The Author's POV

[Yesterday, at around 9:45 P.M. Hollberg, a group of unidentified individuals attacked multiple students from the lock killing 389 and crippling 107...]

Sitting on a comfy chair inside of a private hospital, I looked at the large TV screen on the wall.

Currently, a male news anchor was reporting the happenings of the Hollber accident. Next to him, a pretty female anchor added a few comments here and there.

[…According to the investigation, no valuable information was gathered regarding the aggressors as they all killed themselves or died from unknown causes. According to reports, thanks to the support of Hero rank 156 Donna Longbern and S ranked hero Connor Novak the number of casualties didn't reach the four-digit figures...]

[This type of massacre on students had never happened before in the history of the lock nor humanity. What happened yesterday will forever be remembered as 'The massacre of Hollberg' and we can only extend our support and prayers towards the victims of this accident]

Stacking the papers on the table, looking towards the camera, the news anchor's voice deepened

[Now this gives rise to a new question. Is the lock really that safe of a place? Is the lock really the safe haven advertised by the central government and the union? Who should be held accountable for the death of those 389 people? I'm not sure about you, but...]

-Clack!

-Bam!

As I was listening, suddenly the TV shut off. Following which the sound of something hard smashing against the cold hard floor echoed across the hospital.

Turning my line of sight towards where the sound came from, angrily standing up, a professor glared at what remained of the controller.

Looking back at the TV, he shouted

"What sort of nonsense are you talking about!? Do they expect us to protect all of the students when we too were fighting for our lives? Do they not understand what we went through that night!! Haa? Tell me!"

"Professor Rim please calm down."

"Professor Rim!"

Noticing the outburst, a couple of students and professors immediately headed towards the professor trying their best to calm him down.

Despite their struggle, the professor didn't calm down. It was only after more professors and students came that he finally stopped going on a rampage and calmed down.

Tensions were at an all-time high.

Not just the students, but the professors were heavily affected by the incident. Despite the fact that the professors had gone through a lot of similar situations, that didn't mean they too didn't feel terrible for what had happened.

Be it, students or professors.

They all thought one thing.

...What if I was stronger?

Could an extra life had been saved?

Looking at the commotion, I shook my head.

There were no what-ifs in the world. What had happened had already happened. You either looked ahead or remained stuck in the past.

Glancing at the students that sat next to me, their eyes were hollow. It was evident that they were traumatized by the incident.

I sort of understood what they were going through.

Having lost my parents at the peak of my dependence, I knew the feeling of losing loved ones.

Some lost their best friends, some lost their romantic partners, or some even lost their siblings.

Almost everyone lost something yesterday.

to me, an indescribable sense of guilt welled up from within

prepared myself for this outcome, but

desperate cries of the parents of the deceased students rang throughout

as if I was crammed inside of a small room with barely any oxygen to

turning the volume of my mp3 to the

"Fuuuu..."

long breath, I stood up and decided to head out

longer I stayed in this place,

to get my mind

best place is the

with no one to disturb me. The rooftop was the perfect place

...

Donna was going through the records of

of her reputation as a ranked hero, she managed to gain access to all of the footage

was filmed by a camera that recorded the hall for rooms 500-599. Naturally, it contained the battle between

hesitant, knowing she could get in trouble if found out, having gone through most of the reports handed

last hit wasn't

what Kevin wrote on

was found next to Kevin and the rest showed that the individual was killed by a sword strike straight to the heart. Donna knew that apart from Kevin, there was no one else in that room that could

shortswords. Amanda used a bow, and

last hit wasn't his,

doing a bit more digging, Donna managed to get a hold of the autopsy report of the other black-clad individuals found inside of the room where Kevin

individuals found in that room. Apart from the ranked one, the remaining five were

her attention wasn't their ranks. No. It was the conditions of

they died due to a clean sword cut. This was a drastic difference compared to the other three which were without a doubt killed by a dagger due to the depth of the

Donna knew that inside of the room at that time Kevin and the rest had still not gone

"This student…"

video, the man in question was not doing anything out of the ordinary. When the black-clad individuals appeared, he was nowhere to be seen. It was as

looking for him, she would've assumed he had died along with the many other

happened next was even more

the corner to the 500-599 corridor,

wouldn't have noticed this small detail. It was so subtle

camera and slowing the video down, Donna couldn't

the more

Something didn't add up...

didn't add up. It wasn't something a student should have. That emotionless and indifferent attitude was only something top heroes that had gone through many similar ordeals

next was

exact room where Jin was staying

Kevin, Emma, and Amanda sweeping through the rest of the black-clad individuals in the hall. Following which

room the man in question

last black-clad individual

power, he broke through room 575 creating

hear the sound of metal clashing against each other followed

room where subsequently, a minute after the explosion, a brilliant white light dyed the surroundings. Because of the light, the camera froze up for a solid minute. By the time the screen came back to normal, everything was quiet and no

"…Hmm."

minute where the camera froze, the student

his face with her database, she

Ren Dover.

did have a small

the

had left an impression on her that day. Not a

had placed him on her blacklist that day thinking that he wasn't worth having expectations

placed him on her blacklist that didn't mean she gave up on teaching him.

watching the footage, maybe she needed to reevaluate