Chapter 57 - Arc 1 56 – Major Clue?

“I’ve just finished the routine questioning of the witnesses that were still on the scene,” Fynn spoke in between bites of a crispy fried duck. “The victims, as well as the Fluxer, are currently unavailable for questioning due to their ongoing treatment. And it will take some time for us to track down and question the witnesses that fled the restaurant.”

Fynn paused to chew and swallow, “We still don’t know what’s causing the power rampages, but there are now two people who came down with the same symptoms. This is clearly not a coincidence but a series of related cases. The cause and motive are unclear, but for the time being, we are treating it as an act of terrorism and attempted murder.”

“What do the witnesses say about it?” Noah asked after gulping down a mouthful of cold, refreshing water from the water dispenser at the entrance of the conference room.

“The witnesses I’ve questioned so far didn’t provide any useful information whatsoever. Though, there was one person in particular that raised an interesting point.” Fynn raised an eyebrow at Noah, “There seems to be a Soother that came to the scene to help, yet you… knocked him out?”

Noah knew that sooner or later, this issue would come up. Using reverse soothing on the injured to knock them out could be considered a method of treatment. It wouldn’t cause him problems as long as his reverse soothing didn’t cause any negative consequences. However, knocking out a perfectly fine man, and even a Soother at that, with no provocation, would be considered an assault. Especially in a situation where there was a Fluxer on the loose that could have vaporized the said defenseless, unconscious Soother.

Since in the presence of an Intenter, any lie he came up with would be immediately seen through, Noah could only speak the truth. “Yes,” Noah calmly admitted, “I had no choice but to knock him out. He was about to use reverse soothing on the Fluxer, which would have caused a catastrophe.”

“Oh?” The curiosity of all men present was piqued by Noah’s words.

“How should I explain this,” Noah, like a little bunny, adorably nibbled on his Caesar salad, trying to come up with a truthful explanation for his actions that wouldn’t include him revealing that he knew the future.

“No one can feel the state of someone’s mental power better than an SS-ranked Soother. I’ve already dealt with the Blazer before, and I chose not to knock him out because I felt that doing so would cause catastrophic consequences. This became even clearer to me when I felt the state of the Fluxer’s mental power. One wrong poke into that hornet’s nest would have caused it to completely collapse.”

“I felt it too,” Levi interjected, “When that Soother appeared on the scene, for a moment, my instincts were screaming danger even louder than when the Fluxer went out of control in the first place. And then, after the Soother dropped to the floor unconscious, the feeling went away.”

Noah nodded, “Imagine mental power to be like a large amount of water contained within a bowl. When a power user is using their power, it’s like taking a sip from the bowl. However, during a power rampage, the water within the bowl is so agitated it’s crashing into the walls of the bowl. The water splashing out of the bowl manifests as uncontrollable bursts of power. Now, imagine what would happen if the bowl containing the water suddenly collapsed into nothing.”

“All of the water contained within would come out at once!” Fynn’s eyes widened in realization, “You are saying that using a reverse soothing on the Fluxer would have caused him to disintegrate everything and everyone within the restaurant?!”

“A mental collapse of an S-ranked Fluxer,” the corner of Levi’s lips quirked up in a sneer, “It’s more likely the entire building would have been vaporized.”

“This is a crucial intel! All high-ranked Soothers in the city need to be immediately forbidden from using reverse soothing on someone going through a power rampage!” Fynn jumped up, his cheeks still budging from the duck meat he was chewing.

He threw a hasty “I’ll be right back,” and ran out of the room, presumably to arrange precisely that.

Levi frowned at the food that Fynn had left half-eaten. It’s already bad enough the man was eating the food he had bought for his darling, now he was even leaving it unfinished! The nerve! He better come back and finish eating that or so help him, he will shove it down his throat!

Levi then turned to look at Trey, thinking how great it would be if this third wheel could roll out of the room as well.

Blackie: ‘What the…?? Do you want them to finish eating the food, or roll the fuck out of the room?!? Pick one!’

(◞‸ლ)

Trey, who had been quietly eating his food from start to end: ‘Why am I being glared at again?? I didn’t even do or say anything!!’ QAQ

***

Fynn indeed returned shortly after and continued eating right where he left off, “I’ve arranged for the Soothers to be notified of the dangers involved. Why didn’t you mention this issue the last time?”

“I didn’t think much of it at the time of the incident,” Noah sheepishly scratched his fluffy head, “But now that it has happened the second time, I have a bold conjecture. What if a mental collapse was exactly what the perpetrator was after?”

Fynn paused midbite, Noah continued, “Think about it. Two incidents, and both times, a rare high-ranked Soother, just happened to be in the vicinity.”

Noah eyed everyone in the room, “Since I had been present in both incidents, it is easy to assume that they were targeting me. But what if they weren’t? What if the perpetrator’s real intention was to have a high ranked Soother at the scene that would perform a reverse soothing? The first time the Soother they chose for the task just happened to be me because I am so high-profile. The second time, they chose someone else.”

“Then, this would be an act of terrorism instead of murder? That is indeed worth considering,” Fynn rubbed his chin in thought, “But you are wrong about one thing. The Soother you knocked out hadn’t been in the vicinity of the restaurant. He rushed to the scene because he received a report of a power rampage there.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed, “Who reported it? When? It’s impossible to arrive that quickly if not in the vicinity.”

“I have yet to check the time and source of the report. But the man really wasn’t in the vicinity. I’ve confirmed this to be true.”

“If he wasn’t in the vicinity, then…” Noah gasped, “Had he been notified of the accident before it actually happened? Fynn!”

Fynn jumped to his feet in alarm. If the Soother had been notified before the incident even happened, then the person that hired him might have been behind the event in the first place! Even if they weren’t, the person knew that the incident would happen; thus, they had to be linked to it in some way! This was a major clue!