They shared the news with the rest as some of them sighed in relief like Haruki while Erika and Hinata gave their reassurance to Sylvie. Rei was talking with Eunji something seriously since they were outside Sylvie's dorm room. They were discussing what they can do with the suspects that put Sylvie in an unfortunate situation as they listed every possible clause they can use to launch an investigation. "Search and arrest warrant can be possible for forbidden use of such techniques that are not recorded in history or their identity profile. Only if it doesn't exist in the database nor has the means of it being labelled as forbidden in records.." Eunji explained as Rei sighed. "So, basically back to square one?" Eunji nodded her head in disappointment as she reassured him. "I have no clue about how you two are feeling right now but all I can say is don't lose hope and don't do anything reckless to justify yourselves. Just because you can see it wrong doesn't mean it's evil, we all have different understanding of evil." Her statement made Rei a bit frustrated but couldn't help but agree with her.
They entered the room as Sylvie appeared to be enjoying the demonstration of Hinata's and Erika's prowess, especially with Rei's guidance. "I feel like discovering a new part of myself that I didn't know existed." Hinata jokes as Sylvie laughs along with her. "That's the Nishimura effect. He always has a way to make you discover a new part of yourself that you don't even know existed." She stated while Hinata could only nod her head at Sylvie's statement. "I can tell he's a good guy despite his status." Haruki said out loud as he stretched himself out. "He's the type of person who would do things quietly despite how people think of him." His words sent a comforting feeling to his emotion as he knew he wasn't a good person but just an average guy who's trying to do something with their own life. The more Haruki explained himself, the more he started to feel a bit honoured from his perspective. He was right on one thing, Rei had always been trying to do good despite the obvious odds that were against him.
The day he inherited his prowess late, constant bullying which got him pent up that he started fighting back while trying to help others but only to be seen as a monster due to his strength and brutality. His self restraint over two to three years when pretending to be a 'blank' which got him targeted by others that he got beaten up multiple occasions or worse almost at death's door when they didn't like him that much. The days he spent at Kamigami Academy trying to prove his worth by making an effort at his studies to catch up to their curriculum while having active duties as a sorcerer that could potentially harm his life at extreme cause.
Rei couldn't help but feel a part of him being reassured that everything that he fought so hard for himself was being appreciated indirectly by Haruki's statement despite not knowing much of his past. He held himself as he calmed his emotional state, breathing in and out slowly as he joined their conversation. "Thanks for the compliment. Haruki." He hung his arm around his shoulders as he pulled him close before teasing him. "So… when are you gonna work on those abs?" Haruki cried out while the rest laughed. The scene gave Eunjji a sense of comfort and relief since she was able to see some students enjoying their youth despite her being just one to two years of age gap.
"Senior? You alright?" Hinata asked as Eunji got pulled out of her thoughts before she responded back. "I'm fine." She said as she waved her hand as if dismissing them.
"She'll be alright once I'm out."
The voice which Eunji was familiar with as she looked at Rei's cheek in disgust that had manifested a mouth. Sylvie looked disgusted while Hinata and Erika were just intrigued with how something like that works. After all, how does this thing work in an anatomical sense of field? Eunji wanted to ignore him but Keith continued on with his remarks while the rest either looked disgusted or just plain traumatised from what he had been saying for the next 3o seconds. "Remind me to watch some cartoon videos…" Haruki uttered as he tried to erase the things he had heard from the ancient being. The statement he had made gave trauma to most of them such as hearing him say 'Sweetie… you'll be fine… just bend over and I'll do the rest.', 'Are your hips made for me? I bet it's tight when inserted without warning." and " Do you have a gag reflex or not?' were what made them all traumatized while Eunji could only feel humiliation and harassment from such a being like him. All they could agree on was Keith is like the embodiment of Depravity itself.
"Can I watch with you?" Erika and Hinata asked Haruki simultaneously, which surprised Rei since he knew the two girls would never watch any cartoons or something similar no matter what. "Have fun…" Rei muttered as he stretched himself out before talking with Sylvie one last time while Rinka and Eunji already left due to their own duties although Eunji immediately dashed off due to her humiliation with Keith. It was understandable for all of them to see such a sorceress like Eunji leave quickly since it was already considered an sexual harassment from how Keith had commented and flirted in such an immortal manner.
