Minutes before Silvers lost his life, the students and teachers heard crashes outside the room they were locked in.
Cid wondered what that commotion was.
Then...
"Hello, everyone!"
The door was violently opened by the body of a man who was bleeding alive.
The outside was dark, but a shadow approached in that darkness.
Step by step echoed.
The invaders got into attack positions.
"Did Silvers go crazy or something?"
"It could be!"
"In that case, call the boss."
"Your efforts are useless."
The invaders watched a person covered in black entering the hall.
One of them shouted.
"That appearance, totally black... you, damn it. You're Licht, aren't you!?"
The students and teachers murmured.
"Licht? Are they talking about the mysterious criminal who eliminated several nobles and temple people?"
"Wasn't he supposed to be just a lie to hide a secret power war?"
"I-I'm scared."
The faces of the students and teachers were of confusion and panic, but only one of them didn't show that expression.
It was Cid, who only showed curiosity.
(For some reason, I feel like I've seen that pose?)
Licht extended his arms to the sky, and his voice resonated in that room.
"Students and teachers of the academy! Do not fear me! I am not your enemy, I am your ally in a way!"
"Huh?" They all said, as the last thing he said left them intrigued.
"I am the shadow that hunts other shadows. A guardian who watches over this country from the dirtiest corners you can imagine. I am..."
A wicked smile appeared on his face.
"An ally of dark justice!"
"Justice..."
"Dark, he said?"
Cid's mouth said unexpected words that no one heard.
"It's the most childish thing I've heard since Razel and his ramblings..."
His mouth stopped, and he looked around.
(Huh? Where is he? Could it be...?)
"Enough of the chatter! Kill him!"
Shouted the invaders as they drew their swords.
They all moved to cut him, but...
"Your opponent is not me."
He disappeared the moment he was about to be cut.
The invaders didn't realize he had disappeared.
"Now..."
Instead, they didn't notice a real problem.
"It's time for you victims to make your captors pay for your frustration."
Some teachers and students were freed; the enemies' swords were stolen and left near their feet.
They were taken, and the attack began.
Angry students and furious teachers charged against the invaders in an arduous battle.
Those who didn't fight went to heal the wounded or untie everyone.
A girl untied Cid; he took a sword. Before heading to fight, he turned halfway to see Licht, who had disappeared.
◇◇◇
After entering a nearby room, Licht found the director on the floor.
He had been drugged.
Beside him was a jar with a mysterious liquid, similar to what was dripping from his mouth.
After checking that he had no wounds, he observed the open door.
"How dare you!"
An enemy was behind him.
But using only a pen that the director had in his pockets, he embedded it in his enemy's neck.
He walked calmly as the man left behind bled out.
◇◇◇
Director's Office.
It was one of the largest personal rooms in the academy.
Not even the teachers' lounge was this big.
A hooded man had ransacked the place.
"Damn it!"
"Where is it?"
Drawer after drawer was pulled out from everywhere.
The desk, a nearby table, hidden bookshelves.
There wasn't a single place left unchecked.
"He said it was a red envelope, but there's none around here."
"Did you check behind that painting?"
The man in the black raincoat quickly raised his head and looked behind.
"Hello."
He found a mysterious jet-black figure drinking freshly made tea.
He didn't know what this meant, but he put his hand behind his back to pull out a poisoned dagger.
"Check that painting over there."
Licht pointed to the wall.
A small painting that had a diploma was hung there.
Volg hadn't checked it because it seemed insignificant.
Without taking his eye off Licht, who continued drinking his tea, he approached the painting.
He took it and then threw it to the floor.
He watched as a red envelope was hidden there; the diploma was nothing more than a feint.
Upon taking it, he turned to Licht, who had already finished his tea.
"How should I take this?"
"Just open that envelope."
Without taking his eye off him again, he opened it.
"This is...?"
The contents of the red envelope were a map leading to a specific address.
Volg didn't know its meaning.
But Licht told him.
"You're wasting your time."
"What do you mean?"
"You're wasting your time; that's what I said."
