SHAMAN PROTOCOL-Chapter 120: But Thanks To You

Meanwhile, the Old Building and its surrounding area were closed off by newly arrived agents from Zone Zero. The faculty members were also there to help, but most had left to look after their students as classes were canceled for the day.

Mister Nocty, however, stood motionless beside Jake. The latter was overseeing everything, his expression solemn as he watched everyone.

"Nocty, this is not the time for you to be looking at me," Jake muttered, lifting his eyes to a window in the building to see some shadows inside. "This is a horrible incident... and you should be preparing to relay the news to the students’ families."

Yet, everything he said didn’t seem to reach Mister Nocty’s ears. The teacher was too busy staring at him, studying him from head to toe.

His brows crinkled. "Your leg..." he trailed off, looking up at Jake in surprise.

"What about it?" Jake glanced at his foot and lifted it a bit. "Ah... this one’s new, since the last one broke."

"Broke?"

Jake furrowed his brows, tilting his head a little to the side. "Nat, you’re being really strange. It’s only been a year since we last shared a drink, but you’re looking at me as if I came back to life."

Because you did.

But Mister Nocty’s thoughts didn’t succeed in leaving his mouth. All he could do was stare at his old friend in disbelief before his eyes fell on Jake’s leg once more.

"By ’new’... you mean a prosthetic, right?" he asked, despite knowing how stupid that might have sounded.

Jake sighed, facing his old friend squarely. He assessed Mister Nocty before nodding.

"I’ll be with you later," he said. "For now, I suggest you also rest and let one of my agents check your well-being."

He paused and lifted his gaze to the building, catching two agents walking out. "After all, I can’t blame you if you’re also disoriented by the Cursed Labyrinth’s trigger."

"I’ll let you know about everything," he said, squeezing Mister Nocty’s shoulder and nodding at him. "Rest for now, because the Headmaster will surely be calling you."

Having said that, Jake slapped Mister Nocty’s back before striding off. But Mister Nocty could only stare at his friend, who was very much alive, when he was certain he had died decades ago.

"What in the world... is going on? How is this possible?"

****

Mister Nocty would have stayed outside the old building if not for an agent telling him to come with her. Even though he was a faculty member, he was treated as a victim just like the students who had survived the catastrophe.

After the usual protocol—including a special psychology test—he rested in one of the available infirmaries all by himself.

"Is this... is this still an illusion?" he wondered to himself. "That’s the only explanation for this."

Seated on the edge of the bed, he had his arms resting over his legs. His expression shifted with every passing breath, unable to wrap his head around the situation. It wasn’t that he wasn’t happy if this was real, but he knew if he didn’t figure out what was happening, he and Mikel might have been swallowed by a very realistic illusion.

Amidst his thoughts, a knock on the door snapped him out of them. Looking up, the door creaked slightly, revealing Butler Basil. Floating behind him was the blanket ghost.

"Headmaster!" Mister Nocty jumped from his seat, rushing to them just as they closed the door. "Headmaster, something is terribly wrong."

Butler Basil furrowed his brows while the headmaster froze, before the blanket ghost turned around for a quick eyemask change. When the headmaster faced him again, he was wearing a more serious yet cartoonish expression.

"Nocty, calm down," the headmaster’s youthful voice echoed. "There is no need to rush."

Mister Nocty stared at the headmaster’s action, thinking how on point it was. Then, he shifted his eyes to Butler Basil.

"Butler Basil," he called, then looked at the headmaster. "Are the two of you real?"

Butler Basil and the headmaster didn’t answer. The two of them just stared at the clearly distraught teacher, and they couldn’t blame him.

That was a Cursed Labyrinth. It wasn’t just any cursed zone, but a cursed zone powerful enough to give the elite members of Zone Zero a hard time. Being in the Cursed Labyrinth was enough to make even a Zone Zero member question reality.

"Mister Nocty, why don’t we sit down first?" Butler Basil suggested politely. "Then, we can assure you that this is real."

Mister Nocty darted his eyes between them and eventually agreed. Once they were seated, the headmaster didn’t waste a second, pulling aura around him to ensure his faculty members had nothing to worry about. After all, illusions, no matter how realistic, couldn’t imitate the headmaster’s aura—mainly because of his unique spiritual energy.

Mister Nocty almost choked at the brief unleash of power. Yet, despite the short duration, he felt the pressure on his entire body even now that it was gone. Still, the pressure had somehow made his tensed muscles relax.

"Are you calm now?" the headmaster asked, slumped on the bed next to where Mister Nocty was. Meanwhile, Butler Basil stood near the end of the bed, his eyes on Mister Nocty. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Yes." Mister Nocty gulped, nodding at them.

The headmaster rocked his head mildly, studying the distraught Mister Nocty. "Nocty, there are many things I’d like to discuss with you. However, Jake approached me and told me about his concerns about you. And seeing you now, I agree with him. You need to rest as well until you find your peace."

Mister Nocty kept his mouth pressed in a thin line, holding his hands on his lap. Once the headmaster stopped, he looked up at the blanket ghost with a pale expression. "Headmaster, something strange is happening."

Just the fact that this happened was already strange, but the headmaster understood Mister Nocty was referring to something else.

Mister Nocty gulped as he looked around before leaning closer. "Jake is alive, but he shouldn’t be. He died in that fire! There’s no way he should be here!"

Deep lines instantly appeared on Butler Basil’s brows upon hearing that.

"He shouldn’t be..." Mister Nocty trailed off, leaning back as he realized the headmaster was not moving. He glanced in Butler Basil’s direction and noticed the confusion on his face too.

"Nocty, what are you saying?" the headmaster asked curiously, watching Mister Nocty look back at him. "Jake would have died in that fire, but thanks to you, he survived. Although we couldn’t save his leg."