Finn reached the doorstep of the familiar cottage, a large white nylon bag clutched in his hand, filled to the brim with a variety of snacks.

A shopping spree that had cost Finn all of his weekly credits from the academy.

He groaned as he stared at its contents once again.

"Is this too much?"

Estes sighed and rolled lazily on the soft cushions of air around her.

"Your friend just got discharged, and you weren’t there to take him home. You disappeared when he needed you the most. What do you think, Finn?"

Finn stifled a groan as his stomach rumbled in protest.

Then he grabbed the knob and twisted it softly, pushing open the door and stepping into the warmly lit interior of the cottage.

His gaze immediately met Terrence and Doram.

Doram was lying on the bed, his forehead heavily bandaged while he remained buried beneath a mountain of blankets. Terrence sat right beside him.

At Finn’s entrance, they both turned toward him. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Finn expected them to be angry. Even if they didn’t show it on their faces, he had expected to see disappointment somewhere in their eyes.

However, it was anything but that.

If anything, they looked excited to see him back.

Finn raised the bag of snacks high into the air and shrugged.

"I’ve got snacks."

At that, Doram stretched out both hands dramatically and smiled.

"How did you know? I’m starving."

Terrence simply reclined against the bedrest and smirked.

"Look who’s playing mummy today."

Finn choked, coughing several times before throwing Terrence a tired glance.

"Shut up."

He sat down beside Doram and placed the bag between the three of them.

They instantly grabbed one snack each and began devouring them at full speed.

Finn took one as well, but despite his hunger, he ate slowly.

After the battle he had gotten into with Edmund’s goons, he would have sworn he had lost all appetite.

But thanks to skipping the general dinner, his stomach protested louder than his mood desired.

The group remained silent for a while, each of them picking through the pile of snacks while basking in the comfort of their own thoughts.

Finn found himself replaying the events of the previous night.

The fight against Edmund’s men.

Whether he would somehow get identified despite the mask.

And what would happen next.

Then there was the evolution that could arrive at any moment.

How would it happen?

And more importantly...

What would become of him afterward?

Would he grow stronger internally?

Or perhaps physically, becoming something closer to a Corrupted Beast?

Or maybe he would slowly begin to resemble the horrifying abomination known as the Faceless Knight.

The questions grew increasingly overwhelming, circling endlessly inside his head.

And before any of the boys realized it...

They had all fallen asleep.

---

Morning arrived once again, and all the recruits were present in their large classroom.

Some chatted amongst themselves while others sat quietly waiting for the lesson to begin.

Finn, Doram, and Terrence occupied their usual seats together, remaining silent as they awaited Sir Antonio’s arrival.

While Finn sat lost in thought, a few words drifted into earshot from a group of recruits seated not too far away.

At first, it didn’t seem important, and he ignored it.

But as time passed, he caught another piece of their conversation.

Then another.

Until one particular word reached his ears.

...Mask.

Finn immediately sat a little straighter.

He listened more carefully, hoping the conversation wasn’t about what he thought it was.

"—See, it can’t be a rumor. I myself saw the Faceless Savior," one of them said, his voice dripping with certainty.

"You saw him? What a joke. You were in bed snoring your way into oblivion yesterday night. Besides, according to the reports, this Faceless guy trashed three students a few minutes before curfew. They even caught part of it on camera."

"That’s biased. You’re speaking based on a camera recording, but I know one of them—Riley. He told me everything that happened. It’s a monster disguised as a human."

Another voice suddenly cut through the argument.

"Well, I don’t care. As long as it’s Edmund’s goons that got attacked and not me, I count that as fair. Karma came full circle."

Finn facepalmed.

He had expected the story to spread throughout the academy.

Just not like this.

Wearing a mask had worked well.

Maybe too well.

Now he was receiving absurd nicknames that made him grimace internally.

’Faceless Savior! Demonic Devourer! Bully Breaker! Ugly Shadow! Shy Protector?! Are people stupid or something?!’

Estes giggled but wisely kept her comments to herself.

Finn scoffed and rubbed his temples, doing his best to block out any further cringe-worthy titles being assigned to him by the public.

Then he heard a familiar voice beside him.

Doram laughed and tugged on Finn’s sleeve.

"What?!"

Doram’s grin widened.

"What do you think about Faceless?"

Finn’s eyes widened in horror before narrowing into utter disappointment.

’Not you too.’

"Some people think he’s a monster humanoid, while others think he has some personal grudge against Edmund. But I’ll tell you a secret, Finn."

Doram paused dramatically before chuckling.

"I know who the Faceless Demon is."

Finn nearly froze.

His eyes widened as panic flashed through him.

Still...

Figuring it out shouldn’t have been impossible for someone like Doram or Terrence.

After all, the masked man had appeared on the exact same day Doram got beaten up by Edmund, and Finn had left the clinic around the same time the mysterious vigilante supposedly showed up.

He groaned internally and opened his mouth to respond.

Then—

"The Faceless Savior is a woman."

"What?!"

"Yes, it all fits."

Doram nodded enthusiastically before launching into a surprisingly detailed explanation supporting his theory.

Point after point.

Evidence after evidence.

Meanwhile, Finn slowly zoned out.

’How does he even have solid points proving I’m a woman...?’

His eye twitched.

’And the painful part is... they actually sound convincing.’

Eventually, Finn’s attention drifted elsewhere.

Toward the back rows of seats.

There he spotted Fey, Clara, and several other students he vaguely recognized as members of Edmund’s group.

Strangely enough...

There was no sign of Edmund himself.

Finn couldn’t help but wonder how his little stunt as the Faceless... whatever, had affected the ruthless bully.

Hopefully, his declaration of war wouldn’t end up becoming his downfall.