The Fat God System

Chapter 115: Innocent

"What?"

Hugh furrowed his eyebrows as he was genuinely confused as to the sudden outrage from Ace. He had been patient all this time, but it seemed that he had lost his cool.

"Answer my question. Why did the Central building collapse?"

Ace almost seemed annoyed at Hugh. His ears were slightly red, and he gripped his hands on the chair with such force that it almost bent to his will.

"Th-the cube."

Hugh was still confused about the situation, so he was only able to blurt out two words. He was still in a state of stupor.

"Cube? What cube?"

With this information, Ace felt that he had another clue to go on. He regained his cool as he slowly sat in his steel chair and looked patiently at Hugh for his next words.

"I don't know what it was. It was black and had the color of the stars. Once you look at it, you find yourself staring at the endless void of space."

Hugh looked at his hands as if he was holding them in his hands. Even though he had never held it himself, he had this vivid memory of the cube because of Aric's memories.

Ace looked at Hugh's hands in a state of curiosity. From Hugh's hand movement, he could tell that the cube was small enough to fit in his hands.

"Where did this come from?"

Ace could tell that Hugh was telling the truth, and that meant that the cube was a vital part of this investigation.

"It...it came from...Maverick."

As soon as Hugh uttered that name, he could feel the room temperature go down a few notches. He looked up and saw Ace staring at him with bewildering intensity.

"How do you know that name?"

Seeing that it caused such a reaction from Ace, Hugh knew that the Student Council knew about his existence.

With Maverick being a part of the Blacklade Academy that planned to sabotage the school, it was safe to assume that the Student Council kept a wary eye on him.

"He was- is Aric's father."

Ace knew that, so he was not that surprised. From the evidence that was suggested in this investigation, Ace guessed the scenario that had happened.

"Did Aric carry the cube into the school?"

Ace's words had a bit of contempt in his tone. He seemed to be already antagonizing Aric due to his connections with Maverick.

Hugh gulped and calmed himself down as he said his next few words.

"No. Aric was the one who warned me about it. We planned to stop it, but we failed."

Hugh's words were a total lie. From the memories that he had gotten from Aric, he knew that Aric never really wanted to cause chaos to the school, he was the only force to.

Aric could have destroyed the barriers even before Hugh knew about it. He was hesitating at every step, second-guessing himself until he found something that could stop himself.

With Aric dead, Hugh did not want to tarnish his reputation by making him the scapegoat for this situation. He did not want to lie, but for a friend, he will do it.

Ace looked at Hugh with furrowed eyebrows. He seemed to sense that something was amiss from Hugh, so he decided to ask more questions.

"Where's Aric now?"

Hugh kept his head down as Ace finished his sentence. The room immediately transformed into a somber atmosphere.

"He-he's dead."

Hugh felt it hard to speak out those words. He still felt guilty about it and speaking about it only opened up wounds.

Ace felt that something was still amiss from Hugh's statement, but he could tell that Hugh was not lying about Aric being dead. He would know more about the situation once the investigation ended.

"Did Aric tell you more about what Maverick was planning?"

Hugh felt his emotions getting boiled up as he heard Maverick's name. He had inherited Aric's memories, which meant that he had witnessed the horrible things that Maverick had done.

He could only feel hatred towards Maverick. It felt like he had been the one who was tortured.

Ace could feel the change in Hugh's attitude, which made him curious. Hugh was sad, and now he became angry as soon as Maverick came into the conversation.

"I can tell you everything that Aric knew about Maverick."

Hugh balled up his fists as he thought about Maverick. It was his vendetta to make Maverick as miserable as possible, even if it meant siding with the Student Council.

Ace was surprised that Hugh was willing to speak, but he welcomed it. He was doubtful of the validity of Hugh's words, but he could feel the hatred in Hugh's words, so he was willing to give Hugh a chance.

"However, you must let me go."

Hugh issued out a bargain for his freedom. He knew that the Student Council would not let him go since he was a part of the barrier incident.

He figured that he could gain his freedom and disrupt Maverick's plans at the same time. It was a win-win situation for him.

"I can't promise that, but we will not imprison you for now."

Hugh was satisfied with that bargain, so he started to spill the beans about Maverick. This information came directly from Aric's memories, so he knew that it was the truth.

Aric's body was lying underneath the large boulder that came from the ceiling. The earthquake continued to reign in the room and create chaos. The room was now already partially destroyed, but Aric's body was still on the floor.

Blood painted the whole floor as Aric's blood tainted all of those that came across it. His face was pale, and his eyes were closed. The previous charismatic and energetic look that he had was now completely gone.

Then, the earthquake completely stopped. There were no more shakes, and no more reverberations, just silence. The floor stopped cracking, and there was even a sense of peace that reigned in the room.

Then, Aric's finger started to twitch. It did not take long as Aric's eyes started to open and a black flame started to envelop all around him.