After evolving Rook, Oliver was finally able to focus on carrying out the plan. The Settlement had yet to grow aggressive toward them, and it was obviously becoming quite suspicious that they still had not come to wipe them all out by now.
An hour passed, then two, yet still, nothing came.
The young man sat alone in the basement infirmary, silent and lost in thought. The more he reflected on the situation, the more convinced he became that something was wrong somewhere. Since the event had completely diverged from its original course, rendering most of his foreknowledge useless, Oliver could rely only on his instincts and wit.
Nothing major had happened yet.
Then, suddenly, his mind clicked.
’What if the Settlement actually hasn’t figured it out, and instead, there’s a little rat operating behind the scenes? First of all, why isn’t Glassy reacting with full force? He may be the calm and reasonable type, but he despises rebellions...’
Far too many things were provoking his suspicion.
Glassy was said to be the most strategic and powerful among the Four Dogs of the Settlement, but also the one who harbored the deepest hatred for rebellion.
The moment he discovered that Teresa and Kaden were planning such an act, he immediately moved against them, fully prepared to personally bring about their end with his own two hands.
So why was he remaining relatively calm if he had already uncovered the scheme?
...Something simply was not right. Oliver knew that much.
There was a possibility that whoever leaked the plan was still concealing it from Glassy and the other three Dogs. They could have been acting independently.
Elias or Mara would have been obvious suspects, but both of them were already dead.
To be honest, Oliver had suspected Marilyn might have been the one who leaked the plan. She possessed the longest leash that could be pulled because of her sister, but now that he was partially able to confirm that Glassy knew nothing about this, there was no reason to remain fixated on suspecting her anymore.
For now, Kaden was out gathering information in his own way. The sword genius simply wanted to repay his savior, and because of his hatred for injustice, he was already dedicating remarkable time and loyalty to the plan.
The story had deviated so drastically from its original path that, realistically, Oliver no longer had any reason to trust any character.
If Teresa could suddenly turn into a yandere for reasons he still could not comprehend, then what assurance did he have that the others had not changed as well?
The world was slowly transforming from fiction, as he once wanted to perceive it, into a genuine reality filled with major changes.
He knew there would eventually come a point where the entire plot would become irrelevant, along with all of his foreknowledge.
Rook rested beside him. It was larger than an average adult tiger, nearly three times the size, and its body had become significantly furrier with sharper, feline eyes.
The little beast looked drastically different within such a short span of time, and honestly, Oliver was still trying to adjust to the fact that mere moments ago, it had been smaller than a puppy.
He rolled his eyes in exhaustion.
’That’s not the point right now. I have far too many other problems to deal with, but first, I need to stop the others from going all out. The initial plan hasn’t been sabotaged yet, so all we need to do is eliminate the rat.’
Oliver quickly rose to his feet and dashed out through the door, with Rook chasing after him as they went in search of the others.
***
Teresa and Kaden walked through the Settlement together, deliberately maintaining some distance from one another as they surveyed their surroundings.
Marilyn, on the other hand, had chosen not to accompany them at all since it would attract unnecessary suspicion. In fact, she rarely left the basement, so if people suddenly saw her walking around with random individuals, they would begin formulating all sorts of theories that could easily create problems for them.
Suddenly, the two were approached by a very familiar figure, or at least, Teresa recognized him immediately.
The guard who had brought her in.
Fear and caution were written all over his face as he slowly approached Teresa.
Kaden observed him from head to toe, quickly noticing the fresh bruises covering his body.
The moment the guard made eye contact with the red haired boy, he visibly flinched.
Struggling to maintain stability in his voice, the familiar guard spoke in a hoarse and trembling tone:
"Ha. Y-you’re the one I brought into the infirmary? You’re a-a-wake..."
The sword genius appeared confused by the statement and glanced toward Teresa, silently waiting for confirmation.
The young girl cleared her throat and looked away before speaking hurriedly:
"He was the one who brought you into the infirmary. You’re alive mostly because of him."
Expecting some sort of trashy behavior from Kaden, Teresa was not too disappointed to see him merely give a brief nod before ignoring the guard entirely and walking away as though he had just passed an invisible stranger.
She grimaced.
"What!? That cold fool. He couldn’t even show a little appreciation for the help. We wouldn’t have..."
The guard immediately stopped her with a frantic shake of his head before hurriedly adding:
"There’s no need for that. I wanted to see you personally first."
The moment Teresa looked closely at his battered body, an unconscious chuckle escaped her lips before she instantly regretted the reaction.
"I need your help," the guard said again, though this time, the fear in his voice was far more apparent.
Teresa’s expression turned serious within a fraction of a second.
"Oh? Really? I thought you wanted us ’gone’ the moment that cold bastard woke up. What changed?" she asked in a hushed voice.
The man shook his head and bowed, his terrified expression worsening even further.
"Please help me. Please. I’ll be killed. Please, I need your help."
She stared at him silently for a long moment. The young guard was beginning to believe that his final ray of hope had been nothing more than a pipe dream.
Then, out of nowhere, she spoke:
"You helped us, so of course I’ll help you. What exactly do you want me to do?"
***
On the ground, within a narrow hallway, a girl with short dark hair and a petite frame crawled forward with terror written all over her face.
One of her legs was completely shattered and utterly useless, and behind her, as she desperately dragged herself forward in search of help, Teresa followed closely with her sword drenched in blood.
In her other hand, she dragged the lifeless body of the young guard who had once begged for her assistance.
Her eyes had completely changed, as though consumed by madness itself, yet a smile still lingered upon her lips.
"Who did you say you were again? Marilyn’s sister? Haha. So the two of you were the actual rats."
Her smile widened ever so slightly.
"Why don’t you tell me exactly who you’re colluding with and how many of you there are? You people are a threat to someone important to me, so I think it’s better if I settle this quietly behind the scenes, don’t you?"
She tilted her bloodstained sword slightly before speaking once more.
"Now, I’ll ask again... Who’s your leader, and how many of you are there?"