A while later, Zack sat dazed in front of Alfanzo, who stared at him intently. The older man let out a sigh and spoke.
"Are you still insisting that Skyler was the one who subdued the Cursed Twins? But then he suddenly vanished afterward?"
Zack let out a wry chuckle. He was too exhausted to argue anymore—truly. The fact that the three other students involved in the incident remembered nothing after waking up only added to the frustration.
He glanced around the room. It was small, with a glass wall on one side and minimal furniture: a few empty chairs and a square table with a couple of water bottles on it. It looked exactly like an interrogation room. Shaking his head, Zack turned to Alfanzo.
"It's been an hour since I was put in here. When will you let me go? Even if I admit I was the one who defeated the twins, that doesn't make me a damn criminal. I don't understand why I'm being held captive."
Alfanzo frowned, his brows knitting together in solemn concern.
"It's not about you defeating the twins. It's the dark aura we sensed in the classroom. It didn't belong to the Cursed Twins—it was far more powerful. I've only felt something like that from Argon, who is the number one Light on the Human Continent. We fear you are hiding something... like someone else was in that room besides you and the rest."
Zack's eyebrow twitched.
"Then why am I the only one being interrogated? Charles and three other students were there with me!"
Alfanzo's silence spoke volumes.
Zack understood everything—he was suspected of being one of the Dark Lights, those villains who sow chaos everywhere. They believed he was the one who helped the twins infiltrate the academy.
His sudden surge in strength and the way he had been acting so differently from his past self only fueled their suspicion.
'Damn it all! This is all because of Skyler—that bastard! If I ever see him again, I am going to strangle him for revenge!'
A screen flickered to life before him.
#Keeper of Time: I step away for a while, and you're already knee-deep in trouble? Seriously, what did you do this time?
Zack shot a sharp glare at the screen. This jerk was missing in action when he needed important information from him, yet he was always back to rub salt in his wounds!
Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. As if his day couldn't possibly get any worse!
He took a deep breath to steady himself. He knew he could be impulsive sometimes, quick to overreact when things went wrong. Only after regaining his calm did Zack look Alfanzo straight in the eye, his face blank.
"I suppose you are right. Without any proof to back up my claims, I will admit I was the one who defeated the twins. But I have no ties to the Dark Lights. You can search my phone, my room—anything—to verify I am telling the truth. That's all I have to say."
Zack suddenly leaned forward.
"Just between you and me—how about checking Skyler Ironhart's room as well? I am certain you guys will find something more interesting there. Hmm?"
Alfanzo raised a brow, then chuckled.
"Not Ironhart anymore—he's Skyler Thorne now. I'd love to investigate exactly that. I've noticed how strangely odd Skyler has been as well, but Prince Alistair sent word not to question him about anything, claiming his powers come from the ancient tomb."
He shrugged his shoulders.
"So, there's nothing I can do. He's a prince now and knows how to use his influence."
Zack's expression grew even more blank. The more they talked, the bleaker his future seemed. Right—he forgot the cursed twins had called Skyler a prince as well. Damnit.
Wow, the original story had really gone off track, hadn't it? After all, it was supposed to be Jenny who was revealed as the princess of the Human Continent—not her brother.
He let out a laugh and relaxed in his chair. Everything was already a mess, it seemed.
"Just throw me in prison already if you're that suspicious. I am too tired to care. I'm not a prince with influence, and my family doesn't care whether I live or die."
But Alfanzo's next words caught him off guard, making him jerk in surprise.
"You're actually free to go. Just don't leave the academy—you could be called in again at any time. Also, you'll be rewarded soon for defeating the Cursed Twins."
Zack shot to his feet the moment the door creaked open, bolting out of the room like his life depended on it—and honestly, it did. The last thing he wanted was to somehow cross paths with Argon, the sole leader of the top guild on the Human Continent, all thanks to his friend Alfanzo's suspicions.
That man wielded a Mythic-tier skill that could peer straight into a person's soul. He might not have been the strongest, but to Zack—a transmigrator with a unique soul—he was unquestionably the most terrifying.
Alfanzo watched Zack's figure disappear before stepping out of the room himself, humming. VP Doris, who had observed the entire exchange from outside through the one-way glass wall, approached him.
The elderly VP cleared her throat.
"Already letting him go?"
Alfanzo rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"I checked his body. Zack doesn't have a Dark Elemental Crystal in his body, so it's impossible for him to be the source of the dark aura we detected when the barrier the twins created around the class shattered. I held him for an hour to confirm he had no ties to the villains. Based on his answers, I'm certain he doesn't. Actually, would you like to hear something interesting?"
Doris motioned for him to continue.
"Skyler has a Dark Elemental Crystal in his heart. He now has five crystals. Remember, you told me he only had an affinity with two elements when you checked his potential—which was five-star. And just how long has it been? Barely a month? If it weren't for the lack of evidence, I would really be inclined to believe everything Zack said."
VP Doris could only sigh.
"Maybe it really was Skyler who defeated the twins. But we can't question him—not with Alistair sending such a clear warning that anyone who lays a hand on that kid would be making an enemy of him."
Alfanzo nodded, and the two left to take care of their duties. However, the thought lingered in their minds—Skyler was still the prime suspect behind the dark aura they all had sensed. After all, Charles didn't have a dark elemental crystal in his body either.
As for the other three students involved in the incident, none of them remembered a thing, making interrogation pointless.
That's how the case was closed.
The cursed twins were publicly sentenced to death by the royals and the government, which had placed a bounty on their heads.
All credit for capturing the twins went to Zack, who became an overnight sensation online—not just in the academy but across the Human Continent, much to his dismay.
The only silver lining was that he received the bounty placed on the twins as a reward the next day when Zack was summoned to the principal's office early in the morning.
He was gloomy, having researched everything about Skyler online. That jerk had really outdone himself during the few days Zack was trapped in the Battle Royal. Now, he feared that maybe the protagonist—and everyone else—getting stuck in the first level of the Battle Royal was Skyler's doing. Maybe he was the one who altered the gate's location, preventing them from advancing to the next floor and escaping early. If so, that was truly terrifying.
Still, he wondered why Max was still trapped inside the Battle Royal. Ten days had already passed—shouldn't the option to exit the Battle Royal have become available by now for those who entered with him?
Suddenly, he chuckled bitterly to himself. Why? Because he recalled the rules shown to them for exiting the Battle Royal.
"As if the option would be available with a dragon breathing down their necks—not to mention, we were all assigned a mission to find the Dragon's jewels. They can't leave—not until they find the gate to the next level. Skyler... damn, it's always his doing."
***
That same evening, Skyler sat at the dining table on the ground floor of the building he lived in, gloom written all over his face as he toyed with his untouched dinner.
"Ugh..."
With a groan, he shoved the plate away and let his head fall onto the wooden table with a dramatic thud, clearly sulking. Across from him, Charles watched everything in silence, unsure whether to speak or just let him sulk.
Ultimately, Charles couldn't take it anymore and finally spoke up.
"What's wrong with you now? I took your side. You've been cleared of everything."
Skyler lifted his head, his expression grave.
"Didn't you hear? Zack got a big reward for subduing the cursed twins! If I'd known that would happen, I would have simply stayed quiet when that jerk lied and said I was the one who defeated them! How is that fair?"
Charles's eyebrow twitched, but he held back from commenting on how Skyler was still insisting Zack had done everything. He really was the worst kind of person to have as an enemy. Luckily, they were friends.