Aetheric Chronicles: Reborn As An Extra

Chapter 315: Not Too Shabby

The room fell silent as the figure of the Weapon Sage, known to the students as Instructor Darius, stepped fully into the light. The TWAO agents stared in shock and confusion, unable to comprehend what was unfolding before them. Their eyes shifted from the collapsed Mr. Klein, now revealed as the Black Chameleon, to the imposing presence of Darius.

Adrian, maintaining his composure, turned to Darius and spoke with a calm but curious tone, "Instructor Darius, is he the one?"

Darius glanced at Adrian, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Thanks for this, Adrian. I owe you one. And yes, he is the one."

With a swift flick of his hand, an unseen force gripped the Black Chameleon. The Chameleon's body convulsed violently, and he coughed up a spray of blood.

A ripple seemed to pass over his form as his face and body began to morph, shifting back to his original appearance. His features twisted and distorted before settling into the recognizable, hardened visage of the true Black Chameleon.

Adrian watched silently, understanding that Darius had severed the Chameleon's aether flow, disrupting his ability to maintain his disguise. The room seemed to hold its breath, the tension thick enough to cut with a knife.

"Impressive as always, Instructor Darius," Adrian remarked, his tone respectful yet knowing.

Darius nodded, his eyes not leaving the unconscious Chameleon. With a wave of his hand, the Black Chameleon's limp body began to levitate, rising slowly off the ground. "I'll take him with me," Darius announced, his voice authoritative. "Don't worry, I will return him to the officials soon. I will help with your problem too, Adrian."

Adrian gave a slight smile and nodded. "I appreciate that, Instructor."

In the blink of an eye, Darius vanished, taking the Black Chameleon with him. The sudden departure left a palpable void in the room.

The TWAO agents stood frozen in place, still reeling from the shock of what they had just witnessed. None of them could quite believe their eyes, the reality of the situation slowly sinking in.

Adrian sighed softly and turned his attention to the young girl, who had been standing quietly off to the side throughout the ordeal. He reached into his coat and pulled out a small pouch filled with coins. Walking over to her, he handed her the pouch with a grateful nod. "This is for you. Thank you for your help."

The girl's eyes brightened at the sight of the money. She gave a shy smile and quickly bowed her head in thanks. "Thank you, sir," she replied, her voice filled with genuine gratitude. Without another word, she turned and hurried out of the house, disappearing into the night.

"Mr. Dorian, please make sure she reaches her home safely," Adrian whispered to Dorian which the knight readily agreed.

With the girl and Mr. Dorian gone, Adrian turned back to the TWAO agents, who were still standing in stunned silence. He clapped his hands sharply, breaking them out of their daze. "Wake up, everyone. You need to return to Mr. Klein's office," Adrian commanded, his voice snapping the agents back to attention.

"You'll learn everything there."

The agents exchanged bewildered glances but nodded, silently leaving the house one after another.

Adrian silently watched them as they left, a small satisfied smile tugging at his lips.

Adrian took a deep breath, his shoulders relaxing now that the mission was over. "Man, that went way smoother than I expected," he muttered, a bit of a grin spreading across his face. "Honestly thought we'd have more of a fight on our hands, but I guess I underestimated Instructor Darius. Guy's called the Weapon Sage for a reason, I suppose."

He chuckled to himself, shaking his head. "And here I was, thinking I'd outsmarted everyone with my plan. Maybe I'm getting a little too clever for my own good," he added with a smirk, running a hand through his hair. It was kind of wild how everything had fallen into place, but maybe he'd been overthinking things a bit too much.

"Still, I gotta admit, this whole operation was pretty well-played." Adrian glanced around the now-empty room, his mind replaying the events that led up to the capture of the Black Chameleon.

It all started right after that meeting with Mrs. Rena. Even though she turned down the help from his alter ego, Mr. Lucien, Adrian had slipped that recording orb into her office. Sneaky? Maybe.

But it gave him the edge he needed.

Then there was the whole deal with Mr. Klein. That one had been tricky. Adrian had to play his cards just right, using the info he had on Klein to sway him from Mr. Hawke's side.

He'd laid it all out, showing Klein the bigger picture and, honestly, throwing in a bit of acting. Being the bad guy wasn't exactly his favorite role, but sometimes you gotta play dirty to get the job done.

And once he had Klein on board? Well, that's when things really started to come together. He'd combined his initial plan with the bait strategy. It was risky, sure, but he was banking on the Black Chameleon's ego and pride. The guy had a rep for being bold, almost cocky, and Adrian knew he could use that to his advantage. That's similar to how the main cast caught him after all.

"Had to keep it simple, though," he muttered, remembering the secret code he'd come up with for Klein. "The 'Pink Chameleon' bit... Klein was supposed to reply with 'Pink? That guy sure has a weird taste.' But, instead, I got 'It's the Black Chameleon, not Pink,' or whatever." That was the giveaway Adrian needed.

He'd set it up just right, knowing that the real Klein would catch on to the code, but the Chameleon? No chance. "Haha, I knew he would be pissed. But I gotta give him for holding his anger back."

Adrian snickered to himself. "Man, if anyone had told me a few months ago I'd be pulling off stuff like this, I'd have laughed in their face."

It was almost funny how far he'd come. From just a reader who woke up in this world to... well, whatever this was. He wasn't sure if he liked how smoothly he could pull things like this off.

It felt a bit too natural, like slipping into a pair of well-worn boots.

"Guess this is what happens when you start thinking a few steps ahead," he said, almost talking to himself at this point. It was strange, though, to think about how much he'd changed. How he'd gone from being an overthinker and a bit cringe reader to orchestrating a plan to catch one of the most notorious criminals around.

"Not too shabby, Adrian," he muttered, a small smile playing on his lips. "Not too shabby at all."

But beneath the satisfaction, there was a hint of something else. A feeling he couldn't quite shake. Maybe it was the realization that he was starting to enjoy this a little too much. Or maybe it was the thought of what he had to do next. Either way, he knew he had to keep his wits about him.

"Alright, enough with the self-reflection," Adrian said, straightening up. "Time to wrap this up."

He took one last look around the room, making sure everything was in order. The agents were gone, the orphaned girl was safely on her way home, and Dorian was escorting her to make sure. All that was left was to catch 'the big fish' and end this act.

Adrian stepped outside, taking a deep breath of the cool night air. The city was quiet now, almost peaceful. He started walking, hands in his pockets, mind already racing ahead to the next move.

"Guess I'll have to keep this up," he mused quietly to himself. "Who knows what's coming next."

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