The Sight Beyond The Haze

Chpater 65: Hysteria

The night started to get f****d up when Anasthasia arrived.

"Sorry, I arrived late," she whispered to Cocytus and me. "The make-up artist was so slow."

I only shook ny head and gestured the seat that I reserved for her.

"It's fine."

She was led to our table by one of the staffs of the academy who bowed to Cocytus, I assumed that Cocytus might have tipped one of the staffs already to wait on Anasthasia as she arrived. The program that was being held was already passed the opening ceremonies when she sat down in between Cocytus and me. I must admit that I was not listening so attentively, still tossing and turning some ideas on my head, but there was something that made Anasthasia stiffened.

Then she started shaking. Her hands were trembling as though she had a cold and her eyes... There was a particular expression on her eyes that made my forehead knotted.

"Anasthasia?" I asked her, tapping her shoulder as my eyes looked at her frightened and widened eyes.

This moment was an abrupt instance. I did not know what made her do this. Tears started to ran down her cheeks and she was shaking her head. This time, Cocytus failed to ignore Anasthasia. Even his forehead knotted at the sight of her.

"What happened?" he immediately asked, keeping his voice low as to not attract any attention but we already did.

Zachriel happen to glanced towards our direction and his stance became vigilant and keen. He knew Anasthasia, he was the one who out things on her head into right so he must have realized what was happening to her right.

I widened my eyes at him, silently demanding what has happened to Anasthasia while I was tapping her back to comfort her.

"What is it, Anasthasia?" I also asked her in a low voice.

She did not hear anything though, or I assumed that she did not hear anything sincd her trembling hands covered her ears and her head bowed low that her chin was touching her collar bones.

"Anasthasia?" Cocytus asked while also simultaneously patting her back.

I caught his gaze and nodded in silent. In that moment, at the height of the first spectacle that the academy provided for this particular event, we slipped into the shadows without informing of the other people. It was better that way lest they would be asking questions and those questions were something we currently could not afford to answer.

Because this might lead us to that Hybrid I encountered yesterday.

There was a person in this world who could evade the Seer's Sight and we know that the one who was abducting the students from the academy could also evade the Sight. Bringing those information together, it was easy to draw a hypothesis.

With Anasthasia's state right now, there must have some thing that triggered her mind to react in such a way.

"What do we do with her?" I asked Cocytus, forehead knotted while looking around.

We were in one of the hallways of the building that was being used by the staffs of the academy. The two of us did not looked back, we only dragged Anasthasia out of the sight of anyone who would be wondering what ciuld have been wrong with her.

"I don't know," Cocytus answered me with honesty. The panic that I was feeling was reflected clearly on his face. "Maybe we should call Zachriel to check on her Veil, Seraphin."

"We should get out of here first."

I looked around the hallway. There were indeed a lot of people moving about, busy about the preparation of the first dance and the food for the banquet. There were even students who were loitering around the hallway. Cocytus also noticed what I remarked with my eyes, he nodded and started to drag Anasthasia on a different way, turning a left. We walked more, keeping our heads down and making it looked like Anasthasia was only having a perfectly normal outburst with her cry.

But we could not hide the expression on her countenance. It reeked of fright and panic as though the whole building was collapsing. Although I know that her make-up was waterproof because I was also wearing the same products, but I somehow expected her face to have smudges on them. Although she was crying, Anasthasia was not smudging her face with her hands.

I looked at her as Cocytus and I both drag her out.

I finally found the right word for her expression.

Hysteria.

I could see that there was hysteria on Anasthasia's face. Her painted lips were shaking as though she was shivering from the cold and even when she was not actually trembling from the cold but from the fright instead, Cocytus still managed to drape his coat on both of her shoulders.

"Anasthasia," I called to her but she would not hear me and just kept both of her hands firmly on her ears. "She is getting worse."

I was not a Weaver myself, but I could see the energy within her was as disruptive as an active volcano. I may have been a Mage but the only thing I could do was combative magic. Healing magic needed a meticulous and certain kind of education. It would be harder to tinker with the mind as it was the domain of the Weavers.

"We need to call Zachriel," I told Cocytus who immediately look at me with a frown on his face. "'Ill guide her out."

I pointedly look at Cocytus who still frowned at me with my statement.

"Fine!" he snapped back at me. "I'll get him, guide the girl out. Why is it that he is the only Weaver that we know? Why can't Father help us out? We're supposed to relax and think of nothing right now."

I did not bother to reply and just went straight to the door at the end of the hallway for us to exit the building. Before we could make it though, Cocytus called out to me again.

"Seraphin," he called to me. I turned my head to look at him. "Don't go straight to the house and wait for us. You understand?"

A deadpan expression was all I managed to give to him before exiting through the door.

At the back of the building, I guided Anasthasia out. She was still shivering from fright but at least her tears have stopped from flowing.

