“…Human sacrifice?”
“Yes.”
Lucien’s expression blurred for a moment before returning to focus.
Seeing him like that, Renya continued in a trembling voice.
“We had to do as that man, Evan, ordered. If we refused or rebelled, we would be the next ones chosen as offerings…”
Now that she had poured everything out as if she had no other choice, Lucien nodded.
“I understand for now. Is there anything else you know?”
“Since it was carried out in extreme secrecy, we don’t know the details. The ‘human sacrifice’ seems to be a recent development. Before that, they just harassed us. The intensity was severe, of course… but then one day, they suddenly told us to offer one person from the 46th term as a sacrifice.”
“I see. Understood. I’ll see what I can do to resolve this.”
As Lucien gave a grin, Renya’s ears flushed bright red.
Watching Lucien perform the mission unexpectedly well, Anakin found herself seeing him in a new light.
Quite a bit of time passed, and the conversation neared its end.
Anakin and the rest of the group stepped aside to let Lucien wrap things up with Renya.
As they walked down the hallway, Lute spoke up.
“I thought he was just a slacker, but he actually harvested a fair amount of information.”
“To think the Elder’s name sells so well…”
They felt like they were doing something they shouldn’t as disciples of Pasadian, but the children deliberately feigned ignorance.
What wouldn’t they do to survive?
However, one question remained for Anakin.
Are the Elders and other upper-level disciples truly unaware of Evan’s tyranny?
“Hilde. Why is the leadership staying quiet?”
“Since it’s an affair of the annex, they might not consider it important. Or perhaps they think surviving that environment makes one stronger?”
“…”
‘Just how “strong” are they trying to make the disciples?’
Moreover, from what they heard, a third-party organization was involved.
How were trainees supposed to withstand that?
It was a situation that provided no answers the deeper they dug.
“This really is a godforsaken sect.”
“I didn’t think they’d go as far as human sacrifice either.”
Lute and Hilde shook their heads in disgust.
“What if they demand it from us too?”
To pick one person from the class to be an offering…
It was the height of villainy.
How could a human even conceive of such a thing?
It was harassment so cruel it would make a demon weep.
At Anakin’s question, the children remained silent for a while with grim faces.
Perhaps they were lost in thought.
In the absolute worst-case scenario, one of them could be sacrificed to those people.
No one knew who that would be.
“Is there no way to fight back?”
“The 47th term has Lucien, so they might not touch us.”
The children, pale-faced, tried to steer their thoughts in a positive direction.
From their perspective, touching the 47th term—where the Elder’s grandson resided—would only add risks.
There was a high probability they would leave this class alone entirely.
“If they do touch us, then we’ll have to fight back with everything we’ve got.”
Anakin was curious about the organization behind Evan and the upper-level disciple controlling him, but there was no information available at the moment.
Furthermore, Evan’s lackey, Heron, had ordered Komult to bring someone by tomorrow without fail.
“What about that? It means one of the 46th-term students will be sacrificed tomorrow.”
“…There’s nothing we can do right now,” Hilde said in a cold voice.
Would the 46th-term students actually choose one person to sacrifice?
That, too, was unknown.
The fact that a senior would die tomorrow was enough to make the children go stiff.
“Shouldn’t we stop it?”
Even if it wasn’t their business, they couldn’t just stand by.
How could they watch a person be dragged away before their eyes?
For now, it seemed impossible to seek help from the Elders or other upper-level disciples.
As Hilde said, the Elders had no interest in the annex, and the teachers—who were upper-level disciples—didn’t seem to care at all about matters between trainees.
In the world of Pasadian, where only the strong survive, what use was a weakling?
Anakin closed her eyes in misery.
“What we need to investigate is the upper-level disciple backing Evan and the organization further behind them.”
“Renya said it was a massive organization. Could it be Renatus?”
At those words, Anakin and Hilde’s complexions turned icy cold.
“Rena…tus?”
Hilde and Anakin remained frozen, having already experienced Renatus’s combat power to a sickening degree during their battle with Katharina.
“What’s wrong with everyone? Have you met them before?”
