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Chapter 526 117.8 - Second Mission

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Celia\'s laughter was wild, her eyes gleaming with a mixture of amusement and something far darker. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye as she finally managed to stifle her laughter, her gaze settling on Astron with a mocking smile.

"Oh, that was good," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Really, you\'re quite the storyteller, Astron. The way you spun that tale—so detailed, so tragic. It was almost as if you were there yourself."

Her smile widened, but it was a smile that never reached her eyes. They remained cold, calculating, and filled with a twisted amusement. She leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms as she continued to speak.

"It was fun to sit here and listen to your words," Celia continued her tone light but with a sharp edge that made everyone uneasy. "You wove it all together so well—the rumors, the guilt, the deaths. A perfect little horror story for our quaint little town. But you know what? That\'s all it is—a story."

She emphasized the last word, her eyes narrowing as she looked around the room at the others. "And the best part? Everyone here seems to be playing right into it. Look at you all—so ready to believe in ghosts and curses, so eager to think that there\'s some tragic, supernatural explanation for what\'s happening."

Celia\'s voice took on a mocking tone as she continued, "But here\'s the truth, Mister Astron. You\'re just a man with a good imagination and a flair for the dramatic. You came here with your little theories and your accusations, and you got everyone to buy into it. But at the end of the day, it\'s nothing more than that—a theory."

Her words hung in the air, but the effect she seemed to be aiming for was lost. The room was still tense, the weight of Astron\'s revelations lingering despite Celia\'s attempts to dismiss them. Her laughter, though loud and forceful, didn\'t seem to erase the growing sense of dread that had taken hold of the others.

Maria\'s tears continued to fall silently, and Damian\'s anger hadn\'t lessened. The Mayor, too, remained visibly shaken, his mind clearly racing as he tried to reconcile Celia\'s words with the heavy truths Astron had uncovered.

Astron remained unflinching, his expression as calm and cold as ever, unaffected by Celia\'s outburst. He allowed her words to hang in the air for a moment before responding.

"Stories," Astron said quietly, his voice cutting through the tension like a knife, "often have a way of revealing the truth, even when some people would rather not see it."

Celia\'s smile faltered slightly, but she quickly recovered, her eyes flashing with defiance. "Oh, please. Save your cryptic nonsense for someone who cares. You\'ve had your fun, but let\'s be real—there\'s no proof to back up your little tale. It\'s all speculation."

Astron tilted his head slightly, his gaze still locked on Celia. "Is that what you truly believe, Celia? That everything I\'ve said is just a fabrication?"

Celia\'s defiance didn\'t waver as she crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at Astron. "Yes, that\'s exactly what I believe. You\'re fabricating everything, trying to twist a sad story into something more sinister for your own agenda."

Astron simply shook his head. "Celia, for things like this, it\'s often far too easy to find evidence. Especially when those who know the truth are still among us."

With that, Astron reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small, worn diary. The leather cover was cracked with age, and the pages were yellowed and frayed at the edges. He held it up for everyone in the room to see.

"This," he said, his voice steady and calm, "is the diary of Abigail Carpenter."

The room went silent. Celia\'s eyes widened in shock, her bravado suddenly faltering as she stared at the diary in Astron\'s hand. The Mayor\'s breath caught in his throat, and even Maria and Damian looked at the diary with a mix of recognition and dread.

Astron continued, his voice calm but unyielding. "The more people who know the truth, the easier it is to reveal it—especially if one of those people is standing right in front of you."

He turned his gaze to Maria and Damian, who were visibly shaken. "You no longer need to hide anything," Astron said softly but with firm resolve. "The truth is already out. You were pressured by the Mayor, forced into silence, but now... now it\'s time to speak."

Maria trembled, her eyes filling with tears as she looked at the diary in Astron\'s hand. Damian, his anger simmering just below the surface, clenched his fists, his gaze shifting from the Mayor to Celia and back to Astron.

Celia, still staring at the diary, took a step back, her earlier confidence crumbling as the weight of the situation pressed down on her. "That... that doesn\'t prove anything," she stammered, but her voice lacked the conviction it had before.

Astron didn\'t relent. "This diary contains the words of a girl who suffered at the hands of those who believed the lies that were spread about her. It\'s a record of her pain, her fears, and her final days. And it\'s more than enough to show the truth."

He gently opened the diary, flipping through the pages until he found the entry he was looking for. "In her own words," he said, his tone somber, "Abigail wrote about how she was taken, how she was tormented, and how she prayed for someone to save her. She even wrote about the people who hurt her... people she once trusted."

