The Magician of Sound

"So, this is what I found today." Kai handed his note as he leaned on his chair. 

The group frowned when they saw the note that had been opened by Kai himself. On that page, he only wrote a few words that he heard today. 

Center

Rapa

Triua

Moig

Asure

Dawn

"Hmm… This is looking bad." Carissa thought for a moment and commented as her face became pale. 

"What do you mean?" Michelle and the others couldn't understand her words and asked.

Carissa looked at them and glanced at Kai's expression. "You understand what I mean right?"

"Yes." Kai nodded and sighed. "First of all, we have gone through one hundred statues today. Some of the statues said the same thing, some said different things, and some didn't say anything.

"From how I see it, there are supposed to be near one thousand statues on this island. And most of them… No, 673 were destroyed in the past and resided in the town. We will only have around one hundred statues more. 

"Looking at the statistics we have right now, there is a high chance that these 673 statues will give us a few more words. In that case, no matter what we do, we can't unravel the mystery because these statues are destroyed.

"That's why this is looking bad for us. What is the use of the clue when we know we can't unravel the rest? In fact, the president might order us to retreat and abandon this one." Kai explained carefully. 

The group suddenly furrowed their eyebrows and fell into deep thought. 

"Do you mean it's better for us to retreat rather than wasting our time here?" Nicholas asked. He seemed to be on edge recently since he had become talkative today. 

"Not necessarily…" Kai glanced at Sofia. He wondered whether her sixth sense would give us some clues. Meanwhile, he also wondered why this Nicholas looked very agitated, especially in his tone. "I want to ask you something, Nicholas." 

"Sure. Ask me anything."

"Do you feel anything wrong today? You seem to be different than yesterday… So, I am wondering if you have anything you would like to say." Kai squinted his eyes, observing Nicholas's expression.

The group, especially Sofia, was surprised as she herself stood up and grabbed Nicholas's shoulder. "Your blaze is wavering."

"!!!"

"Your tone is showing anxiety… Do you want to share something with us? Don't worry. If you don't want to, I won't ask." Kai's expression turned serious as he glared at Carissa to not say anything.

Nicholas looked down, contemplated for a minute, and looked up again. His expression had changed as he let out a long sigh. "I truly can't hide it… I don't know why, but I feel my body has been moving without my permission." 

"Ho?! Elaborate."

"Alright." Nicholas nodded and continued. "Today alone, I have more than ten occasions where my hands and feet seem to move without my permission. It's like I am attracted to the statues themselves… And most of the time, it's when the statues said something to you." 

"Is it possession? Do you feel another presence beside you? Or do they want to possess you? Nonetheless, I can see why you are agitated." Kai nodded with a serious expression. "Do you want to return now?"

"Kai Carter!" Carissa slammed the table and glared at Kai. To think he wanted to go home just like that. At least, he should think about requesting reinforcement first instead of this.

"Safety is my priority. I just want to tell you this… I am someone who will not take a battle that I know I can't win." Kai clenched his fists and glared at her. Even his killing intent leaked a bit. 

The situation became tense as these two seemed to want to fight. At this time, Michelle and Ayaka appeared before Carissa and grabbed her hand. Ayaka grasped her tightly, using that powerful muscle coordination of her. She could lift a heavy spear far above her weight, so restraining Carissa shouldn't be much of a problem. On the other hand, dark energy had been leaking from Michelle's body. This was her skill that boosted her power in the dark. With the moon out there, her skill dramatically improved.

"It's better for you to calm down, Miss Carissa. You might be the one who helps President Brent in the dark, but that position is simply four years long, so you should calm yourself before taking action," Michelle said coldly. This kind of tone reflected her position as one of the most powerful families in the US Base, the Graham Family. 

"Just as he said, losing a friend here is the same as losing the battle. This is a special mission that can be canceled at any moment's notice. I have checked the contract, and we know Kai has the ability to cancel it even right now," Ayaka added.

Carissa clenched her fists and noticed that Tasha wanted to take out her bow but chose to remain silent. At the same time, the others also looked at her with hostility, especially those in the Eagle Group. 

Nicholas had been like this, and they wouldn't know what would happen to him because there was no symptom or whatever. Looking at Carissa's action, they knew obviously she wanted to advance, even if it meant sacrificing someone. That's why they didn't like it. 

