Hours after hours of screams and agony, pain and suffering. Rivers of blood and mountains of flesh. Dead carcasses stacked atop. The bodies with missing parts and an amalgamation of ugliness. This is what the situation looked like.
Niccole rose to her feet, straightening her coat with deliberate care, stepping over bodies without looking at them. One by one, the adults fell silent. Those who tried to fight were killed instantly.
None were spared.
By the time the last scream faded, only a handful of figures remained alive.
A few students. Young. Trembling. Pressed together against the far wall.
And Damien.
He was barely recognizable.
What remained of him was slumped against the stone, chained upright. His robe had long since lost its color. One arm hung by strips of flesh. His face was swollen beyond symmetry, one eye sealed shut, the other staring glassily ahead.
Niccole turned toward him at last.
"Well?" she asked. "You've had hours to think."
Damien coughed. Something wet rattled in his chest.
"…What… do you want?" he rasped.
She raised an eyebrow. "Straight to negotiation. I respect that."
He forced himself to lift his head. Blood dripped from his chin. "I'll answer. Anything. Whatever you want to know. Just… don't kill me."
Niccole studied him for a long moment.
"Why?" she asked.
He blinked, confused.
"Why should I leave you alive?" she clarified. "What benefit do you provide me, Professor?"
His breath hitched. Desperation sharpened his voice. "Information. I can provide you with information."
She stepped closer.
"Interesting. Then off with the first question. What is the Church's goal?" Niccole asked quietly.
Nicole was expecting a certain answer with this question. She wasn't here to interrogate them. She was just avoiding future casualties. The reason why she only picked a handful of professors and students was the fact that the influence of the church was too vast for her liking. If she captured and killed every asset of the church. They would certainly change their strategy. Or even they would be aware that Nicole has started to suspect them. She didn't want that. She was just testing the waters, the reason being Damien was one of the major external influences the church had in the academy. Furthermore, she could handle it if it were just Damien and some low-ranking recruits.
But Cardinals like Martin were too risky for now.
Of course she wasn't going to make the same mistake again.
Damien's remaining eye widened.
And then… he smiled. It seemed his whole personality changed; a sudden spark of madness lurked in him.
It was wrong.
"Our goal," he whispered, voice trembling with reverence, "is to wait."
Niccole frowned.
"To wait?" she repeated.
"For His return," Damien said, breath quickening. "The One above all. The King who sees all."
The air felt colder.
"He will free us," Damien continued, voice rising, words tumbling out faster and faster. "Free us from this endless suffering. This loop of decay. He will take us to Carcosa, where there is no pain, no ignorance, no death."
His chains rattled as his body began to shake.
"He comes to me in my dreams," Damien said, eyes unfocused now, pupils blown wide. "He reminds me of my mission. Of my purpose. Of the lies we must tell so the world will be ready."
Niccole felt it then.
A pressure, like a finger pressing against the inside of her skull.
"… Who," she asked slowly, "is this king?"
Damien's mouth opened.
"He is the king in—"
The sentence never finished. Just as he was about to complete the sentence, his body morphed; he started to bloat, and without even a second passing, a pop sound echoed.
One moment he was speaking.
The next, his body came apart. Blood and viscera sprayed outward, splattering the walls, the floor, and Niccole's coat.
Chunks of meat hit the far wall with wet thuds.
She was stunned, to say the least. She had an odd expression on her face.
"Something's Not Right." She whispered, She wasn't aware of a being called King.
She was expecting a familiar name out of that mouth. Furthermore, she was expecting something about the seals of Netharis.
"Damnation. I need to speed up my plans" She wiped some of the blood spread across her clothes.
"Hilda, come in." She voiced calling for someone.
A beat later a tall lady with tan skin walked in.
Nicole looked at the students and children still in the room.
"Wipe out their memories of this encounter and also the ones related to church" she said
"… Leave them with certainty. A feeling. That associating with the Church is a terrible idea."
The assistant nodded. With that, Nicole opened the door.
But before she walked out, she looked back and said with a serious.
"After you're done, set up a meeting with board members and tell the vice principal to make six more slots in the second year." she said and walked out of the door.
Hilda looked at the door as if expecting something. When suddenly the door sprang open once again, Nicole said hurriedly.
"Also, get an appointment with a hospital with the best healers. Issue it under the name of Wright Family."
Hilda nodded and asked, "Anything else, Mrs. Richards?"
"No?, Yes!. Bring me an ice cream when you're done with the cleanup."
And with that, Nicole left with hurried steps.
Hilda sighed and got to work.