Maria let out a soft sob, and Damian\'s eyes filled with tears of rage and sorrow.

Celia\'s defiance was gone, replaced by a look of horror and disbelief. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The reality of the situation was too much to deny.

Astron closed the diary and looked around. "Everything is clear now."

Astron had just finished speaking, the gravity of his words hanging heavily in the room when the Mayor suddenly broke the silence. His voice was low, but there was an unmistakable edge to it—one that sent a chill through the air.

"So what?" the Mayor muttered, his eyes narrowing as he turned to face Astron. The cold expression on his face was a stark contrast to the fear and guilt he had shown earlier. He seemed almost... defiant. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Astron slowly turned to meet the Mayor\'s gaze, his own expression unreadable. "What did you say?" Astron asked, his voice calm but laced with an undercurrent of warning.

The Mayor straightened in his chair, his demeanor hardening as he spoke with a new resolve. "I said, so what?" he repeated, louder this time. "What if you know the truth now? What if everyone in this room knows? What difference does it make?"

The question hung in the air, and the room seemed to grow colder as the Mayor continued, his voice growing more confident, more emboldened. "You have this diary, you have your story, and you have these people\'s tears," he said, gesturing toward Maria and Damian. "But what can you really do with it? Who will believe you? You think you can bring justice to this town? You think you can undo what\'s been done?"

Astron\'s eyes narrowed slightly, the intensity of his gaze cutting through the Mayor\'s bravado. "The truth has a way of coming to light, no matter how deeply it\'s buried," he said quietly. "And it has a way of destroying those who try to keep it hidden."

The Mayor scoffed, though there was a slight tremor in his voice that betrayed his unease. "You\'re just an outsider," he spat. "A stranger who knows nothing about this town, about its people, or its history. Do you think you can waltz in here and tell some tragic tale, and everyone will fall to their knees, begging for forgiveness? It doesn\'t work that way, Astron."

He leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with a mix of desperation and defiance. "This town has lived with its secrets for years. People here know how to keep their mouths shut and how to look the other way. You can\'t change that. You\'re just one man. You\'re nothing."

Astron remained unfazed, his expression calm and resolute. He took a step closer to the Mayor, his presence looming larger as he spoke in a low, measured tone. "You\'re right about one thing," he said. "I\'m just one man."

"That is right, just one man." Saying that, the Mayor smiled. "Just like them, you will be buried here. With all the secrets that were revealed." Astron\'s expression remained calm, almost serene, as he looked at the Mayor. "I\'ll be buried here?" he asked, his voice steady, without a hint of fear.

The Mayor\'s eyes gleamed with triumph. "Indeed. You\'re just one man. Did you really think we wouldn\'t be prepared for something like this? We\'ve been keeping secrets for years, Astron. We know how to deal with problems like you. If the truth ever came to light, we were ready to bury it again, no matter the cost."

Astron tilted his head slightly, his gaze unwavering. "And how exactly do you plan to do that? How do you intend to solve the problem if I disappear?"

The Mayor chuckled darkly. "Thanks to you, we\'ve already identified the problem. It\'s some kind of spiritual phenomenon, isn\'t it? A lingering spirit or whatever nonsense you believe in. Well, if you\'re gone, we can just call another expert to deal with it. Someone less... troublesome."

Astron raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued. "And what about the organization that sent me here? How do you plan to explain my sudden disappearance to them?"

The Mayor\'s smile turned cold as he glanced at his daughter, Celia, who was still standing in stunned silence. "That\'s simple. We\'ll say that you tried to assault my daughter. A father defending his child—who could blame me? The organization will understand that I had no choice. They\'ll see me as a hero, and you... well, you\'ll be forgotten."

Celia\'s eyes widened, the horror of the plan dawning on her, but she remained silent, her shock rendering her speechless.

Astron nodded slowly as if considering the Mayor\'s words. "Not bad," he said quietly, his tone almost admiring. "You\'ve thought this through."

The Mayor\'s confidence grew, his smile widening as he misinterpreted Astron\'s response as a sign of defeat. "Of course. You think you\'re clever, but we\'ve been playing this game for years. You\'re just another piece on the board, easily discarded."

Astron\'s calm demeanor never wavered, but there was a glint in his eyes, something cold and calculating that the Mayor failed to notice. "But there seems to be a misconception." He said as he looked into the Mayor\'s eyes. "There are just 23 people surrounding this building, and only 8 of them are Awakened, and only two of them are Awakened of 4th rank."

The moment he said that Mayor\'s eyes widened slightly as he saw Astron\'s eyes turn cold.

"I am not in trouble here. If you want to bury me here, you will need ten times that number."