Episodes 152. Between Lie and Sanity

"What are you thinking, Astra?!" Widodo shouted as he slowly walked towards him.

He was careful not to hurt his student. Bahar being held hostage wasn't something that scared the man, but seeing the pale face of the young man made him feel it.

Something unexpected happened. All the passengers got out of their cars, looking at Astra's unstable condition.

From his wide and trembling eyes, I could sense something was wrong with that boy, Samuel thought to himself.

He didn't know if Astra's relationship with Dahlia was still close or not, but he could only confirm that Astra would not interfere with Dahlia's love life.

"Do you already know… About Dahlia?" On the other hand, a panicked Moka tried to leak the information.

"Moka, shut up!" Gita shrieked in panic.

Unfortunately, it was too late; Moka had already said it. Astra, who was her interlocutor, clearly heard what the girl said.

Seeing how he reacted, Astra grinned at the people he saw at that moment.

"So you tried to hide it from me?! But too bad… I've known it from the start."

"The presence of this fat principal here is proof that I already knew," he said slowly and sharply while lifting Bahar's large body.

The atmosphere became increasingly unclear; no one knew what they should say at that moment. Astra, the student council president, had truly lost his mind after finding out about Dahlia's situation and condition.

I have to be strong! This is a test for me! Samuel slapped his cheeks and recalled the tarot game they played back then.

He accidentally got curious and intrigued by the meaning of the card he got at that time. The muscular man even browsed the meaning of his card just to find out the answer.

The current situation was exactly like the card he got back then, so he assumed this was a test for him.

With courage, Samuel stepped forward slowly.

The group with him looked at Samuel in disbelief. Their mouths dropped open, staring at him without blinking.

"Are you sure?" Widodo whispered without looking back.

"Yes, I'm sure…!" Samuel whispered back.

"I leave it to you…"

With that, Widodo walked backward, instructing the others to follow him.

What was going to happen now was not a matter of life and death but merely calming down.

The calming intent was to ease Astra's excessive emotions.

Slowly, Samuel walked forward, trying to reach the young man.

"Astra, how would you face Mr. Ryan if he saw you like this?" Samuel said with pity.

"The hell with Ryan! I don't care! What I care about is! Why!!! Dahlia!!! Died?!!" (Astra)

"Why did that bastard kill her?! Wasn't he someone Dahlia loved?! But why did he kill her?!" (Astra)

Samuel was immediately shocked after hearing that statement.

What Astra said didn't match what he knew.

"What do you mean?! Dahlia was killed by SANGKUNI, and Rasyid killed her as revenge!" (Samuel)

"Don't fool me! I heard it myself! Dahlia died along with six other teachers."

Samuel's body seemed to freeze, breaking out in a cold sweat. Everything he knew was different from what the young man said.

How could it be different? Didn't Widodo say-?!

Suddenly he realized something strange.

Widodo, who earlier asked the entire group to step back, made him suspicious of something.

Who is right?! Who is lying?! That was the key to this mystery.

Samuel suddenly felt dizzy and confused about the actual situation. Who should he trust or not?

I have to think this through!

"Why are you keep shut your mouth?!" Astra shouted.

The shout brought Samuel back from his reverie.

"Am I wrong?!" (Astra)

"Everything I heard from Bahar's room was real-time information! And the news that Dahlia died came right after the death of the six teachers!"

Samuel remained frozen after hearing that statement. He tried to think again about what actually happened.

Dahlia was killed by SANGKUNI...

Rasyid killed SANGKUNI as revenge...

Could both of those things happen?

Could the monster named Cike Nuwang be so careless as not to realize Sangkuni's ambush?

Wait? Did Sangkuni ambush?

It's impossible to fight Rasyid recklessly; she would surely die. The teachers had already lost many members, let alone Sangkuni alone. But even if she ambushed, Rasyid would surely sense her presence.

Samuel began to lose trust in the story he heard.

If, according to what Astra said, Dahlia died after the six teachers, then there was only one possibility: Rasyid unintentionally released an area attack, and Dahlia, who was nearby, got caught in it.

No one knew exactly how the girl died. Samuel could only speculate and find one bright spot.

If Dahlia was accidentally killed by Rasyid, the messenger should still tell the truth.

Usually, the messenger wouldn't dare to tell the truth only if...

As he thought about it, Samuel suddenly realized the mastermind behind the girl's murder. His pretense had caused unnecessary resistance.

However, the current problem still couldn't be avoided.

Astra must be calmed down, by any means necessary.

"Astra, what are you going to do now?" Samuel asked while gripping his Pageblug.

"Of course, I'll take her, Dahlia!" Responding to that question, Astra shouted and activated his Pageblug.

He felt danger just by seeing Samuel reveal his Pageblug.

"So, what are you going to do with her poor body?"

Samuel showed no signs of panic or trying to fight back. He knew that if he activated his Pageblug, his chance to talk to Astra would be lost and would turn into a fight.

"I don't know... But I want to take her and see her!"

"Why don't you try to see her and then leave?"

"Fool, I won't allow dirty people like you to bring my pure Dahlia! Do you think people who hide many things from us can be called saviors?!"

"I'm not the person you say, but I won't let a madman like you touch her pure body!"

Damn, wrong words! This will worsen the situation! Samuel regretted his words.

"Y-you! I'll destroy you and take Dahlia back to me!"

The situation worsened, Astra was really going to attack. Bahar, who was being dragged, was thrown aside until he crossed the roadside. His bowstring was pulled back, and his bow aimed at the man's head.

However...

"You'll lose quickly, kid…"

A long-barreled AWM sniper rifle was pulled out by Samuel with a sad feeling. The barrel was so long it touched the young man's forehead.

Astra could feel the cold metal of the man's weapon along with the cold temperature at that moment. Even so, he showed no signs of attacking right away.

"With my current strength, do you think I'll lose that easily?" said the young man intimidatingly.

Unfortunately, he chose the wrong target. It's impossible for a teacher to be easily intimidated, especially when the opponent is his own student.

"Don't be too confident with your strength, kid!" Samuel tried to intimidate back by slightly pressing the rifle's trigger.

But it was clear that the man didn't dare to do it. His index finger, which he should use to pull the trigger, couldn't stop trembling.

"You're scared… Mr. Samuel…" With a slow but piercing voice, Astra looked coldly at his teacher. "Be afraid!"

*Bang!

In an instant, a black mist erupted around Astra, slowing down anyone caught in it.

In an instant, Astra deactivated his weapon and grabbed his teacher's rifle barrel.

The heavy AWM was held like a club and swung at his teacher's head.

*Thump!

"Arggh!"

Samuel fell to the ground, feeling dizzy and in pain simultaneously in his head.

Seeing his teacher helpless, Astra immediately threw the AWM far to the ground and walked over to him.

If viewed from a moral standpoint, what Astra did was really disrespectful.

"Too nervous to fight, then you will suffer like Dahlia and those six teachers..." Astra said while stepping over him.

But...

"Huh?!"

As he passed his teacher, his foot was held by something.

He looked down and found a hand gripping his ankle.

"I may not dare to hurt my student, but if any of my students want to rest peacefully but are disturbed, then I will also fight..." Samuel smiled despite having a large bump and severe injuries on his face.

At that moment, an electric spark appeared in his gripping palm.