"What is wrong, Anasthasia?" I asked her because there must have been a thing that triggered this kind of reaction.

We sat on the side of the pathwalk which was slightly higher than the path itself. The hem of our dresses grazed over the earth as we flopped down. I was breathing hard, maybe Anasthasia was in a critical condition. Her mind, what if we were losing our mind?

Another life on the weight on my shoulders.

"Anasthasia, please, help me," I pleaded to her, "what is wrong? What do you feel? Tell me so I know what to do. Tell me, please, Anasthasia."

I did not expect any answers from her so it was quite a surprise to me whe her lips opened. Her words were shaking just as much as her whole body was shaking, they were almost inaudible when I learned forward to understand what she was trying to say.

When I heard it though, I was paralyzed on my spot.

I immediately leaned back, I leaned so far back that I almost lost my balance on the ground. My heart raced with the words that escaped from Anasthasia, hardly believing that she said them at all despite knowing that she could not possibly stomach to lie on her own in her current state.

"What... what—" I took a deep breath, finding it hard to even just breath properly "—what did you say. Anasthasia?" I asked with uncertainty.

I did not want to lean to hear those words from her again, but I have to make sure that either she misspoke or that I heard it wrong from her.

"I-it's... it's herrr," she trembled, shaking with her hands on her face. Finally, her immaculate make-up was ruined and had smudged on her whole pretty face. "She took me. She took me."

I waited still, my breathing slowed and then halted in anticipation of her next words.

It never came though.

At that exact moment, when Anasthasia was about to say those two words that I was waiting for, a swishing arrow came towards me. My eyes widened as its approach slowed on my vision, the tip almost hitting me right in my eye.

I exhaled slowly and Anasthasia, on her delirious state, shrieked and screamed at me. She crawled away from her original spot, fear has struck her face yet again when she was just calming down a little.

"Stay where you are, Anasthasia," I told her in a low voice. "J-just stay."

The arrow was still pointed in my eye, mere millimeters away from the socket. The tip of it was being held back by the force shield that I let out on the very last minute before it made contact with me. My heart pounded harder within my ribcage.

The one who let the arrow fly towards us has not revealed themselves yet, but I have a sickening feeling that all my suspisions must be right. Was the Hybrid and the kidnapper of the students was just one person, an entity that was curretly roaming around the academy freely?

I gathered magical energy on my hand and caught the arrow with my bare hand. Not like I was expecting, it was not infused with magical energy like the spear that the Hybrid threw at me. After catching it with my hand, I stood up and put up a barrier around Anasthasia.

I let out some of the golden kight butterflies to protect her. If my suspicion was right, it might have to do with the k********g case of the academy and this attacker might have the goal to get Anasthasia as to not reveal their true identity.

While I was putting up the barrier on Anasthasia, the archer attacked again. Unlike the first one, it did not even made it close to me. As soon as I saw it, I summoned it to me and caught it again with my hand.

I studied the arrow.

The wood was made of high quality material whereas the metal arrow tip was meticulously ethed with ancient characters that I have no hope on ever reading. Even my Dalcanorian would not be passable and that was another thing that most people could accuse me with.

How dare a girl like you, who only has the backing of a traitor and a pushover, claim a rank amongst us? They might have say, but right now I do not really have any time for that.

The archer let out a few more arrows. With a wave of my hand infused with magical energy, they were brought down even before coming close to me. Beside me was Anasthasia who was being held by the light butterflies gently. Their comforting warmth somehow calmed down the hysteria waving within Anasthasia's eyes and she only sat there, crying her eyes out.

Cocytus, I thought, where in the hell are you, you bastard!

If in a fight and this archer was ever the Hybrid, I think I could handle them off in combat. I know that with their performance yesterday night, they were only holding back but, even so, I think I could hold my own against them if I use the remaining light butterflies around. I was careful yesterday night because I did not certain information.

But I would not hold back today.

Evidently, the Hybrid worried and upset Leigh. I know that the Hybrid would only cause troubles for the balance of the world and if the information that anyone could use the Deities' blood got out, it would be an utter bloodbath.

So when I let out one of the arrows that I caught from the archer, I was prepared to kill. I would not hold back. Leigh was able to heal my wrist from getting any worse and now that I tried it out, it felt light and good. Like a small javelin, I infused the arrow with my own energy and throw it from wher eit came from.

I looked back at Anasthasia. I cannot possibly just leave her here. I could fall into a trap, either there was somethingw waiting for me at the other side or that there was someone else waiting for me to just leave Anasthasia alone.

In front of me was another building so I was certain that when the arrow broke through the window, the archer must be inside.

"Come out wherever you are," I said, my voice was amplified with magic. "Don't let me hunt you down."

I heard a rustle of clothes on the second floor of the building and a flash of black went down from it. An arrow was already nocked on the bow, prepared to be fired.

And a girl who looked exactĺy like me sent the arrow flying towards me.