"What do you mean by that?"
He crossed one of his legs while relaxing.
"I've already been to that place once. According to the game, there was a treasure there. The treasure was nothing more than stolen junk."
"What?"
"You wasted your time coming, squandered your allies, and the student and teacher uprising must already be culminating."
Volg heard the shouts of his men.
"Your mistake was coming while we were present. Please, have a seat..."
Licht's mouth moved to say something that surprised Volg.
"Professor Lloyd."
Volg didn't respond; he just sat down facing Licht.
He gave a little laugh while removing his mask.
There, a man who should be dead appeared.
"How did you know?"
"Idiot, anyone would notice if your corpse disappears."
"I don't know how you managed to survive, but taking the students so that no one would discover your identity after 'dying,' playing dead, and stealing what was here was a good plan, but it failed because I was here."
"And who are you to know all that?"
Licht lowered his hood and removed his mask.
"Bartlet?! This is a surprise; not long ago you were struggling to copy, and now you're a hired assassin."
"I am not."
"What are you not?"
"I'm not an assassin. I'm a guardian among the shadows."
"... Sorry if I don't understand what you're saying."
"It doesn't matter. Tea?"
"Thanks."
Razel, who had revealed his identity, served tea to his former professor.
"For us to have this conversation so calmly and for you to have removed your mask, it only means one thing, doesn't it?"
"For being such a good professor, I'd like to give you a small and comfortable last supper."
"With tea?"
"There are cookies in that cabinet."
"I'll settle for the tea."
Lloyd took a sip of tea.
"Delicious, did you make it?"
"No. It's what the scary professor made before they took him away crying."
"Hahaha, typical of Clement."
Razel placed his feet on the low table.
"I'd like you to give me information."
"About?"
"... Do I really have to say it?"
"Am I joking?"
"What would you like to know?"
"Everything."
"I want to know everything about the Black Crows. They're a pain in the ass. A very, very big pain. So much so, they should be called the Black Hemorrhoids."
"Hahaha, it seems you've been having fun."
"Well, first let me start from the beginning."
Lloyd proceeded to tell the truth that no one in the game knew.
◇◇◇
A millennium ago, the Arklight Empire was founded.
The first emperor unified seven duchies under his wing.
The problem came when the territory grew to be impossible to handle alone.
The dukes didn't help, and the other nobles were petty.
Help was scarce to control the newly established empire and prevent revolts.
It was then that the first emperor said.
"I am going to form a group of vigilantes."
These vigilantes consisted of commoners with minuscule power.
They were all allies of the emperor when he was still king.
This group was called the "Black Crows." Creatures that watch during the day and at night.
Thus, the emperor was aware of what happened for years.
The commoners went unnoticed as they were people without power or influence.
They used black masks that only covered their nose and mouth. Their eyes were the same color, so it was impossible to tell who was who without knowing more features.
Their hair was black, and that didn't help either.
That's how the Black Crows organization watched over the empire even after the death of its original founder.
They infiltrated different places like the temple, among merchants, and even in the palace to watch that no one overstepped the mark.
Their lives were happy serving the empire.
It was that very reason that began the darkness.
"Why should I do it?"
Since they had a double identity, their daily lives, which were in the public eye, suffered because of their secret work.
Many were slandered, incriminated, and even exiled by those who weren't a threat to the empire.
Just people who despised them for being commoners.
Another question arose there.
Why am I still a commoner? Even if it were a baronet or a baron, it would suffice.
The treatment of commoners was always bad, but it was worse for those who punished those of their own status just for telling the truth.
One day, a few secretly went to tell the emperor that they wished to be rewarded.
The emperor belonged to the previous dynasty before the current one. He laughed in their faces and showed his fangs.
"Come!"
A group of hooded figures emerged from the shadows, surrounded the men asking for a reward for their hard work, and only met their end.
But fortunately for them and unfortunately for that emperor, they were being watched by an infiltrator who hid his presence and reduced his heart rate.
The other members learned of this; that's where the first commoners' rebellion occurred.
