Secret Society: Raising Calamity Class Disciples

Eulene rested back on her comfy chair and fell deep in thought. Xavier\'s words made sense, but she still wanted to make sure they had the same thoughts in mind. Otherwise, further questions would only turn the previous praise into humiliation.

"So, the culprit kidnapped the children and surrounded them by fire and water," she said. "And the open space meant there was available air and earth. The children were smart- knowing how these basic elements work. And the culprit scared the kids, to bring out their hidden powers… right?"

Xavier nodded. "Those with meta-cerebrums are inherently smarter than their regular counterparts. Hence, the only artefact that could detect the Omegawaves they release is placed at Kingsfield Academy- where the best of youths gather. Nevertheless, many never gets to visit that place due to circumstances and remains undiscovered forever. Seems like the perpetrator is targeting them."

Eulene nodded and began to ponder. "What about the full moon?"

"That\'s what baffled even me," Xavier admitted. "Nevertheless, I have a few scenarios in mind."

Eulene bent forward and put her elbows on the silk covered table. All of her concentration was on him.

"As I said before, there are paranormal factors involved in this case. The tall existence that Sarah witnessed- could as well be a paranormal being: a Curse. But Curses cannot operate by themselves; they need a human host. And this human, or perhaps a group of humans- they know what they are doing.

"First case scenario- the Curse can only move, or is the strongest, when the moon is full.

"Second case scenario- the whole full moon setting is a carefully calculated decoy to mislead investigators. And admittedly, they got us.

"Third- a bit of both of the prior cases.

"Worst case scenario." Xavier sighed. "I don\'t know why."

Eulene was impressed. Everything he said made sense. "When did you think of these?" she asked.

"These scenarios? A few seconds ago. Anyone could have had come up with these," Xavier said.

"Of course!" Eulene put on a wry smile. "I thought the same."

"I hope it\'s the first scenario…" Xavier began to tap his finger on the table.

"Why?" Eulene asked.

Xavier shook his head. "I have a few other conjectures. We need further investigations to confirm them. For now, at least the first scenario will mean that nobody will be abducted before the next full moon. And now, the two girls\' deaths bear testament to the fact that- this is most probably more than just a case of traumatising abductions now."

Eulene grew silent. "Any idea about the culprits?"

"The suspects remain the same," Xavier said. "The only addition we got from today\'s discovery is that the suspect has high intelligence. Not only did they abduct the children in such a way that no suspicions were raised in the last three years, four if you count Sylvia Anderson, five if you include Eulene Maisel- they also added another layer of cover if anybody suspected the happenings."

Eulene said, "And both the Electal Lord and the director fits crite- criteria."

Xavier nodded. "Moreover, they have a connection with the stolen artefact from the gallery. It was probably the artefact that had sealed the Curse." Xavier stopped tapping the table. "Sarah, and the other surviving victims are the ones who failed the test. Those who passed are still missing. And two of them are deceased."

"Why are they killing the ones with the powers?" Eulene asked.

Xavier sighed and shook his head. "I don\'t know. Without evidence, everything\'s just an hypothesis. Barring the suspects we already questioned, there\'s high chance that a whole secret society is involved… maybe a foreign one who wants to weaken Avarynth."

Eulene\'s eyes twinkled while she arched forward, placing all of her weight on her forearms. "Secret Societies… so they are the sects in your world. Are you a member of one? How do they function? Which is the strongest? How many students do they have?" She threw in a plethora of questions.

Xavier took out two gold medallions from his pocket and placed them on the table. One had a hat and a cane engraved on it while the other had a pair of crossed cutleries. "Societies are organisations where people of different or one occupations gather for a cause." He pointed at the medallion with the crossed fork and knife. "This certifies that I am a member of \'The Gastronomic Society of Aramon.\'" He then pointed at the other one- the one he had shown to the director. "And this- \'The Humanitarian Order.\'"

Eulene nodded. These have come in handy before.

"Like these societies which are accessible to the common people," Xavier continued, "there are others which are hidden from the common sight. We call them Secret Societies. I don\'t know what you mean by students- but secret societies don\'t work the way you are thinking. Even members of the secret societies have a regular life. Take the team that are after us for example. They might serve \'The Thirteenth\', but they are employees of the Detectivete.

"In short- those who are members of Secret Societies lead two lives- one that is ordinary like everyone else and the other which is beyond normal. Moreover, it isn\'t necessary that someone who joins a Secret Society must be a kinetic. Take the Electal Lord for example. Despite being an ordinary human, he is a member of a Secret Society that researches something taboo like mysticism."

"Which one\'s the strongest? The best?" Eulene asked with full attention. Indeed- the subject which is more fun than social science is \'Secret Social Science\'.

"The best secret society is the one that even I don\'t know of. After all, a Secret Society is called a \'Secret\' Society for a reason. But among the ones I know of- the strongest is \'Caelestis\'. It has an artefact that lets them see into the future."

Eulene widened her eyes in shock. Seeing the future was akin to connecting to the heavens. Even her own Celestial eye can\'t see the future. It seems that she had underestimated this world too much.

Xavier continued, "And Avarynth\'s state Secret Society- \'The Thirteenth\'- is on par. It houses an artefact that can vanquish anything with life in it." Xavier took in a deep breath. "And we are not exceptions."

Eulene\'s heart skipped a bit- not from fear, but something else.

This world was even more fun than she had imagined!

"Are you a member of one?" Eulene asked.

Xavier shook his head. "They would only be a shackle."

A smile crept up on Eulene\'s face. She crawled her forearms forward on the table, closing the distance with him. She was not in touch with the chair anymore.

"That\'s great!" she cheered. "Then let\'s create one."

"The khoolest Secret Society to ever exist!"