CHAPTER 32: A MILD BETRAYAL

Jelo, Atlas, and Ken started trailing Garin through the academy’s corridors, keeping a careful distance behind their target. The hallways were growing quieter as they moved deeper into the older sections of the building, with fewer students around and the lighting becoming slightly dimmer.

This time, Jelo was careful—extremely careful—to scan his environment constantly. He’d learned his lesson from the field trip with Mira. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice.

Every few seconds, his eyes would flick to the sides, checking the intersecting corridors. He’d glance behind them periodically, making sure no one was following their group. He watched Garin’s body language closely, looking for any signs that the boy was aware of their presence, any indication that he might be leading them into another trap like Xino had done.

Garin and his stocky friend seemed genuinely unaware, though. They were walking casually, talking in low voices that Jelo couldn’t quite make out from this distance. Their posture was relaxed, unguarded. If this was an act, it was a convincing one.

As they moved, Jelo found himself impressed by Ken’s stealth. Despite his size—Ken was tall and well-built, not exactly built for sneaking around—he moved with remarkable quietness. His footsteps were nearly silent against the polished floors, and he had an instinctive sense of when to pause, when to move, when to use the shadows and corners to stay hidden.

Jelo could barely hear him, which was saying something considering Jelo’s enhanced senses from the system.

Atlas was less naturally stealthy but was doing his best, moving carefully and following Ken’s lead.

They continued following Garin deeper into the older wing of the academy. The architecture here was different—the walls were slightly darker, the lighting more sparse, the corridors narrower. This section wasn’t used as much for regular classes, mostly just storage and maintenance areas.

Perfect for a confrontation without witnesses.

But as they walked, something began gnawing at Jelo’s mind. A thought that felt like betrayal even as it formed.

He didn’t want to put his newly acquired friends in trouble.

The realization hit him with uncomfortable clarity. Ken and Atlas were here because they cared about him, because they wanted to help him, because they thought standing by their friend was the right thing to do. They were willing to risk consequences—detention, disciplinary action, maybe even worse—just to support him in this revenge quest.

And what would happen if they got caught?

If teachers found them attacking Garin, if security intervened, if this whole thing went wrong... Ken and Atlas would face punishment. Real punishment. Ken had said his family’s influence could help, but there were limits to that. And even if they avoided official consequences, what about the social fallout? The reputation damage?

Jelo’s mind spiraled further. What if they got in serious trouble because of him? What if they were suspended or expelled? What if their families found out and blamed them for getting involved with someone like Jelo—a rank F student with apparently violent tendencies?

Would they resent him? Would they realize that being his friend was more trouble than it was worth? Would they avoid him forever, cutting him out of their lives the moment they understood the cost of association?

The thought terrified him more than he wanted to admit.

He’d been alone for so long. Friendless. Isolated. The idea of finally having people who cared about him, only to lose them because he’d dragged them into his problems... it was unbearable.

Therefore, Jelo told himself, he needed to find a way to ditch Ken and Atlas.

It wasn’t what he wanted. Part of him desperately wanted their help, wanted the comfort of having allies by his side. But the rational part of his brain—the part that was still capable of thinking beyond the system’s obsessive push toward revenge—knew that protecting them meant doing this alone.

The betrayal of the thought made his stomach twist, but he pushed the guilt aside. This was for their own good.

As they continued walking, Jelo’s advanced vision—sharpened by his increased stats from consuming the Dabba heart—caught something up ahead.

A janitor’s closet.

The door was slightly recessed into the wall, easy to miss if you weren’t looking for it. It was the kind of small maintenance room that existed throughout the academy, filled with cleaning supplies, mops, buckets, and other equipment.

And it had a lock on the outside.

An idea formed in Jelo’s mind, and despite the guilt that immediately followed, he couldn’t help the small smile that crossed his face.

It was perfect.

They were getting close to the closet now, maybe thirty feet away. Garin and his friend had turned a corner up ahead, temporarily out of sight but still within tracking range.

Jelo stopped walking abruptly and motioned for Ken and Atlas to come closer.

Both of them immediately moved toward him, their expressions curious and slightly concerned. Ken raised an eyebrow questioningly, while Atlas leaned in, clearly expecting Jelo to share some important information about their plan.

"In here," Jelo whispered, gesturing toward the janitor’s closet. "We need to talk about the approach. Can’t do it out in the open."

It was a reasonable excuse. The hallway, while mostly empty, wasn’t completely private. And if they were going to coordinate their attack on Garin, it made sense to do so somewhere they wouldn’t be overheard.

Ken and Atlas didn’t question it. They trusted him.

That trust made what Jelo was about to do feel even worse.

Ken reached the door first and pulled it open. The closet was small but large enough for three people to fit inside if they stood close together. Shelves lined the walls, stocked with cleaning supplies, and the smell of disinfectant hung heavy in the air.

Ken stepped inside without hesitation. Atlas followed right behind him, turning to face Jelo expectantly.

Jelo made sure he was entering last. He stepped toward the doorway, one foot inside, his body blocking the exit.

Ken and Atlas were both looking at him now, waiting for him to close the door behind them so they could talk privately.

*I’m sorry,* Jelo thought, the words echoing in his mind even as his hand moved toward the door handle from the outside.

In one smooth, quick motion, Jelo stepped back out of the closet and pulled the door shut.

The lock clicked into place with a definitive sound.

For a moment, there was silence from inside the closet. Ken and Atlas were probably confused, trying to process what had just happened, assuming maybe the door had closed accidentally or that Jelo was standing just outside.

Then Jelo heard Atlas try the door handle from the inside.

It didn’t budge.