the fact that he realized he had grossly underestimated his opponent, and if he didn't do anything, he would die.
Zigi shouldn't be in the room. No matter how much Severin thought and calculated it, it shouldn't be possible, and yet he was staring at the man.
The sheer wrongness of it made him draw his sword. He raised it and threw it, using acceleration on it. And in an instant, the sword was about to pierce Zigi's left eye.
Only for the man to move his head a few inches and for the sword to hit the wall beside him.
The only sound after that was the vibration of the sword as its handle shook.
Zigi and Severin stared at each other in that silence.
The smile on Zigi's face was now lined with a sharp edge. "You missed."
"You dodged," Severin said. His reaction to Zigi had been calculated and instinctive because he felt as if a trap was closing around him once more.
Zigi's hand tightened on Julius's shoulder. "What a curious thing you are. You know my name, and you know to attack immediately when you see me. I wish I could carve you open right here and now to see how your insides will look."
Severin looked at him coldly. His head was tingling with all the calculations he was doing, but he knew it was futile. He wanted to curse himself because, for the first time, he didn't know the plot in the story, and he was messing up.
'...I need to get my head in the game... I'm relying too much on what happens in the book and not how I should deal with things right there in front of me... fuck... how do I get out of this one...'
He felt as if he was facing a test against himself.
His jaw tightened.
'...Scar... Lito... I will pay you back...'
"Where is Celia?" Severin asked. He was going to continue sticking to his plan of buying time.
"Oh, that girl, she's alright. I'm filled with attention right now, and I don't need their attention." His tongue darted out and licked his mouth. "I think you're going to keep me filled for a long time, Severin Reignhart."
Zigi's aura swelled, potent in bloodlust, intent so sharp it felt as if blades were pressed against their necks. Zigi was only a stage above them, and yet it was as if he had fought countless wars and killed numerous people. He had.
Objectively speaking, Zigi isn't powerful, but his Talent Ability, which was mental-based, makes him a very dangerous monster.
Severin resisted a shudder.
But Julius was shuddering. He knew of Severin's plan, and he knew right then that it was all for nothing now that Zigi is in the room with them.
They are dead.
Severin shrugged. "I will keep your attention then, so why don't you let him go? Let Celia go as well while you're at it."
Zigi laughed. "But no matter how interesting you are, Severin, you can't always keep my attention, not while you're dead. I need all the attention I can have, and this room smells of a lot of them. Especially you, Severin, who can make things revolve."
Evolve? Evolve! The single word hit Severin straight in the head.
Severin froze, and a nasty smile came to his face. "I see. It's all becoming clearer."
That word 'Evolve' was something that came about later in the book, closer to the time that the system was eventually destroyed. But the word didn't come alone; it came with the mass killing of important people in the Empire and across the continent.
The people that were killed were those said to be movers—those that could make the political and military powers evolve around them.
Of course, not all of them were killed. A lot, including the MC and his cast, survived this, but the move was enough to put the world into a first defeat that made it very difficult to fight back when the system was destroyed and great monster tides came pouring.
It was the handiwork of the Scar.
But who exactly in the Scar did it remained a mystery, but Severin was already close to solving a mystery that the author didn't care to reveal.
Severin smiled. It was an ugly smile that reeked of hate and gloating. "You fucking bastard of Scar should have just left me be and let us stick to the deal of going our separate ways.
"I would have preferred that you leave me be, but now you have brought me trouble. I will say it again, this Academy is the territory of Severin Reignhart, and any fuckers will be dealt with accordingly."
It was strange.
In just a few seconds, Severin had gone from slightly fearful to fully aggressive and even daring to issue threats. Serena didn't understand because, to her, it felt as if he was bragging, ruffling his feathers to make himself bigger.
But Derrick and Ethan, who had come to know Severin a little, relaxed because he only ever behaved like that when he knew he had the upper hand in a fight.
Surprisingly of all, though, was Julius.