'Shit, fuck, goddam it. What do I do now? These fuckers will not let me live in peace.'
Marvis ran as fast as he could from the hunters hunting him down. He had no idea how they knew what he had done but there was no doubt in his mind that this was revenge.
And as strong as he was, even he could not take care of a dozen people at the same time. His conductor had also malfunctioned as a result of constant usage and it needed to be upgraded.
'I will be killed off at this rate. I need to find someplace to hide.'
Marvis turned the corner in hopes of losing his tail when he noticed someone familiar walking in front of him. It was just his luck that he had managed to find Yohan out of everyone here.
And somehow, he could not find his circumstances to be any more perfect than this. After all, Yohan was the one person Marvis wanted to get in trouble with.
'I cannot believe my current luck. Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone.'
"Oi, Yohan. Wait for me. Man, I did not expect to run into you out of everyone out here. What a coincidence, right? Where are you headed to?"
Marvis expected Yohan to look startled or even a little angsty. But nothing of that sort happened. Yohan looked like he was expecting Marvis to turn up any second and even his eyes looked as if they were judging Marvis.
For some reason, Marvis looked dangerous to him. And he even felt like he was about to snap Marvis's head off. His instincts were asking him to run away.
'Don't be afraid. This is just a gutter rate that will save my life. There is no need for me to be this nervous right now.'
Marvis tried to console himself but his nervousness was taking him over. He tried to not let it show on his face. And luckily for him, that feeling of danger he felt disappeared soon enough.
"Ah, me? I was headed back to the academy. What about you? Where are you going? You looked like you were in a hurry."
"M-Me? I was heading back as well. Why don't we both head back together?"
Marvis asked with a hesitant nod. He could see his shadows from the corner of his eyes, just waiting for him to make a mistake. It seemed like they were not ready to attack someone else other than him.
He gritted his teeth as he watched Yohan standing in front of him calmly. Yohan looked like he did not have a care in the world.
'Lucky bastard. But I should take this opportunity to off him.'
"I see. So you are going back as well. But that reminds me, I still have some work to do so I will be heading out now. I hope you have a nice trip back."
"Hey, no. just wait a sec-"
But no matter what Marvis said, it was too late. He could also not use force to make Yohan come back because this area was being monitored and he could be charged with assault.
On the other hand, his killers were coming closer and closer to him. It would not be long before they would pull some kind of trick. And Marvis's investigation into such groups also said that they had a way to block or change recordings.
"Hey man, why don't we talk? Just me and you would do fine."
Someone draped their arm around Marvis's shoulder and he went stiff. He could feel the small vial of cold liquid being injected into his bloodstream and that scared him.
It felt like a beast poison and a common type at that. It would spread soon and Marvis would die.
"Let go of me. How dare you touch me with your filth hands. I will-*cough*"
'Oh, god. It's already starting.'
Marvis could feel his limbs getting colder and colder. He knew he needed to go back to the academy if he had any chance of surviving this but he was too scared to leave his warm place.
"You should run if you want to live, little lamb. Otherwise, who knows what might happen to you."
Marvis was stuck still as soon as he heard those threatening words but his legs began to move all of a sudden. He knew what he had to do to survive. But now, it was only a matter of time for him.
////////////////////////////////
Yohan watched Marvis run away in cold fright. It sucked that he had not been the one to kill Marvis but this was an outcome that he had seen coming from a mile away.
"System, change the recording on that camera and make sure I appear someplace else. As for Marvis's death, make sure you keep it clean."
With this small manipulation, Yohan would make all the suspicions from his side fall off. He was also done with his part here and now he needed to make it back to the academy.
Thankfully, he not only had a conductor but also his magic to take him back faster. By the time the news of Marvis's death would be born, Yohan could already be cleared of all suspicions.
Of course, the plan had been to slip back into the academy quietly. But things hardly went his way when he tried too hard.
"Yo, welcome back. I was waiting for your return, Mr. Yohan Strout. I am sure you and I have a lot we need to discuss, right?"
Yohan wanted to turn back and leave. Just seeing this familiar face was enough for him to feel uncomfortable. But it seemed as if Bernetta was not ready to let go of him yet.
"You can go back if you want to. But I will just arrest you for assault and other offenses if you do. So, are you sure you want to keep on testing me like this?"
Yohan, who had all but turned away from Bernetta had no other choice but to look at her again. Bernetta just smiled back at him with a content smile that was too dangerous for anyone.
He hated how relaxed Bernetta looked after putting Yohan through such difficult times in the past few days.
"Has anyone told you that this is an inappropriate misuse of power? You cannot just accuse and hold me for a crime I did not commit in the first place."
Yohan tried to reason, knowing fully well that it would not matter to Bernetta in the end. But he still felt like he had to add his two cents to the conversation or it would feel like he lost.
However, Bernetta had other tricks up her sleeve which made Yohan much warier of her. And it began with a single word from her mouth.
"Oh, and I suppose you would not mind if I arrest your 'sister' for that student, Flora's murder, right? Would that be more appealing for you?"
Yohan's body moved all on its own and he had Bernetta at knifepoint as soon as she finished speaking. He did not know how Bernetta knew about Diantha's involvement in all this but it seemed like she was serious about her claim.
It would be troublesome if she went around opening her mouth as she pleased.
"You need to keep your mouth shut if you want to live. And don't try to play with fire when you cannot win."