Chapter 222 Way Forward
"What?"
Northern couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"First generation? Ten years ago? What are you saying, that students are being sent here deliberately? And ten years? Seriously?"
Raven gently nodded.
"I was as shocked when Helena told me... back then they were quite lacking in the academy, and on the brink of being expelled because of their useless talents. But they were approached by Rughsbourgh, he told them that he was going to make them stronger. All they needed to do was trust him. Then he gathered ten of them and sent them here."
Northern's face paled.
It was merely a suspicion, but hearing it like this was scary, very painful.
Did that man really deceive all of them?
And Gilbert, Annette, and the twins knew all about it too?
"So, you are saying they were actually sent here deliberately."
Raven responded fiercely.
"Yes, and abandoned, just like every ten students that were sent yearly, and finally, us... a hundred."
Northern's hand slowly rose and covered his mouth.
"Crap..."
He was lost in his thoughts for a while. Then a frown formed across his forehead, and he looked at Raven.
"What's the point of you saying this to me?"
"I'm not even done. Afkon, that guy... he knew about it."
"What? And he accepted?"
"Yes."
Northern shook his head, "That makes no sense, why would he agree to being sent and abandoned in a desolate country? Or he didn't know he was going to be abandoned?"
"No, it wasn't that he didn't know. He knew everything that was going to happen. Rughsbourgh told him, and he accepted. This was what caused the major drift between him and Helena."
Northern frowned darkly.
"This is crazy, crazier than I thought."
"You know what's more crazy?"
Northern looked at her face.
"In every generation, there is always someone that knows completely about Rughsbourgh's plan and still follows up with it."
Northern looked at her dubiously.
"How do you know that?"
"How else? Weren't you following? Helena."
"So, you're just going to trust everything this lady says to you and plunge into your own death because of it?"
Raven was silent for a bit. It looked like she was having a tough time answering Northern's question.
After a few moments of deep thinking, she finally raised her eyes to Northern.
"Why would she lie to me?"
Northern raised one of his brows.
"Eh? There could be several reasons. Maybe she's just jealous that you became Afkon's wife and she didn't, and she just wanted to spoil him in your face, make you hate him and dare that you'd love to kill him, in that means, be walking into your own death."
Northern thought again, rolling his eyes.
"Or, it could be because she hated Afkon because he forgot her after he became very successful with the whole leader thing and just wanted to spite him. And thus, making use of you, the naive tool for vengeance."
Northern shook his head sadly at her.
"You're a naive fellow, very naive, Raven."
Raven's face became dark, very dark. It was usually hard to see emotions on her face, but this time, it was clear that Northern's words were getting on her nerves.
"Those reasons seem absurd and unreasonable to cook up something so real and true for."
"Tsk, tsk, you don't know anything. I'm speaking from experience. Your best friend will have an affair with your girlfriend and convince you that it is for your sake. That's how cruel this world is."
"So this is what this is about? This is the reason you don't trust anyone? Because your best friend took your girlfriend? How old are you anyway to have a girlfriend?"
Raven's glare turned to one of disgust before Northern could say anything to clear himself.
"I thought you at least would have a semblance of common sense despite your stupidity. But maybe I was wrong to believe in you. If we can't see eye to eye on things, then maybe it's best for you to return to Lotheliwan, Northern."
She concluded and majestically turned away, walking alone into the distance.
Terence looked at him for a few seconds, then exhaled heavily.
"Wow... that's a lot of pressure released."
She stepped closer and tapped the young man on his shoulder, having to stand on the tip of her toes.
"Don't take it too harshly. Instead, be proud of yourself. I have never seen anyone that actually managed to get Raven angry. Northern, I think you are special. Let's go." She said and walked away.
Northern watched her walk away too.
He then raised his head and sighed.
'Ah, crap... what the hell?'
It wasn't like he didn't have his own suspicions too. It wasn't like he didn't already know that all Raven was saying could be the truth.
No, he bet his money on the fact that they were true.
However, how exactly were they supposed to handle this situation, because of it, Raven is mad at Afkon.
She is probably mad at Gilbert too but had been putting up with him.
...Will she one day also say she wants to kill Gilbert?
'You don't just go around killing people you know?'
Northern sighed again and looked back.
At this juncture, he had only two choices.
Go back to Lotheliwan and continue to live his lame and complacent life of scrambling for barely enough to survive and not truly striving to grow and maximize his overpowered potential.
Or to continue further despite how uncomfortable and perilous it seems.
With a suicidal hero like Raven Light Kageyama, his life was bound to be in constant danger.
What was he going to do with that?
What if she really puts them all in trouble and gets them killed?
Northern was tempted to want to believe that Raven knew what she was doing and had it under control.
But this past few events yanked him out of that delusion.
She just went ahead and blindly trusted him.
That... that was crazy.
It was too crazy.
Northern shrugged, 'It's not like I have a choice anyway.'
He had to grow... and become stronger.
He lacked passion.
He wasn't sure what that meant, what Raven meant. Should he be passionate when the situation would put his life in danger?
Living to fight another day too was an honorable thing...
'It's not like I even care about all of that... I just want to get strong, go home and fucking kill Rughsbourgh.'