Quinn grabbed his bag, and headed out to follow Fei.
Meanwhile, back in the Beast Weapon Hall, a boy with short, black hair was sent flying.
There was a diagonal cut along his chest.
Standing over him was Tsukuru.
He flung his right hand to the side, knocking the fresh blood off of his right dagger, which then splattered on the floor.
A new System message appeared in front of him.
[Opponent has been defeated. 50 XP has been awarded. XP: 230/400]
Like before, the group of two soldiers teleported behind the black-haired boy, and teleported him away.
Tsukuru had a conflicted look on his face.
After defeating Loop, he had gone on to defeat an additional three opponents, netting him an extra 200 XP since Quinn was teleported out.
'I kind of feel like I'm cheating.' Tsukuru thought to himself. 'If Quinn hadn't been injured by those bastards, HE'D be able to grind more exp, too.'
It was at that point that a loud, beeping noise was heard from Leo's watch.
"Oh, it looks like that's all the time we have today." He announced. "Everyone, place your Beast Weapons back where you found them. We'll continue on first thing tomorrow."
The students all walked off in different directions, placing their borrowed weapons along the walls of the Weapon Hall.
That was, of course, aside from Tsukuru.
As the weapons in his hand were merely replicas he had created using his Ability, the Military had no right to them.
He simply placed them within his System's "Weapons" tab with a mental command.
The weapons disappeared from his hands, breaking apart into pixels.
It was at that point that Layla walked up to him.
Tsukuru turned and looked up at her.
"I'm going to go see if Quinn is in his dorm." She replied.
Tsukuru flashed back to his conversations about Layla with Vorden and Sil.
"That's…probably not a good idea." He replied, a noticeable wince on his face.
Layla waved her hand dismissively.
"I'll be fine." She said, walking away. Tsukuru let out a deep sigh.
He would have loved to go with her, but he had to stay behind to have a chat with Leo.
As he saw her leaving, Tsukuru narrowed his eyes at Layla.
'Thanks a LOT, Layla.' He thought, annoyed.
Earlier today, when his Haunted Knight had self-manifested, Layla had muttered under her breath about how the creature had killed Riley yesterday.
Well, she didn't exactly mention him by name.
But since their deaths had occurred only yesterday, and it was the first deaths of the year, it wouldn't take much for Leo to put the pieces together.
Looking over, he saw Leo looking at him, expectedly.
Tsukuru slumped his shoulders, and walked over to the raised platform that was used as a ring yesterday, using it as a seat.
Leo walked over to him.
"You murdered a fellow student." He said as a statement, rather than a question.
His tone was stern as he said it.
Tsukuru slumped backwards.
"It wasn't murder." Tsukuru replied.
Leo narrowed his eyes at him.
Tsukuru sighed, and glanced away.
"It was…manslaughter. It was…an accident."
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"'An accident'?" Leo repeated.
Tsukuru sighed again.
He replayed yesterday's events to Leo.
However, he completely removed any reference to Quinn's Vampirism, or them messing around with Layla's blood.
Rather, he spun the story as if they were merely 'hanging out' in the park.
He told Leo about how Riley had brought a low-Level into the forest.
Riley telling the boy that if he didn't give him his credits, he'd 'dig him a grave right here' and that 'no one would EVER find his body'.
Leo's face tightened at his words.
He was starting to think that maybe Shizuka was actually being correct when she spoke of the boy's character during the meeting.
Tsukuru went on, explaining how he went to confront him.
How Riley had brought in three of his friends, forcing Quinn to join in, as well.
Tsukuru described how he and Quinn had fought the two boys.
However, he described Quinn as fighting with his fists, completely leaving out his use of his new Blood Swipe Skill.
"Seeing his two friends defeated, Riley then ran deeper into the woods." Tsukuru continued. "We made him give us back all the credits he stole, and then we both punched him, for good measure."
Leo stared at Tsukuru with intense focus.
Using his enhanced hearing he could tell that Tsukuru wasn't lying.
"What happened next?" He asked, Leo knowing there was more.
Otherwise, Riley wouldn't be dead.
Tsukuru glanced away.
"Looking down at him, I knew he wouldn't change." Tsukuru replied. "That had been the third time we had caught him stealing credits. He wasn't going to stop. I had seen people like him my whole life, bullies who pushed others around to make themselves feel better."
Tsukuru tightened his fists.
"And for a moment, I pondered the idea that maybe the world would be a better place without him in it."
Tsukuru's gaze then shifted downwards, him unable to look Leo in the eye.
"And as soon as I made that idea public, muttering it under my breath, she summoned herself, and cut him down, decapitating him in a single swing."
Leo listened intently.
"What of the other two?" He asked.
Tsukuru slumped back, and brought his palm to his face.
"I didn't kill them directly…but I might as well have." He muttered in a voice full of regret.
Leo raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"After Riley died, I panicked. I called Shizuka for…damage control." He explained.
Leo tightened his grip around his sword at his hip.
'That…Woman…" He thought.
Ever since last night's meeting, he had a sinking feeling that she had somehow been involved in the disappearance of the three boys, but couldn't prove it.
Now, he had confirmation.
"I thought maybe she would just give them a warning." Tsukuru replied. "Tell them to 'keep quiet about what had happened'."
Tsukuru looked up at Leo, with a haunted look. "Instead, she used her Earth Ability to open up a hole and bury all three of them."
Hearing Tsukuru's words, Leo began shaking with rage.
"She…she buried them alive?!" He muttered through gritted teeth.
Tsukuru nodded. "I…I searched every inch of that forest myself." Leo replied. "I didn't find anything!"
Tsukuru glanced to the side.
"She probably had the bodies removed that very night." Tsukuru replied. "Just in case someone went looking."
The more Leo heard about this woman, this "Hikiko Shizuka", the less he liked.
"And the military just lets someone like her run free?!" He growled.
Tsukuru gave him a look.
If Leo could see, he would recognize it as the look an adult would give a naive child.
"You really don't know ANYTHING, do you?" He asked.
His words stunned Leo.
"People like Shizuka…they're commonplace in the Military."
He narrowed his eyes.
"The military doesn't just have 'a few bad apples', it's an entire rotten orchard."
Hearing his words made Leo think back to the first meeting of the year, when they were watching the Ability Level Placement Test via drones.
About Truedream's 'special gifts'.
About how Shizuka said he was "better off not knowing".
Suddenly, a sense of deep clarity came over Leo.
"Nothing you have told me will leave this room." Leo relied, causing Tsukuru to look up at him in surprise. "But in return, I want you to tell me one more thing."
Leo's eyes narrowed.
"What are the "special gifts" for Jack Truedream?"