Chapter 7: Realization
11:04 AM (Japan Time), Monday October the 18th…
"… Sheesh. I knew it! The jetlag and the lack of enough sleep showed up! I've somehow managed to battle it and remained focused for the three first lessons of the day but now…"
"Why are ya the only one who gets the fun?"
"Gonta!"
"Yikes! Ms. President!"
"Do you think it was fun to battle a robot designed to fool you into believing it's your brainwashed friend? Or be about to fall into an underground river? Or be cut to pieces by a swarm of 16 robots? Do you find them funny, Gonta?"
"No, no…"
"Yikes!"
"And who set that whole thing up?"
"Some jerk named "Centurion" the identity of which we don't know yet…"
"It has to be a very cruel man to come up with such setups…"
"Laugh at King. His setups were silly. The only deadly thing he had was Joker, but he blew himself up! Oe trouble less!"
"Never liked the jerk! Came out of nowhere and immediately got VIP condition as if he'd always been King's dog to yank at the chain… But the jerk's gone, anyway! And won't be coming back."
The students chatted inside of their classroom during break time.
Subaru yawned, Gonta complained, Luna scolded him, Jack rambled, Kizamaro was scared, and Kiboyama was angry.
"Sabatus Malignus Repelignus has come to tell you guys you're fired!"
"What the…?" Luna fumed.
"Rock. Stop corrupting "scientific" names!"
"Magnficus Terrificus Fighterus Warus Rockus has come to blow everything up Sicilian Style!"
War Rock laughed as he showed up in the middle of the classroom.
"Stop meddling around!" Ox grumbled.
"How cultural of you!" Mode protested.
"I predict a 77% chance of Hell breaking loose…"
"No wonder!" Kizamaro grimly muttered.
"Buro~! Wanna brawl, silly head?" Ox challenged.
"Ya asked for it!"
"Go to the Bermuda Labyrinth! There you won't bother anyone else! Sheesh! Don't start destroying the academy!" Subaru growled.
"Go to the Be-something!" Gonta added.
"Bermuda Labyrinth, Gonta – kun!" Kizamaro corrected.
"That's an exotic dish?"
Luna stomped his right foot with violence, and he yelped as he grabbed it and jumped around.
"BEHAVE! THIS IS THE SCHOOL! NOT A FIXED PRICE RESTAURANT! WHEN I SAY STUDY THEN YOU STUDY AND SHUT THE TRAP UP! GOTCHA~?"
"R-roger, ma'am…!" He groaned.
"NOW SIT DOWN AND SHUT YOUR TRAP! OR ELSE MY ANGER WILL BE TERRIBLE TO WITNESSS! DO YA GET WHAT I MEAN? THEN SIT ON THAT CHAIR AND USE YOUR BRAINS!"
"Brainssss…!" War Rock laughed.
"Buro~! Last one buys a Rare Battle Card!" Ox taunted.
"Wha~t? Ya jerk! Wait there! I'll beat ya~!"
Both warped out of the classroom, and they sighed in relief.
Subaru stood up and headed outside into the corridor, and, from there, into the men's toilet.
He opened a faucet and soaked his hands in cold water before splashing his face and rubbing his eyes.
He didn't notice "Centurion" standing behind him, holding a sword with a golden hilt and a pale green blade on the right hand.
"Die…" He announced.
"What!?"
The blade was driven through him, with blood splattering across the sink and ground as Subaru remained frozen.
"Fool. That would be too simple. Farewell!"
Subaru blinked and looked around before glancing down at his chest.
He didn't have any wounds. yet there was blood around the area.
He crouched to check it out and realized that it "distorted" as he tried to check it out from close range.
"What the… Holograms? Where have I heard that foreign accent before? Too simple? What could be worse than this?" He cursed.
"That voice…!"
Kiboyama came in, muttering something and frowning.
"Kiboyama – kun?"
"That voice…! That voice…! I know it…! From somewhere…! I think it was someone I knew, someone important…!" He muttered.
"Heck. What's this, a foreshadowing cliché or beating around the bush? Who's in charge of this?" Subaru sarcastically muttered.
"That'd be Uncle Sam! Zubari~!"
"Hell! Not you again, War Rock!"
"Did you meet Hikaru and his maddening behavior, maybe~?"