"Sylvie…" Rei muttered as he held his gaze on her, their eyes staring at each other as the atmosphere suddenly changed into something serious. "I may not be with you at all times after this but I want you to know…" Sylvie raised an eyebrow as Rei pulled her close as he wrapped his arms around her, his touch and warmth a soothing feeling to her emotional state. "That I'll always support you no matter how far and difficult our situation is." His statement broke her a little as she hugged him back tightly, as if she was also trying to give him a bit of comfort. "I'll say the same… Since you barely had anyone by your side except for me and your father…" she said before continuing as her hands tangled with his hair. "Always remember that I'll do the same for you." Her tone, all comforting, gave him a sense of place to stay and to return to.
Meanwhile, Rinka, who backtracked, heard their conversation since she wanted to ask Rei something related to prowess usage and theory. She couldn't help but smile at such a sweet moment although it wouldn't be awkward if she was not next to the giant male who she assumed to be Keith as she had heard about his appearance from Eunji and Rei before. He was extremely tall, his extra set of eyes gave the feeling of such eerie and thrilling authority of fear. The markings or tattoos also added a hint of fear to his presence despite the massive mana he was emitting. His mana had a strange feeling from what she was experiencing, a trace of divinity and malevolence. It wasn't something normal since he was described almost like a demon god.
"What?" His tone was nonchalant with no care of her value which caught her off guard. "N-Nothing…" she responded immediately as she looked away from him. A tall 7'5 ancient being standing next to a 5'4 sorceress is not something normal since the tallest sorcerer or sorceress that are recorded in history or in the database is Eunji in the modern era standing up to 7'1 then a male sorcerer who Rinka doesn't remember stands up to 6'7. The rest are basically 5'8 to 6'5.
Rinka could only say this if Keith wasn't such an asshole and a pervert along with his immoral mentality. He was the ideal type that she or Eunji herself who will not admit it even if it takes eons for their confession of Keith being the ideal man and sorcerer of today's generation if they were only comparing the looks.
"Keep staring at me. I might have you first as a snack before having Eunji as my main course."
That made Rinka shiver in disgust and fear before she stepped away from him as she waited for Rei and Sylvie to finish their moment. All her thoughts about the man next to him suddenly went down the drain as she reminded herself that if a being looks very attractive then they have a dark and twisted ulterior. Like a Japanese myth she enjoyed reading, a fox-spirit who charms people with their beauty and attractiveness before feasting onto the poor victims of its desires.
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Eunji and Eri stood in front of the headmaster as they discussed what they had found with Sylvie's situation. "I know this may sound selfish from me, headmaster." Sho looked up as he allowed the tall sorceress to continue. "After conducting some questions on Sylvie's inability to use her prowess, I have come to theorise that her case is connected to the investigation we are conducting privately." The headmaster raised an eyebrow before Eri stepped in to explain. "I support her claims as I have tested the possibility of a curse or sealing technique implanted within her soul which disables the use of prowess without giving any benefits to the user such as heightened aspects of physical attributes and senses." She explained before continuing as Sho leaned back in his chair to assess the investigation.
"These are the x-ray that I've performed after getting permission from Sylvie to keep in our database." She handed Sho the papers as it showed Sylvie's autopsy report that showcases her soul and essence core being restricted by some unknown markings that is embedded in her. "Hmm… It's barely recognisable to be a curse release technique… yet it's similar to a dark arts sealing technique." Sho before continuing as he placed the paper back on the desk. "Either way, this is something serious since this is closely related to your case, Eunji." He gazed at Eunji as he wrote something on his computer. "This is an official document that I will deliver to you via email. By reading every report and cases that are connected with each other, I, Sho Homura, hereby declare that this unknown case to be labelled as 'Rogue Seal Master' and shall hand the authority to the sorcerer or sorceress in duty, Eunji Jeong." Eunji nodded and vowed at his statement before he continued on. "Sorceress Eunji Jeong, Sixth year student will be the main investigator. You shall have three or four recruits to make an investigation team while contacting other divisions for assistance. Any further enquiries, don't hesitate to call me." Eunji nodded her head as she dismissed herself out of the office.
"So… what brings you to stay longer, Miss Eri?" Sho asked professionally as Eri took out a couple of documents before sliding it onto the desk.
"The anomaly that resides within Rei."
