Quest Academy: Silvers, page 50
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Sal tried to prevent her from spiraling. “Let’s assume the worst, and it does happen. We’ve learned some formations and we’re ready to fight other students…but the closest these guys have been to a demon is likely the Sinclair demonstration. If it’s going to happen, the preparation we have in place isn’t going to cut it. We need a better plan than just hoping for the best.”
Divinity clenched her fists and let out a groan. “None of this would be a fucking issue if they had listened to us! We’ve been in this stupid academy for all of twenty minutes and we’re supposed to be the ones to prevent a demon attack? How the fuck is that fair?”
She looked at Sal with tears in her eyes, and he shook his head. “Nothing has happened yet, so we still have time. We can figure this out, but we need a lot more information…”
Divinity shook her head. “I don’t want to see it again, Sal. It’s…people die. You saw what happens to Sinclair!”
Removing his hand from her back, Sal took a deep breath. “This whole situation is fucked, I get that. What if I look at it instead? I can look into the future with your ability, and I can see everything that we need to find out?”
When Divinity didn’t react, Sal continued to throw out ideas. “I can invite the Reavers Guild to watch the fight. I’ll tell them that Myth created a new weapon that they should see in action. Maybe tip off Watcher and Blink too? We have options, Divinity. We could make decisions now that would stop it from happening, where nobody gets hurt.”
Divinity finally straightened her back and looked toward the night sky. “I’m being forced to either trust in the people looking after us, or trust in my own power. I haven’t been wrong before, but I’ve misinterpreted events. Neuro’s daughter is in the Gold cohort! He was the one who calmed me down at the Doom Society meeting and told me that it was being taken care of. What kind of person would throw their own daughter into harm’s way? That’s what has me so conflicted! I’m a good judge of people, Sal. Quest and Neuro are good people, and they’re telling me that it’s taken care of…so I’ve just spent the last few weeks smiling through it and trusting in them.”
She brought a hand up to wipe away her tears. “I’ll look again, and see if it’s changed…”
Divinity’s eyes clouded over until they were completely white. After just a few moments, her brow furrowed as she fidgeted slightly in her seat. “It’s different this time, but…” She continued to frown at whatever vision she was seeing.
Sal waited patiently beside her, wishing that he could be of more help to her.
Divinity’s eyes widened ever so slightly. “They’ve changed the venue! Looks like we’re going to be competing in some abandoned stadium. Maybe in a newly reclaimed zone? Students are in the stands…watching the competing teams on the field, four teams at a time…” Divinity’s voice filled with emotion as she let out a sigh of relief.
“There are huge barriers around the stadium, and they’ve got loads of guilds in the stands.” A wide smile appeared on her face as she turned her head in Sal’s direction. “I think it might actually be different now!”
Before Sal could celebrate with her, Divinity’s face paled. “No, no, no! Fuck. No!” She clenched her eyes shut and returned her face to her cupped hands. She sat there for a moment before an aggravated groan left her lips. “Yeah, we’re still fucked.” With a shake of her head, she looked at Sal helplessly, her eyes back to their normal blue. “I think we’ve actually made it worse.”
She pulled out her tablet and tapped at it furiously, shaking her head. “I’m messaging Quest about this. I don’t care if I have to camp outside his office all night—we can’t allow everyone to walk straight into a trap.”
Sal had to do a double take. “A trap? Wasn’t it just a demon outbreak?” He wanted to slow Divinity down and get her to explain, but she was too absorbed in her own thoughts.
With only a slight turn of her head, she responded, her full attention still on the tablet. “It can’t be a coincidence that the event has been targeted twice. I was wrong before about the outbreak. It had nothing to do with a barrier being breached. The demons came from below ground!” Divinity turned to look at Sal, anger written all over her face. “It’s a coordinated attack on the students!”
***
Neuro grimaced as he finished reading Divinity’s mind. He tried to give her a reassuring smile, but she knew better than anyone how horrific the scene was. When he turned back to the assembled group of people, Quest looked at him expectantly, with his hands interlocked and elbows resting on his desk.
“How bad is it?”
Neuro took a seat with a slight shake of the head. “It’s worse than we could have imagined. There’s a humanoid variant leading the attack this time, with what looks like a premeditated dungeon break. Right from under the stadium!”
Quest’s eyes widened as he looked sharply to where Harlan sat. Their emergency Doom Society meeting had been called at the last minute, with Divinity and Sal sitting uncomfortably around the small group of people.
Harlan leaned forward and looked at Neuro directly. “Are you positive? Commander grades don’t reveal themselves lightly, so for them to lead a charge is incredibly uncharacteristic from everything we know about them!”
Neuro spread his hands wide. “It’s a Commander. Demons were all coordinated and moved in packs, and it was looking for someone. I’m certain of it.”
Quest waved off Harlan, who had another question. Instead, he looked straight back at Neuro with an incredulous expression. “It was looking for someone. Like…hunting them?”
Neuro nodded. “I can scarcely believe it myself, but there’s no question about it. Hulkers were literally picking up students and returning with them to the dungeon. Voiders and Prowlers went straight for our defenses and swarmed the stationed guild officers. Leechers hung above to attack any student who got brave. It was a concentrated attack, and the demons knew what they were looking for.”
