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Underneath the Silhouette-Chapter 71: The Outcome
Chapter 71: The Outcome
"Eirin!"
The teenage girl opened her eyes and saw another man wearing the same black mask as the man who had carried her. "It’s me, Link," he pointed to himself as he turned to the man carrying Eirin.
"Thank you for your help, Pierre," Link said, confirming the identity of her rescuer. The young man steadied Eirin, helping her stand on her own as she looked behind them.
"Stop taking my prey away!"
Her eyes landed on Shade still floating in the air and couldn’t move on his own. His eyes were still blood red, and the moment their eyes met, Eirin felt her birthmark near her neck throbbing causing her to fall on her knees.
"Eirin? What’s happening? Are you okay?
Eirin screamed in pain while Shade’s laughter, a deranged sound, permeated her ears. It was as if someone was pressing a white-hot iron onto her neck, and she could only shriek in response.
Link tried to help Eirin stand, but her knees were like water. Pierre and the other men converged, trying to subdue Shade, but he fought them off with terrifying strength, his blood-red gaze still fixed on Eirin, shouting her name.
The miasma continued to swirl, a suffocating, inky cloud that burned the eyes and choked the breath, forcing reinforcements to wear masks. As they tried to secure a mask onto Shade, he thrashed violently, refusing to calm, his frightening gaze still locked on Eirin.
There’s no way to stop the miasma from spreading beyond the perimeter; the wizards, their faces strained, could only try to condense it into the town, weaving a protective barrier around.
"Eirin Luxfield."
Eirin looked up, panting, her gaze finding her professor’s face. Mr. Blade, his own features etched with concern, gently helped Eirin pull away from Shade’s presence. As she moved farther, the burning pain near her neck, the throbbing in her birthmark, receded, replaced by a dull ache.
That’s when she noticed the tight, wary expression on Mr. Blade’s face as he looked at her.
Mr. Blade cleared his throat, his gaze heavy. "You have unlocked your ability." Those words made Eirin’s forehead crease in confusion. How did the news get to the young professor so fast? Only Coleen was aware of Eirin’s ability awakening, so how could Mr. Blade possibly realize?
Eirin tilted her head after Mr. Blade stopped talking, his gaze still fixed on her, intense and unreadable, as if he saw something unsettling on her face.
"Sir, I needed to inform you about the—"
Mr. Blade immediately covered Eirin’s eyes the instant Pierre appeared behind him, a sudden, protective motion. The teenage girl froze, her eyes wide beneath Mr. Blade’s palm, bewildered by the young professor’s abrupt reaction.
Even Pierre, forced to withdraw at the moment, seemed confused by the professor’s odd behavior.
Eirin’s forehead creased as she pulled Mr. Blade’s hand away from her face. She watched him pull a pair of sunglasses from his pocket and, with unexpected force, made her wear them.
"Sir, I don’t understand why should I—"
"It is for the better that you wear this. No questions asked.
Although confused, Eirin complied with her professor’s insistent command and wore the sunglasses. "What will happen to the villagers exposed to the black miasma?" Eirin asked. "And how will we get rid of it to help them?"
"The academy is trying their best to find a solution to the problem. However, while we’re finding a way, the only thing we could do right now is to contain everyone in this place and prevent any tainted people from leaving."
Eirin stared at the ground, her heart sinking with a leaden weight as she comprehended that the academy had no concrete solution for the escalating problem.
"Do not worry. Scarlett will do her best to find a cure for them all."
Those words didn’t comfort the teenage girl. Instead, a wave of piercing guilt washed over her. After all, she had just escaped from the very person tirelessly trying to find that cure.
"What would happen to the four of us then?" Her voice was barely a whisper, thick with unspoken dread, as she fiddled with her fingers, unable to summon the courage to meet her professor’s gaze.
Eirin felt Mr. Blade’s hand settle on her shoulder, prompting her to look up. She saw a reassuring smile on the teacher’s face, a rare sight amidst the chaos. "Follow me," he said.
Eirin trailed after Mr. Blade until they had moved a considerable distance from the crowd.
"Close your eyes."
A tremor ran through Eirin, but she swallowed hard and obeyed, her eyelids fluttering shut. Mr. Blade offered no further instruction, simply stepping away from the teenage girl. The silence and his sudden distance felt unsettling.
"Ei!"
Eirin’s eyes snapped open, the sensation of an embrace enveloping her. Coleen, her face streaked with tears. Eirin glanced around, her gaze encompassing nothing but a vast, sterile expanse of white. Link offered a faint, weary smile as he waved, and Eirin’s eyes then settled on Shade Cromwell, sprawled unconscious on the ground.
