Chapter 36: The Weight of Truth
The walk back to Devil Blade Academy stretched long and heavy under the steel-gray sky. Liam and Emily moved in near-total silence, the only sounds the steady crunch of their boots on the rocky path and the occasional distant cries of spirit beasts echoing from the Blade Wilds. The air felt thicker than usual, charged with everything left unsaid between them.
Blood still stained Liam's torn outer-sect robes in dark, crusted patches, though most of it had dried during the journey. Emily kept stealing sideways glances at him, her silver ponytail swaying gently with each step.
The refined sap she had received still hummed warmly through her meridians, restoring her strength and clearing the last traces of poison, yet her mind refused to settle. She wanted desperately to speak, about the burning village, about the cold efficiency with which Liam had ended every life there, about the strange, gentle smile he had given her when she caught him falling from the sky.
But every time the words rose to her lips, they died in her throat. What could she even say to someone who had just massacred an entire settlement without a flicker of emotion?
I walked beside her with the same calm, almost detached grace I always carried. Anki remained sheathed at my side, as if the blade itself had never been drenched in blood. My blind eyes faced forward, unseeing yet somehow aware of everything around him.
The silence between them grew thicker with every mile, pressing down like the oppressive sky above.
By the time they passed through the outer academy gates, the sun had climbed high, casting long shadows across the obsidian training fields. Without discussion, they headed straight for the Mission Pavilion, a squat black building buzzing with the usual activity of outer disciples checking quest boards and turning in completed tasks.
The moment the we stepped inside, several heads turned. Whispers rippled through the hall like wind through dry leaves at the sight of the blood-covered duo. Some students stepped back instinctively, eyes wide with curiosity and unease.
Emily approached the central counter first, her movements crisp and confident. She placed her mission slate on the glowing crystal surface. "Shadow Lurker subjugation completed. Requesting verification and reward."
The clerk, a middle-aged man with a thin mustache and sharp eyes, scanned the slate and gave a curt nod. "Both names are registered. Before points are awarded, we need three days to verify completion.
Standard procedure, scouts will be sent to confirm the threat is gone and the villagers are safe."
I stepped forward then, my voice flat and eerily calm, carrying clearly across the suddenly quiet hall. "No need to bother with the three days. There will be no one there to welcome your scouts."
The clerk blinked, confusion flickering across his face. "Excuse me?"
My blind eyes faced the man directly, unblinking.
"I killed everything in that area. Every man, woman, and child. The village is gone."
Dead silence fell over the entire pavilion, so complete that the faint hum of the floating crystals seemed deafening. Then shock exploded across the clerks' faces like a physical wave.
One of the younger clerks slammed his hand on the counter, voice rising sharply in rage. "You must be joking! That's a serious crime against innocent civilians."
I gave him a cold, serious look that cut the words short like a blade through silk. My expression held no anger, no mockery, just pure, unyielding truth. "I am not a jester."
Before anyone could draw another breath, two inner academy students dropped from the roof beams above like silent shadows.
They were fast, seasoned climbers who had already bridged the gap from outer to inner sect, their auras sharp and disciplined. One seized my arms and pinned them brutally behind my back, slamming my face-first onto the counter with a loud thud. The other drove a knee hard into my spine, forcing me down against the stone surface.
"Outer trash thinking he can massacre civilians and brag about it?" one of them growled, voice low and threatening. "You'll answer for this in the disciplinary hall. Maybe they'll strip your powers for good."
Emily's eyes widened in pure fury. "Let him go!"
Her shout echoed through the entire hall, shocking every single student present into stillness. The cold, arrogant beauty who had barely acknowledged the blind slave during their mission was now openly defending him? Murmurs erupted everywhere, growing louder by the second. Heads turned, eyes widened, and the atmosphere shifted from shock to outright disbelief.
Emily didn't hesitate for even a heartbeat. In one fluid motion she pulled her blade free, the silver steel flashing in the lantern light as she pointed the sharp tip directly at the two inner students pinning me down. "Let. Him. Go."
The hall went deathly quiet again, the tension so thick it felt like the air itself had solidified. The inner students froze, staring at her in open disbelief, their grips on me tightening instinctively but their confidence wavering under the unexpected threat from one of their own.
She didn't lower her sword even an inch. Her voice rang out clear and challenging. "And while we're at it, why was this labeled a medium-grade mission? That thing was hard rank at minimum. Maybe even S-grade for outer sect disciples. We nearly died out there.
The tree was ancient, cursed by a god himself, and its lurkers couldn't even be killed during the day. You sent two outer disciples into that nightmare without proper warning or backup!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd like a wave. Even some of the clerks looked visibly uncomfortable now, shifting uneasily behind the counter. But the lead clerk only narrowed his eyes at Emily, giving her a cold, warning look that carried clear authority.
"Stay out of this, girl. This doesn't concern you. Step back before you make things worse for yourself."
The tension hung heavy, ready to snap. I remained perfectly still under the pin, not resisting, not struggling, my blind eyes facing forward as if none of the chaos truly touched him.
From the far corner of the hall, a loud, booming laughter suddenly rang out, cutting through the thick tension like a blade through silk.
"Ha ha ha! Blind friend, such a situation to see you in!"
The voice carried open pride and raw joy, echoing off the stone walls and drawing every head in the pavilion toward the source.
A tall figure stepped out from the shadows near the back entrance, broad-shouldered, with wild dark hair and an evil grin that split his face from ear to ear.
Garuda.
One of the infamous twins. His eyes gleamed with amusement and excitement as he took in the entire scene: I who was pinned helplessly to the counter, Emily pointing her sword at inner students, the whole pavilion frozen in collective shock.
Behind him, Bobaros stood silently as always, his face carved from unyielding stone, but his eyes were locked on me with cold, calculating intensity.
Garuda laughed again, clapping his hands slowly in mock applause. "Didn't expect my blind rival to cause this much chaos on his very first mission. Slaughtering an entire village? That's bold even for Devil Blade standards."
He took another confident step forward, his aura flaring with barely contained excitement, the air around him crackling with predatory energy.
The inner students holding Liam tightened their grip, but uncertainty now flickered openly across their faces with an outer-sect figure like Garuda who had climbed the ranks in days suddenly getting involved.
Emily kept her blade raised high, her gaze darting warily between Garuda, the clerks, and me. I remained perfectly motionless under their hold, not resisting, my expression calm and detached as if I were merely waiting for the next scene in some private play.
The tension in the Mission Pavilion thickened like gathering storm clouds ready to break at any moment.