Quest was positively dumbfounded as he looked back at Harlan, who didn’t fare much better.
Their demonic behavior specialist was visibly disturbed by everything he was hearing. Harlan knew more than anyone else in the room how dangerous a Commander variant was and tried to explain why it was such a terrifying proposition.
“Commander types control essence the same way we do, but at a native level. The essence exposure we’ve had over the years has only given us a taste of their inherent capability.” Harlan twisted in his seat as he gestured at Divinity. “If this attack has changed alongside our own preparations, it’s not naive to presume that this Commander shares Divinity’s abilities. We know from facing off against other Commander-level variants in the past that they can hold multiple skills, which makes this one even more of a threat.”
Neuro looked directly at Quest with a somber expression. “We need to cancel the event this weekend. There’s no way we can send the students out, knowing that this is a possible outcome.”
Quest frowned as he looked over at Divinity. “The best way for us to determine if this Commander can alter their behavior based on knowledge of the future…is by testing it. I’m making the decision now that we’ll be hosting the event in-house, here at the academy. Divinity, can you look into the future one more time?”
Sal turned to Divinity to see her reaction, but her eyes were already a milky white. The apprehension she had about looking into the future had melted away, and her expression was determined. Neuro got to his feet and placed his hands near Divinity’s head as he closed his own eyes in concentration.
A few moments of silence passed while everyone held their breath. Divinity winced ever so slightly before her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. It wasn’t her voice that alerted everyone, though, as Neuro broke off the mental connection with a curse. With a few blinks to get his bearings, he placed a reassuring hand on Divinity’s shoulder, cupped her face in her palms.
Neuro looked over at Quest. “Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?”
Quest just stared at him, and Neuro chuckled humorlessly. “Jez manages to take off one of its arms, which is the only good news.” The telepath walked back to his seat, which he slumped into. “The bad news is that it massacres hundreds of students, and we lose a couple of towers. Multiple portals open inside the buildings and…yeah.”
Neuro shook his head. “The collective power of over a thousand students, the stationed guilds, and all the protective measures we can muster…it all goes to shit. Protecting the students stops our people from going all out, which creates a window for the demons. That Commander can definitely see into the future, as every attack is essentially negated immediately. It’s a complete clusterfuck.”
Sal stared at Neuro in disbelief. “What about the turrets on top of each tower? Are there not countermeasures for things like this? How did they get past the barriers?” When he looked around the room, nobody jumped in with an answer.
Quest pinched the edges of his eyes as he waved his hand. “Barriers are only effective in keeping things out. If they find their way in through portals, that’s a different story. Turrets won’t attack areas with civilians or students. Our countermeasures are our staff, which are apparently ineffective in this case.”
With a resigned sigh, he looked back at Divinity. “I’m sorry to put you through this. Scry is on his way, which will hopefully alleviate the workload…but we’re going to have to test a series of outcomes to find one that allows us to counter this situation.”
Harlan looked at Quest apprehensively. “Shouldn’t we report this to the Doom Council first?”
The snort of derision escaped Quest before he could stop himself, which then developed into a dark laugh. “Honestly, they’d just slow us down. We only have a couple of days to get this right, and I don’t want to put any lives in danger by sitting around and waiting for their verdict.”
Neuro’s voice sounded out from across the room, and everyone looked at him, but he was staring at Divinity. “Don’t suppose you could check to see if it still happens if we call off the contest completely?”
Just as Divinity was about to activate her ability, Sal raised his hand.
“Why don’t I do it? We can check every outcome, and Divinity can guide me?”
Chapter 68:
Enlistment
When Upgrade caught sight of Sal, she made a beeline across the room to where he stood. She looked tired, as usual, but her eyes were filled with concern. “Hey, why are you here? Do you know what all of this is about?”
Behind her, the members of the faculty streamed into the room, all of them wearing the same look of confusion as Upgrade. Jez gave Sal a quizzical look before his face broke into a grin. The Administration lecturer made his way to the back of the room, where Sinclair was sitting lazily with another bald man Sal didn’t recognize.
Glancing back to Upgrade, Sal nodded. “Quest is debriefing everyone on the event this weekend. It’s not good.”
Upgrade turned to look at Quest, who stood at the front of the classroom with Divinity; they were engrossed in conversation. When she turned back, her expression was torn between concern and confusion. “I’ll save you a seat. Forge is on his way too.”
Sal tried to smile, but he couldn’t even pretend. He had spent hours trawling through hypothetical scenarios, and he had watched his new friends die repeatedly. It was taking everything in his power just to remain standing and not to throw up.
With a turn of his head, he spotted Alastair, Harlan, Lombardi, Rust, and a few of the other lecturers he recognized. There were many more who he didn’t know, all chatting to one another without a care in the world. It was odd seeing them in the seats that were typically reserved for students, and Sal wondered whether they’d be able to retain that jovial energy when Quest delivered the news to them.
