A week passed by in a blur.
No, that was not true. For Melodie, the week did not pass by in a blur. If asked, he would say that it was the longest week of his life.
Anytime he wasn't distracted by his studies or chores, his mind would wander to his actions that led to his male gods' absence.
Just like right now. Classes were over, and as a medic student, he had to work at least an hour each day in the school clinic. He was seated on a neat desk in his superior's office after making a round at the school's clinic.
Since he wasn't actively doing anything now, his mind pictured the kind of trouble that Remington and Aslan must be facing which had kept them in a dungeon for a full week.
Melodie wasn't the only person concerned about the two Espers, the entire academy was in an uproar. A dungeon shouldn't take this long to clear, especially since the Espers sent into it were S-Class.
It was truly worrying.
Just then, a black tech bracelet wound around Melodie's left wrist began to beep continuously with a message flashing in red light on the display screen.
'ALERT! S-CLASS ESPER IN RAMPAGE!'
Those words blinked on the display screen and blood rushed into Melodie's head. An S-Class Esper at the school was on a rampage. Fuck!
Melodie jumped up from his chair and hurried outside the office. He saw dozens of Guides and fellow supe medics running helter skelter in the clinic.
He grabbed on to the first person that crossed his path and said in panic, "What's going on? Who's in a rampage state??"
The fellow young medic replied with darting eyes, "Esper Remington Raven. Immediately after returning from the A-Class dungeon, he fell into a rampage!"
Melodie's grip on the medic's shoulder softened, allowing the latter to set himself free and continue on his path.
Remington was on a rampage?? How come??
Among all the Espers that Melodie knew, Remington was the most stable and level headed. He never used too much power and was always attentive to himself. How could someone so cautious fall into a rampage??
The thoughts in Melodie's head went haywire. He wanted to be a part of what was going on and find a way to help his idol as he joined in the crowd of Guides that were rushing to get to the probation center.
Remington's case was incredibly severe. Without even receiving guiding, he was sent straight to the probation center and bound with high-grade fetters.
Before being granted permission to take the lift down to the probation center, non-guides were filtered off and sent away. People without abilities were the ones most at risk with a rampaging Esper close by.
They were told to help but from a fair distance to avoid issues.
Melodie and other supe medics were pushed to set up a booth two floors above the underground probation center, dressing up restorative pills for the energy-depleted Guides who attempted to help Remington with his rampage.
Remington was an Esper who didn't have an exclusive Guide and whose match rate with other A or B-Class Guides never exceeded 30%. Which meant that his body did not take too well with guiding.
But nothing else could be done to help him in his rampage state. The Guides who went into the probation center to help him all returned in miserable states as their powers had been used up and Remington still wasn't getting better.
"It felt like my guiding power was a spoon of water being filtered into a bottomless pit. Using up so much energy but not getting any response is just so fucked up." An A-Class guide who was currently being tended to by one of Melodie's seniors spoke up.
Melodie looked at the Guide. His face was sweaty and ghastly. Dyed green hair stuck to his forehead and his breathing was uneven.
If even an A-Class Guide could be driven to such a state from guiding Remington, what was the hope of the B-Class Guides sent into the probation center?
"It was that bad?" A first-year medic questioned the Guide. His eyes were full of fear and his hands were trembling.
The A-Class Guide looked him straight in the eyes and said, "If you're ever unfortunate to cross paths with an Esper in a rampage, no matter the class, run away as fast as you can. The only thing an Esper knows how to do in a rampage is to devour."
Those words sent frightful tingles down Melodie's spine as his knees buckled.
"Even an Esper like Remington who is upright and collected?"
A shy voice questioned with sincere curiosity. It was only after Melodie felt a dozen pairs of eyes set on him that he realized that he was the one who asked the question.
This time, it wasn't the A-Class Guide who responded to Melodie's question, but a fourth-year senior supervising their division.
"All Espers are the same."
***
It took three days for Remington to stabilize. And during those two days, Gifted Academy was in a state of lockdown.
For only one student, all the classes were canceled and everyone's schedule became compromised. A lot of people were worried about Remington and his mental health, forgetting that he was not the only one who came out from the A-Class dungeon.
Melodie wasn't among the forgetful ones. He was informed early that though Aslan sustained a number of injuries, he refused guiding and refused to seek help from the school's clinic, shutting himself in his room during the period of lockdown after coming out from the dungeon.
No one knew why. One Esper had been driven to rampage and the other shut himself from the world, leaving people to wonder just what they experienced inside the dungeon.
However, Melodie was relieved that after everything, his idols didn't die. He had been afraid of their deaths all this time, but since that was not the case, he could rest assured.
This gave him the stable state of mind to focus on other things—like how to retrieve his camera from the two powerful Espers.
Now, he obviously couldn't approach Remington who was transferred to a private room in the school's clinic to undergo observation and cool down.
His only option was to go for Aslan. So, as soon as he read on the academy's forum that Aslan was out of his room, Melodie was quick to track him down and tail him.
Who would have thought that his tailing would lead him right to Remington's private room in the school's clinic?