Deranged Writer's Afterword

I was sitting in an interrogation room, sipping the coffee that my 'interrogators' had bought me. The said investigators included the duo of Amanda Holler and Francis Lamar. They both stared at me silently while I drank the coffee from the paper cup.

It would be safe to assume that I was currently at the headquarters of the Hero Association, as I killed a retired hero, they were well within their jurisdiction to question me.

'' You've been sleeping for a week.''

I spit out my coffee at Amanda's words.

One week!

It's a good thing Mark was only an E rank. Who knows what would have happened if he was a higher rank?

I might have died.

I have to be more careful while using that skill.

The coffee that I had spat out, falls on Francis's face making him frown, but he doesn't say anything, he takes out a handkerchief and signals his eyes at Amanda to start interrogating me.

'' X, can you tell us what happened that day ?''

I nod my head.

I had already thought about a story that would be acceptable to them, The story was this, I had gotten up at night to pee and saw Mark hurting Lecia, I try to stop them but fail. Mark tries to kill us but Lecia manages to awaken her mana and pushes him away, but Mark was an experienced hero and was not fazed by her desperate attacks. Just as we were losing hope, a person wearing a mask comes in and kills Mark. He also makes me inhale something and I had no choice but to comply, after inhaling the smoke I felt intense pain and blacked out.

Pretty solid, right?

As they listen to my story, I could see that Francis had a skeptical look on his face while Amanda had a sympathetic expression on her face.

By the time, I completed my narration Amanda was almost in tears.

'' I'm so sorry that you and Lecia had to go through that.'', Her voice was slightly shaking.

Francis looks at her with a surprised look on his face and asks Amanda,

'' You believe him ?''

'' Yeah. Don't you?'', Amanda asks back in an astonished voice.

'' I mean, don't you think that a masked man appearing at that exact moment was a little too convenient ?''

'' Francis !''

I had expected this. I knew Amanda's character very well, she had a very naïve mentality, she always wanted to believe that people were telling the truth, and she saw good even in the vilest things. Whereas Francis was a man who believed in the truth and only the truth. He knew that people, even children were capable of lying.

But Amanda's words were final to Francis, so everything was good.

I interrupt their argument and ask,

'' Is Lecia ok ?''

Hearing my question, both of them avoid my eyes.

Oh no.

I have a bad feeling.

I ask my question again, and this time Francis replies,

'' She's not okay.''

~~~~

The three of us were walking towards where Lecia was right now.

Neither Amanda nor Francis had elaborated on Lecia's condition, they had just told me the fact that she was not okay. I was feeling anxious. Finally, the both of them stop walking and stand in front of a door, They go inside and I follow right behind.

As soon as I entered the room, I saw Lecia. She was laying on an inclined bed, her body was connected to all kinds of pipes and tubes. Her eyes were closed, her breathing was regular. I sigh in relief, she was alive...

But the words Amanda said next completely shattered my relief,

'' She's in a mana coma.''

Mana Coma was the result of awakening mana in an unstable condition. The people who fall into mana coma force the mana out of their bodies, it's kind of like what I did but this only happens when you have an intense desire to protect something. After awakening to mana like this, the user instantly goes into a deep sleep-like state and they never wake up. This was mana coma, a dreaded disease with no viable cure.

The fact that Lecia had gone into a mana coma was unexpected, but it was going to be alright because...

I know how to cure mana coma.

It wasn't exactly a cure, it was an artifact that would help heal Lecia.

But the problem was that it was in demon territory. I can't just waltz in there like walking to a supermarket. I needed to be at least A rank to survive in the demon territory and even that was cutting it close. I was miles behind A rank, so it would take time, a lot of time. It would also help if had some loyal dog- I mean comrades.

It would take, give or take, at least a year for me to reach A rank. This would usually be impossible for a normal person, but I had erased my potential, in other words, my potential was limitless. So I should be able to train my body and rank up faster than most. As I was planning for the future, I didn't notice the two pairs of eyes on me.

'' X?''

Amanda's voice pulls me back to reality.

'' Yes ?, I ask back.Updated from nov𝒆lbIn.(c)om

They looked a little surprised at my response.

As Amanda was about to say something, a man of short stature comes inside the room. Even though wrinkles were forming around his face, he still seemed to have a youthful glow, his black hair was tied in a bun and his azure eyes held unknown wisdom in them

A true dilf, indeed...

A frown appears on his face as he sees the people in the room. He points his finger at us and says in a low voice,

'' Get out now.''

Amanda bows her head at the man showing her respect, and Francis does the same.

'' Dr. Creed, we're sorry for intruding on you like this but the boy insisted on seeing the girl.''

Ah.

Dr. Ken Creed, the husband of the chairwoman of the Hero Association and the resident doctor at the association. He was a character that I had enjoyed writing about, he was born in a poor household, but he was satisfied with his life. The problems started when his father fell into a mana coma, they didn't have the money for the treatment and his father unfortunately died. It was then that he decided that he wanted to become a doctor. He wanted to save people who had no hope like his father. He studies hard, becomes a doctor, and shortly after meets the chairwoman and falls in love with her. They both marry, blah blah blah.

Dr. Ken was also the chairwomen's closest aide and adviser. So people naturally respected him. It was said that the both of them together built the Hero Association from the ground up and in front of me was that same, Dr. Ken. I couldn't help but be excited even though he had just told me to get out of the room I was currently in.

'' This is the boy ?'', Ken enquires.

Amanda nods her head.

Dr. Ken's gaze on me softens, after a minute he goes near Lecia and starts taking out the tubes in her mouth and filling it with some kind of liquid. The three of us awkwardly stare at him and after seeing that he wasn't saying anything, Amanda speaks,

'' Well then, we'll be out of your hair, doctor.''

I wanted to stay but Francis pulls me away as well.

But before we could go away, Ken speaks looking directly at me,

'' You have the eyes of a killer.''

I feel goosebumps rising on my skin.

~~~~

It's been 2 weeks since I've been 'kidnapped' by the Hero Association.

Yes, I said kidnapped, cause they're not letting me go outside.

I hate it, but I can't fight against the Hero Association, at least for now.

I was too weak.

These past two weeks have been rather uneventful. A lot of questioning happened, by a variety of people. I answered their questions again and again and again and again.....

Man, this shit is soo boring.

Even though the conversation with Dr. Creed was a little weird, I didn't keep it in my mind for too long as there was nothing I could do about it. If I could do nothing about it then why waste time agonizing over it?

Be productive.

Anyways, the only good thing about being trapped here was the food. The food here was like the food from a five-star hotel and it was all free!

I love free things, even if it has no use to me whatsoever.

Right now I'm lying on my bed, waiting for my food to arrive. Oddly enough nobody questioned me today, but hey. I couldn't care less.

'They're late', I think.

Usually, by this time of the day, I would be eating lunch.

My stomach starts growling.

' I'm hungry.', just as I think this, a woman dressed in a secretary's clothes comes inside my 'cell'.

'' You'll be eating with the chairwoman today. Please get ready in 5 minutes.''

'' Ok- Wait what ?''

~~~~