Alric, till now, was barely able to keep the disappearances under wraps, giving various excuses to the close friends of those who had disappeared. But the continuation of their absence began to grow heavy on their minds, and as the students who had disappeared, their friends began to communicate with one another, and words spread through more and more students.
They began to realize what was happening, especially the students belonging to the high society of the minor kingdoms, as they were the ones who went missing. They began to hold secret meetings together and gather more information, and they realized that they were indeed being targeted, likely by the great kingdoms. A rift became visibly apparent between the students of the Great and Minor kingdoms.
Those hailing from the lower six kingdoms began to act more rebelliously against the students of the great kingdoms. The students hailing from the three higher forces of humanity also became informed of the anamoly that was going on. Though those hailing from the high society of the great kingdoms remained relatively harmless, many of the commoners had disappeared from their side. Not to mention, they didn’t understand why they were being blamed by the students of the minor kingdoms.
But this also enraged them greatly; the students of the high society of the great kingdoms were always used to being haughty and arrogant, as if everything in the world belonged to them. Although they came to the academy and did not receive any special treatment, they faced the overwhelming power of some individuals, which somewhat curbed their arrogance; however, it remained deep in their bones. Specifically, the fact that those from the minor kingdoms were looking at them with hostility did not bode well for their nature.
This presented another set of problems, as the students from the minor kingdom were already in a significant minority. They were being pressured by a particular group of students hailing from the three kingdoms.
Multiple fights broke out between the students of the two forces, and both parties were, in truth, agitated about their own lives, wondering if they might be the next to disappear. What did it mean to disappear? What was it exactly that was kidnapping the students? The Unified Human Academy was supposed to be the most secure place in humanity, of which no other great kingdom knew the location or could in any way plot against it. While the academy staff intervened to stop the continuous fight within the academy, they could not punish the students too severely.
Because this tense atmosphere was indeed their fault, both factions of the students are unable to vent their anger on each other, their attention now turned towards the academy authorities themselves. Both groups, in their own way, began to revolt against the academy’s rules. The academy staff had given explanations to the students multiple times that they were looking into the problem, but had been unable to provide any concrete results.
The students all collectively became furious when the number of disappearances had crossed 50, even excluding the 20 killed first in the forest. Over 1000 students gathered in front of the academy’s main building. All had fury written all over their faces, but deep in their eyes was fear. The Fear of being the next one to disappear or die. It was a scenario they could not help but imagine. Most of the students were now sleeping in groups in one room or apartment together.
Even then, many of them were unable to sleep from the anxiety. Countless rumors had spread throughout the entire academy. Whether it was a scheme of the Three Great Kingdoms or this was a scheme of the academy itself, maybe. Or some evil individual or magician was collecting the students to experiment on them. Perhaps the academy itself was planning some revolt against the established forces of humanity.
Most of them were utterly illogical, but fear could drive a man insane, forcing them to do things they would usually never do. They become dumber when they give in to fear. Humans, in particular, were more prone to anxiety than anything else. Specially, the fear of the unknown. When humans did not understand something, it created the strongest type of fear within them—forcing them to make dumb decisions that no sane person would make.
Perhaps the most notable one who went missing from the side of the minor kingdoms was obviously Conner Ravenspire—the strongest from the minor kingdoms. The 1000+ students continued to shout and chant in front of the main building of the academy, where the principal himself resided. Many of the professors, including Gareth, Regina, Fenris, and Alfred, were watching this from the skies.
Gareth muttered in annoyance, seeing the stupid shouting children below, disgust evident in his voice,
"I understand that the situation is indeed precarious, but why is the principal letting these dumb brats continue this charade. Instead of looking for the real solution to the problem, we’re having to do this? How infuriating."
The beautiful female professor Regina shook his head and looked at Gareth with pity, but it was a look of pity that conveyed more proof of idiocy than actual pity. Gareth didn’t like it, "What??"
Then the homeroom professor of the Gold Section, Darwin Brown, appeared. He sighed and proceeded to explain with the patience of someone who always had his emotions under total control, "The reason the principal is letting the students continue to do this childish revolt of theirs is because of two reasons."
"One, is because outright suppressing them would cause more long-term grievances in this sensitive situation. This way, they have a way to express their inner emotions and avoid fighting with each other. Otherwise, the minority of the smaller kingdoms might be suppressed even further. Eventually, leading to murder."
"Two, this way, they remain more united, and when a larger number of students hang around together all the time, the rate of disappearance drops significantly."
He paused for a moment as he saw understanding finally dawning on the face of the muscle-headed forger and added, "Besides, the principal will now make an announcement to calm things down. After all, the festival is right ahead."
Alfred nodded and asked, "By the way, what about the special ones?"
Darwin sighed, "You mean the Valkyrie, Axel, Lucien, Lumina, Thorian Blackvale, Heinz Gil, Enrick Samartan, Vyra Vanelis, and Jaden Redmar?"
Gareth snorted, "They’re all probably too busy with their own things to bother about this stuff."
Alfred shook his head, "No, those punks think they are already more than strong enough to withstand whatever capturing the students can do to them. Which is why none of them are here."
The combat professor Fenris interjected, "Hmm, no, they are not so blindsided by arrogance, unlike the usual behaviour of noble heirs. But maybe there is a certain pattern to these things. The most concerning part of this whole situation is....that it doesn’t make sense in any way."
"Especially, the fact that if, let’s say, some hostile party against humanity is plotting something, would it not make more sense for them to target the brightest of the students who will all take critical positions throughout humanity in the future? The valkyrie should have been their primary target. But it doesn’t seem like it."
Regina interrupted the combat professor in frustration, "Okay, that’s enough, Fenris. We’ve discussed these things and their possibilities so many times that it’s become repetitive. Let’s not keep having the same conversations over and over. I’m tired at this point."
Fenris grimaced but did not say anything more; everyone else also conveyed the same tired look. They haven’t been able to rest for almost a week straight. They had to keep their surveillance active around the clock, day and night. Though considering their strength, it didn’t affect them much, even without a few weeks of rest.
As for the exceptional student, all minding their own business, a clone of the principal oversaw them personally to ensure no harm came to them. However, the principal was unsure of how effective this measure would be if the unknown party did want to capture them. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs novｅlfire.net