An arrow whizzed through the air with swift speed, tearing through the humanoid construct at the edge of the large training hall, furthered its motion, and pinned itself in the wall.
Thanks to the defensive formations in the training hall, the wall stood, unperturbed by the monstrous attack that could blast apart the head of a beginner or even middle stage Ascendant level lifeform.
"Im getting rusty," contrary to his monstrous skill, Zarek Atrexia felt unsatisfied.
This was how he was — a perfectionist, always thinking he could have done this or that better. His sister would be throwing a tantrum at this behavior of his now, huh. He chuckled at the thought of her.
’That reminds me.’
The crossbow disappeared, an expression that gave it away that he had recalled something important, appearing on his face, as he typed something on the holographic screen, smiled lightly before he sent the message to Kailen Darkhaven.
He had decided to keep an eye on the Harkers and Darkhavens on campus for Kailen. What he had witnessed was something interesting.
Vesper Locke, that two-faced councillor, and the president of the Darkhaven Society were oddly close these days. There was no way the news about some Darkhaven Society members bullying the members of the Sword Tribunal Society and rescued ’coincidentally’ by members of the student council was a coincidence.
He had been observing Ethan Reaverson, thinking the fellow would make some shitty move on Kailen.
"However contrary to my thoughts, he is oddly being calm about the death of his brother. It seems he’s sensible enough to not offend Mr Darkhaven," Zarek mused.
Had he not noticed the sudden closeness between Bryce and Vesper, he would have suspected that Ethan was behind the whole incident related to the Sword Tribunal Society members. After all, Lian Yu — the vice president of the Sword Tribunal Society — had killed his brother and it wouldn’t be surprising for him to think of revenge.
But the sudden closeness between Vesper and Bryce, and the sudden occurrence of the incident, was too difficult for someone like him to not notice that the duo were connected to the incident, especially when the Darkhaven Society was behind the ambush and the student council had "rescued" the members of the Sword Tribunal Society.
"I am sure you’ve discovered that this is a ploy, but you probably don’t know who is behind it. This is a little favor from me. I look forward to riding on your coattails in the future, Kailen Darkhaven," Zarek muttered to himself, before he disappeared from the training hall.
***
Kailen stared at the message that had popped up before him.
[Zarek Atrexia ; Key suspect is likely Vesper Locke. Has been oddly close with your cousin these days.
You welcome]
Initially, he had been suspecting the councilor, Ethan Reaverson, whose brother Lian Yu had killed. However, Zarek shifted his perception of the suspect towards a different light.
Kailen’s eyes squinted slightly when he saw the message. He sent a thank you message to Zarek before he turned to look in the direction of a couple of sad and angry society members.
Several of them had just reported ambushes on them from the Ashton, Darkhaven, Arcane, and some other societies.
Kailen informed them of Zarek’s message then added, "It seems this Vesper Locke did not only get close with this Bryce Darkhaven, he threw his weight around to cause trouble by influencing these other societies to act in his self interest."
Anaya added as a sharp glint flashed through her eyes, "I heard he was the most charitable and well mannered counselor on campus, apart from being the strongest of the councillors. Of course, it turns out it was all a lie."
"Mr president, about Vesper, he helped our group by killing an awakener from the Ashton society , who wanted to harm us during one of our missions, although about five of our society members died before he arrived," a chubby lady from one of the groups decided to speak up.
"That’s all the confirmation we need. Vesper Locke is dangerous. He probably wants to drag me into his circle by making me feel indebted to him for saving my society members for whatever reason he has in mind. This was his reason for orchestrating this ploy."
Kailen’s words settled amongst the members of the society. So this was what was going on. The president was the target of the whole ploy?
But Vesper Locke? Was he not supposed to be some sort of saintly person? Also, why would he go to such an extent to orchestrate this ploy to get the president of the society to trust him and get him into his circle? What was going on here?
These questions flashed in the minds of those present for a moment.
’There’s the possibility of this Vesper Locke being a vimodial contractor if he’s close to Bryce. From what Zarek said, they seem oddly close recently,’ Kailen mused inwardly.
’Also, now that I think of it, how did Bryce suddenly become the president of the Darkhaven Society all of a sudden? I understand that he’s the prince of the Darkhaven Clan, however there are protocols to these things in the academy. The only way to claim the president position of a society is with strength, and he’s clearly not at that level yet. Did this Vesper Locke use his influence to help him claim the president position?’
’I see. If Vesper Locke is a vimodial contractor, then it makes sense that they suddenly became close and how Bryce became a vimodial contractor. Vesper Locke could probably be in one way or the other a key role in Bryce becoming a vimodial contractor,’ Kailen deduced with terrifying precision.
’There’s no doubt about it, Vesper Locke is a vimodial contractor. The reason why he planned this incident to gain my trust is because, just like this the time dilation artifact said — like a vimodial contractor — he’s attracted to my life force and probably wants to find a way to absorb it for himself. Most likely, after he gains my trust, he plans to invite me for a mission in the daunting regions of the academy and then plan to get rid of me there, where there will be no literal evidence of his actions.’
Kailen’s eyes shone with an intelligent and ferocious glint.
’Let’s make use of this opportunity then. Vesper Locke, you messed with the wrong person. I have the perfect plan in mind for you.’
Kailen turned to his society members awaiting his decision on how to handle the whole thing. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelꞁire.net
"Leave Vesper Locke to me. I have a way to get rid of him." Ignoring the shocked expressions on the faces of his society members — who were probably thinking his words were incredulous because, inasmuch as Kailen was strong, Vesper Locke was an extremely powerful individual Kailen could not hold his candle against at the moment — Kailen added, "As for the first years of the societies that colluded with him, crush them during their missions, in ranking battles and even in the life and death arenas. This is the perfect opportunity for us to bare our fangs and bite them where it hurts the most."