Aeon Nether & Idol Effigy

Chapter 79- Explanations

With the dead bodies in view Florent and Aster looked at eachother with knowing looks. Petra looked indignant at this. I was clueless, but aware that some idiots had chosen to act on their own instincts someway, somehow. I looked at the blatant yellowish pink accents on the dead and had an idea of the possible things that could have happened. We all had ideas.

When we each left each other to go back to our separate dorms we were all ready to look into what had happened. Or more accurately, we were all ready to have our deductions confirmed.

I, myself, entered the dorm and was met with silence. All contestants and the other two administrators were sitting in the living room that was placed next to the stairs that led to our rooms.

When I walked in they all turned to look at me with serious expressions. They almost blanched as they took in my appearance with subtle shock.

Drag broke the silence and stated like he knew my schedule, "You weren't here when the people came right?"

"Well, I came in time to see the yellowish pastel pink accents on the dead bodies. Strangers and staff, but no officer's like the ones I'd just killed. It was weird. But if you're here all silent, because you're worried about Trina's powers or that something more serious has happened to drag people unwillingly you'd be wrong too. Her ability only affects herself and would make most people jealous on the whole dieting or training spectrum." Afterall, I've seen the darkside of the obsessively ignorant fans that controlled the flow of Emma's life. Those fans were a lot of things, but they wouldn't forcefully hypnotise the masses. Blindly delude, maybe, but not to the extent of using abilities. To use their abilities to benefit Trina would be against their fan identity. Their pride reflected Trinas. And like so many other types of pride, it made no sense.

"Hmm? You know her ability?" The cloud-like Administrator cut through in amazement and confusion. He was in deep thought soon after, quieting down like he never spoke in the first place.

"Yeah, the whole reason she was obsessed with Emma was due to her weak healing skill."

"Elaborate." The cloudy administrator muttered, still confused.

"Due to our biological mother and father in this world, we almost died multiple times in childhood and so on. When we were born our bodies were lucky to have grown excess skin to try and fight off the killing attempts. When I was born a screen blocked me from sight, so my parents and other people couldn't see me. My family decided to sell me along with the hospital and the traffickers who lived in the hospital only had to wait until I was two when my screen turned off to be reminded of trafficking me. But I killed them with a mutated goblin that they kept in a cage there. I still went back to the family, but ended up running away immediately and killing them when I was four.

"Oh, and by the age of two I was VISUALLY fine, with no excessive skin. But I still suffered internal pain like Emma. Emma, however, didn't have a screen to block her. So when she was born her parents decided they might be able to work as her agents on a freak show exhibit or something. Something that would give them more money than trafficking through the limited hospital channel. Five months in and Emma's excess skin didn't look as sickly as it did when she was born. Eventually, the parents decided to sell the excess skin to a rich couple whose daughter's ability caused her to almost be born skinless and in pain.

"The parents haphazardly hacked the skin off and delivered it to the couple. The couple were Trina's rich parents and gave Trina the skin. Since it was skin with some healing abilities and some conditions seemed to be met, Trina gained a healing ability alongside her initial ability. After that she'd been obsessed with making Emma's life a hell, but on account of what kinds of torture her parents or people around her took out through her, Emma was always aware she'd die young. Even with the dungeon medicines she hid and used on herself, she only thought she'd live to twenty years old in reality outside the dungeon.

"It was on this program that Trina decided she didn't want to experiment with Emma and was irked with having gotten an ability from her. Long story short Emma was used as an anthesis by Trina and Trina was given an excuse to kill her. By killing her she'd avoid dungeon service like she wanted for a period of time and get to freely join it later on with added benefits. There are a few other things, but that's the gist of it."

Another contestant shrank back on themselves, "So, when you said she'd eat pregnant women and their children and the whole sleeping with their husband thing... Was she trying to gain more abilities."

The fan man administrator answered him, "It happens a lot, but given how many times this Trina person has repeatedly done the same thing, I can imagine that she does it for fun as a hobby. Not just a typical experiment to gain more abilities."

A cool silence glazed over the living room.

"Can you explain why you're dressed like that? We'll explain what happened after you left." Drag continued his conversation looking at me. A question that got directly to the point and I was thankful for.

"I went to a dungeon like I usually do, but this time I went with Aster, Florent and Petra due to their worrying about me giving an opening to killers." I rolled my eyes. "I usually had people or officials try to kill me at less populated dungeons and since I could heal it was fine. But I let them join me, since I could protect them. Long story short: A lot of people tried to ambush us and a lot of the ambushers happened to be officers. They betted on explosions and us being weak in combat against people like us. The wooden administrator helped walk us home after we cleared the dungeon they thought we were going into. So now I'm a mess like this." My clothes were in a mess at the end of it all.

Drag nodded before stating what happened with them. "Well, a bunch of lies took place here whilst you were gone. The staff tried to fight against Rain and led some propaganda for Trina. They surrendered when they realised they were going about it the wrong way, but by then a bunch of strangers came in. Rain wasn't stopping his killing spree and Trina with some judges and contestants were crying that it was all your fault. A few idiots believed them, which is why we were all waiting for you to come."

"Let me guess, some happened to be the judges turned contestants?" I sneered.

"Exactly. Although I wouldn't say they were part of the people being led. It would be more accurate to say they were the ones doing the leading." Drag tutted. He seemed to be part of the party that hadn't fallen for the idols' lies.

I paused quietly, but the ones that were interested enough to stay here to discuss myself being guilty in some way didn't say anything. They're attention aired more on receiving their own shock that I was in perfect condition. The reaction was enough to tell anyone that I downplayed what happened to me and that they were part of the perpetrators for being aware enough to be shocked at the lack of injuries on me. Afterall, for all these people know I could have just come up with a lie after dressing myself up like this. Most of them also knew how to act semi well, so the shock they let show was enough to explain I was more truthful in the matter.

Felixe broke the silence in which everyone was digesting their own thoughts. He began saying, "We don't need to do anything. By the end of today those that sent those people to kill you will already have plans written up to deal with them. The government will be exposed once again and even if Trina survives once again in this competition she'd be more or less alone. She lied on a live streaming show with a bunch of other people. I honestly doubt that there's no evidence to backup all of their crimes since everything done was so sloppy."

Right, it was sloppy. It felt different from the book where I was upset that everything went Trina's way. This was sloppy. Was it a difference of perspective?

A couple people nodded to Felixe's words.

I asked, "Then I can go wash up, eat, revise and sleep?"

A chorus of "Sure" and "Oh, right. Navigation might need a new course once again! When will space navigation and pirate navigation be finished?!"

Everything passed quickly with everyone meandering back to the mundane stuff they do in their everyday life nowadays.

"Wasn't it called Pirate maps?"

"Who cares, they both include space!", the voices continued, more concerned with themselves and the competition now.