Chapter 57: Do Not Be Afraid of the Light

Leonard wasn't even listening anymore.

He couldn't understand Calvin's wordings, but he felt that he was right.

The contrasting emotions surging in his heart right now caused his blood to boil.

The madness in Ziya and Leonard's eyes receded and their eyes returned to normal.

Calvin let out a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, he managed to pull both of them out of the edge before it was too late.

"I don't know about how many bullies are there out of this school. But believe me when I say that I can defeat them. What's more, if we rally every good student to our side. Can they really ensure that they will be able to defeat us? We have the advantage of numbers, why must we be afraid?"

Both Ziya and Leonard nodded.

But the fear in their eyes made it obvious to Calvin that they were still quite afraid.

Calvin didn't mind.

Change doesn't happen in a blink of an eye.

At least, their perspective towards the matter at hand had changed subtly.

"Come with me, we're going to go somewhere." Calvin dragged both Ziya and Leonard by the hand. His mind madly churned, creating plans after plans and simulating the success and failure of those plans at the same time.

This was the kind of person Calvin was, in the face of imminent danger. Instead of panicking, he would create plans after plans until he discovered what he needed to make a breakthrough and survive.

One could say that this trait of him was a part of the reason why he managed to survive until he was the only Earthling remaining in Earth and the world of Las Felipinas. But unfortunately, Calvin may have been cautious back then but he ultimately didn't add the insignificant variable that made all of his plans collapse, leading to the destruction of humanity.

And that was human nature.

It was the human heart.

Calvin let out a sigh.

"W-Where are we going? I already called the teachers here! They should be coming soon! I'm sure that those who tried to bully you will..."

Before Leonard could finish, Calvin raised his hand in front of Leonard and stopped him from speaking, "Have you forgotten what sir Reyes had done earlier when I was being bullied by these punks?"

Calvin's words were cold and clear.

"I..."

Leonard hesitated. He knew too well that the teachers of this school didn't care about the bullied at all. However, if he couldn't rely on the teachers then who would he rely on?

"Ivan..."

Ziya gnashed her teeth.

"I believe you..."

Calvin nodded, "Thank you. But this time, it's my victory. However, if I do fall down I hope that both of you will learn not to bow to anyone that doesn't deserve your respect like these punks."

Leonard took a deep breath.

He made a sidelong glance at Ziya and the gazes of the two met in mid-air.

They still looked worried, but the obvious difference was that the despair in their hearts had shattered.

Hope bloomed in their hearts.

Calvin then dragged them back towards the school corridors and the three of them raced for the infirmary. There were no students at all in the corridors, but some faculty members of the school could be seen wandering about.

Calvin was unsure as to what they were doing.

It took the three quite a long time to go to the infirmary for they tried their best to hide from these faculty members.

"Come in..." Calvin led both Ziya and Leonard into the infirmary. Reaching the innermost room, he twisted the doorknob and went inside with the two in tow.

"Kevin is here..."

Leonard and Ziya stopped on their tracks.

Hesitation could be seen in their eyes.

Both of them felt immensely guilty towards Kevin. Back then, they didn't have these feelings since they knew that they were just trying to protect themselves. Nothing was wrong with protecting yourself. But since Calvin convinced them that silence was not the answer and it would never be the answer.

The beliefs that the two had in their hearts collapsed.

They started blaming themselves for being silent.

Why did they not stand up to him when he needed them the most?

Could they even be considered his friends?

No!

They abandoned him!

They abandoned him when he needed their help!

They didn't deserve to be his friend.

Leonard and Ziya started trembling like sieves.

Mustering their courage, they approached the bed and set the white curtains aside.

Seeing the mummified-looking figure of Kevin wrapped with innumerable bandages. The two children started crying.

Leonard profusely apologized to Kevin saying that he was weak and a coward, and he hoped that he could forgive him.

Calvin let out a sigh.

He didn't plan on interrupting these two.

But he noticed that Kevin's reactions were quite abnormal.

Kevin who was an overly-hyped and excited young boy earlier was now quite taciturn.

He seemed to be internally struggling against something deep in his heart.

Human nature was never Calvin's forte.

