Chapter 19: Protective Ring
Azrael was once foolish enough to believe that he could have a normal life, even though he was abandoned by his parents. He didn't think that being a child of darkness was anything to be ashamed of and that the world wouldn't treat him badly just because of it.
Azrael had been wrong, and the moment Azrael realized the truth, he felt an unbearable hatred towards the Matron for messing with his worldview rather than telling him the truth. If they say that raising a child with hatred is going to make that child hateful, then raising a child with excessive kindness is no different.
But even though he did not like her personality, Azrael knew that the Matron was a kind woman, and she was not faking her love for him or any of the other children. Azrael could not hate her as a person.
The Matron's face showed a more worried expression once Azrael brought her back to the main topic, and she put a hand on his cheek and spoke in a low tone so that only Azrael would be able to hear her.
"Oh dear, I got a call from the high school earlier. They said that the children should be careful on the road to school and back home. Apparently, a group of students were murdered just last night."
Azrael raised a surprised brow.
"Really? Did they find out who did it?"
The Matron shook her head.
"Oh no, they're still looking for them. But it's terrible. Just terrible. Those poor kids, were murdered by a monster like animals. I didn't think things like this were still being done to students. These children were training to become Divine Enforcers, and the monster just goes and kills them? Why would you attack the people that are going to be protecting us in the future?"
Azrael hummed while nodding along. His face showed a bit of worry as he spoke.
"Yes, that's horrible. Why would anyone do something like that? I'll have to be more careful when going to school."
The Matron nodded along.
"Yes, yes, you must be careful, and you should also try not to be coming back as late as you do. I know you're working hard at school, but it's far too dangerous out there these days. Try to come back before the sun sets, okay, Azrael?"
Azrael's lips stretched into a kind, unassuming smile.
"Yes, Matron. I'll be really careful from now on. I promise."
The Matron smiled and pinched Azrael's cheek once more before she left to do something else, and Azrael's smile faded out as he felt relief course through his body. The authorities hadn't found out anything about the killing yet. Or at least, the authorities hadn't told the Matron anything more about the killing. So at least, Azrael knew that he was in the clear for now.
But Azrael still had to be careful. Azrael didn't know if the authorities were only trying to lure him into a trap by making him think that he was in the clear. The Matron couldn't lie to save her life, so there was no chance that she knew he killed those boys, but what if the authorities didn't tell her about his involvement on purpose so that he would think he was in the clear and walk into their trap?
No, why would they do that? Wouldn't it be easier for them to just raid the dorm and arrest him if they found out that he was the killer?
That seemed like a more likely chain of events. The authorities wouldn't wait for Azrael to get to school just to apprehend him if they knew that he was the killer. They would have come to get him immediately.
Azrael went towards the table where the other students were eating breakfast, and he grabbed enough food to fill him up before he started heading out of the dorms. The dorms were a few kilometers away from the school, but the public transport that connected the entire city passed through both the dorms and the school gates, so Azrael didn't need to worry about getting a bicycle or running to school in the morning.
The long bullet train arrived quickly, and Azrael got on and stood at one side while scrolling through the news on his phone. The scenery outside was futuristic. High-tech cleaning robots cleaned up the dirt on the streets. Another robot was handling the traffic while holding two flags in its hands. Most people were walking around with the latest VR sunglasses that allowed them to interact with the world like it was a game.
In front of Azrael, a girl was busy playing a game on a holographic screen that was projected from her phone.
The world has gone through a lot of changes in the past few years. There were more technological advancements than most people knew what to do with now, and the citizens had all easily integrated the newfound technology into their daily lives.
The only thing that prevented humanity from advancing any more than this was the constant threats of Daemons that escaped from the veil. Humanity was currently putting all of its resources towards trying to find a way to permanently close the veil, and even though humans had also gotten used to the veil's presence in their lives, it was still dangerous since they hadn't found a way to close it.
The cities where humanity was mainly focused covered most of the landmass on Earth and there was a large defensive called the Protective Ring surrounding the habitable area which was manned by the Divine Enforcers. The protective Rings covered all four corners of the world and prevented Daemons from getting into the main cities.
City S was located close to the Western Boarder of the Protective Ring and when the students here finished their education, most of them would go on to join the Divine Enforcers at the Western Boarder. There were three other branches of the Divine Academy located at the three other borders of the Protective Ring and those students would also join the Divine Enforcers when their education was over.
Azrael looked up from his phone and noticed an old man looking at him. Azrael wondered what the man wanted until Azrael noticed that the man hadn't been looking at him. The man was looking at the badge on his chest. The badge that showed him as a child of Thanatos.
Azrael met the man's eyes, and the man glared before turning away in irritation. Azrael felt anger rising from inside him, but he didn't bother to do anything as the train came to a stop in front of the academy gates. Azrael got down and joined the numerous other students who were heading into the school.
The Divine Academy compound held both the middle and high school complexes, but it was only the high school complex that provided boarding facilities for students to live inside the school, so many of the students around Azrael were younger than him.
As Azrael walked, he had a feeling that there was someone staring at him from behind, and he glanced back to see who it was. A few meters away from Azrael, Maddison was walking through the gates with a scowl on her face. Many of the younger students around her immediately tried to avoid her when they saw the image of a scythe that was carved into the badge on her chest.