Chapter 8: Chapter 6: Escalation

I chugged the orange liquid in the glass before taking a bite out of my tuna turnover. The flaky bread let out a soft crisp as I sunk my teeth into it. Meanwhile Cora sat on one corner, binging on some macaroons that Silian pulled out when we arrived. Speaking of which, the woman sat across me beside Cora, staring at me with a smile as I consumed my bread.

"To think that you made the punch bowl using ice to cool the drink, you really are something else…"

I smiled at Silian who let out a soft chuckle as she cocked her head to the side.

"Surely you jest… that is but a basic skill you know. I am sure that anyone with enough proficiency in ice magic can do better than what I did."

However, before anyone could do a follow up, Cora coughed, closing her eyes before she spoke.

"Stop downing yourself Miss President… Even I acknowledge your skills."

The bat girl puffed her cheeks before biting gobbling another macaroon. Silian and I couldn't help but chuckle since the normally soft spoken and tense Cora looked more like a squirrel finding a nut rather than a terrifying adversary. I just had to ask myself why she took me here…

"Is anything the problem? Do you not like what I said about her Pyre?"

Cora's eyes suddenly gained a bright red glow as she glared at me with a frown. In response, I waved my hand dismissively as I smiled at the black loving lady.

"Nah, it isn't like that at all, I was just thinking that you can be adorable at times."

I looked at her only to see a thick red blush spread across her face. She quickly grabbed another macaroon, looking away as stuffed her face with the delectable treat like the rodent that she was. What followed this was a short moment of silence, allowing myself to focus on some things I wanted answers to. I cleared my throat and stared at Silian who met my gaze with arched brows.

"So I understand that you are an acting student body president assigned by Xion… but how did you know my name? You casually called me out like I was just another student earlier."

The glasses President took a short pause and looked skyward before beaming in delight. She was like a kid recounting their favorite anime scene and I can't say I don't find her attitude just a bit endearing.

"That would be thanks to two things… firstly, Xion informed me of you and I knew of that abducting operation you were involved in. The second reason was that a certain someone couldn't help but check on your room ever since you arrived, pacing back in forth as thought you were dead."

Just then, we heard the sound of Cora gagging on her drink. We both took a glance to see if she was alright but she hurriedly responded, raising an open palm to let us know that she was fine, albeit the beet red cheeks she sported after the President's narrative.

"She got it all wrong… Silian was definitely exaggerating that tale."

"Oh, so was that the reason you wanted to take him here or the reason you held his wrist and whisked him away like a knight in shining armor?"

A faint smile can be seen on Silian's face as both our jaws dropped open in shock. I staggered, pressing my back further into the chair's backrest as I pointed my finger at her.

"Y-You! How did you find out?!"

The bat girl also stammered when she spoke, her body shaking as the President's smile widened.

"W-Were you using that again Silian?!"

The president nodded to Cora before a bright light swallowed her body. When the light faded, the only thing that was on the couch was a cute white hamster that looked at us with beady eyes. I got to admit It was cute.

Well, that was until it let out a chuckle and started speaking.

"Caught you~"

The hamster winked at Cora whose face reached the fever pitch. She burrowed her face into the sofa while I was left to ponder what the heck happened.

"If my hunch was right… you are Silian, right?"

The hamster turned around, letting out a small squeak as it cocked its head to the side.

Eh? Was I drunk? Was this drink actually fruit punch? Or did I hallucinate when I heard a talking hamster?

Blinking owlishly, I scooped the hamster in my hands however a horrid scream escaped my lips as the hamster's head slowly morphed into a scaly lizard like head. With a loud yell, I threw the hamster across the room, but before it collided into anything, its body glowed once more as it revealed a pair of wings. The rodent soon turned into a bird that flew overhead with soft chirps

In a few moments, the bird landed and with one last glow, it grew into the size of an adult girl, showing the President who emerged from the light. She let out a sigh and looked right at me with a small grin.

"I was not expecting to be thrown, but then again, who would expect that I may actually be a threat in that form?"

"So I wasn't just hallucinating then? A hamster really did talk?!"

"You're looking at the hamster from earlier… as an Epico, that is my power."

She dusted off her sleeves and walked on over to the seat. She sat down and tapped Cora on the shoulder, causing the latter to look over her shoulder with a pout.

"Sorry for listening in, but I couldn't help but check out on Pyre himself after you told me all about him…"

The bat girl let out a small huff.

"How long were you listening?"

Silian just let out a wry smile, her lips twitching as she did.

