Chapter 85: To Live or To Die

"And who is that...guy? How come he looks so much like a girl?" a female teacher couldn’t help but ask, noticing the young man’s extraordinary handsomeness.

"He is Arlo. He’s a lab disciple and just came in yesterday..." Mr. Ian said, recognizing Arlo.

"Seems to have quite the hitting power in those hands of his, and quite good eyes too. Maybe he has the same talent in combat?" a muscular staff member said, staring at Arlo with interested eyes.

"Hmm, just two minutes before the match ends, though. I wonder if he’ll last until the end..."

"Two minutes left until the match is over!"

Bren roared out as Silas’ eyes turned completely crimson, smashing the ball with all his strength.

If he couldn’t score this goal, he would lose the match, something he had never done before. It would bring an end to his invincible streak!

"You damn idiot! Just let me score already!" he roared in anger.

"Hey, Arlo, push it out of the field!!!" Prescott roared after finally coming to his senses.

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed, but he didn’t dare take his eyes off the incoming ball for even a second.

Even the mana covering his hands was beginning to wane, causing him to feel quite a sharp pang of pain.

Still, instead of throwing the ball out of the field, he couldn’t help but turn his gaze toward the opposing post, and in the next instant, he made his choice.

"5... 4... 3!!!!" Bren shouted as he counted down.

Silas gave his final shot with every ounce of strength he possessed before collapsing onto his butt, cold sweat covering his body.

As Arlo watched the shot rushing toward him, his eyes locked tightly onto the ball. In the next instant, he jumped upward before driving his leg into it, sending the ball soaring past the side of Silas’ face.

The force caused Silas’ hair to bounce wildly in the air.

Everyone stared in shock as the ball soared upward, forming an enormous parabola before descending directly toward the opposing post.

The goalkeeper immediately ducked his head at the last second, allowing the ball to sail over him and land inside the net.

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOALLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!"

The roar of the crowd was so powerful that it even carried into the senior academy area, causing quite a few students there to turn their gazes toward the source of the deafening noise, their eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"MUHHHHHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAH!"

A sickening, sadistic laugh burst from Prescott’s lips as he ran toward Arlo alongside the remaining members of the team.

In the next instant, Arlo was thrown into the sky by his teammates, who repeatedly tossed him upward as the crowd joined in their celebration.

_________________

"Hahahaha! A satisfying plot twist, wouldn’t you all agree?" the muscular staff member said between booming bursts of laughter.

Even the other staff members couldn’t help but stare at the jubilation below, becoming even more shocked when they saw Silas burst into mournful tears, repeatedly slamming his head against the field like a baby who had been denied his favorite toy.

"Hmph, good for him."

Another twenty minutes of celebration passed before the break finally came to an end, and all the students began leaving the field.

However, not before asking Arlo what his name was more than a thousand times...

"Hey, show up tomorrow, okay? Hopefully, it’ll be another epic clash..." Prescott and the rest of the team said to him.

Arlo gave them a simple answer.

"I’ll try."

With that, they all went their separate ways.

[Well, that was quite enjoyable, wasn’t it? Satisfied now!?] The System hologram asked as Arlo rolled his eyes at the oldie before making his way back to class.

Soon, another two hours passed, and a blue-haired boy could be seen running out through the academy’s gates and heading toward the lab...

KNOCK

KNOCK

KNOCK

The sound of knocking echoed through the room before the familiar voice answered.

"Come in..."

Arlo entered the lab, finding it just as it had always been.

Professor Igris could be seen tinkering with a myriad of test tubes while the smell of chemicals permeated the room.

"Good day, Professor Igris," Arlo greeted.

The man simply nodded, his attention completely focused on the serums in front of him, his concentration absolutely unflinching.

"Hmmm, come here, Arlo..." he suddenly called.

Arlo walked over, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked at the test tubes before him. His expression immediately changed when he noticed the strange appearance of the liquids inside them.

"What do you think of it?"

"It is changing color rapidly, yet it looks like it’s not changing at all. It’s still just the same silver liquid..."

"Nice observation. Now, I need you to observe the colors. Whenever one becomes dominant for five seconds straight, write it down on this note. Good?" Professor Igris asked.

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed.

