Awaiting soft rains(An extra's novel)-Chapter 88: The plan

"You can detect skinwalkers?"

Bukayo scratched his stubble, looking at me curiously. I could only scratch my head in response.

"Somewhat, sir."

I hadn’t exactly tested it on Rank D skinwalkers. I’d lied about doing so to Alice back then to convince her about the skinwalkers. Not that it mattered anyway; after all, my information had been correct in the end.

Why she needed visual confirmation now was beyond me.

Bukayo gave a casual nod before pushing a button at the side of the cell. The glass pane separating us from the monsters slowly lifted, letting the dull, muffled groans of the monsters reach me.

If the monsters sensed us, they made no visible reaction to our presence.

A hand cheerfully patted my back.

"No need to be scared, kiddo; they’re incapacitated."

I had to physically suppress a shiver at Bukayo’s touch. I knew he wouldn’t harm me, but the knowledge that he could put me in the same state as those monsters with a mere thought didn’t make things any easier.

"Thanks."

Regardless, I steeled myself and nodded before walking up to the cell.

Although it didn’t mean much practically, being out of Bukayo’s immediate contact radius helped calm my mind, allowing me to think of the task ahead of me.

For now, I knew Alice had a plan, and as far as I could tell, it involved using my abilities to detect skinwalkers. Given her aversion to kidnapping or locking down the Academy, I could somewhat see where she was going with this.

It didn’t help ease my worries.

I stopped right beside the first skinwalker.

It was a boy. A cadet. They all were. Faces that I’d only ever seen from searching them up online now lay writhing in agony, their bodies twisted into inhuman forms.

As I cautiously began kneeling next to it, the beast’s glazed eyes froze, then locked onto me. It began violently thrashing, causing its fellows to join in as well.

Spooked, I stumbled backwards a bit; fortunately, I still managed to stay on my feet.

Arms, legs, and necks all strained and trembled in an effort to reach me. Yet it was all for naught. Regardless of how much they struggled, the monsters never moved even an inch from their original positions.

They couldn’t even growl, as through their open lips I found their mouths shut, their teeth fused together.

I could only turn back to face Bukayo in horror. The man merely gave me a reassuring smile in response.

"See, it’s perfectly safe."

Needless to say, this experience had given me new insight into the absolute monsters paragons were. Seeing as Alice had nothing to say, I turned back to face the body before me.

Taking a deep breath, I activated [Error Sense], for once taking comfort in the familiar buzz of the ability.

Although I hadn’t tested my ability on higher-ranked skinwalkers, I’d long studied them as best I could to improve my chances.

Through experimentation, I’d figured out the ability worked heavily on knowledge. The more accurately and specifically I could define perfection, the better results I generally got.

It was why I’d been gathering weapon technique manuals, and also why I’d chosen the rapier against Maki. All to gather information.

I formulated a definition for perfection, specifically targeting the parts affected by skinwalkers: the spine, the brain, and the central nervous system. The anatomy of it all.

I didn’t understand it much, but I’d crammed the images of it.

Then I laid my hand on the body of the skinwalker.

At first, I almost thought there was no reaction. But then I focused and felt it.

A sound and feeling that could easily be dismissed without close attention. A light, faint buzzing originating mainly from the spine, then spreading erratically throughout the body.

I sighed before removing my hand from the still-vibrating body.

"So?"

Alice’s clear voice sounded from behind me.

"I can sense it."

"How clearly?"

"Faint, but not untenably so."

"That will have to do, then."

Bukayo spoke from beside her.

"Are you going to test him on the remaining monsters?"

Alice shook her head. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"No, that won’t be necessary."

The man didn’t seem to care that much about it anyway; instead, he shrugged before pointing at the monsters.

"So what do you plan on doing with them, then?"

Alice considered it for only a moment before speaking.

"Kill them. Cleanly, if possible. Spare their families from seeing them in this state; keep the corpse in the spine. It’ll be proof they weren’t wrongly executed."

"Got it; you’re the boss."

Bukayo gave her a mock salute before turning to face me.

"You’ll want to take a step back for this."

I wasted no time in complying, hurriedly rushing out of the cell. The man gave me a satisfied nod and faced the monsters once again.

He raised a finger pistol at them. Then.

"Bang."

The center of their foreheads collapsed inwards, forming a depression that deepened into a bloody hole. Then, their very own bone fragments shot out through the back of their heads, painting the white wall red.

Their movements stopped immediately.

Bukayo lowered his hand.

"Done."

Alice paid him no mind, as I felt her gaze on me. I didn’t know what face I was currently making, but I doubted it was anything pleasant.

Still, the witch didn’t seem to mind, as she began speaking.

"I need you, and whoever you can trust at the student council—particularly the disciplinary arm—to comb through the suspects and find the skinwalker among them. I can help you with access and information if you need. Reasonable violence is sanctioned for disciplinary committee members, the vice president, and the president of the student council; you can use that if needed."

Numbly, I shifted my gaze from the bleeding corpses, trying to process what Alice had just said. I had a feeling it was going to come to this. The clues had already been pointing towards this outcome.

Still...

"It knows we will be looking for it. Even if it’s weakened, letting it roam freely among the student body while we search for it is far too dangerous."

"I am aware of that. Which is why all possible suspects will be heavily monitored for the duration of the search, and if you do not find it in three days, then I will proceed with a lockdown on the campus."

I couldn’t really make an argument against that. Paragons weren’t all-seeing in the end, and Alice couldn’t act because of restrictions.

But even she knew the dangers of letting this run on for too long.

"Very well. I can do that."

Lately, it felt like I’d been acting as an errand boy for Alice. Although we were both working towards the same goals, she’d been involving me in schemes I couldn’t control.

Yet, I couldn’t complain. I was the one who tipped her off; although things hadn’t gone as I’d planned, I knew what I was getting into.

Besides knowing Alice, even if I failed to get the skinwalker on time, I had certainly already gained her favour, which would open new avenues for my future plans.

Alice nodded, putting an arm on my shoulder.

"We’d best get going then."

"Seems like you’ve picked a really interesting pup this time, Alice."

Bukayo’s voice called out to us right when I imagined we’d teleport. Alice gave him a look; in it, I could see the slightest traces of pity lingering.

"Do you still not plan on coming out?"

The man scratched his hair, like this was a topic they’d already gone over many times.

"Don’t worry. I can do my job just fine from here. I’ll be out if the school really needs me; I owe the Lady that much."

Alice let out a soft sigh at that. The man chuckled lightly in response.

"Things seem to be getting pretty exciting out there, but you seem to have this handled. Do send me more visitors if you can."

The witch didn’t reply to him. I felt that sinking sensation once again, and then, we were gone.