The Extra of The Lunerra

Chapter 54 Volume II - Chapter 20: Reawakening

"So…you're saying that he betrayed you?"

The three guys bowed their heads, trembling with intense fear as they recalled what had happened and knew what would happen to them in the future.

"Y- yes..."

I took a deep breath, thinking what can I do. Then looked at their facial expressions.

There is no way they can lie to me when they are so scared. I know they are telling the truth, but...

"So there were 'twenty' of you against only two people, one of whom was not even an E grade, a total trash, and you lost… am I wrong?"

A deep silence fell over the room. The tense atmosphere made them all tremble even more. But after a while, one of the boys finally broke down and stepped forward.

"That boy must have been at least E+... His wind control wa-"

My eyebrows furrowed as I clenched my fist unintentionally. I stopped suppressing the anger I was holding inside.

"Shut the fuck up!"

The boy jumped, reflexively stepped back, and lost his balance. But his fear got the better of him, he quickly regained control and immediately kneeled to the ground.

"S- sorry boss! He... He must have fooled us!"

He started talking to himself, babbling nonsense out of fear.

I clicked my tongue, got up from the couch, and approached him.

With every step I took, he trembled even more. When I leaned down to his ear, the only thing keeping him from fainting was that he didn't dare.

"Stop shaking, or I'll make you all hit the bottom."

The trio suddenly went rigid.

"Leave the group and stay out of my sight. If I even catch you out of the corner of my eye, you'll be one of the new targets."

Two of them nodded as they couldn't handle the atmosphere and quickly left the room without saying any words. But one of them continued to stand in front of me, his eyes looking like he was begging me.

"I... I'm in the same class as yo-"

I narrowed my eyes, looking coldly into his face.

The boy suddenly stopped talking. He opened his mouth, and tried to say something again, but then went silent. The light in his eyes faded slightly, he turned around and slowly left the room.

After the door closed, I took a deep breath and sat on the couch again.

"Aiden Tenebra..."

I thought about what the degenerate bastard said when he came here, about how we could crush Adrian under our feet.

I thought we were alike… that maybe he would be one of my aces rather than a pawn.

"Fuck..."

I clicked my tongue and took a deep breath.

I'm already angry enough that I was ambushed by some asshole... On top of that, I got tricked by a... trash... about whom there was nothing but rumors.

What could be worse than this?

I closed my eyes, forced myself to calm down, and once again pondered.

What can I do to him to ease my anger?

He doesn't seem to have a big background, to begin with. He's a little bit smart, but he doesn't seem talented, so he shouldn't be hard to reach.

I can make his whole academic life hell for him, but he should pay a heavier price for betraying me straight away. Not just for a few years, his whole life should be ruined for him. But first... I should get some information.

A slight smile formed on my face. I looked at the person at the top of my contacts and started the call.

The watch rang for a few seconds. Then the voice I'd grown accustomed to hearing, emotionless and deep, entered my ear.

"Hello?"

"It's me, uncle."

There's the sound of machinery in the background. He was probably in the middle of something...

"Oh, I was in the middle of a little research. What happened, Justin?"

His focus clearly shifted to me.

As much of a research freak as he was, after all, I was his only nephew. He never refused my requests. Even if he was in the middle of something very important, he would at least listen to what I had to say. There were times when I even favored him more than my parents.

"A boy made a deal with me and then not only betrayed me but also did a lot of damage to my group. Can I ask you to investigate him? I'll take care of the rest, I just want the information."

There was silence for a while, the sounds of machinery in the background had stopped.

"Who?"

I widened the smile on my face, filled with joy as I imagined what I would do to him.

"Aiden Tenebra."

Suddenly there was an awkward silence.

My uncle just waited, waited, and waited. When I didn't hear anything from him for a long time, I frowned.

Why was the man who normally said yes to everything I said now… silent?

"Don't ask me anything about that boy, Justin."

His words echoed in my ears as my eyes widened. I reflexively jumped to my feet, raising my voice.

"Uncle…? What are you talking about?! He is second to last in the rankings! So what if he's smart? So what if he was a good leader during that stupid incident? He'll be forgotten after a while anyway!"

Uncle sighed deeply as if he didn't care about everything I heard.

"You don't understand, Justin."

Why?! Just... why?!