"From the start…"

Hearing this, Cora just let out a sigh. She tapped her cheeks lightly and in mere moments, her cold stoic expression returned. She looked at Silian whose lips upturned once she saw her friend's expression.

"Jeez… this again Cora, can't you forgive me for being interested just this once?"

The bat girl just pouted before speaking.

"So… President Silian would not page me for no reason. Can you tell me what it is or should we let Pyre leave first?"

The President shook her head as she walked over to the table, grabbing a remote that rested atop it. She pressed a few buttons as a television descended from the ceiling, opening as soon as it reached its lowest overhang.

The screen displayed what appeared to be a huge luxury liner with news headlines plaguing the footage surrounded it. The thing has been making quite the splash recently since they say that it was the second coming of the Titanic, a said to be unsinkable ship.

"This… is what got me here. Xion asked me to make a team of Epico to protect it in case Wyzen's faction storms it, but I never expected you to bring Pyre along."

As the President finished up her introduction, I raised my hand so that I may speak. Silian gave me a nod and so I began to ask some questions.

"So I do not see a clear motive here, why would Wyzen attack something like a luxury liner? What would that symbolize?"

Silian shook her head sideways before shrugging her shoulders. Cora just let out a soft yawn as the two of us exchanged answers and questions.

"Sadly, I really do not know his motive other than it is a display of power… Nothing good will come out of it if he does decide to attack the ship, but I think he may use it as a show of force to the rest of the world."

I took a short pause, covering my mouth with my hand as I sat there deep in thought. My mind wandered to many possibilities like threatening rich people? He really does not need the money considering the shine of his tuxedo when I first saw him nor does he need power since I am sure that he can destroy the earth in a drop of a hat.

Why then? What does he have to gain?

Just when I was about to speak Cora raised her hand and when Silian acknowledged her, she began to speak as well.

"Do you have people in mind? To join the team at least…"

What was a team? Are we going to jump on that frigging boat and fight with people in it?! No no no!

The School President let out a small sigh before she gave out her answer. Her brows drooped as she spoke.

"That… is the key issue. Not only do we have almost zero water related Epico other than the student Debbie Chu and myself, but we barely have anything to fight against them who probably have more than enough forces to vanquish the boat…"

A sweat rolled down Silian's cheek as she spoke. Her body shuddered and her hand was clenched in a fist. It seems like she was reaching her wits end as for how to approach this but all of a sudden something clicked in my head. I may have a solution.

Without wasting a second, I raised my hand swiftly like a three year old wanting a gold star during recitation.

"Why don't we use people with more proficiency in controlling the area around the ship?"

The two looked at me with raised brows. Their piercing glares meant that they treated my opinion as some sort of sick joke, well at least until Silian cleared her throat and gave her reply.

"Pardon the expressions from earlier… but what? How can air advantage and deck control help us?"

"Think about it like this Miss President… If we can see the events from above and pinpoint the location of those enemies on board, then we can make a strategy on the fly, catch them off guard, and possibly prevent an attack from ever happening. It may not be foolproof, but it's a thought that may help."

Silian glanced at Cora who just gave a nod.

"I can probably see well in the dark and blend into the night, although we might need others who excel at ground combat. We also cannot afford any human casualties…"

The three of them took a pause and after a small moment of silence, they beamed as they started listing off numerous students, the president herself, Cora, Adria who can control the people using her voice, and the bird guy that Wyzen fought. Quite the fascinating group really, although I raised my hand once more, attracting the attention of the two elites.

"How about Geon, he seems awfully in tune with the ladies, and is charismatic enough to go and gain Shan's trust. He can be a reliable asset to simply talk our way in and out of trouble."

Silian's jaw dropped as Cora raised her brows at her friend who seemed to sweat beads once I mentioned the minute detail. She leaned closer to her, chest puffed with her eyes glowing red.

"Why are you sweating Silian? Did he do anything to make you lose trust in him?"

The president looked to the left, and then to the right. Her body shuddered as her lips slowly parted open.

"I… I think he did something to Shan, Debbie, and Olly. I am not sure whether his power may affect me, but truth be told… He had such an odd record when he first enrolled. Xion took him in, but I was against it…"

I stepped forward, my heart beating in my ears. For some reason I couldn't stop myself, like my legs were moving on their own… Even my hands were clenched into fists and my jaw clenched tightly at the thought of Shan being with him.

Flames burst from my hands. But somehow they felt right at home… That or I just couldn't care enough thanks to the anger I felt.

"Can you tell me more Miss President…"

Xion's words echoed in the back of my mind. That promise to protect…

"And this time… I want the full story..."

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