"Where are we?" Eirin murmured.
"In a special chamber made by Sir Blade. They said we need to spend some time here to cleanse the miasma out of our system," Link answered, his attention still divided as he tended to Shade Cromwell.
Coleen then pulled away from Eirin, her gaze fixed intently on her fingernails as she picked at them. The blinding luminosity of the monochromatic space made Eirin squint. Like confined within a clinical, stark ward, that’s how it felt. Silence filled the chamber, with only the hushed sound of the four of them present.
"I’m sorry," Coleen whispered, her voice barely audible, gagged with remorse. Eirin leaned closer, struggling to discern the girl’s words.
Coleen’s face, however flushed a deep crimson. Her eyes glued to her hands, too ashamed to meet Eirin’s gaze. The memory of running away when Eirin needed help was a heavy burden, the words of apology lodged in her throat.
Eirin smiled. Without needing to hear the explicit apology, Eirin felt the urge to console her friend. She patted Coleen’s head, a gentle gesture that made Coleen startle, lifting her gaze.
"You’ve got nothing to apologize for."
Coleen’s eyes welled up anew, drawing a soft giggle from Eirin as she enveloped her in a comforting hug. Soon after, Eirin’s irresistible curiosity about their departure from the town made her ask the two.
The moment they met Mr. Blade, they had to remain in the current chamber, Link and Coleen showed no hesitation explaining all of it.
’Then, what about Shade Cromwell?’ Eirin’s gaze fixed on Shade Cromwell, who lay prone and insensible, his arms and legs securely bound.
Eirin stared at the young man, vivid recollections flashing through her mind: how she had nearly perished by his hands, yet also how she had almost killed him in retaliation.
The teenage girl clenched her fist, a knot of conflicting emotions twisting inside her, as she moved further away from Shade. She knew the young man was not in his right mind... she knew that, yet...
Coleen stared at Eirin, and to the young man on the ground. "What happened with Shade?"
Eirin flinched. "H-Huh? What do you mean?"
"Well, he suddenly bolted the moment he emerged from the crystal. He was absolutely furious after learning we’d left you all alone there... that’s why I thought—Eirin?"
Eirin found herself unable to answer, her hand flying to her chest, convinced they would surely discern the frantic thrum of her heart.
"Did Shade do something terrible?" Coleen immediately held Eirin’s hand. "You know how he gets whenever he inhales miasma, right? He succumbs to its influence."
’Then why would he do that? Why would he come back for me, risking his very existence?’
The teenage girl’s thoughts swirled in confusion as she stared at the unconscious young man. She found it unfathomable. If the man genuinely loathed her, why would he sacrifice his sanity just to go back for her?
’Just what am I to you, Shade Cromwell?’
Eirin shook her head. "What do you guys think about my... Flair?" Trying to talk about something else.
Eirin explained what happened, omitting the fact that Shade attempted to kill her. She wondered if it was normal to lack command over her abilities and to be unable to utilize them effectively.
"No, that’s completely normal for beginners. Look at me, I’m already 15 but I still can’t control my Flair," Coleen smiled and reassured Eirin, but she soon stared at the floor, as if stung by the very words she spoke.
Coleen managed a brittle smile. "You don’t have to worry. It’s indeed normal for beginners to lose even more control, especially when newly awakened. But you’re Ei, I’m sure you’ll gain masterly soon." Her words were imbued with sincerity, yet the underlying sorrow in her eyes troubled Eirin.
"I—"
Eirin stopped herself, her curiosity abruptly obstructed by the fear of inflicting further pain on Coleen. She didn’t want to press the issue, recognizing it as a particularly delicate matter.
"Anyway, you can finally join all the classes. Even those ability-type classes."
"What about our mission?"
Link shrugged. "I suppose we did succeed in identifying the Phoenix, who turned out to be Miss Scarlett Jenkins. But we were unable to escort her to the academy, so I guess we also met with partial failure?"
The four had no choice but to remain confined within the monochromatic chamber, its white walls and flooring enclosing them for a grueling twelve hours. Meals had been prepared beforehand, but Shade showed no signs of waking up. Thus, the three decided to partake in their meal alone, while recounting their recent ordeal.
It didn’t take long before the chamber began collapsing, and the students were instantly transported inside the Director’s office.
The Queen, Regina Virelli, looked at the four, her eyes heavy with palpable concern. She pressed a hand to her temples, a gesture of quiet distress, before rising from her seat and advancing towards the teenagers.
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