Chapter 806: They Blew up
Just in time too because the bomb went off and exploded inside our shield.
The explosion was big enough to break my shield and crack Lisa\'s shield from just the initial blast.
Unfortunately, it wasn\'t over yet as even more explosions were being set off within the shield and more cracks started appearing around Lisa\'s shield.
At the rate it was going, we won\'t be able to contain it completely!
I gave out a mental command and all of my Shadow Guards that were currently summoned quickly used [Light Forge] to create layers upon layers of shields around the explosion, right before Lisa\'s shield shattered and the explosion blasted out from it.
The first few layers also broke apart but the rest managed to hold strong, containing the explosion within itself.
When the explosion subsided, Bracca\'s table was completely disintegrated and there was a black stain on the ground where his table used to be.
I did not relax after that as I wasn\'t sure if there were still more explosives hidden around the classroom and joined the search with my Shadow Guards.
"Master…"
I turned in the direction of the voice and I saw Eins looking at me while standing beside my table.
I figured she must have found something so I went over to her.
The moment I reached her, she stomped her foot on the ground which caused a part of the floor to break open, revealing a hidden compartment that was near my table.
When I got closer to the hole, I found another stash of bombs there though these were not hooked up to a timer.
Hmm… Looks like the guy was counting on the bombs exploding without us being able to do anything about it. The explosion would then cause this batch of bombs to blow up as well which might have killed me had the initial explosion not done so.
These explosives were easier to deal with since they weren\'t activated so I just stuffed them into my Pack of Folding, figuring that I could dispose of them later safely instead of right now.
Or… I could use them somewhere… I dunno.
I continued to search through the class for a while more but it doesn\'t seem like there were any other bombs.
Just as I let out a sigh of relief, the doors and windows suddenly opened up, as though they had been programmed to only open after a set amount of time had passed.
I turned to Lisa and she gave me the exact same look I was giving her.
She gave me a curt nod and I recalled all my Shadow guards before I lowered the shield I had placed around the students that were at the back of the classroom.
My classmates were obviously quite shaken up by the explosion. Though they weren\'t able to see it behind the shield, they definitely felt the shockwave and tremors that came from the earlier explosion.
"Is… Is it safe now?" One of the girls asked in a shaky voice.
"It\'s ok now," I assured her before turning to the boy that found the bomb first. "Good job finding that by the way."
The boy actually blushed, "Ah… Umm… It\'s no big deal!"
Lisa then appeared beside me, "Alright, everyone get out of the class. We\'re going to do a sweep of the class to make sure we decontaminate this room."
The students didn\'t protest and quickly left the class, clearly afraid that there might be another incident if they stayed here for any longer.
I waited until everyone left before turning to Lisa, my Infrid also looking back at me with a look that told me she had a million questions about what happened just now.
That\'s why I went ahead to speak first, "Go ahead and ask what you want to ask."
She pointed at where Bracca\'s table used to be, "Was this caused by that idiot?"
I shook my head, "I don\'t believe Bracca was the one behind it. I think the leader of his group would be the more likely culprit for this."
Lisa frowned, "But… How did he manage to do something like this? And what kind of bombs are those? I did not even detect any mana from them so those weren\'t made with Mana Crystals."
I grimaced, "That\'s… Off-Worlder technology. I don\'t know how he made one, much less so many of them to hide it there either… Even worse is when and how he came in here to hide these bombs…"
"Those were… Bombs from your World?"
"Yes… It\'s something that\'s made with science, not magic… That\'s why there\'s no mana from it since there is no mana involved in its creation…"
She looked at me with a very worried look on her face, "Aster… You don\'t think… He might be using this to try and bomb the rest of the city would he? If there is no mana… It would be practically impossible for us to even find them if he were to hide these explosives around the city…"
I felt a chill go down my spine.
"No… No way right? He wouldn\'t… What would even be the point of him doing that in the first place?" I muttered.
"Chaos? Disorder? Panic? I\'m not sure Aster… But I don\'t like this one bit… Has the Queen gotten back to you about capturing that Off-Worlder?"
I shook my head, "She has not… Perhaps I should pay her a visit today and tell her what happened?"
"That would be a great idea… You should also let her know that your life was targeted… Speaking of which, how did he know to target you? Weren\'t you wearing the mask when you first met him at the Palace?"
That\'s right… So how was he able to know that I am the same person as the one who attacked him? Does [Screened] show my stats and name despite me wearing the mask? Read further stories on m-vlem|p-yr
No… I believe that the [Mask OF Impossible Identity] also blocks the screen from showing my stats to other Off-Worlders as well.
Maybe Bracca reported what he was doing while he was here to him and he deduced that his disappearance had something to do with me?
That\'s assuming he hasn\'t been watching us from somewhere either… Because I think that he might have even been just hiding in the bushes all this while and saw me conversing with Bracca before he disappeared…
Or… This bombing thing had some other goal in mind and he didn\'t intend to actually kill me specifically in the first place?
I wouldn\'t be able to get an answer right now anyway so everything was just my hypothesis.
I had another question though…
"How did he manage to lock us inside this class?"
Lisa shook her head, "I do not know either… If I had to guess… He most likely had an artefact that allows him to make changes to a set environment and also make rules that people are unable to break while inside it? He would have set the rule that this becomes an enclosed space."
"There\'s artefacts like that? That sounds pretty scary doesn\'t it? He could basically set up these zones all around the city and there would be nothing we would be able to do…"
Lisa shrugged, "That was just my guess… For all I know, he might have simply sabotaged the controls and it was only now that it was restored back to normal."
"Ok, less scary but doesn\'t that just mean that he might be inside the school right this very instant? Actually… The fact that he even managed to sneak inside here and plant those bombs without anyone noticing… That could only mean he has control over someone in the school doesn\'t it? Who else has access to this class except for you, Lisa?"
She shook her head, "While that might sound like a good place to start searching… The key to the classroom is shared… Meaning he could be anyone in the faculty who had gone to take the key or maybe he might have even stolen it…"
Damn… But still it does kind of confirm that our school has been compromised and he definitely has control over somebody within the school itself…
I turned to Lisa, "I will take this information back to the Queen… Hopefully she has already done her preparations and we can just go ahead and catch him… I really don\'t like the idea that he could have planted even more of these bombs all around the city…"
Lisa nodded, "It would be preferable if that wasn\'t his plan… Just in case, could you give me one of those bombs you took? Perhaps I could do some research on it and come up with a way to search or neutralise them in case he did plant them in the city?"
I was about to agree with her suggestion but paused when I thought that he might be nearby right now and I did not want to put Lisa in unnecessary situations.
"I\'ll hand you one after we get back home, Lisa… Perhaps Emilia might even be able to help with this."
"Alright… In that case I\'ll see you later, Aster. Please be safe."
She pulled me in and gave me a kiss before letting me go.
It was even a chaste kiss with no tongue, which told me she was quite worried for me.
I nodded to assure her before leaving for the Palace. Hopefully the Queen already has something for me…