--
Despite Lily and Sieg's opposition, TJ still attended the class later that day.
He was fine. He's not even injured, far from crippled too. He didn't even feel weak at all. There was no reason for him to skip and miss out on his daily exp.
Lily and Sieg protested. They even brought Anthony with them as a backup. But instead of siding with them, Anthony gave TJ a green light since there's really nothing wrong with him. He just advised him to take it easy on the machines.
The final nail in the head was TJ telling them that staying cooped up in a room would just make him feel worse. He'd really feel like he's ill and weak if he stayed inside a room doing nothing. Attending the class would be better for his mental health.
'I already missed a night of harvesting benefits from the Dream Echo Battlefield because of that incident; I can't miss the free exp too,' were TJ's honest thoughts.
And that's how the morning went for them. Begrudgingly, Lily and Sieg could only agree. But they'd be watching him. TJ supposes that this was fine; he really didn't plan on doing any heavy lifting today anyway. He knew how to be careful.
Seeing him in the classroom, Mr. Eden was, admittedly, a little surprised. He too thought that TJ would be absent for today's lesson, so he didn't plan on discussing anything important so that he wouldn't miss anything important. But it seems that he was wrong.
The matter about the trio facing that deranged vampire was kept as a secret. There was no reason to expose it, and the trio was advised to keep this to themselves as well.
That's why, except for Lily and Sieg, the rest of the class remained unaware of the incident.
And so, class resumed as always. After that, it was training time for the students. Before that, though, Mr. Eden called TJ into his office privately to not cause attention.
"How are you, kid?" Mr. Eden asked as soon as TJ sat down on a chair. "I saw what happened last night. Sorry we were too slow."
"It's alright, Sir. We're alright. Uncle healed me up just fine; there's not even a scar left from the wound. Don't worry, I'll take it easy for today."
"That's good," Mr. Eden sighed in relief. He would've felt really bad if this promising young man's future was ruined because they were too slow to respond.
Then, a knock sounded at the door. Mr. Eden told them to come in, and the people outside entered.
There were two of them. One was wearing a regular police uniform, while the other wore a brown trench coat and a top hat and wore a pair of clear reading glasses.
"Hello, Mr. Eden," the man in the trench coat greeted; his eyes then landed on TJ, and he greeted him too. "And to you too, young man. I believe you're Tristan James, right?"
TJ sneaked a look at Mr. Eden and saw him nod. TJ felt relieved and replied, "Yes, sir. That's me. Just call me TJ."
"Alright, TJ it is then." The man smiled warmly at him before sitting down on the opposite chair to him at the behest of Mr. Eden.
"Mr. Eden, if it's alright with you, can I start?"
"Yeah, that's why I called him here in the first place."
Seeing the confusion on TJ's face, the man in the trenchcoat smiled and said,
"My name is Robert, and my profession is a detective, and this is my police partner, Dan. We're here to get your statement about what happened to you yesterday afternoon."
"We've already gotten the statement of your friends; you were still unconscious back then, so we decided to come later instead, which is now, obviously. How are you, by the way?"
"I'm all good, Detective," TJ replied politely after learning their purpose. "I was treated by the Medical Saint, so I was in good hands."
"You certainly look like it," Detective Robert commented. "The skills of the Medicine Saint are indeed admirable."
TJ knows that this was just some empty flattery. His injuries weren't that severe in the first place. Anyone who's considered as a 'medic' or a 'healer' could've treated him all the same so long as they're half serious about their profession.
"Alright, I don't want to take up much of your time since I know you'd rather be somewhere else. However, this is necessary."
"Before we start, there are a few things you must know. First, this interview will be recorded. Second, as a detective, I have a skill that can differentiate between lies and truth. It's highly suggested that you answer my questions truthfully or as honestly as you can so there will be no complications."
"And finally, as much as possible, try to recall every detail about this incident. We're not forcing you, just so you know; if you can't really remember, it's fine. But if you can give us as much detail as you can about this incident, that would be for the best, as that would help us immensely on our further investigations. Am I clear so far?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Alright. Well, let's start." Detective Robert's face then turned a bit somber as he asked, "Tell me what happened yesterday afternoon from your perspective."
TJ nodded and began telling his story.
For the most part, his story went very much the same as what Lily and Sieg already said. But TJ did confess that he met the man much earlier than that.
"You saw him? Where?" The detective and his police partner were definitely intrigued, and so was Mr. Eden.
"At the Professional Market," TJ admitted, "I was there to buy some skills. It was too crowded, and I crashed into him by accident because I was being pushed by the sea of the crowd. He rudely scolded me and walked away."
"I see. And when was this?"
"Last Saturday, around noon. He was more...filled out, I suppose, when I first met him, not like his emaciated and deranged appearance yesterday."
"Interesting." The detective's lie detection skill hasn't pinged, meaning that this child was telling the truth. "What else?"
TJ continued his story. He purposefully left out the detail about the voices in his head being useful at the last moment; they don't need to know that.
"...and then, I thought it was over. He was shot in the heart; his heart was gone, I was sure of it. But then he started levitating, and I think I started seeing things because I was feeling very weak and exhausted at that point."
"There's this...shadow, I think, that appeared around him. It looked like a creepy and wriggling mass of jet black...thing. And I think it was screaming, but it doesn't have a voice."
"I saw it merging with him, and then the wounds on his chest healed at a visible pace. Even his missing heart regenerated."
"I was going to shoot him again because he threatened to attack again. I know he was mad because I killed him, so I was panicking too, especially since I was already weak."
"That's why the dean appeared to our rescue. I passed out in relief after that."
Robert, Dan, and Mr. Eden sneaked glances at each other. Totally not expecting the teenager before them to perceive more than his friends could.
Again, the lie-detection skill of the detective wasn't triggered, which means that TJ was telling the truth about what he saw.
"I see. Thank you so much, TJ. You've given us some useful information. And I'm sorry this happened to you and your friends. Don't worry, the culprit is already apprehended and will be strictly monitored from now on. He won't hurt anyone again."
"Also, don't feel burdened about shooting him. It's not your fault. You're just defending yourself and your friends; no one could fault you for that. Just don't start shooting everybody that pisses you off, and we're good, okay?"
"I won't, I promise."
"Alright, you may go now, unless Mr. Eden still has something to say."
"I have none. Go back and take it easy for today."
"Yes, sir." TJ nodded and left the room, closing the door gently behind him.
Mr. Eden's office was wrapped in silence for a moment. It was only after Valerie appeared from practically out of nowhere that this silence was broken.
"How honest was he?" Mr. Eden asked the detective, ignoring the dean's presence.
"100% honest," Robert replied. "He's got really good senses too; no wonder he's able to see the skill effect despite being a mere novice."
"So it's confirmed then? It's Dark Revival," Valerie asked.
"It fits the description perfectly." Robert nodded. "That dark wriggling mass that child saw was a poor soul that was sacrificed to revive that deranged vampire."
As it turns out, TJ's assumptions were correct. There was indeed a limitation to the resurrection skill he saw.
The [Dark Revival] was, in truth, a sacrificial skill. It requires a tormented soul to sacrifice for the user's revival. Meaning that the dark, wriggling, and silently screaming mass TJ saw was, in truth, a soul that was plucked from its tormented vessel and used as a sacrifice.
This is why the [Dark Revival] was banned.
"We better move quick. We can't let them stockpile souls, or else it'll be much more difficult to hunt them all down completely."