He could see Kevin's struggle, but he didn't know how to solve it.

But seeing him struggling like this, it was obvious that person in front of him at this moment was the genuine Kevin.

Not that Kevin whom Calvin faced after he had revealed the Notebook of Secrets that Will Destroy Your Life.

"At least, I can see that the three of them were friends...

"They may not be the best of friends, but it's obvious that they have a lot in common."

Leonard and Ziya finally stopped their crying. It seemed that Kevin had accepted their apologies. When silence descended between the three, Calvin didn't waste any time anymore. He took a stool, sat on it, and gathered the three around him before saying.

"I've taken care of those bullies... They will never be able to bully you all anymore."

"I will also take care of them in the future..."

Calvin ruffled the hair of Leonard and Ziya.

Ziya lifted a sweet smile, "Yes, Ivan... I can see it... I bet that they are too scared of you right now, that they wouldn't dare to bully you anymore!" Ziya's mood turned for the better after being redeemed by Kevin. Leonard also now had a smile on his face. It has been a long time since he felt so happy that he couldn't stop the smirk from creeping up his face.

Kevin had been possessed by the spirit of the Notebook of Secret That Will Destroy Your Life after Calvin revealed that he knew of the notebook's presence. In other words, Calvin was a stranger to Kevin. All he knew was that he remembered that Calvin accompanied him on writing some of his ground-breaking secrets on that notebook.

After that, his memories were fuzzy and his head ached whenever he tried to recover his memories after that event.

But he knew that Calvin meant well.

He wasn't here to harm him.

But suddenly...

Calvin grabbed his arm and pulled the bandages wrapped around his body.

Kevin instinctively jumped backwards, but Calvin was unexpectedly strong. Calvin pulled the bandages and what was revealed underneath was a slew of wounds festering with maggots radiating a nauseating stench. Kevin swiftly hid his neck, he cried out loud and jumped back into his sickbed.

Leonard and Ziya scrunched their eyebrows.

Tears threatened to fall down their eyes.

They knew that Kevin was injured, but they didn't expect that his injuries were this severe.

"I won't mince words any longer, for I don't have enough time. Inflicting pain to yourself is a useless endeavor. Do you really think that those bullies would feel remorse when they heard that you died from the injuries that you inflicted on yourself? No! Those bullies would never shed a single tear on your behalf..."

"They will stand by your grave and may even spit on it as they laugh at your foolishness."

Calvin grabbed Kevin from the sickbed and pulled him to his embrace.

The disgusting sensation of the squirming maggots didn't disturb Calvin at all.

Instead, there was this look of seriousness and sincerity that Kevin had never seen before.

"I know that I am just a stranger to you, and you will definitely not believe me. But trust me at the least! I will use my actions to prove to you that I mean no harm." Calvin let out a sigh, "This school is changing. It's far too dangerous for the three of you to stay here. Why don't you come with me along with Ziya and Leonard? The three of us will protect you."

"Ivan is saying the truth, Kevin. This time, I won't stand by. I won't run away anymore. I will stand with you along with Ziya and Ivan." Leonard stepped forward and even persuaded Kevin. Seeing the serious looks on the faces of Ziya and Leonard, Kevin was slowly being persuaded into coming with them.

"C-Can... Can I really... Can I really trust you?" Kevin turned to look at Calvin with hesitation.

"Yeah..." Kevin pulled out a piece of crumpled paper, "I want the three of you to hide in here for now. I will deal with all the trouble myself. I will keep you safe with Ziya and Leonard!"

The piece of crumpled paper started glowing.

Ziya, Leonard, and Kevin made a sidelong glance at each other before simultaneously nodding their heads.

They had made a decision.

They wouldn't be afraid of the light anymore.

With a will, the bodies of the three turned into resplendent lights as they flew towards the piece of crumpled paper.

In an instant, the paper in Calvin's hands grew inexplicably heavy.

Calvin revealed a small smile.

Taking the small archaic notebook beside the pillow on the sickbed where Kevin laid earlier...

He softly whispered into the air, "Wake up, spirit. It's time for us to end this madness."

"Yes..."

A rather excited, yet conflicted voice rang out of nowhere as a response.