"Captain Krueger! It's happened again! We've received another report of debilitated residents!"
"Like the ones brought in before, they're showing symptoms identical to the Clear Plate side effects!"
"Again?! What on earth is going on...?"
A few days had passed since the resolution of the peeping incident at the hotel where Luminous Academy was staying. Now, a shockwave rippled through the Wind Island Security Force Headquarters. Since early morning, a relentless stream of reports had been pouring in from every corner of the island regarding the discovery of unconscious, debilitated people.
Their condition was critical; they were barely clinging to life. Neither truly alive nor yet dead... As more victims of the Clear Plate side effects were discovered in rapid succession, tension mounted among the guards, Captain Shepherd Krueger included.
"What is happening? Why so suddenly, and why like this...?"
It was an undeniable emergency. However, the Security Force—ignorant of the Plates' origin, creator, or even their current locations—was unable to grasp the full scope of the disaster.
The only thing they could surmise was that the victims had likely been Clear Plate possessors. Yet, none of them had a Plate on their person. Even if the guards wanted to interrogate them, their condition was so severe that speech was out of the question. Clues were nonexistent, but the omens of disaster were multiplying.
In the midst of this, a fresh wave of chaos hit the headquarters.
"Captain Krueger! Disaster! The arrested Clear Plate users and even the personnel who volunteered for the experiments are collapsing! Their magic power is being drained away!"
"What?!"
Shepherd's voice cracked with shock. It wasn't just the civilians; the prisoners and his own men were being struck down by the side effects. The personnel were supposed to be safe so long as they used the Plates periodically to avoid the backlash. What concerned him most, however, was that every single person had been affected at the exact same moment.
There's no doubt about it, he thought. The mastermind is finally making their move. But what is the goal...?
Only the creator of the Clear Plates could possibly trigger the side effects at will. Shepherd understood that the one behind this was the true architect of the island's woes, yet the perpetrator's ultimate motive remained shrouded in mystery.
How should they respond to such total confusion? Even a man of Shepherd's experience hesitated; there were simply too many unknowns to make a decisive call. Deciding to prioritize saving his men and the prisoners, he barked out orders to his subordinates.
"Get the Clear Plates from storage and let the experimental personnel use them! That might stabilize their condition. As for the arrested criminals, give them as many potions as possible to replenish their magic! This is completely unprecedented—people might actually die if we don't act now!"
Shepherd and his team scrambled to prevent the worst. However, the situation spiraled further out of control.
"Captain Krueger! The Clear Plates... they've been stolen! They're gone!"
"What?! Those were under maximum security! How could this happen?!"
The Clear Plates, kept under a heavy, multi-layered guard as vital evidence, had vanished. Shepherd stood aghast at the impossibility of it. He began to realize that the mastermind—someone capable of such a feat without leaving a trace—might be a foe far more powerful than they had ever imagined. As a chill of dread washed over him, another guard burst into the room, gasping for air.
"Another report?! What now?!"
The discovery of the victims, the simultaneous onset of the side effects, the theft of the evidence—and now, yet another crisis. Shepherd groaned, his voice laced with desperation, as he stared at the newcomer. The guard’s face was twisted in a look of terror and shock that dwarfed everything that had come before.
"R-report, sir! It's... H-Hauvent Castle is—!!"