"What…happened to her…?" All around him, students picked up the debris left behind. Some sat with their friends, comforting and reassuring them of their safety. A few Professors walked around, ensuring no monster was left alive and in search of any clues that would point to the perpetrators.
"...?" Jin looked up, both the sleeves of his top were burnt to a crisp, revealing a small cut and bruises. His eyes resembled those of a lost puppy, confused and lost.
"She's fine. Alive but injured," Blue replied before taking one last stab into the corpse pile and jumping off. "She ran over to protect him, and overdid it a little,"
"Protect him? Are you saying this bastard couldn't protect himself?" his fists were clenched, and his eyebrows furrowed. This wasn't the time or the place; he still had to look for Hina, but his best friend was injured, he couldn't just walk away.
"Huh?" Dio provoked, this time taking a few steps towards Jin until a hand appeared on his shoulder, holding him in place.
"Don't be stupid," Blue glared back at Dio and tightened his grip on Dio's shoulder, his fingers squeezing into the latter's flesh.
"..." Dio looked down for a second. At times like these, frustrating and hassling circumstances, he took a breather to comprehend the stupidity presented by those around him. "Are you fucking with me right now?" his voice was perfectly flat and emotionless.
"Shut the hell up! You bastard! In the first place, you were the that injured my brother, and now you pull this bullshit? So tell me, are you fucking with me?" he stressed on the word "you" and poked his finger into Dio's chest. Blue seemed exhausted and in a clear state of agitation. Or perhaps to some extent, he was just an asshole.
His fingertip dug deeper than Dio had realized. In his mind, the image of a plate shattering popped up the exact second Blue poked him. He took a few steps back and looked at everything.
The looks of joy and relief amongst everyone there, ash and blood-stained certain walls as most of the dust had settled down. The fight was over, nobody suffered seriously, and they had successfully defended against a monster invasion, albeit forced.
For a moment there, he could feel the whole world spinning rapidly, his perspective floating up and down at the same time until everything fell back into its place, and a sense of dread and regret loomed over him.
'Me? Because of me? Injured? Me? Alex was…? I did that..? Wha….??'
Fragments of a distant memory began to flash through his head. It looked like a dead bird, with its neck snapped, the blood freshly tainting his hands. Dio knew these weren't his, but whose were they?
Blue's words had meaning. In some weird way, wasn't this proving the others right? John and Hina's warnings weren't about the Godfreys in particular. Rather, it was focused on Dio. They didn't wish for him to do the same things as the ones that hurt them. How could you hate someone for what they did and follow in their footsteps at the same time?
If Dio hadn't injured Jin so severely, there was a good chance things would be more stable. He was satisfied knowing she was alive and alright, but the state she was in…he blamed it on himself. If he had been there, things would be different.
Or so he thought to punish himself. His guilt-ridden mind had no place for rationality at the moment. Even if the invasion was out of his control, if he were stronger, more calculative, more decisive, and calm, then perhaps the outcome would be different.
"I'm sorry…." A voice that he wasn't expecting chimed in. His best friend lay on his lap, and for a change, Dio's perception of the look in Jin's eyes changed. There were hints of rage and dissatisfaction, but more than that, his voice quivered just to say a few words. "It is my fault for not being able to protect her…"
"You idiot. Why are you apologizing for what clearly was his fault? If not fo-"
"IF NOT for what I did. If not for what you did..brother. He would never have had to resort to whatever he did…." Jin had his eyes shut tightly, his head felt like it was splitting in two. A sharp, stunning chord of dissonance resonated within him; the echoes of his actions against John contradicted the reality of having a loved one hurt.
It was Dio's turn to share the dissonance, the dichotomous perception he had of Jin was slowly cracking. It was no longer about him being good or bad, for a change, there was a small part of Dio that thought of Jin as human.
With nothing to say and a heart as heavy as stone, Dio turned around and walked away. Knowing his friend was safe was enough; he could never forgive himself for what had happened, but with the conviction of growing stronger, Dio continued to move.
Leaving behind the trio, Dio soon finished scoping the entire campus, only to not find a single trace of Hina. Naturally, the course of action would be to reach out to the Professors, but they were currently occupied with their own tasks. Leaving him not many options but to walk around in the hopes of finding her.
The Professors were divided according to their strengths; some in charge of rebuilding and restoration, the others focused on creating a more advanced defense formation, while the rest focused on supporting the students.
A very small group of the Professors were excluded from these groups, and they currently gathered in the Vice-principal's room. There were 4 individuals including Thyren and Felix, the other two were teachers that taught the second and third years.
"This is can never be repeated again. The damage has been done and this incident has left a stain on Hexora's reputation. However, none of that matters as much as the safety of our students.." Thyren laid out a large map of the entire continent, the kingdom of Thresh Old was enlarged while the others were scaled down.
"We need to understand how they got in, what they used to summon the monsters, and finally…." Thyren gazed into the eyes of those in the room, briefly concerning them about their own safety,
"Their relation to that damned organization…"