War Rock had started a call to Subaru's device.
"The height didn't match! Not even Hikaru would bother to come up with something like that. He'd rather beat me by kicking and punching at me!"
"Gino Il Napolitano~! Have you considered playing that "forbidden game" with Zubi? Where you boss him as if ya were his CO and he obeys?"
"I never do anything forbidden! Unlike you, sir!"
"Then ya miss out a good deal of life~!"
"I don't think you know what life is for normal people, War Rock…"
"LEONEL!" Vadous roared.
"Uncle Sheldon came to fire me~!"
"Sheesh! Subaru! Kiboyama! There'll be a briefing at WAXA this afternoon at 6PM, so make sure to be there! Burai's forwarded information which basically gives away who "Centurion"!" Vadous told them.
"What are we going to do with Ferné?"
"I contacted an old colleague of his father and Hibiki told him about the dialogue she'd overheard. Given how he was under extortion, his crimes won't be severely punished. They're going to protect him in case "Centurion" tries to shut them up. But I rather believe he won't do anything to increase their fears!"
"Uncle Roger! The inheritance of Uncle Roger!"
"By all the… Stop hijacking transmissions!"
"Do it, Boss, do it…"
"Catch me firstly! I'll find Gonta's hidden stock of Korn, Kir and Chianti followed by the Martini!"
"Stop saying nonsense!"
07:07 AM (Normandy Time)…
"Who's knocking at my door…? Marie and Sophie… The breakfast must be ready, then…"
Ferné climbed out of his bed and put on a brown bath robe over his navy blue buttoned pajamas.
He slipped in black wool slippers.
He headed over to the door and opened it to see both Marie and Sophie standing on the corridor while looking nervous.
One of them was holding out the sealed letter.
"M-Master! The hostage… is gone!" One of them reported.
"What? Gone?" He gasped.
"There was a rope in the chimney! Someone helped the hostage climb into the roof, yet… They did not jump down to the ground because the alarms did not go off! They could have used that "gateway" technology Master used to warp the vehicle into the underground room…"
"What's that, Marie?"
"We found it on the hostage's room, Master… We are not sure what it says but we believe it is addressed to you, Master…"
Ferné grabbed the envelope, unsealed it, and drew out the paper.
"What? "Alexander Ferné. You better follow these instructions if you want to get out of this mess alive. First, get rid of the device. Grab whatever belongings you have and go to the nearest police station. Speak with Inspector Lerui, a colleague of your father. He's been briefed. If it's not asking for too much, bring the "Book of Glyphs" along so that I can return it to the original owner. You better do it before "Centurion" gets a hold that Hibiki has escaped, if he hasn't already. I'm pretty sure he won't get to kill you because he prefers to keep people afraid of him so he's going to forget you soon. Point is: GET THE HELL OUTTA THERE ASAP. Vadous." … Marie, Sophie! Grab your belongings, we're leaving! We must!"
"Roger, Master!"
"And you better not try to do any strange stuff! I didn't like her complains about your snooping, you know!"
"Please forgive us, Master. We were about to commit a sin which should have been punished by…" They started saying at unison.
"I know the rest! I was taught that as well! Move!"
"Roger, Master!"
Ferné ran into a bathroom and shut the door.
He emerged a few minutes later, dressed into his uniform.
He ran upstairs and turned on the fireplace to toss the device inside of it and let it burn.
He rushed back downstairs and readied, a suitcase including the glass case containing the famed "Book of Glyphs" inside.
He climbed two sets of stairs and opened a door leading outside, into the walled perimeter.
He ran down the right side of the house and entered a garage, where the green car was parked.
"We gotta get away! I'm glad this tale's over! I don't think that she will dedicate any time to me, and I don't mind! I was not interested on her from an emotional point of view. I prefer to recognize people by their behavior and personality rather than by their gender or age..."
He opened the trunk and tossed the suitcase inside.
Marie and Sophie ran into the garage while carrying two suitcases as well.
Ferné climbed into the driver's seat while the other two sat on the rear.
The only way I can tell them apart is by their voice and slight height difference given how they are twin sisters to begin with… I'll have a talk with my aunt over their behavior. This manor was just a place that man readied because it was convenient! I won't miss it!
