章 32: The Order of the Obsidian [5] - Spy
Quill walked outside, surrounded by cloaked members both behind and in front of him, all silent in their steps
Hearing voices but seeing no people would have been disorienting, but it was dark, and so far, Quill hadn't seen anyone else besides these cloaked figures.
He hadn't seen Silas or anyone else when he re-entered the library, meaning that Silas had succeeded in what Quill had ordered him to do.
If he had followed the initial plotline, Silas would never have been stationed at the library.
To Quill's knowledge, Oliver and Emrys were supposed to be seeking the library past midnight for some book or something of that sort—the details weren't entirely clear to Quill.
While they were doing that, they would have been surprised by the sudden reveal of the hidden entrance as the members exited the gathering.
In the novel, Oliver and Emrys had been caught off guard, unable to react quickly enough when the members re-entered the library.
Remembering the scene correctly, Emrys could see the cloaked figures, and Quill had assumed Oliver could too, since it was never clarified that Emrys was the only one.
In hindsight, Oliver's actions made more sense.
In the written novel, Oliver constantly ran into one of the members or ended up in easily avoidable situations if only he had paid attention to the enemies' movements.
But with the knowledge he had now, Quill realized Oliver couldn't see them in the first place.
This confrontation led to a short fight between Emrys and the masked students within the library.
Fortunately, there were only a few masked students entering the library since they went in pairs to the exit, not all at once.
In the novel, Oliver and Emrys managed to escape back to their dorms. But this set a huge target on both of them, with Oliver ending up kidnapped, forcing Emrys to rescue him.
But now... none of that had happened.
The masked students dispersed in different directions, which was logical.
If they all went straight to their dorms, the whole secret identity wouldn't make much sense. They probably searched for places to change their attire.
Quill walked alone through the campus, not heading to his Defender Dorm but rather walking seemingly without a destination.
Why? Because there was another masked individual following him.
At first, Quill dismissed it, but as he walked an increasingly nonsensical path, the individual behind him continued to follow.
The chances of pure coincidence were as slim as Quill's belief that there existed people who didn't like ice cream.
"Camouflage," he whispered, leaving behind a trace of his threads, which slowly approached the ankle of the individual behind him.
The threads, to Quill's will, were as light as feathers, making them almost indistinguishable.
Quill stopped in his tracks, watching as the individual passed by him. His heart pounded with anticipation.
'...Was I mistaken?' But the thought vanished quickly when the individual stopped a few steps ahead, turning around.
Quill's eyes narrowed as he prepared for whatever was to come. His threads, now coiled like a snake ready to strike, awaited his command. The silence between them was heavy, broken only by the faint rustling of leaves in the breeze.
"You pretend to know of Einsz?" the robotic voice challenged, its tone cold.
In his confrontation with Dreiz, Quill had taken another gamble.
He hadn't spoken quietly, ensuring the entire audience could hear at least the first half of his conversation.
His reasons were twofold: first, to gauge any reaction from the students that might reveal they knew Dreiz was acting on his own; second, because he was almost certain there was a spy on behalf of Einsz, the first echelon of the Order.
Knowing Einsz as he did, Quill was aware that these spies were capable of the most insane feats when it came to infiltration.
If anyone within this cell could expose his pretense, it was them.
The gamble seemed to have worked, yet he couldn't discount the possibility of multiple spies lurking in the shadows, waiting to ambush him.
"I pretend?" Quill echoed, contemplating his next move.
If he used his Gift, it wouldn't take long for someone to trace it back to him, especially not a spy of Einsz.
But the chance of remaining hidden was long gone. Whatever he did now, the spy would eventually uncover his identity as Quill Nocturne.
The spy, however, was limited, at least in Quill's estimation.
If they exposed their identity, they would become useless.
Hence, they would be careful not to use their gifts, as Quill could trace it back by simply asking around about specific abilities.
Quill's main objective now was to unmask the spy and discover their identity, giving him leverage—what some might call blackmail—for his own advantage.
It was logical to assume that the anonymous message could have come from either Dreiz, a professor at Sentinel, or one of Einsz's spies, as both were trained to exploit and overcome security.
Einsz was a cruel man. If one of his spies were exposed, they would be as good as dead. Death would be the kindest end for Einsz; he would most likely torture the person to satisfy his own needs before disposing of them.
"Only one of Einsz's spies is here in Sentinel," the spy stated.
'…Isn't that already more information than I should know?' Quill thought, his mind racing.
"And you're not the one," the spy continued, the words dripping with challenge.
"You're trying to tell me you're the one?" Quill retorted, bracing for a fight.
If it came to that, he had to use everything at his disposal. Being one of Einsz's spies meant being no pushover, likely equivalent to an Eclipse student, if not surpassing them.
During the conversation, Quill had discreetly attached his threads all around the area—to trees, benches, everywhere.
The spy would likely fight differently than usual to avoid exposure, a restriction Quill didn't have since he needed to take the spy down no matter what.
The cloaked individual remained silent at Quill's question. Suddenly, the person revealed three kunai, throwing them directly at Quill, aiming at his shoulders with precision.
Quill sidestepped the kunai's path, his eyes, hidden behind the mask, focusing intently on the individual before him.
The stakes of this confrontation were clear: neither could kill the other.
If a student went missing, the headmaster would become involved, drawing unwanted attention that neither Quill nor the spy desired.
The air between them crackled with tension. Quill's threads, now nearly invisible, were ready to spring into action at his command. He knew this would be no easy battle, but he also knew he couldn't afford to lose.
