The sheer hostility and rage radiating from John were enough to make the air in the area feel heavy.

Just before Nikolas could make sense of the frantic warning or the threat, John spun slightly, pointing his free hand toward Luke, Elena, and Ben.

"Make sure to keep them safe while I’m gone," John commanded, his eyes burning with a desperate clarity.

"Safe?" Luke was startled, his brow furrowed in confusion. "From what exactly? John, you’re not making sense!"

"Mark."

The moment John uttered that single name, the atmosphere changed instantly. The confusion on Elena’s and Luke’s faces vanished, replaced by a haunting, crystalline terror that quickly hardened into combat readiness.

They didn’t need to hear another word. They didn’t ask for context. The two of them acted in a singular, terrifying unison; Luke reached and took out his massive, heavy club.

Simultaneously, Elena’s hands blurred as she summoned her twin sledgehammers. In the blink of an eye, the two had transformed from worried friends into two of the most dangerous people in the building, ready to fight and ready to kill.

"What is going on?"

Neither the teachers nor Ben could make head or tail of the situation. Ben threw the question out with a voice that cracked under the tension; it was the question ringing heavily inside everyone’s mind.

The teachers turned as one toward the Headmaster, seeking guidance. The Headmaster turned his piercing gaze toward Nikolas, who looked equally tensed.

Nikolas had heard the details of their adventure, heard everything they did back at the pocket trial. He knew what Mark represented, or at least, he knew what they had described.

John and the others had told him stories about Mark and the machines’ scheme: rogue programs, deadly machines attacking humans in the pocket trials, and cyborgs hiding in plain sight among the human population.

With a silent, slow nod, the Headmaster made a split-second decision. He chose to trust Nikolas. He signalled for the other teachers to stand down and opened a path for John to pass.

"This isn’t over," the Headmaster said in a low, warning tone as John brushed past him. "I still need an explanation to tell the department and the academy... An explanation for myself."

"I know," John said. At this moment, he looked like the most dangerous beast in the world. As he passed, the Headmaster felt a sudden, involuntary shudder in his heart, an instinctual fear that was utterly unbelievable for someone like him to feel coming from a mere third-year student.

John paused for a fraction of a second at the doorway, his back to the room. "Till then, look for a teacher... He can use illusions, and he has access to that basement, whatever that basement is actually used for. Find him, and you’ll find the bridge to Mark."

Without another word, John vanished, sprinting toward the exit of the Military Department. He left behind a shocked, silent group with a mountain of puzzles to solve, but he didn’t have a second to waste on explanations.

He realised from the presence of the teachers and the Headmaster that a significant amount of time had passed while he was in his confused, shocked state.

Rumours were already spreading through the department like a virus, painting him as a traitor who had turned his blade on his own teammate. He didn’t care, not for now.

The moment the doctor had confirmed Cissel would survive, John’s mind had shifted into an overdrive that exceeded even his usual limits. He replayed the entire encounter in the basement, looking through the hints and fine details he must have missed.

"That bastard... He was using illusions to trick my abilities," John growled as he cleared the building’s perimeter.

His conclusion wasn’t just a guess. He recalled the system notifications that had flared up in his peripheral vision while he was busy saving Cissel. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

-

[Ding! Warning! You are currently under a high-level Illusion effect!]

[Ding! Warning! You are being exposed to a Mind Control ability!]

[Ding! Thanks to your Sandbox and Hacker Mind Abilities, the effects of Illusion and Mind Control have been diminished by 40%!]

[Ding! Warning! The risk of exposing your anomalous existence to the Big Mind has increased by 10%! You are highly advised to lie low for 48 hours!]

-

John gritted his teeth as the reality sank in. Mark had controlled a cyborg, most likely a teacher-level cyborg, using a combination of sensory illusions and direct mind control.

When he recalled the Lightning Dance, he realised with a sickening jolt that he hadn’t chosen to activate it. The mind control had nudged his intent, forcing him to unleash his most destructive AOE when he believed he was fighting for his life.

Seeing himself act as a puppet for the very machine he hated was more painful than any wound. But he had a duty to fulfil before he could even think about lying low.

The risk of exposure was likely tied to the public spectacle; by making him appear as a murderer, Mark was inviting the academy’s internal security and the Paragon families to scrutinise him.

"That bastard... I thought he was only targeting students. I never thought he’d have the audacity to compromise the teachers," John thought. The person who had ambushed him wasn’t a student; they were too composed, their movements too refined.

Every time the image of Cissel falling in a spray of blood crossed his mind, his heart felt like it was being squeezed by a red-hot iron. But there was no time for guilt or remorse. Mark’s taunt echoed in his ears: ’I’ll kill that person who is doing something big for you right now, far away from your reach.’

"He said he’s going to make me lose everyone," John muttered, his legs moving in a blur as he exited the academy gates. Ricky was out there, alone, vulnerable, and likely walking straight into a trap that John had been too blind to see. He had to find him. He had to save him.