Sebastian leaned back slightly in his chair.
"This situation has already spread like wildfire," he said calmly. "And you are at the center of it."
Zekai didn't respond.
His thumb pressed slowly against the edge of the cuff—metal digging into his skin—then stopped.
Sebastian continued, studying him carefully.
"Anyway," Sebastian continued, as if the silence didn't bother him. "I'm Sebastian. Captain of the Second Order."
Zekai didn't react. The introduction meant nothing to him.
"Do you know what BSA stands for, Zekai?"
Zekai slowly raised his head, then tilted it slightly to the side.
Behind Sebastian, written clearly across the white wall in black lettering, were the words:
[ Bureau of Supernatural Affairs ]
Zekai stared at it for a moment. The meaning was obvious.
Then his eyes lowered again.
And yet—Something inside him tightened.
A faint irritation formed.
If they existed…
A department that handled supernatural incidents… and still hadn't saved Aron.
Then where were they when Aron was dying?
His eyes closed for a second.
He remembered everything. The other world. The fight. The pain. Aron struggling. Aron dying.
'Bullshit... BSA.'
Zekai's gaze didn't lift.
"...You're asking the wrong question."
Sebastian leaned forward.
"We're not your puppets. Reality doesn't change just because you say so."
"It wouldn't take long for the BSA to crush you."
"Anyways."
"Let's not waste time."
His eyes didn't leave Zekai.
"You walked out of something forty-three people didn't."
A pause.
"So start talking."
"...before I decide you shouldn't have walked out of there at all."
Silence.
Sebastian didn't blink.
"The boy you were carrying in your arms… the one who died… Aron, right?"
"…Ah," Zekai answered quietly.
"You carried him like he mattered," Sebastian said.
A pause. "...so tell me something simple."
Sebastian leaned forward slightly.
"Why is he dead…"
"...and you're not?"
Zekai's lips parted slightly. The answer came immediately.
'He was like a younger brother.'
But the words never left his mouth.
Something inside him twisted sharply—like his own conscience was pressing against his throat, refusing to let the words out.
Guilt.
Heavy. Unavoidable.
Zekai froze.
Not because he didn't know the answer—
But because saying it out loud…
would make it real. The silence stretched longer than it should have.
Not empty—waiting.
His grip tightened—just for a second.
But none of it showed on Zekai's face. His expression remained empty.
Still stuck on one thing.
Aron's face. Aron's voice. Aron's death. It kept repeating in his mind.
'If I hadn't been late… Aron might still be alive.'
The thought repeated without stopping.
His jaw tightened slightly—just once—before going still again.
His fingers tightened slightly against the metal cuffs. The cold metal pressed deeper into his skin—but he didn't loosen his grip.
Sebastian sighed and pushed the glass of water slightly toward him.
"You're clearly not thinking straight yet."
"Drink." Sebastian didn't look at the glass.
"You'll need it," Sebastian said, though his tone carried a hidden intent.
Zekai didn't touch it.
"I don't need anything," he said quietly. "Just leave me alone."
Sebastian's tone hardened slightly. "Don't be stubborn, Zekai. Stubbornness only drags people deeper into the abyss."
Zekai's thoughts shifted for a moment.
'Even falling into the abyss wouldn't feel worse than this.'
At least pain would end there. After a pause, Zekai finally reached for the glass.
But just as he brought it closer, Sebastian grabbed his wrist.
Firm. Immediate. Sebastian's hand closed around Zekai's wrist.
Something moved. A dark, unseen force flowed from Sebastian's hand into Zekai's body.
Zekai frowned slightly.
He could see it.
For a moment, nothing happened.
"...Don't touch me again."
Zekai didn't understood what Sebastian was trying to do.
But he didn't resist.
Then—something inside Zekai moved.
It wasn't reacting. It was rejecting.
He didn't care enough to.
"What are you—"
Sebastian's expression changed instantly.
For the first time, Sebastian's composure cracked.
Shock. Real shock. His eyes widened as if something impossible had just happened.
'No… that's not possible…'
His expression didn't break.
…but his eyes adjusted.
Like something just moved outside his expectations.
Sebastian activated his power again.
This time, he forced more of it into Zekai.
He tightened his grip and tried again. He pushed more energy into Zekai.
Deeper this time.
The air compressed. But the moment it entered, something inside him rejected it instinctively.
Then it detonated outward.
A violent force burst outward.
Sebastian's grip broke instantly—but his hand didn't move fast enough.
His eyes widened.
"Impossible—"
Sebastian's body lifted off the ground, then slammed backward as if something had rejected him entirely, struck by an invisible force, crashing several feet away.
The chair toppled. The impact echoed through the room.
The impact reached him before his mind could process the movement.
The wall cracked. For a moment—he didn't move. Not because he couldn't. Because he was reassessing.
The lights flickered once—like the room itself reacted.
Silence followed. Heavy. Wrong.
Zekai's handcuffs cracked slightly.
Not broken—just… as if even they weren't sure they could still hold him.
No one moved. Not even the air felt stable.
For the first time—the room wasn't in control anymore.
"…What just happened?"
"My vision flickered—like something inside me had rejected more than just him."
Zekai didn't move. He stared at his own hand.
Not from fear. From something he didn't understand.
"...That wasn't me."
A pause.
"...then what was that?"
[ ARCANA INTERFACE — ERROR ]
[ FOREIGN INPUT REJECTED ]
[ WARNING ]
External System Interference Detected
Authority: Unstable
[ Access: Restricted ]
---
The red interface glitched violently.
Foreign Input Rejected.
"I can't feel that power anymore."
For the first time, even he didn't understand.
Sebastian didn't speak. He exhaled once.
Slow.
"...so it rejects external interference."
Not surprise. Adjustment.
Sebastian looked at him again.
This time—not as a suspect. But as something far more dangerous.
✦ End of The chapter 30 - Anomaly ✦