Chapitre 258: Academy Breach [7]
[James' Pov]
"-You...!"
It was finally here, the moment that I had imagined so many times in my head, but somehow my fantasies hadn't even been close to being able to live up to the real thing.
Because right now, getting to see the king's face darken with frustration, rage, and resignation, I couldn't stop the feeling of pure bliss from entering my body. It was to the point where I was having a hard time stopping myself from laughing out loud.
For the first time in a long time, I felt alive, with vigor filling every single imaginary cell of my ethereal body.
The best part of this was knowing that despite me having given him the choice between Sarah and Peter, it truly wasn't a choice at all.
Looking down on the pair of students that had now been put in the spotlight, with Mark expertly showing them to the world, the expression of the desperate princess trying her best to keep the innocent student alive with her magic, everyone already knew the outcome.
No matter how they wanted to make it sound, that the royals of this country only lived for their citizens, I was now about to show everyone the hypocrisy of that statement. Because when push came to shove, this wasn't part of the reality that we lived in.
Naturally, I as well understood all the roundabout ways he would justify choosing Sarah over Peter, not only because she was his daughter, but because she would be able to bring prosperity to the kingdom in the future.
Yet it would still paint the picture of a king who valued his child over his citizens, and no matter how many people would have no issues understanding his decision, it was bound to sow seeds of doubt within the population.
"Then, I will give you some time to think things over, Your Highness. And while you take some time to think, I believe it's time to show the world the truth about what actually happened in the past. Please enjoy, everyone."
"-Wai...!"
The projection on the wall went black, letting me know that our broadcast of a very peculiar show of events was now being shown to everyone in the capital, as there was no way the media wouldn't be reporting on it.
The next second, the same video was now shown on the wall where the king's face had just disappeared, showing all the students in the room the same thing that the people in the city square got to see.
Because after a couple of weeks of looking, I found it. The original copy of the video that showed the truth of what happened in the past, showing the woman once known as Samantha walking to my academy apartment with a knife in her hand.
Despite this, it was still not enough to change everyone's opinions of me.
"Demon..."
Turning my eyes toward the woman who had once again decided to view me as something other than human, I did feel a bit bad about bringing Sarah into another very hurtful situation.
Still sitting on her knees, with sweat now covering her forehead after having used up so much mana to force Peter into a somewhat stable state, she now looked at me with pure hatred in her eyes, having fully dismissed any and all semblance of lingering affection for me.
Sadly, I didn't have time for her right now. Because although the video that was now being broadcasted would repeat a couple of times, I still had to make sure I kept to the schedule.
Therefore, I removed my mask, allowing all of the students standing around the large room, as well as the members of the Hurricane clan that was surrounding them, to see my face. And though it was subtle, I knew that seeing my face was enough to dispel a bit of the hostility toward me.
"I know that you all are most likely thinking that I'm the villain of this story. However, after seeing this video, you should also be aware that I as well am a victim. A victim of this broken world and the injustice that belongs to it."
Spanning the dark room, it wasn't surprising to see that I was still met with looks of hostility and fear. However, there were still some people whose eyes shone a bit, showing me that I had triggered something inside of them.
"All of you are being ruled by propaganda, telling you that if you want to become something, you have to be strong. That your worth is purely based on competence, without any regard for other virtues such as kindness, bravery or empathy."
Slowly but surely, I could see the hardened shells on multiple individuals weaken, and although they were still few and far between, it was enough to know that my little speech was slowly working as intended.
"I will change this world, and though I cannot promise you that it will be in a peaceful way, all the sacrifices that will be made will have meaning. Because the sacrifices that are made today will be the paving stones of tomorrow. Therefore, those who wish to join me, you are welcome to do so."
A moment of confusion arose amongst the students, with many not quite sure if they heard me correctly. Obviously, no one dared step forward, no one until I could hear the shrill voice of the one I knew was so incredibly similar to me.
"Thomas?! What are you doing?!"
The large student was the first one to take a step forward, breaking free from the cluster of classmates that he had been standing among, heavily contrasting his usually meek persona.
Following this, it didn't take long until a blue-haired girl joined him, still struggling not to smile while she looked at me.
Whispers and murmurs started spreading around the room, and although I could see the green-haired clan members start to move in order to quench the talks amongst the students, I subtly raised my hand to stop them.
This was something necessary if I wanted the momentum to continue if I wanted the broken souls to get the courage to step forward.
With the two freshmen now standing right in front of the stage, turning around to meet the judgmental eyes of the other students, it didn't take long until another one came around.
Slowly stepping forward, showing his lanky figure to his surroundings, the black-haired third year of which I didn't know the name, carefully made his way to the stage as well, taking his place next to Stella.
It was hard to contain the small smirk that threatened to break out on my face, seeing as my plan was seemingly working quite well. Because then, when the green-haired girl that I had promised Alexander that I would safely escort out of the academy stepped forward, it was the last push that was needed.
A total of eight students followed Celina's lead, now joining the others in front of me.
Truth be told, the exact number of students who chose to join me didn't matter much, because their purpose would most likely never be to act as combatants for my cause. No, their only purpose was to become a symbol of rejection.
Needless to say, just these few students wouldn't make much difference by themselves, but it had to start somewhere. In the future, even if my goal would inevitably cause the fall of Mensch and Kurat, I still wanted to give the people a chance for survival and, therefore, I had to make it known that I was merciful enough to open my arms for everyone.
And with that, this act had reached its end, making way for the incredibly exciting finale.
Putting my mask back on, I signaled to Mark that I was ready, to which he simply nodded back as confirmation.
The screen flickered, and a moment later the king's face once again appeared, only this time with a sullen shine in his eyes.
'Seems like my gift was shown, after all.'
Despite me knowing that the king wouldn't be able to shut down the broadcast unless he wanted to risk losing his daughter, it was still pleasing to know that the truth had now been shown to the people of Mensch.
Aware that everyone's eyes were once again on me, I prepared myself to act the part as there was no one who wanted to see an unenthusiastic host.
"Welcome back, everyone! I hope that you enjoyed the movie that you got to see, and that you got the chance to prepare yourselves for the finale of this event! Because now is the time for your prestigious king to choose."
Flaring my arms out once again, aware that Mark was putting the exhausted Sarah and the unconscious Peter into the frame, I was more than excited to hear the king's answer, even though I already knew what he would pick.
"-I do not negotiate with terrorists."
Cadeaux
-- Cadeau
reçu État de l’alimentation hebdomadaire
-- Classement
Power Stone 
-- Power
stone