A Bug In Fate

The crowd was focused on Alice and didn’t know what was happening down on the battlefield, but a few people narrowed their eyes toward the center.

Alice’s classmates, who had come to oversee the tournament, were questioning the duo about why they’d taken so long to bring the monsters.

"Hey... did you guys lose your way? Why did you take so long?" one of them said — the same woman who had been analyzing the battle earlier.

The duo, who had volunteered to bring the monsters into the arena, stayed silent for a moment before one of them replied in a calm tone.

"We didn’t lose our way. We had to stop partway because some children were playing on the road. You don’t expect us to scare them off, do you?" the man said with a smile.

"That was thoughtful of you... good," another man said beside her. He was the one who had stayed behind with the woman while the duo was gone.

The woman shook her head, her gaze shifting back to the center.

"Hey... what’s happening?" she exclaimed, her eyes going wide with horror.

The others followed her gaze, and what they saw left them speechless — the monsters, who were supposed to be in a suppressed state, were instead charging at the five participants.

At that moment, people in the crowd also noticed the commotion, and within moments, the entire arena echoed with their voices.

"Look!"

"What’s happening?"

"Why are the monsters moving?"

Alice, floating in the air, was left speechless by the scene before her, and she screamed inwardly.

*..Why is this happening? Fuck — should I kill the monsters myself? But then we’d have to capture them all over again, and stopping them now would make it look like the Academy wasn’t careful.*

Her mind raced with thoughts as she tried to make sense of how the scene had unfolded.

**Few minutes earlier...**

Alice signaled something to her classmates, and two of them walked away. They headed outside the arena, their steps halting at an open space — the same place where Alden had fought Liam and Mina together, while Ron and the old dwarf stood by.

The duo had come here for a reason. Before them was a horde of monsters in a suppressed state, unable to use their power because of the bracelets on their limbs.

"Hey... are you sure about this? Because once it’s done, there’s no going back," one of them muttered in a low voice, just loud enough to reach the second person.

The other looked at him with a calm expression, having resolved his heart long ago.

"Why are you scared? The Academy won’t find out anything, and the higher-ups are already planning something. All the blame will fall on them — no one will suspect us," his voice was calm.

Silence followed as the first person, clearly hesitating, sank deep into thought. After a few moments, his expression shifted, a flash of determination and resolve crossing his eyes.

"Alright... let’s do it. We can’t betray the organization after all this planning — they won’t leave us alone," he said, glancing toward the monsters.

They shared a glance, and the one who was scared pulled a sealed pouch from his storage ring. His expression stayed calm, but his trembling hands betrayed him.

The second person nodded beside him and took out a small orb.

He then looked at the one holding the pouch and said in a calm tone, "We don’t have much time, and Alice might get suspicious if we take too long. You go ahead and feed the pills to them while I talk to the higher-ups."

The other stood still for a moment before nodding and moving toward the suppressed monsters.

Meanwhile, the one who had suggested the plan channeled his mana into the orb, and it began to glow. For a moment, nothing happened — but then a voice came from within it.

"What’s the report?"

The voice was feminine and calm.

"This is F238 reporting. We’re giving the pills to the monsters as ordered. N358 is feeding them to the monsters right now," he said, his tone respectful, as if speaking to someone important.

The orb stayed silent for a moment before glowing faintly again, and a clear voice spoke.

"Good. We’re done on our end as well. Don’t worry — the pills will take effect in 30 minutes, so no one will suspect you."

The voice said it as if it could sense the hidden fear inside him.

"Thank you. We’re just doing what’s expected of us," he said calmly.

"Keep up the good work. We didn’t know the exact number of monsters the Academy had captured, so we prepared 300 pills based on an estimate of the Academy’s standards," the voice continued, as if it were nothing significant.

"If any pills are left over, return them to Branch 411."

The voice remained calm, but there was a clear weight of seriousness behind it.

F238, holding the orb, nodded even though the other party couldn’t see him.

"As you wish."

"Good luck."

The voice spoke one last time before the orb dimmed into silence.

F238 remained still for a moment before glancing toward his subordinate, who was now walking back toward him. It seemed the man had finished his task — his expression complex, as the weight of what he’d just done began sinking in.

"I’ve given them the pills," he whispered.

"Good. I’ve also spoken to the higher-ups — they said their preparations are ready. Now we just need to lead the monsters to the arena," the man said, tucking the orb back into his storage ring.

"Let’s go. Alice isn’t a patient one," N358 said, glancing toward the way they’d come.

F238 nodded and pulled out another orb, channeling mana into it. As it glowed, he spoke into it.

"Follow us."

The command was simple. The bracelets on the monsters’ limbs glowed faintly, and before long, they began to move.

"Let’s go," F238 said, and the duo began walking toward the arena.

They walked in tense silence. Suddenly, F238 glanced at his subordinate — more specifically, at his hand, and the storage ring on it.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"Give me the leftover pills. We need to return them to Branch 411," he said while walking.

"What leftover pills? I gave all of them to the monsters," N358 said, tilting his head in confusion.

F238, walking ahead, froze mid-step. Horror spread across his face as he slowly turned back, and a single word escaped his mouth.

"Fuck."

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