"I…" Nicholas suddenly opened his mouth again and scratched his back. They looked at Nicholas and listened to what he had to say. Nicholas took a deep breath and continued. "I am happy that all of you worry me, but I believe I can continue."

"Nicholas!" Isabelle, as the Eagle Group Leader, obviously didn't want her member to take a risk.

However, the latter shook his head and smiled. "What I want to say is… I don't mind about this condition. At first, I was indeed agitated because I felt someone wanted to possess me, but when I saw how you all reacted along with this discussion, I have a different opinion now." 

"Unlike the war, this is a small scale mission where I don't want to risk my comrade's life. If you think this is not harmful, you can elaborate on your condition, and I will see whether we can continue or not." Kai made his judgment. 

"I felt that the statue wanted to show me something."

"Show you something?" 

"Yes. Just like how you have gotten some clues from the statue, I don't feel any harmful intention behind my own, so I believe the statues also want me to have a part in this matter. Now that I have a clear mind, I can see it from this perspective."

Kai looked at his expression for a few seconds and thought, 'What should I do? Let him participate and continue the investigation? Still, there is a possibility of him being possessed right now… Or is this just me overthinking this matter? No. I should act this way to protect the group from any potential harm…

'From what I can see, there are already a few of us that have this kind of clue. First would be Tasha, who seems to feel something wrong with the statue, and it's related to her Sealing Magic.

'Sofia also has some kind of influence because of her sixth sense… But I think the connection is not too deep like Tasha or Nicholas. This Nicholas is the most dangerous one.

'If we return to the base and check him in a psychiatrist and a doctor, I can rest assured. It's far from this island to boot. However, this island is different. Staying here will be dangerous in case they are trying to harm here.

'And the last person is me. The only reason why Nicholas became like this seems to be related to me. If only I… No, I should listen to the clues no matter what. Unfortunately, only a small portion can be unraveled this time… It might not be harmful to Nicholas for now, but if we finish visiting all the statues… Will Nicholas be possessed?'

Kai couldn't give an answer to this. "Haiz, to think I should make a hard decision in this type of mission… Fighting seems to suit me better." 

Seeing their reactions, Michelle and Ayaka released Carissa and returned to their seats.

Kai thought for a moment and asked Carissa. "May I know your magic?"

Carissa hesitated for a second before raising her hand. A small wind gushed out of her hand and brushed their skin. "It's wind magic."

"Ugh. If only we have Julia here…" Sofia seemed to notice why Kai asked such a question.

"Yeah. We can know whether Nicholas's case is special or not."

"How about asking the others here? I believe there are a few earth magic users on this island." Carissa offered a solution. As much as she didn't want to do anything, it would be better like this because Kai started considering continuing the investigation. 

"But they are unrelated to this." Kai shook his head.

"No. We can simply ask them to accompany us. As for keeping secrets, I can monitor them if you want. We can test for one more day and will go back as soon as the situation turns worse." 

"..." Kai thought for a moment before glancing at Nicholas. "What do you want to do? And Isabelle, you are the leader of Eagle Group. You choose."

"I believe in Nicholas. If he wants to continue, I will leave the rest to you, Captain." Isabelle nodded.

"I can do it. I won't hide anything after this." Nicholas nodded.

"For the time being, his blaze has regained its calmness… No, it's when we are arguing that his blaze became stable. I can monitor him for you," Sofia suggested.

"Alright." Kai let out a long sigh. "Is there a fighter with earth magic? I only need one."

"Yes. We have."

"We can bring him tomorrow. As soon as the situation becomes dangerous, I want to abort the mission."

"Alright." Carissa nodded. "Why do you need a fighter instead of a researcher?"

"They don't know anything about research, so they are the most obedient. And with your authority, I believe they will follow no matter what you say. At the same time, unlike the researchers, they only need to report to you, so I can control the information during this mission." Kai explained carefully.

"Since that is the case, I will get one of the fighters for you." Carissa scratched her cheek lightly and said with an embarrassed expression. "Well, I want to apologize to you for acting like that. I am sorry." 

"It's fine. I can understand the mission from your point of view, but I hope you can think from our perspective too. We are only students here, so I believe it's not good to risk everything too early." 

"I understand."

Kai nodded and looked at the group. "Do any of you want to add something?"

The groups didn't say anything, so Kai decided to end the meeting. "Alright. That's all. We will follow the schedule tomorrow, so you can go back and prepare."

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