Chapter 176: News of the Admiral’s Accident!

Vesper’s expression immediately darkened.

"You messaged her again this morning, right?" Vesper asked, his voice sharpening.

"I did."

He lifted the terminal slightly, as if the device itself could prove that he wasn’t exaggerating.

"And?"

Kane shook his head. "Still nothing."

Vesper leaned back and stared at the ceiling. "This is bullshit."

Sabel frowned and gave him a pointed look. "What do you want her to do? Send us a report every few hours?"

"No. But she could at least tell us she’s alive."

Vesper’s voice dropped at the end, and his fingers stopped tapping against his arm.

The three fell silent.

That was the thought none of them wanted to say aloud.

Aisha had gone looking for her brother, but they didn’t know who had taken him. They didn’t know what kind of place she had gone into, who she had encountered, or whether she had gotten herself into another dangerous situation.

They also knew that she had met Nykos with a purpose. But that also filled them with worry. There was nothing good about hanging around with the boss of an underground criminal organization. And asking for help from them might end up with her losing more than she would’ve wanted.

And now she wasn’t answering.

Sabel looked toward the empty seat again.

She finally pulled her gaze away from the empty chair and looked at the other two. "I think we should go see her after class."

Kane immediately nodded. He didn’t even need to think about it.

Vesper also didn’t even hesitate. He straightened in his chair as though he had already made up his mind. "I was going to suggest that."

"You were going to suggest skipping class," Kane corrected.

Vesper’s mouth opened, then closed. His expression briefly betrayed him, making him look awkwardly stupid.

He sank back into his chair, clearly dissatisfied with being outnumbered. But his expression softened a moment later.

"Fine. We wait until class ends."

Kane nodded. They could do that. It wouldn’t be difficult to sit in class and wait for it to end.

At least, that was what they told themselves.

It turned out to be much harder than expected.

When the instructor entered and started speaking, Vesper spent most of the lesson staring toward the door.

Every time footsteps approached from the hallway, his head snapped up, only to drop again when another student entered.

Sabel tried to focus on the lesson.

She, too, failed.

Kane took notes for the first ten minutes before eventually giving up and staring at his terminal again.

Aisha still hadn’t replied. But he waited patiently for a reply to appear across his screen, wondering when she would finally respond.

The longer the class continued, the worse the three of them became.

Vesper shifted constantly, tapping his fingers against the desk. Sabel crossed and uncrossed her arms several times. Meanwhile, Kane checked the time more frequently than he cared to admit.

Finally, the instructor stopped speaking.

The bell rang.

The instant the sound echoed through the classroom, the three of them moved.

Sabel shoved her terminal into her bag.

Vesper was already standing before the final chime finished, and Kane barely managed to close his notes before the other two were heading toward the door.

Sabel adjusted the strap of her bag and didn’t bother waiting for either of them to object. "We’re going to her residence."

"Obviously."

Vesper was already halfway to the door.

Kane followed them. "We were supposed to train for tomorrow’s duel."

Vesper glanced back. "We’ll train after we meet her."

Sabel adjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder. She looked at the two and said, "At this point, I don’t care about the duel."

Kane gave her a surprised look. He slowed for half a step, clearly not expecting that answer from her.

She rarely abandoned their training plans.

But then again, Aisha wasn’t just another classmate anymore.

Something had changed between them over the past several weeks. They had started as strangers forced together by circumstance. Then they became classmates, sparring partners, people who shared meals and hung out for fun.

Somewhere along the way, Aisha had become someone whose absence could leave the entire group unsettled. Even if she had only been with them for a short while after she transferred into their class.

Vesper reached the classroom door first.

He pushed it open.

The hallway outside was crowded with students leaving their own classrooms, conversations blending together beneath the high ceiling.

They had barely stepped into the corridor when a sudden exclamation erupted from somewhere farther ahead.

"What?!"

"Look at the news!"

"Is this for real?"

The three stopped.

Vesper’s hand remained on the door as he turned his head toward the commotion, curious about what they were shouting about.

Another voice rose above the surrounding noise.

"What the hell... Is this true?! Did the Admiral really get into trouble?"

A few students began moving toward the center of the hallway, their expressions changing rapidly from casual curiosity to disbelief. They had also started to glance at their own terminals to see what news they were talking about.

Sabel’s brows drew together. She stepped forward, trying to see past the students gathering ahead. "What happened?"

They hadn’t taken more than a few steps when a student hurried past them, looking pale and wearing an incredulous look on his face.

"The Admiral had an accident!"

The words immediately caught their attention.

Vesper turned sharply, and his expression changed. "Who?"

The student didn’t even seem to notice who had asked. He was too shaken by whatever he had just heard. He opened his mouth and said, "Admiral Zeke Valaerion!"

The hallway seemed to quiet around them.

Kane’s eyes widened. The terminal in his hand nearly slipped from his fingers. "What?"

Sabel’s face lost its color. She stared at the student, her lips parting slightly. She hurriedly opened her terminal and looked for the news.

On the other hand, Vesper stared at the student as though he had misheard him. "What happened to him?"

The student swallowed hard and continued, his voice lowered despite the growing crowd around him. "Someone leaked a photo and news about him in a horrible state while being supported out of a contaminated zone. Look... he looks almost unrecognizable. Besides, those marks on his body... aren’t those signs of miasmic corruption?"

The three froze.

For several seconds, none of them moved.

It wasn’t just the miasmic corruption shown in the photo that had them completely speechless.

As Sentinels, Vesper and Sabel knew the signs of another Sentinel going on a Rampage...

And in the photo... their instructor was in the last stage of a Rampage.