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Abbey House Dining Hall | 6:03 AM | Third Day
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all feeling the weight of what has happened. We are all in danger. We can''t afford to prioritize individual comfort."
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feeding on him," he went on. "He kept being pulled out through the window over and over again, and every time, there was more and more blood when he pulled back. I could even feel some of it splatter on my face, see the light reflecting off the puddle... And more than anything, I could smell it. It was like a butcher''s shop, but sickly sweet." He shuddered. "E-Eventually, whatever it was let him go, and he slumped down. I''d been too shocked to move up until that point, but realized I needed to help him, so... I tried to step forward. I still couldn''t hear my own voice, so I tried to turn his body around. That''s when I... That close, I could see..."
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anyone to have done it, either within our group, or from outside the building entirely.
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Energy-Nullifying Arcana. The base component terminates all motion in anything that comes into contact with it and essentially acts as a brick wall on top of blocking incoming incantations, while the additional one conjures an electromagnetic repelling force, physically damaging any matter that tries to pass through it."
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I move the barrier, so as long as everything I''m expanding it through is motionless already, then it''ll just pass through harmlessly. I do have to disable the repulsive component for those times, though--- There''s an element of the incantation to give me dynamic control over it."
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motionless in the truest sense of the word. Even if a human being stands completely still, there''s still a lot of stuff moving around just underneath the skin. If the barrier came into contact with them while they were hiding somewhere, the whole incantation would break on their resistances." He hesitated. "...though, uh, I''ve never tested it, of course."
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if they''re fully shut down, they can''t be reactivated except by a human being, and one who knows what they''re doing at that. So any that could have actually done something like this would have been caught, just as much as a being of flesh and blood."
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feels like a big deal but isn''t a big deal," Fang said, regarding the image with a mixed expression. "I mean, even if you assume somebody would be able to hide in plain sight in those corners somehow-- Actually, did you guys check them? The corners"
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assuming against all sense that someone could hide there, it wouldn''t exactly change much about the situation. I mean, they couldn''t go through the barrier or cast anything. So this seems like kinda a dead end."
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You''re just saying that because you''re his father. We''re going to let ourselves all be put in danger because of your naked bias.
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And if I were the perpetrator, I thought, it''d be exactly what I''d want people to be dealing with.
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really obvious way that somebody other than Theo could''ve done this. The timing sorta adds up, and everything."
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wanted this, almost visibly. Linos, Ptolema and Ophelia all looked similar, the latter''s eyes widening in sudden hope.
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What the hell, I thought. That is obvious! Why didn''t I think of that!
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Better than nothing, though.
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resolved, even if it meant admitting culpability.
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Is she seeing something I''m not?
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nothing."
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uncomfortable to do otherwise. It''s insane."
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Or, in other words, the best course is to do nothing.
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extra cautious.
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Best not to consider the possibility that Kam could be right about something again, I thought. I mean, look what happened the last time you did that.
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