<h4>Chapter 501: The Secret Group (II)</h4>


    <strong>Evaline:</strong>


    Rowan exhaled sharply. "Let me guess... that message must have been from Marcus."


    River gave a single nod. "It was."


    Of course it was. Who else would have the nerve... and the stupidity... to summon an entire secret group after something like Carson’s incident?


    River continued, his tone steady as always. "Everyone in the group received the message. And when they arrived for the meeting, Marcus told them Carson wasn’t dead... but soul dead."


    He stopped just enough to let us process the information. Then he went on, "Marcus told them how he overheard some of the elite warriors talking about two patrolling warriors found unconscious earlier that morning... also soul dead, just like <i>Carson</i>."


    "Elite warriors were talking about it?" Rowan asked, frowning.


    Oscar shook his head immediately. "They weren’t being irresponsible. They were discussing the case privately in their camp. Marcus was sneaking around outside and overheard."


    That... sounded exactly like something he would do considering the kind of group he was part of.


    River continued, "He heard them saying the council and academy were keeping the soul-death cases confidential. And even though being soul dead didn’t mean the victims were entirely gone... there was no known cure."


    A cold chill ran through me.


    Marcus must have known how that information would hit those students - panic, fear, confusion, guilt. The perfect soil to nt whatever lies he wanted.


    "Wait." I leaned forward slightly. "All of this still doesn’t exin how he turned that into extorting money."


    If they were offering anything else, maybe I would have believed this Great Evil nonsense. But the moment I learned it was money, I knew he tricked them.


    I looked at River, then Oscar.


    "How? How did he convince that many students to hand over money?"


    Oscar straightened slightly, rubbing his forehead as if preparing for the absurdity he was about to recount.


    "The students confessed that Marcus told them there was this... <i>Great Evil</i>... after their group," he said. "And unless they found a way to keep this Great Evil happy, it woulde for all of them next."


    I blinked.


    "You are kidding," I muttered.


    No oneughed.


    Of course no oneughed.


    Oscar went on, "Naturally, they didn’t believe him. They told him he was bluffing."


    "That’s normal," Rowan murmured. "Even scared students have limits."


    Oscar nodded. "Exactly. They were suspicious and scared after Carson, but believing some Great Evil was specifically after them? They weren’t going to swallow that easily. So they all decided to walk out."


    My brows lifted. "So then?"


    Oscar sighed.


    "The moment the first student stepped out of the old ssroom they were using it as their meeting spot, he fell unconscious."


    I straightened instantly. "What?"


    Oscar nodded. "That’s right. He opened the door, barely stepped forward, and boom... copsed to the floor."


    A ripple of unease ran through me.


    Kieran’s eyes narrowed. He had been silently taking in everything so far, but it seemed like even he had reached his limit.


    "And Marcus," Oscar continued, "immediately dered that it was the Great Evil’s doing."


    Of course he did.


    I folded my arms. "Did no one try to help the kid?"


    "They did," Oscar said. "Or at least Marcus pretended to. He shook him, pped him lightly... but nothing worked. Then he dropped to his knees and started begging the Great Evil to release him."


    I stared. "Begging?"


    "That’s not the best part," Oscar said dryly. "He started offering whatever he had in his pockets. He emptied everything on the floor - candies, a few trinkets. Nothing worked."


    "And then?" Kieran asked.


    "And then," Oscar said, "he emptied the money from his wallet. The moment the notes hit the floor, the unconscious student twitched."


    My eyebrows shot up. "Twitching isn’t waking."


    "No," Oscar agreed. "He didn’t wake. But Marcus pointed dramatically at that twitch and told everyone it was proof the Great Evil wanted money."


    I buried my face briefly in my hands.


    Rowan muttered, "Unbelievable."


    Oscar leaned back. "Still, the group didn’t buy it. A third-year girl walked toward the door saying she wasn’t scared of Marcus’ theatrics. The moment she crossed the threshold... she copsed too."


    My jaw almost hit the cold floor. "What the-?"


    Oscar continued, "That’s when panic really sat in. Marcus yed terrified, kept insisting the Great Evil was angry. He begged the others to offer money. But no one moved. They were too shocked."


    "So what changed?" I asked quietly, already dreading the answer.


    Oscar’s voice turned tight. "Fear."


    He rubbed his temple. "The students were so rattled by the second copse, by Marcus’ hysterics, by Carson’s case, that logic vanished. They started crying, panicking... and finally, one student pulled out his money and ced it on the desk."


    "Then another," River said. "And another. And another."


    Soon, apparently, they all emptied whatever cash they had.


    "Marcus then told them all to step out into the hallway and wait," Oscar added. "They did. And within a minute... both unconscious students walked out of the room."


    My heart stuttered.


    "They woke up?" I asked.


    Oscar nodded. "They looked confused. Terrified. iming they didn’t remember copsing. And when the group went back inside the ssroom-"


    "The money was gone," River finished.


    I inhaled sharply. "So the Great Evil supposedly epted the offerings."


    "Exactly," Oscar said.


    I leaned back, utterly stunned.


    "And from that day," River said, "the students have been offering a fixed amount every two months to keep the Great Evil satisfied."


    "And Marcus?" Rowan asked.


    "Apparently," Oscar said with a grim smirk, "he ’heard’ what the Great Evil wanted and acted as the middleman. Very generously."


    I let out a stunned breath.


    "Millions," I whispered. "He collected millions through this... borate scam."


    River nodded.


    Oscar shrugged, exhausted. "The students were scared. Superstitious. Traumatized. And Marcus yed every emotional string he could."


    "And the ’unconscious’ students?" I asked. "Were they in on it?"


    River shook his head. "We did interrogate those two and it seems like they were genuinely unconscious. Both of them have also been paying their offerings as well. Jasper also ran a check on their bank ounts. Nothing suspicious so far. They also don’t seem close with Marcus or anything. But we can’tpletely dere them innocent yet."


    This only added to the confusion. "Then why did they fell unconscious and then woke up once the offering was made? Don’t tell me it’s really to do with the Great Evil."


    "Maybe he drugged them or something?" Rowan provided his thoughts but even he didn’t seem much convinced with his theory. Why only those two? And how?


    "Not drugged," Oscar corrected almost immediately. "More like a spell device. A pre-set trigger."


    I looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"