The doctor washed their hands in a nearby sink before opening a cab and dragging out a string of tools that he then used to carefully pry off the discolored hands and fingers around Rierdan''s neck. He didn''t even bother trying to save them since it was clear at a nce what had happened.


    The doctor could also tell that aside from being a bastard, the man who had attacked Rierdan wasn''t in a state where it mattered if he saved a couple of arms. He was already beyond saving. And it wasn''t due to being knocked into the wall hard enough to make a dent.


    The man''s eyes were zed over, discolored, bleeding, and unfocused. His chest was barely moving, and, the most clear sign of all, the dark red, almost ck blood flowed like mud out of his severed arms. There was no pressure from the man''s heartbeats, and it was not the blood a healthy person would have.


    It was the Academy For Summoners, and the doctor had seen all kinds of patientse to the infirmary with more different injuries and afflictions than he could possibly count. It was a valuable learning experience.


    Through that experience, the doctor had gotten good at telling when someone was already dead or couldn''t be saved, even by the greatest healers around.


    That man was one of them.


    The doctor applied some rudimentary healing to Rierdan''s throat to ease the bruising and swelling and stabilize his breathing. He wrapped a bandage just for the sake of it.


    Then, he took a proper look around the room. He then looked at Yanael and Zach.


    "Is that guy your friend?" He pointed at the handless man.


    "Nope." Zach shook his head. "We picked him up from the sewers, and he was supposed to be in aa."


    "I see. That guy." The doctor nodded. He knew the Sewer Man.


    "Doesn''t look like he''s in much of aa right now, though."


    "No."


    "He looks pretty dead, actually."


    "...Yeah."


    The doctor patted Zach on the shoulder.


    "Good thing he wasn''t a friend or anything, then. Your buddy who''s in an actu is fine. Well, as fine as he can be. It was a good decision to cut the dead guy''s arms instead of just knocking him off. Those fingers would not have let go of actu guy''s throat."


    Zach nodded. That was all Yanael.


    After a couple of moments, Nessa and the other club members came with a bunch of attendants, who were like a bunch of mostly headless chickens until the doctor took charge and quickly organized clean-up after confirming the absence of vital signs.


    Since the body was oozing underworld energy, the Club and Julius helped with that. Eventually, peace was restored to Rierdan''s room. After patting him and telling him to rest without worry, the club members gathered in the club room.


    The atmosphere was dim. Nessa had told the club members what she had seen after she found some attendants. And Zach had filled them in on the rest. Rierdan was safe and as fine as he was before the incident.


    But that wasn''t why they were so glum.


    The man they had brought back to save had attacked Rierdan. They couldn''t help but feel a little guilt and a lot of resentment. That was no way to treat therade of his saviors.


    But there was a problem or two.


    "...How did he know who Rierdan was?" Nessa asked. It was clear that it wasn''t random. If it had been, he would have chosen any of the other patients in any of the rooms before Rierdan''s. Instead, he had sneaked out without anyone noticing and attacked Rierdan with the intent to kill.


    "Oh, we''re skipping straight past how he woke up from aa that none of the healers can do anything about?" Anerias questioned.


    "I don''t think he was awake." Zach slowly looked up at the others after being deep in thought for a little while.


    The others waited for him to exin.


    He did.


    "I didn''t get too good of a look, but his eyes were closed. I don''t know about you guys, but if I was going to strangle someone, I would make sure to keep my eyes open, even if only to see I was grabbing their neck and not something else." Zach''s voice was monotone, and the others couldn''t tell if he was making an ill-fitting joke or being serious.


    "Are you saying that he tried to strangle Rierdan in his sleep or what?" Dukiel expressed his doubts.


    "Not quite." He shrugged. "He had absorbed a lot of underworld energy. Just taking his appearances into consideration, I wouldn''t be surprised if he willingly epted it."


    "What does that have to do with anything?" Anerias questioned.


    "He seemed like the kind of guy who would adapt to the underworld energy."


    "So?"


    "He was about to be an underworlder."


    "So?" Enjoy exclusive adventures from mvl


    "Can you let me finish?"


    "..."


    "With his strength, orck thereof, he would have been equivalent to a firstyer underworlder. He would have been at the whims of underworlders from deeperyers, especially since he was unconscious."


    "Are you saying…?" Realization gradually dawned on Anerias'' and the others'' faces.


    "Someone ordered or controlled him to do it." Violina was the first to state the idea that appeared at the forefront of everyone''s minds.


    Zach didn''t outright confirm or deny that possibility, which he had brought to light. But the fact that he didn''t deny it meant he seriously considered it.


    As if that wasn''t enough, some of the club members also realized something else.


    "The odds that an underworlder beneath Bas can control a person from that far away and urately locate Rierdan…?" Dukiel carefully voiced his thoughts.


    "Low."


    "Very low."


    "Stupendously low."


    "Stop beating around the bush. It''s as good as impossible. There''s someone in the Academy! There''s a traitor among the students!" Anerias couldn''t be bothered with the others'' messing around.


    "Or the teachers," Zach pointed out.


    "Do you think the Academy would hire a traitor to humanity?" Anerias asked skeptically.


    "The principal might." Zach''s words silenced them. Even if they weren''t as close with the principal, they knew the rumors.


    The principal could do something like that. The principal would do something like that.