32 - Carin City [4]

Kai shuddered. His body trembled ever so slightly at the mention of the Commission.

The awakener squad leader stopped , pausing his intentions of attacking the vampire. Or rather, he resigned from it totally.

Kenivale’s eyes examined him, observing how he was starting to relax as though abandoning the idea of battle.

Such a reaction was expected after all. He was an awakener and one who served under the Commission.

Going against the Commission was similar to an employee revolting against their boss.

Majority of the awakeners in the country served under the Commission’s directives.

...The Awakeners’ Commision, or simply, the AC.

The Commission was the single largest awakeners organization and had the most percentage of awakeners serving under them.

They were recognized by the government and worked hand in hand with them.

The AC was responsible for all awakeners’ testing, assessments and licensing, even for those who would later defect or even never had the intention of serving under them in the first place.

The point was, if one wanted to be an active awakener, they must go through the Awakeners’ Commission first.

Missions assigned to awakeners and even the curriculums given to the academies, all the way down to guild affiliations, were under the jurisdiction of the Commission.

They had the power and the influence, with the numbers to also back it.

It was expected that Kai would turn to a tamed dog who had been instructed by its owner the moment Kenivale mentioned that word — Commission.

"What has the Commission got to do with this?" Kai rebelled shortly after, slightly doubtful, hoping this was merely a tactic from Kenivale to catch him off guard.

At this point, the vampire didn’t mind revealing some details of his true task in Carin City.

Moreover, he would need Kai’s help one way or the other.

He reached for his pocket, taking out a small envelope, which he threw towards Kai.

Kai glanced at it, and then back at the vampire before proceeding to pick it up.

The squad leader then looked around, observing his subordinates who were still expectant for the continuation of their battle.

It wasn’t common to see someone with an S rank ability, like Kenivale, in combat. And from the accounts of those who had been privileged to witness, it was always a sight to behold.

Kai opened the envelope and inside was a single sheet of paper which he took out to read.

A couple of words into the content of this paper, the eyes of the squad leader grew extra wide with surprise.

From then on, his gaze shifted between the vampire and the content of the paper.

It was clear as glass that Kai was in disbelief of what he was reading.

"Wh-What does this mean?"

Kenivale exhaled. "Just what you read. The higher ups have reasons to believe that those people are in Carin City... or somehow have a link here."

Kai clenched his hands into a tight fist, causing it to glisten with the hot light from the condensed flame within his palms.

"That’s impossible!" Kai refuted Kenivale’s words.

The vampire’s lips curled into a devious smile. "So you are saying the Commission is simply making this up?"

Kai froze in that instant.

A wave of realization hit him out of the blue.

What he had insinuated was something akin to treason and he knew what that could cost him.

His fists relaxed and he looked at the vampire with a calmer demeanor. "Not that. I didn’t mean it like that. Just that—"

"...Just that you think it’s impossible for your Carin City to be infiltrated?" Professor Kenivale cut in.

The vampire sighed and then continued. "You might not have taken time to realize this but your Gate manifestation chart has gone up significantly in the last five years. Sure, you have the numbers to de-escalate the break events when they occur. That is probably why you all believe that there’s nothing wrong."

Professor Kenivale raised five fingers for emphasis. "And for the very same past five years, Carin City was studied and investigated, all in an attempt to find a long lasting, or even a permanent solution to this many Gate manifestations. Guess what happens the minute the Commission takes the decision and executes the plan..."

Kai was silent. He couldn’t debate Kenivale’s facts.

"Do you mind telling me or should I just continue?"

He taunted the squad leader. It was as though the vampire wanted to break him into submission with nothing but the truth... truth that revealed the failure of the Carin City.

Kai only looked at him, saying nothing yet.

"The charts start to rise. That was when the Commission started thinking..." Kenivale continued, pointing to the side of his head.

"Were these Gate manifestations really a natural phenomenon? Or was someone or something behind them? Why the sudden increase in the number of Gates per year all of a sudden? Did they feel threatened by the Commission’s growing interest in Carin City? Were they running out of time? Or did they fear they would run out of time if the Commission were to intervene?"

Kenivale clicked his tongue and shook his head. "There were so many unanswered questions and from the looks of it the Commission suddenly having an interest in Carin City was an unexpected variable for them. But the most important question was..."

He paused and raised a finger. "Can you tell me, Kai?"

Kai was starting to get irritated but he didn’t show it.

He knew the vampire was intentionally rubbing it in his face.

"Come on, at least answer this one. You should be able to."

Kai clenched his fists once again. Unfortunately, all that frustration had to be bottled inside him.

"Well, the most important question was..." Kenivale continued. "What were their motives? For what reason were they manifesting so many Gates?"

****

Meanwhile, with a blinding light, I and the rest of the team were ushered into the Level 0 Gate.

It was strangely silent with only the whispers of the wind seeping into our ears.

I looked left and right, and like my mates, I tried to observe my surroundings.

There were no monsters.

What we saw were the large, weathered stone walls that bordered us on the sides, with their surfaces covered in moss.

Before I knew it, Wendy rushed to my side and wrapped her hands in mine.

I sighed.

She never gets used to any Gate-like environment no matter how many times we have done Dummy Gate raids.

We exchanged glances, some shrugging.

As if united by thoughts, we knew what to do.

No. There was only one thing to do.

...Follow the route in front of us. A path that had nothing ahead of it but darkness.