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Sylvie was accompanied by Hinata as they walked through the corridors of the library. Each discussion of their knowledge with school work in which Hinata was surprised with how quick she was able to adapt to their curriculum despite having no knowledge about it. "So… My techniques are basically Time control?" Sylvie asked as Hinata nodded her head. "Yeah. It's like Rei's prowess being named as Mimicry and Amplification. And that new technique of his as 'channeling'." She added as Sylvie was intrigued with how they discussed the use of prowess in their academy compared to Sylvie's.
"So it's basically whoever stands strong at the top, they have the right to use their prowess to harm others to do their bidding or for their own amusement?" Hinata asked as Sylvie nodded her head as she sighed. "Yeah… I used to be one of them but I was only focused on studying and getting good grades for my parents. I always use my prowess to make others fear me but here we are… All changed because of Rei except for the 'blank' incident." Her tone hinting a longing for her prowess. Hinata decided to cheer her up as she pulled her further into the library. "Never mind all that bad things. Let's have fun shall we?" She exclaimed as the thing behind her hosted an event for all types of quizzes.
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Rei was researching other cases similar to Sylvie's case after hearing from Eunji that they had the green light to open an investigation regarding the similar cases of what he had been briefed with. He was with a student about the same year as him, Neon Nakamura who had messy green hair with pink highlights. Despite the rough hairstyle, they were dressed nicely and professionally with the standard uniform for this class. The only part he had trouble with was the fact that the guy was more carefree than caring for the important case they had to focus on.
"Neon. Can you search on the other case for the the Market incident in Eternum, Kowloon Tong incident and Assassination attempt-" he paused as he saw the guy just casually putting each folder aside with no care. He started questioning himself if this is what Eunji had to deal with which caused her stress to be this intense. "Can you focus on this investigation? Senior Eunji had entrusted us to do some parts while she's taking care of a different case." He explained while Neon only glared at him. "You? You dare to lecture me? Fucking commoner… You don't have the right to-" before Neon could even continue his sentence, Rinka appeared as she smacked his face against the desk. "How about me? Dare to talk back?" Her emerald orbs glowing bright as Neon could only pale in response before heading off to do what Rei had asked him to do moments ago.
"You alright?" She asked before powering down as Rei sighed. "Yeah. I keep forgetting some basic stuff like the difference between being a noble, commoner and a traveller…" he muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose, completely expressing his stress as Rinks patted him on the shoulders. "Don't worry about that now. Just do what you need to do now." Her statement reminded him of why he focused on this case, he promised himself to do this for her, to give justice to Sylvie's loss and tragedy.
Rei could be seen putting up important reports as he wrote down on what he had found while discussing it with Rinka since the other guy left from not liking him in the same room due to his status as the vessel of the 'fallen' and a traveller. The two had taken the fact that most of the cases had hinted the obvious cause of one's prowess seemingly to disappear as if they became a 'blank' all of the sudden. What they noticed was how different their approach was. For Sylvie's case, she was ambushed while being weakened by some sort of prowess that can weaken one's prowess to a percentage of half and as well being aggressive as if they were trying to kidnap her. The market incident highlighted multiple attacks being committed in each stall, each of them seemingly putting up a fight desperately before being able to leave them in a horrific state while losing their prowess in the process.
The last one was oddly confusing and specific when they had read each part. The victim in the Kowloon Tong incident is apparently a low-tier who had no special prowess but just a basic one. Each of the cases they had read had involved high-tiers and god-tiers just like Sylvie. Although the way they lose their prowess is the same, the difference in the victim's profile and identity is highly suspicious. It was only then they deduced that it may have been a first time of using the unknown method of how they make someone become as powerless as a 'blank'.
"Well that's one down… the tricky part is understanding the motive and what are the suspects thinking of committing this act." Rinka uttered as she was eating the sushi she had gotten from the cafeteria moments ago. The room barely had any lights as Rei sat down on the chair as he downed his seventh cup of his coffee. He had never drank this much which is surprising since he only needed a cup then he could stay energised for the rest of the day.
"I don't know why but I feel like this is something like a personal grudge over something…" Rei suggested as he poured another one down before sipping a little bit. Rinka looked interested as she let him explain. "Those three cases are mainly focused on leaving the victim powerless. Basically turning them into a 'blank'." Rinka nodded her head as he continued. "Each attack is premeditated as they started doing this with a low-tier. Then grew bold by trying it on mid-tiers with a bunch of ambushes which got all patrol officers confused which resulted in their favour on leaving them the same state like the former one. This time… they are even more bolder as not only did they try leaving them powerless but they attempted kidnapping Sylvie." His reasoning made sense as Rinka wrote it down at her notes while Rei wrote the important things to remember on the board along with the pictures that are put up such as the photo of the crime scene and analysis of the people's medical records of that incident.