Why is this man, who always did anything I asked him to do, now backing down?

Why is this man who doesn't care about anything but his research, now afraid of an eighteen-year-old boy?

I... I don't understand...

"Don't ask me anything about that boy like I said, Justin. For your sake and mine. Or your uncle, whom you love so much, may not be able to help you anymore."

With that, he ended the call and silence fell over the room again.

I clenched my fist, staring blankly at the wall.

I have no idea why my uncle is backing away... But he is not someone who is easily scared of anyone. That boy... something about him is wrong.

I thought about it for a long time, unable to pull myself together, and then suddenly I had an idea.

My uncle didn't tell me to ignore him outright. On the contrary, he only told me not to ask him for help with anything concerning him.

Does he want me to take care of him myself? Does he want me to do things on my own because I keep asking him for help? Or...

I narrowed my eyes and kept thinking.

No, there's no way that an eighteen-year-old I've never heard of, second to last in line, could scare him. There must be another reason.

I slowly went to the bathroom, washed my face, and looked at myself in the reflection.

Whether Aiden is strong or not, he must have a weakness too. There is no flawless person in this whole world. No matter what kind of secret he has, there must be a way I can corner him too.

Ah! Right… he saved a girl last time, didn't he? I remember hearing a rumor like that... I didn't pay much attention to it, but could it be that he has a thing for helping people in bad situations?

Even if I find his family, it will be hard to reach them without my uncle's support while I'm in the academy. So… this might help.

"Hey!"

I shouted sternly. Just a few seconds later a very well-built figure walked in.

"List all the rumors about this Aiden and bring them to me quickly."

"Understood."

The boy walked out without saying anything else. After about ten minutes of waiting, I finally had a full sheet of paper in my hand.

The list was full of unnecessary things because I wanted exactly everything. But I still couldn't find any kind of lover or close friend.

Julian is a close friend, but... I'm not going to poke him when our families are already on bad terms.

My eyes scanned the whole list and then stopped somewhere near the bottom. There was that rumor that he rescued this girl from bullies.

"Do you know what that girl's name is?"

I looked at the guy who had been standing right in front of me since he handed me the paper.

"Olivia Sue Gemma."

The moment the words hit my ears, I froze in place, just staring blankly at his face.

"Sue? Really?"

"Yes, boss."

The seriousness on his face tells me he's not lying. He wouldn't lie even if he wanted to, but... I wasn't expecting this.

"Sue huh..."

I was lost in thought for a moment, but eventually, a smile appeared on my face.

"What a nice coincidence."

I can use this... of course, with a little bit of an addition.

*******

Before anything else, I felt a sharp pain that spread through my whole body.

I wanted to scream, but no sound came out. I wanted to move, but the pain was so intense that it almost prevented me from controlling my body. It was almost like… that my body was splitting in two while I was still alive.

After a while, though, I felt a little calmed down as if the pain slowly faded into the background.

It was still there. It was still the greatest pain of my life, but… it suddenly became insignificant.

Just a moment ago it felt like it was breaking through my mind, driving me to madness, but now… it was just a simple pain, no matter how intense.

As strange and abnormal as the situation was, I was happy. I was calm and I could think a little straighter.

Like that, I looked around.

I was in a factory, which looked pretty old. The sun was shining through the cracks of the roof.

And... am I tied to a chair?

"Oh? You're finally awake."

I couldn't make out the sound because of my headache, but I was sure it was coming from behind me.

"What... Where am I?"

I quickly thought about the last things I had done.

After I woke up in the hospital, I went to Larry's bunker to kill the bastard. I used the secret passage backward to get into his room, caught him off guard, and cut off both his arms.

And then? What happened after all this?

"We have a lot to talk about..."

After these words, I heard the sound of footsteps behind me, but I couldn't focus on it. I realized something else.

Both my hands and feet were bound by handcuffs, but the main thing was that they were preventing me from feeling my mana.

"First, how about you tell me 'who' you are?"

When the owner of the voice finally stepped in front of me, I had to focus because I was still not used to the light.

My eyes widened as I was able to make out this person.

Contrary to my fears, there was no Larry or anyone from his group in front of me. On the contrary, there was someone I was even more afraid of…

Professor Calvin.

"I'm waiting."