'...Looks like it's going to be the hard way.'
He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his veins, sharpening his senses and heightening his awareness of every detail around him.
Both of them stood there, poised for the next move.
Quill took his turn, yanking his right arm with all his might, pulling the threads attached to his gauntlet.
The threads on the person's ankle hardened, jerking them off their feet and slamming them to the ground.
Letting loose the thread on his gauntlet, Quill extended his hands to the sides, connecting every thread he had laid around to the person's body, pinning them against the stone floor.
*Phut.*
Quill could swear he heard a soft sound, like a muffled burst.
As he approached, a sudden wave of heat took him by surprise. The threads caught fire, freeing the individual without burning them.
'A Fire Gift user...?'
Another new piece of information. Quill had to retreat, both of them returning to their earlier positions.
The only fire Gift user Quill could think of was connected to Luca Ivanov.
'...But didn't he have pitch black flames?'
The Gift of fire wasn't rare; it was one of the most common.
These flames looked and felt normal. It might not even be a Gift but something as simple as a lighter Quill hadn't noticed.
"Quill Nocturne," the robotic voice intoned, the sound carrying a chilling finality.
'...They figured out my name because of my Gift. But it must be someone who witnessed me using it.'
It was clear the individual knew his identity, something unavoidable from the start.
'...Screw it.'
Quill decided to use his Ice ability. Holding his hand upwards, he shot his threads. The individual couldn't see where Quill's threads were, making it nearly impossible to anticipate their direction.
"Glaciate," Quill muttered. The seemingly invisible threads suddenly formed ice armor around them, revealing just how much Quill had prepared the battlefield.
Ice strings shot at the cloaked individual from every direction.
It was impossible to avoid.
Quill's keen eyes noticed movement within the robe as the individual pulled something out, throwing small balls onto the ground. U
pon contact, the balls released gas, obscuring Quill's vision. The area where the cloaked individual stood was suddenly engulfed in smoke.
*Phut*
'Again that dampened sound...!'
As the smoke cleared, Quill saw that the ice strings had smashed into the aimed direction, but the target was gone, as if swallowed by the ground.
'Where the hell...!' Quill looked around frantically, realizing that moving hastily in this robe was inefficient.
"...I-I failed..." he muttered, the weight of the words sinking in.
The individual was nowhere to be seen. Even if they were still around, specializing in hiding and camouflage, would he be able to see them?
"Dammit!" Quill cursed, staring at the place where his ice glistened in the moonlight. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his racing thoughts.
The battle was over, but the war had just begun. He had to regroup and figure out his next move, knowing full well that Einsz's spies were formidable opponents.
/||\
Throwing his mask onto his bed, Quill rubbed his face in frustration.
"Dammit, dammit, dammit...!" he cursed. He had revealed his identity, and in the worst-case scenario, also his given name. While only those who had been on the field trip could really make anything of the name, he now had no leverage to use against the Order.
The entire undercover mission was a mess. There was no way that spy wouldn't inform Drei about his real identity and his lies.
And what then? Quill would undoubtedly become a target. He was already a target for Eins's spy since he had revealed knowing about Eins, making him a walking danger.
'If only I could have pulled off that damn mask!'
But wishes were pointless. Quill had to act. He had to move forward with the plot, he had to expose the Order of the Obsidian cell, which meant he had to attack them head-on.
In the original plotline, the members had kidnapped multiple students one after another. And why didn't the school authorities step in?
Because those missing students were only gone for a day, at most two, and then returned as if nothing had happened, always with a believable excuse.
This was due to Dreiz's influence.
Besides the cup, which was an artifact, he also had a glove that could rearrange memories, deleting or adding them at will.
Though Quill didn't know the specifics, he knew that was what Dreiz had done to the student who didn't drink from the cup but stayed seated.
"This isn't what I wanted...," Quill muttered to himself, pacing the room.
Though Quill knew it wasn't morally right, he hadn't wanted to intervene in this storyline.
He wanted to maintain his role as a member within the Order to uncover why these students were kidnapped and to find possible clues about who sent him the message.
But now... he couldn't just infiltrate again.
Or could he?
'No, why wouldn't that spy rat me out?'
It was decided. He would attack the Order at their next gathering. He just needed to know when.
Additionally, he wouldn't be doing it alone. Not that he had much of a chance alone.
In this particular line, he would follow the novel.
He had to. Neglecting the characters' growth would only complicate the future and possibly weaken them.
He had already weakened Emrys by taking Erisa's attention away from him.
Though it wasn't intentional, Erisa hadn't interacted with Emrys once; instead, she had interacted several times with Quill.
Meaning Quill had already stolen a valuable ally from Emrys.
He couldn't continue doing that. Hence, he had to take Emrys with him.
The same went for Ana, who was one of the party members in the rescue of Oliver in the novel.
'And Oliver...?'
He hadn't confirmed it yet, but Oliver should not be one of the kidnapped ones since that only happened because Emrys and Oliver were caught by the members and fought them originally.
Now it never happened, meaning Oliver was a potential candidate to take with him.
But...
'He's too weak. He would only weigh us down.'
He shook his head, his mind too pumped up to think clearly. He needed to sleep on it.
Though he wouldn't be able to relax much, with the fear of someone ambushing him in his sleep. Due to the dorm's security, it shouldn't be possible, but the same thought had crossed Quill's mind initially about the scroll's security.
Tomorrow, or better said later today, he would make his move, gather his party, and prepare for a full-on battle.
He definitely wouldn't have the best sleep tonight.
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