At the same time, a revolution took place against the current dynasty.
There were nearly ten years of secret and internal wars.
In the end, the palace won.
The Black Crows were destroyed.
Or so they thought.
But one day, they reappeared.
No longer as an organization that watched over the empire from the shadows.
But as a virus that enters its host to take over the body.
Several years passed until the change to the new dynasty.
The old dynasty lived in a secret place; the members who knew what happened long ago decided to take justice into their own hands.
No one was left alive.
But it wasn't enough.
The punishment of the imperial family didn't end there.
They wanted more; they wanted to obtain what was theirs and cared for it as if it were their child.
The empire itself.
The organization grew to be a large beehive. There was almost no place in the empire not controlled by them.
They were invincible; the conquest of the empire was assured before the end of the current school cycle.
But... a mysterious figure has been crumbling that.
That figure is Licht.
◇◇◇
"You are our problem."
Said Lloyd.
"The reason we can't take over the palace is because of you."
"You killed influential people and many of our executives."
"Fear has taken hold of those old men; that's why they sent me to look for that treasure. To see if it would serve us, but according to you, it's not worth doing."
Razel raised his hand and stuck his finger in his nose.
While digging deep, he said.
"Wow. What a trashy story."
"I'm sure it would make an excellent franchise, like those bad movies about handsome teenagers and zombies that aren't zombies."
"What are you talking about?"
"Nothing that concerns you. Just that your resolution is shit."
"Look, I don't give a shit about the future of the empire; I don't give a shit about the dark past of the empire. What I care about is that you tell me where your headquarters are so I can kill them all."
"You're a very strange kid, you know?"
"You're the strange ones."
Lloyd laughed as he saw how disinterested Razel behaved.
"Let me tell you this. To reach the leader, the two-headed crow, you need to get past the Yatagarasu, which are the three right hands chosen by that person."
"One of them is the Iscariote family, which no longer exists; another right hand is me, Volg."
"Actually, I'm just an impostor."
Lloyd tore off part of his face, revealing a completely different face.
"Lloyd von Exceed, eighth son of a viscount. His family is close friends with the director; for that reason, I infiltrated here."
"I see..."
"Is it time already?"
"Time?"
"Yes. For my escort to come, a very strong and annoying kid who just wants to fight."
"Is he a redhead by any chance?"
"Yes, why?"
"He's rotting in a closed room."
"Lloyd" swallowed saliva upon hearing how his trump card was being devoured by worms.
"Continue, tell me who the last of you is."
With a long pause, he continued.
"The main benefactor and right hand of the second prince, Minister Olgren."
Razel put his hand to his chin.
"Wow, this is going to be annoying."
"Lloyd" heard footsteps approaching.
He quickly moved his hand to his back and then...
◇◇◇
The director was accompanied by a large group of teachers and students.
They ran at great speed straight to his office.
(Please, don't let it be too late.)
They were a few meters away from arriving.
When suddenly the door was shattered by an object that flew outwards.
Once the dust cleared, someone shouted.
"P-Professor Lloyd!"
The bloody body of their professor, with his neck twisted, was before their eyes.
Steps approached directly towards them.
Upon coming out of the room, Licht was covered in blood and had something in his hands.
The director saw him.
"You, that thing there!"
"Relax, old man."
Licht threw the red envelope towards the director.
"That thing there is useless anyway. It's absurd that you want to use stolen art treasures for evil purposes."
"Treasures? Art? What are you..."
"You should tell the palace about that; I've already been there, so I know there's no risk of anything. I'm saying this so this doesn't happen again."
Before Licht left in a blue flash.
"Inform the students that Professor Lloyd was an impostor; you should take serious measures next time."
With those words, he disappeared.
That day ended with the palace invading the academy and interrogating the students.
The teachers graded the students with excellent marks, and everyone passed.
Except Razel, who locked himself in the bathroom and had to take the remaining exams alone on the same day.
___________________________
Yatagarasu: A creature from Japanese mythology that appears in the Shinto religion.