17:55 PM (Japan Time)…
"… Good afternoon! It's been a while, Mr. Amachi. Mr. Utagai. Chief. And Dr. Yoiri…"
"Welcome, Subaru – kun!"
"It's b-b-been a w-w-while…"
"Come on, Utagai… Shake off that nervousness!"
"Swan Lake showed up!"
"That doesn't affect me. I'm too clever to fall for that!"
"My, my… What burning youth!"
"Can we save those comments for later, please?"
Subaru came into the WAXA Command Room and met with the other participants of the meeting.
He began to exchange greetings and War Rock tried to provoke Cygnus, but he was unfazed.
"What… it's funnier when they get annoyed!"
"Then you're a bully, Rock. Only bullies behave like that!"
"…Sheesh! Always with the same narrative!" He played the offended.
"As always!" Cygnus muttered.
"He did that in Planet FM, too?" Subaru deduced.
"Obviously. When he did something wrong, he'd always play the offended! the only ones who fell for the taunts were either Ox or Wolf. Speaking of Wolf, he's still around?"
"Mr. Ogami the gardener in Kodama Elementary, is his partner. He sometimes becomes more excited than Wolf does, and Wolf must place some limits on him!"
"Somewhat ironic, even…"
"Pororon! But at least he was good at stalling for time…" Harp commented.
"Sure! The guy kept me busy and put up some fight even though he was at elemental disadvantage!"
"Interesting…" Queen Tia muttered.
"Guess I was too hot-headed to do things properly, anyway!"
"By the way, Shidou. It is about your consumption of corn snacks, yet…"
"Be quiet, omnipresent proxy messenger hired and paid by Lucy and his minions!" He sarcastically snapped at him.
"I cannot find such an entry in our databases…"
"Chief! Air Display request…"
"Connect it!" The Chief commanded.
Vadous and his armchair showed up on the "Air Display".
He was both nervous and tired.
"Hello. I've been nerve-racking ever since I put the last pieces of the puzzle together and figured what's going on. I now know the identity of "Centurion"! The man had the guts to form a hologram which "killed" Subaru! Given how it was but a hologram, it did no harm. Yet that was a warning! The man can pop out of nowhere in a totally silent manner, act, and vanish. He's already managed to make me go hysteric!" He admitted.
"By all the…" Daigo cursed.
"Burai checked the crypt. Surprise! There was a new message left there using oil-based spray paint! Using Mu Glyphs!"
"Mu Glyphs!" Subaru gasped.
"That set everything into motion. Combine that with the info that it was the On'Setsu Kingdom the one to revere that "High One" deity, too, and what you get? There's only living human on Earth who could come up with all this and be able to write a modern message using signs which are millennia old…" Vadous continued.
"No way…! That guy…!"
"And we thought we'd seen the last of the guy a month ago!"
"That man…!" Subaru hissed.
"It's exactly who you think it is!"
"… Prince Kuroban Howsad…!" Subaru growled.
"Bloody hell!" Jack cursed.
"Devil!"
"Who's that?" Gonta asked.
"A terrific guy!" Subaru cursed next.
"Remember the burnt-out house in Evreux? And the painting on the wall? The painting was a red herring! The house had to be a hideout, a lab! Because he must've genetically engineered a new body for him with his real appearance and age! I stake anything that the bloody "Ultimate Orb" contained the exact DNA coding to allow for him to achieve that! The man had been to the "Palace" site! Probably copied the technology that Anaya, the "Ice Queen" had there. The helmet thing must've been another red herring to make us believe in a connection to Hyde!"
"The man's roaming out there ready to strike and vanish without a trace. Hell! At this rate the whole city will be filled with corpses!"
"But I believe that, given his role, it'd be dishonorable to kill anyone outside of a battle. He'll most likely go after Rock Man, and he may try to start a fight with Harp Note or Acid Ace as well! The Three Musketeers could be dragged into the picture, too…" Vadous muttered.
"Now we have to hope he doesn't use civilians as bait or as extortion… That'd be the last thing we'd need!"
"What a…" Subaru uttered as he brandished the right fist.
Kuroban! If you show up in front of me, then I'll finish what I couldn't do! I'll delete you, ghost of the ancient past! I won't hesitate!