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.

I stared at the students next to me, an indescribable sense of guilt welled up

had already mentally prepared myself for this outcome, but every moment I stayed in the hospital felt

deceased students rang throughout the whole hospital

inside of a small room with barely any oxygen

mp3 to the max did I manage to

"Fuuuu..."

stood up and decided to head out to get some

this place, the

my mind off of

place is the

one to disturb me. The rooftop was the perfect

...

a secluded space inside of the hospital, Donna was going through the

she managed to gain access to all of the footage of the cameras installed on the first

camera that recorded the hall for rooms 500-599. Naturally, it

out, having gone through most of the reports handed in by the students a certain report

hit wasn't

wrote

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

used shortswords. Amanda used a bow, and Jin

wasn't his, then

report of the other black-clad individuals found inside

there were six black-clad individuals found in that room. Apart from the ranked one, the remaining five were all ranked. A stark

attention wasn't their ranks. No.

black-clad individuals were found without their heads. Moreover, once again, they died due to a clean sword cut. This was a drastic difference compared to the other three which were without a doubt killed

room at that time Kevin and the rest

"This student…"

a student who caught her attention. From head to toe, he was ordinary in every way. Inside the video, the man in

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

next was even

the corner to the

Because of the chaos, if someone didn't look carefully, they wouldn't have noticed this small detail. It was so subtle that no one around him realized what had

camera and slowing the video

more Donna looked, the more she was

Something didn't add up...

towards his face, his demenour in general didn't add up. It wasn't something a student should

happened next was even

where Jin was staying as well as

Amanda sweeping through the rest of

room the man in question had

couple of minutes after they entered, Donna saw the last black-clad

he broke through room 575 creating

on, she could hear the sound

entered the room, a large explosion shook the 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 one came out

"…Hmm."

Donna figured that during that minute where the camera froze, the student

her database,

Ren Dover.

have a small

was during the

impression on her that

her blacklist that day thinking that he wasn't worth

that didn't mean she gave up on teaching

needed to reevaluate her previous opinion