When the stream of people finally stopped, Sal reckoned that there were nearly fifty people seated in the room. Quest gestured for Sal to join both him and Divinity on the podium, and he complied quietly. Divinity looked in his direction. She harbored the same feelings of anxiety and dread. Both took a seat, and Sal felt everyone’s eyes on him.
Why were two first-year students accompanying Quest at the front of the classroom? Why was everyone being summoned in the middle of the day for a surprise meeting? Their questions were clear in their expressions as they waited for Quest to enlighten them. He didn’t waste any time.
“I’d like to apologize to all of you for what I’m about to ask. It’s come to our attention that a demonic attack is imminent.” The atmosphere changed immediately, with several smiles disappearing in an instant. Quest continued, his voice strong with resolve as he laid out the facts.
“This weekend, at the Combat class event, our students are going to be attacked. We’ve identified a Commander variant as the one leading the attack. We’ve also established that this Commander has the ability to foresee events in the future, which makes them a deadly threat to us.”
At the mere mention of a Commander, the faculty members, with a few notable exceptions, exchanged worried looks. Sinclair and Jez looked excited.
Quest gestured to both Divinity and Sal. “Divinity Khan and Salvatore Argento were the ones to predict this attack and have been working with us to create potential countermeasures. Our issue is that we’re fighting a demon that can adapt instantly to our plans. We’ve run through dozens of simulations, some of which result in the death of hundreds of students. Others result in the deaths of many of you in this room right now.”
He gripped the sides of the lectern as he spoke. “Through the countless visions we’ve done of future events, we’re certain that the attack will happen regardless of our choices. Doing nothing results in the academy being attacked, which has the highest number of casualties. Going to our first offsite location that was locked in until a few days ago? That results in a higher number of abductions as well as the death of key faculty members. The stadium event that is currently scheduled has the lowest number of casualties, but the highest number of abductions. We’ve gone through a series of hypothetical situations, and all of them put us at a disadvantage and endanger the students. All of this is because of the Commander variant. It wants to kill or abduct certain individuals in our first-year group, namely in the Gold and Silver cohorts. Something is pushing them to act on this now, but we can’t ascertain what that reason is. What we do know is that until this demon is taken down, our students are at imminent risk.”
Quest gestured at the door. “I wanted to explain the stakes to you first. It would be unforgivable if we carried out any of these plans, that hold your lives in the balance, without warning you of the risks. For that reason, anyone who would like to be excluded from this discussion and leave the academy for a few days is welcome to do so. There is no judgment and no expectation on you to put your life in danger.”
Not a single person moved.
Jez’s voice cut through the eerie silence that followed.
“We’re Heroes, mate. What do you need us to do?”
A few chuckles followed, lightening the mood and causing Quest to smile.
“My proposal is to create a series of strike teams that will hunt down the Commander variant. We’ve narrowed down its current location to a few key areas and will be bringing in the guilds to assist us. Although it’s capable of opening portals at will, Harlan Geist, our demonic behavior expert, believes that it’s lurking somewhere local. We’ve seen evidence of this from surprise underground attacks in several of the visions, which points to a dungeon that is being tunneled underneath our protective barriers.”
Quest looked at Divinity and Sal with a grim expression, before turning back to the crowd. “Should the strike teams fail, we’ll need to proceed with the Combat class competition to draw the Commander out.”
Sinclair snorted and folded his arms. “So that’s it, yeah? We either kill the Commander or we use the kids as bait? What sort of fucking arseways plan is that?”
Jez nodded, and the bald guy beside them put up his hand. When Quest gestured at him, he spoke with a heavy accent.
“Can’t you send the kids home? We’ll sort this out and avoid putting them in danger.”
Quest shook his head. “To give you a better understanding of how we determined these actions, I should explain the abilities of the two students here.” He gestured over to where Sal and Divinity were seated.
“Salvatore Argento possesses a Replication ability called Skill Master, which allows him to use abilities to their fullest potential. We had him replicate Divinity’s ability, which is a more advanced version of Scry’s Foresight. With their help, and Neuro watching their progress, we analyzed hundreds of variations of the events over the coming days. To answer your question, Lars,” Quest gestured up at the accented man who sat between Sinclair and Jez, “if we evacuate the academy and send the students home, the demonic attack will happen in civilian areas and the casualties will be much higher. Which furthers our belief that this is a calculated attack, aimed at dispatching or abducting certain students.”
Lars brought his hand down with a frustrated sigh and his voice was laced with anger. “There has to be a way for us to do this without endangering them. What are the best solutions you’ve come up with?”
Quest turned to Harlan and gestured for him to come up to the lectern. With that, he stepped to one side to allow the demonic behavior expert to take the stand.
Harlan leaned forward and rested his arms on the lectern. “Countermeasures are difficult to plan when you’re facing an enemy that can see the future. We’ve determined that the best course of action is to overwhelm by launching a series of different plans, selected at random, just before the event. It will force the Commander variant to fight us with the same information, at the same time. Our potential advantage is that we’ve seen countless futures’ worth of attacks from this Commander, which has allowed us to study their strategies and attack styles. We know what they’re looking for, their points of attack, their demonic forces, and who they bring with them. It allows us to make calculated approaches in how we deal with each scenario.”
