Chapter 167: Chapter 167:Ranking Up [3]
Forgetting about everyone else staring up, I stared at Zach's head, which was comfortably resting on my shoulder in confusion.
Somehow, Zach has none of the scars or wounds I had inflicted on his body during the fight when his body was possessed by the spirit.
Recalling my fight with the spirit and Zach's terrible state at the end of the fight, I kept my shoulder steady, allowing his head to sit comfortably.
How he had fallen asleep after just learning that his body had been possessed during a dream was something I could not fathom.
Aren't you supposed to be freaked out or even angry that someone stole your body...?
Ignoring the pressure on my right shoulder, I looked upward at the main cast while Zach continued dozing off.
Met with the confused and silent gazes of the three boys and three girls around me, I didn't know what to say.
I was never really much of a... explainer or creative thinker.
I was more the type to memorize a formula and do countless problems until I was able to solve every single type of problem.
While others would simply use and combine the concepts they had learned to solve word-problems, I would simply memorize the method to doing each type of problem.
It wasn't actually learning as I wasn't putting the concepts to use, rather just memorizing them and writing them down... but the learning part of school doesn't actually matter.
All that mattered was obtaining good grades and getting into a good university.
When you're going to the best university in your world, no one is going to question your capabilities, no matter how stupid and dumb you act.
Shifting my gaze to Lily, I looked at her expectantly, prompting her to continue explaining.
"From there... I met up with Ren, and it seemed that he had noticed something odd as well."
Pointing at me, Lily continued.
"Since the spirit might find out about the plan if I told you guys, Ren and I crafted a plan to lure the spirit out."
Seeing me nod my head at her explanation, Lily finally explained the climax.
"From what I saw...the spirit had actually taken over Zach instead of Alya, so we had to fight Zach to free him from the spirit's control."
Looking down at her lap and avoiding everyone's gaze, Lily hesitated before muttering out the last few words in a defeated tone."
"W-we had to make it actually seem as if the spirit thought it was going to die... or else it would simply use Zach's body as a hostage."
"T-that's why Alya and I kept telling you guys to try and kill him and that we'd explain what we meant later.
"W-we n-never m-meant t-"
*BANG*
As Liam stood up from his seat with a bang, everyone's gazes immediately shifted from me to Liam as he slowly walked towards Lily.
Shifting her gaze up from her lap, Lily stared at the approaching figure of Liam, and so did everyone else.
The mood has done a complete 180-degree turn.
The joyful feeling from everyone looking at their new and improved stats menu had disappeared... replaced with a serious and grave one.
Seeing Liam standing next to Lily, I sighed, preparing myself for his next words.
Looking Lily straight in the eye, Liam asked in an unusually serious tone.
"And what about Zach? Did not you see his state when you returned? It took over five healing scrolls to get him to the conditions he is right now... and even that is far from perfect."
Staring at a hole in Zach's shirt, Liam continued.
"And... that... that's not even going to last. When the effect of the healing scrolls wears off, he'll be back to that condition."
Looking away from Lily, Liam slowly turned to face everyone in the carriage, ensuring he made eye contact with every person, even me.
"Did you all not see his condition...spitting out blood, shaking and trembling uncontrollably,... and... and he could barely move."
Putting his head on his forehead, Liam stared directly at Lily before slowly asking in a hurt and conquered tone.
"Tell me again, Lily... Alya... whoever else was involved, was this part of your damn plan?"
Feeling Liam's piercing gaze locked on her, Lily immediately looked down for cover before finally managing to mutter out.
"N-no, w-we were just trying to escap-"
*BANG*
Slamming his hand on the wall right above Lily's sitting figure, Liam interrupted her before staring directly at her face.
From behind Liam, Kevin finally emerged as he rushed up from his seat and to the right behind Liam.
Seeing the severity of the situation, Kevin didn't dare joke around as in a calm and non-sarcastic tone, he said.
"Look, Liam... a lot has happened. But now is not the time to fight. We can talk about it later... a better time. Our emotions are all over the place because we've just escaped that hell we were in, so none of us are in the right state to have an effective discussion."
Irene, who remained unphased by Liam's sudden punch to the wall, continued.
"Nothing good is going to come from talking right now... you'll just say something you will regret later. Trust me... I have a lot of regrets."
On the other side of Lily, Alya remained motionless, simply staring blankly at the floor with a blank expression.
However, even after all those words, Liam did not remove his hand from the wall above Lily, continuing to stare directly at her.
"Tell me. Did you know it would come to this or not? Did you at all believe that Zach would end up in this state? Was there even a hint of doubt in your mind?"
"i-i"
Seeing Lily squirming helplessly under Liam's piercing gaze, Kevin grabbed Liam's shoulder, forcefully pulling him away from her.
"Not now."
The next second, Liam's shoulders shined a bright blue as he shrugged them.
*BAM*
Kevin, caught completely off guard by Liam's use of mana, lost his grip on Liam's shoulder and flew back, hitting the wall of the carriage.