"What else did you find?"
Eunji's sudden appearance shook both Rinka and Rei with him dropping the pen then turning at her direction while gasping for air as if he got a heart attack, Rinka, on the other hand, choked on her sushi as she struggled to get her bearings straight while picking up her water to drink to ease up her troubles. "I'm sorry." Eunji apologize as she entered the room while putting her stuff on the sides to help them make room for her. "Anyways, what else did you all find?" She asked while Rinka answered for him. "The identical outcomes and how they evolved from playing safe to being bold although Rei was about to give his suggestions for their motive." Eunji looked over to Rei as he started to explain his reasoning for the motives.
"From all cases… It would be against the hierarchy." The pair, intrigued with his conclusion let him continue explaining. "They started with low-tiers along with their unknown sealing or whatever they have that made the victims become 'blanks'. In addition, they also have some techniques that weakens one's prowess strength in half of their original strength according to the victim's statement. It's like they are trying to fight someone in their own level to even out the odds, so, I came to a theory that they are trying to send a message they will overthrow the hierarchy and rule in a different way than the one we have now." His reasoning gave Eunji and Rinka an agreeable clause of their investigation in which the two started writing down his clause for the motive.
"Anything else?" Eunji asked in which Rei shook his head as they ended the investigation their after proofreading everything they have made while Rinka and Eunj offered to stay behind to put on some precautions as they kept the original copy with themselves while making duplicates for further investigation or for a dud in case someone tries to get rid of the findings.
Rei arrived back at his dorm room as he took off his coat before removing his uniform asides from his pants. He grabbed his phone since he had put it in mute due to sorcerer duties as he was busy with what he was dealing with. He had seen 5 messages from Sylvie, 2 messages from Haruki and 7 messages from Hinata. He checked Hinata since he thought it would be important from how much she had sent him. Although, it turned out to be just photo dumping of Sylvie having the time of her life as it showed that she was enjoying the event that was being held at the library. He could see how happy she was while wearing a crown that had number 1 embedded on it which showed that she had won whatever was held there. The rest of the photos are what any highschool girl would take such as goofy photos or selfies. He sent a reply back with a thumbs up, emoji and a few words to congratulate them.
The next was Haruki, the male had expressed his concerns over his usage of prowess since it was so powerful that he feared that it may harm everyone. Rei never knew his prowess but didn't ask about it since he respected their privacy as the only response he could give back was a comforting sentence or words that should be able to cheer and ease the guy up. His next on the list was Sylvie, since he preferred to save her for last to have more time with her. He had read her messages regarding of how much fun she had such as being able to go the library and join the event, some school club activities that Haruki introduced to her as he himself volunteered himself to be her guide and Erika who joined in during her last remaining hours decided to take her to the academy's hall of fame in which she had described to him in their text as a massive hoard of records and highlights of the previous students that had graduated from the academy with flying colours.
Rei smiled to himself as he felt relief and happiness for her ever since they had a fallout before. They were healing slowly at first, rekindling their bond after the incident of his breakdown of their school hierarchy if it weren't for the next one that separated their lives even if they still have contact with each other. He sent a message back to her stating he had a time for the next day if she was free with the schedule since she's still a guest of Kamigami Academy. He had heard from his other seniors that the other guests were being escorted by the headmaster himself ever since the sudden troubles they had caused the other day.
Even if he had good news for Sylvie that he was investigating her case along with his seniors Eunji and Rinka, he couldn't bare to tell her since he didn't want to see her being hopeful and dependent on him then everything falls down if there was no hope of her prowess returning back despite of how Eri had stated she could try developing a cure for her.
He clenched his fists all because of his lack of power to be able to help her. Rei pushed those thoughts aside as he reminded himself, more like promised himself to find a cure for her 'blank' state to restore her prowess back no matter the cost.
His mind is filled with trying to protect those who he cares about while promising himself over and over again to get Sylvie's prowess back.
A smile on his face as he headed to the shower to end the day not before texting Sylvie that he himself had news for her. The news which he deliberately wanted to keep hidden turned around due to his reasoning to let her know he'll find a way for her.
His will burned brighter as he started to slowly pick himself up to be a better person than before.