Anakin couldn’t answer easily.
Even Katharina, who seemed like a mere member, would have toyed with them until they died if it hadn’t been for Elder Oswald’s help.
“I encountered them once. It was a terrifyingly strong woman. Eventually, an Elder from Latus came and handled it.”
“Wait, you met a Latus Elder?”
Lute seemed more amazed by the meeting with a Latus Elder than by Renatus.
Then again, if Anakin hadn’t been a direct party to it, she too would have been more focused on a Latus Elder than Renatus.
No matter how infamous they were, they were still criminals.
“That’s not the point. Anakin and I almost died meeting that woman. If it hadn’t been for the Latus Elder, we probably really would have died.”
“That’s…”
Lute’s expression darkened as well.
“The organization behind Evan might not be Renatus.”
But the children knew.
Renatus was the only dark organization that could be described as “massive.”
It was highly likely to be them.
“Sigh. Let’s talk to Lucien separately later.”
My head began to ache from knowing too much information.
The children promised to gather in the evening and went their separate ways.
Anakin walked through the central hall, lost in thought.
The faces of the disciples, which she initially thought were just tired and weary, now looked like faces waiting for a terror that could strike at any moment.
“This is crazy…”
Realistically, if it was Renatus, there was nothing they could do.
Because the children knew this, they had left the meeting feeling drained.
Anakin walked the corridors for a long time before heading to Tran.
After taking a nap, Mantis had come in.
“Anakin. Is something wrong? The atmosphere in class lately and everyone else…”
Mantis also seemed to notice the ominous vibe, asking Anakin with a serious expression.
Anakin was silent for a while before answering.
“Hey, Mantis. If you had to pick someone from our class to die, who would you pick?”
“…What?”
At Anakin’s chilling words, Mantis’s expression instantly distorted.
Anakin then slowly explained all the circumstances.
She simply felt that Mantis had to know eventually.
“Such a crazy thing…”
He also turned pale and covered his mouth.
His eyes, filled with disbelief, mirrored Anakin’s reaction when she first heard the news.
“So we decided to discuss what to do with the others this evening. Do you want to come?”
“…Yes. I’ll go too.”
Since it was almost time for the meeting, Anakin took Mantis to Hilde’s room.
Lute, Hilde, and even Lucien were already gathered there.
‘But why is the room… so dirty?’
Books were scattered on the floor, tea cups were broken, and the wallpaper was stained.
It was a wonder what had happened to leave the room in this state.
Hilde, who had a neat personality and a obsession with cleanliness, wouldn’t normally stand for this…
When Anakin’s gaze turned to Hilde, he shook his head and muttered lowly.
“Don’t ever put these three together again.”
“…”
Come to think of it, the people in the room were Lute, Hilde, and Lucien.
Truly a disastrous combination.
According to Hilde, they had been gathered in this room since early evening waiting for Anakin.
“Why are you all so diligent?”
Anakin sat at the table with a soft smile.
Mantis followed, sitting next to her with a nervous face.
“Move? That’s my seat.”
At Lucien’s blunt remark, Mantis flinched.
He then scooted over with a flustered expression.
Once everyone was seated, the meeting continued.
They took turns sharing gathered information about Evan and the secret organization and offering opinions.
“First of all, even his own classmates avoid that Evan guy. He’s in his mid-to-late twenties and only communicates with a close circle within his fence. Same goes for Heron.”
“So his territory is firmly established.”
“Right. And he cheats a lot during exams, but it feels like everyone knows and just puts up with it. Especially when you mention the name Evan, everyone turns pale and looks around. Some even get angry and run away.”
Anakin nodded at his words.
“It was the same reaction when I asked. For now, we shouldn’t give off the image that we’re digging around anymore.”
After returning to the dormitory, Anakin had asked a person in the next room, but the only response was a cold one.
“Don’t ever ask me that again.”
They had such a terrified expression.
It was the moment the favorability with the upper-class student she had finally gotten close to plummeted.
Just as the atmosphere was getting heavy, everyone fell silent at a single remark from Lucien.
“Can’t we just kill that Evan guy?”
