Chapter 292 — Chaos II

[Federation Forums - Live Discussion]

User [TruthSeeker_99] : So let me get this straight... 210 students die and only 40 survive. The one person credited by multiple sources as saving those 40 is now being arrested? Make it make sense.

User [NobleBlood_47]: DAMIAN VALCOR KILLED NOBLES INSIDE A HOSTILE PORTAL?! THAT’S TREASON! HE SHOULD BE EXECUTED IMMEDIATELY!

User [CommonSense_12]: Did you even READ the second article?! He killed people who were using others as shields! That’s not murder, that’s justice!

User [AcademyWatcher_9]: Anonymous source says Ashley Blackheart is targeting him for his weapon art. She’s an officer who’s been trying to find dirt on him since the Norrington incident. Convenient timing, don’t you think?

User [ImperialHeir_Watcher]: 210 students DEAD and we’re arguing about whether killing cowards was justified?! Focus on the real tragedy!

User [TruthSeeker_88]: Think about it logically. That’s a hostile portal that should have killed EVERYONE. If Valcor’s the reason even that many made it out, shouldn’t we be thanking him instead of detaining him?!

User [NobleBlood_47]: HE KILLED NOBLES! How is everyone missing this?! His rank, his background and his criminal organization - he’s a threat to society!

User [VeteranObserver_5]: I fought in portals for fifteen years. If someone used their teammate as a meat shield in my unit, I’d have shot them myself. There’s no place for cowards in life-or-death situations. They get everyone killed.

The arguments continued, thousands of users flooding forums with opinions, the Federation’s brief unity shattered by conflicting narratives and political divisions.

****

Every major news network had shifted to emergency coverage, anchors struggling to maintain professional composure while reporting on developing chaos.

A middle-aged anchor with grey hair sat at her desk, her face showing the strain of reporting tragedy after tragedy.

"–and we’re now receiving conflicting reports about the circumstances inside the portal. Multiple sources claim Damian Valcor, the first-year Stormhold student who survived a previous hostile portal, took leadership of survivors and made decisions that resulted in forty students making it home alive."

She paused, listening to her earpiece.

"However, we’re also receiving reports that he executed several Noble students during the ordeal. The SFD has not confirmed or denied these allegations, stating only that investigations are ongoing."

Her co-anchor, a younger man with sharp features, added his perspective.

"This raises serious questions about command structure in emergency situations. Who has authority to make life-or-death decisions when students from multiple Academies are trapped together? What constitutes justified action versus murder when survival is on the line?"

"The legal precedents are unclear," the female anchor agreed. "Portal survival situations fall into grey areas of Federation law. Typically, military rules of engagement would apply, but these were Academy students, not soldiers."

"And now we’re hearing that SFD Officer Ashley Blackheart is the one leading the investigation–"

"The same officer who investigated Valcor after the Norrington terrorist incident," the male anchor interrupted, clearly doing research in real-time. "There’s history there, which raises questions about potential bias in the current proceedings."

The female anchor’s expression became grim.

"This situation is developing rapidly, and the Federation public is... not responding well. We’re seeing arguments breaking out across social media, protests forming outside SFD headquarters, and what was unified rage against the Monsters yesterday is now fracturing into political divisions again."

In a different news channel...

A younger male anchor with sharp features spoke with barely contained excitement.

"The Federation is experiencing what analysts are calling a ’crisis of narrative.’ Just a day ago, the Chairman’s speech unified us against a common enemy. Now we’re fracturing along class lines over this Valcor situation."

He gestured to split-screen footage.

"On one side, Noble families demanding justice for their children who were killed inside the portal. On the other, commoner advocacy groups calling Valcor a hero who finally held Nobles accountable for using lower-class citizens as disposable resources."

The screen showed protest footage from different cities.

"Both sides are mobilizing... The question becomes: can the Federation maintain unity against external threats while our internal conflicts reach a boiling point?"

****

[Outside SFD Headquarters]

The crowd had grown larger and more volatile, arguments breaking out between Noble families and commoner supporters who’d gathered after reading the anonymous leak.

"VALCOR IS A HERO!"

"VALCOR IS A MURDERER!"

The contradictory chants created cacophony that made SFD officers nervous, hands moving toward weapons as crowd control became increasingly difficult.

Then the main doors to the headquarters opened.