He had come here desperately wanting answers, not to spend his time recording the rapid changes of color in a test tube.

"Yes, Professor Igris," Arlo replied as he picked up the pen.

Professor Igris stood up, allowing him to take his place, and Arlo immediately began jotting down his observations.

"The process lasts for three hours, so just hang on. Okay?" Professor Igris said as he moved toward a computer at the side.

His fingers immediately began dancing across the keyboard, his expression as serious as ever.

Three hours later...

"The liquid has stopped changing colors, Professor Igris," Arlo called out.

His eyes were slightly tinted red after staring at the serum without blinking for three straight hours.

"Done!" Professor Igris said, clicking Enter on the keyboard before turning his attention toward Arlo.

"Three hours must have passed. Let me see the result..." he said.

Arlo handed him the note, and Professor Igris’ eyebrows furrowed as he examined the names of the colors.

Then, a bright light flashed within his eyes.

"Very good, boy. It’s in exactly the same perfect order as the control experiment. Nice!"

He tapped Arlo twice on the back before placing the note down and returning to work with the serums.

"Your mind seems muddled, still caught up with the events of last night..."

Professor Igris said as he handed Arlo a simple chemical container before proceeding to pour the chemical into the test tube.

"Yes, I am," Arlo replied.

Professor Igris poured the liquid into the tube before pointing toward the far end of the table, where another chemical could be seen.

Arlo quickly walked over, picked up the bottle, and handed it to Professor Igris.

The professor prepared to open the container but suddenly turned his gaze toward Arlo.

"Try not to inhale..." he warned.

Arlo immediately covered his nose with his hands as he watched Professor Igris pour the chemical.

The professor, however, didn’t bother covering his own nose.

Soon, he sealed the bottle once again before passing it to Arlo, who quickly returned it to its original place.

"About the event that happened last night. You can guess it was simply a continuation of the one that happened before, and it seems the target shifted to you because of your rare Fallen Angel form."

"I was asked by King Eboncrest to make sure you don’t die ever since you and the princess left the palace."

"That’s all there is to it..." Professor Igris said.

Arlo’s eyes flashed.

No wonder he had been saved by Professor Igris in the beginning.

The man had been lurking around them ever since the first attack on him and Princess Milliani.

He had been the one to save Arlo’s life at that critical moment, and he had also witnessed the exchange that took place last night.

He had been there all along.

"But the princess and I were so close to death the last time they struck, and I almost died more than a couple dozen times yesterday."

"You never intervened until the last second." Arlo mused under his breath as Professor Igris continued rolling the chemical inside the tube.

"I was never told to help you or anything related to that. I was told only to make sure you don’t die."

"Even if you lost both your arms, your legs, and your organs, as long as you’re still breathing, I’m doing my job just fine." Professor Igris replied curtly.

Arlo’s eyebrows flashed with a strange glint.

The man would watch him get beaten half to death before intervening, even though that was the job assigned to him by the king!?

And if Arlo wasn’t important enough to warrant greater protection, Princess Milliani would have undoubtedly died the last time if he hadn’t risked his own life to lend her a helping hand.

Yet Professor Igris had still simply watched without intervening.

[That’s not necessary.]

[Ask how much of what he saw yesterday during your fight. That will determine whether he dies right now or not!] The System barked inside his head.

Arlo’s eyebrows furrowed at the sudden change in the System’s voice.

"Since you said you were there from the beginning of the fight, can I ask how much you were able to catch? I’m just trying to understand the situation better..." Arlo asked.

Professor Igris grinned.

"Everything! I saw everything!"

Arlo’s eyes flashed.

"Everything?"

"Yes. From your Fallen Angel form, to your strange possession art, to your cybernetic transfusion, and to your strange domain. Isn’t that everything?"

[He has to die!]

’Calm down...’ Arlo replied to the System in his mind.

"And what do you think about those? The cybernetic transfusion, to be exact. And what do you mean by the strange possession art?"

"Aren’t you the one who caused such a hellish scene?" Arlo asked with furrowed eyebrows.

That was what he truly wanted to know.

Just who was responsible? Who had reduced everything to such a horrifying mess?

If it was Professor Igris, then the old man was undoubtedly a devil wearing human skin!