SFD officers began escorting students out in small groups, medical teams supporting those who needed assistance.

The crowd surged forward immediately, parents desperately searching faces for their children.

"Aemond?! AEMOND, ARE YOU THERE?!"

A Noble father pushed through the barriers, his face showing desperation that transcended his usual arrogance.

An SFD officer caught him, speaking quietly.

"Sir... your son didn’t make it out. I’m so sorry."

The man’s face went completely white, his legs giving out, collapsing as the reality hit him like physical blow.

His wife’s scream echoed across the crowd.

"NO! NO NO NO! NOT MY BABY! NOT MY BOY!"

Similar scenes played out across the gathering as families received confirmation of deaths, their grief raw and public and absolutely heartbreaking.

But there were reunions too.

One by one, the Imperial heirs emerged, their family representatives flooding around them with relief and professional efficiency.

Cassius Eckhart was escorted by his family’s shadows, his grey eyes scanning the crowd with awareness despite exhaustion.

David Evergreen was surrounded by healers from his own family, green Auras already working on his injuries.

Ben Royce’s father actually showed up personally, the Royce family head embracing his son with rare open emotion.

****

Then came the commoners.

Edrin stumbled out, his cracked glasses barely hanging on, his mind clearly still processing everything that had happened.

Behind him came Ronan, his massive frame carrying someone carefully - Lysa, wrapped in medical blankets, her breathing shallow but steady.

Zavier walked beside them, his usual demeanor completely gone, replaced by exhaustion and barely controlled emotion.

"EDRIN!"

Elizabeth’s voice cut through the chaos as she, Ariana, Adrian, Fiona, and Victoria pushed through the crowd.

They’d been waiting here since Elizabeth’s vision had told her the portal would open, unwilling to leave until they knew their friends’ fates.

"You’re alive!" Ariana’s spatial sense had already located them, her voice breaking with relief. "You’re actually alive!"

She rushed forward and hugged Lysa gently, careful of her injuries with tears streaming down her face.

"I thought... when you didn’t come out immediately... I thought..."

"We made it," Lysa whispered, her voice weak but carrying that familiar gentle warmth. "Barely... but we made it."

Elizabeth’s purple eyes swept over the group, her Seer abilities showing her glimpses of what they’d endured, making her expression become grim.

"What happened inside? We need to know everything."

Adrian stepped forward as well, his face showing concern for people he’d grown to consider allies despite initial Noble prejudices.

"The Federation is going insane with conflicting reports. News says Damian killed Nobles. Other sources say he saved everyone. Which is it?"

Edrin took a slow breath, organizing his thoughts despite exhaustion.

"Both are true, in a way. Boss executed students who used commoners as meat shields during Monster attacks. He made it very clear - anyone who sacrificed teammates to save themselves would face immediate consequences."

Zavier’s voice cut in, carrying barely contained fury.

"Those fucking Nobles he killed DESERVED it! They threw commoners to Monsters like garbage! Used people as bait! And now what? Now the ungrateful bastards want to prosecute Boss for keeping everyone else alive?!"

His hands clenched into fists.

"We lost two hundred and ten people in there! TWO HUNDRED AND TEN! And forty only made it out because Boss pushed himself past every limit, used abilities that damn near destroyed his mind, and fought like a demon to protect people who didn’t even respect him!"

Fiona’s ice-blue eyes tracked the emerging students, seeing their trauma, understanding that whatever happened inside had fundamentally changed them.

"Where is Damian now?"

Silence fell across their group.

Edrin’s expression became troubled.

"SFD has detained him. They took him separately for ’special questioning’ regarding the deaths of Noble students. We haven’t seen him since we emerged."

Ariana’s face went pale.

"They arrested him? After he saved everyone?!"

"Not arrested," Ronan corrected grimly. "But yeah, they separated him from the rest of us immediately. That Blackheart woman was waiting specifically for him."

Elizabeth’s purple eyes flashed with anger.

"Ashley Blackheart has been trying to find leverage against Damian since Norrington. This isn’t about justice or investigating what happened. This is personal vendetta disguised as procedure."

Before anyone could respond, space itself seemed to shimmer.

WHOOSH

Four figures materialized out of thin air, teleportation bringing them directly to the SFD headquarters’ front plaza despite the building’s supposed spatial protections.