Kill the Sun

"Kill Pator?" Nick repeated in shock. "Why?"

"Because he's Ardum's spy," Wyntor said coldly without turning to look at Nick.

"How do you know?" Nick asked.

Wyntor looked around and saw several people looking at them.

"Let's talk outside," he said, leading his group out of the huge warehouse.

The three of them followed Wyntor in shock.

After leaving the warehouse, they walked back to Dark Dream in silence.

Nobody dared to speak up.

Pator?

A spy?

The little boy?

Pator was maybe 14 years old.

Pator had been nice to everyone, and he had always happily supported them.

How could he be a spy?

Which 14-year-old actually had the guts to work as a double agent in something as sensitive as Zephyx manufacturing? 

The walk back to Dark Dream felt like it went on for an eternity.

Eventually, the four of them walked through Dark Dream's doors.

"Welcome back! How was shopping?" an excited Pator asked.

"Pretty good," Wyntor answered neutrally. "We got some good deals."

"Pator, could you deal with Horua for a bit longer? I need Nick and the others for a bit," Wyntor added.

"No problem!" Pator answered before standing up and walking out of the warehouse.

However, before Pator reached the door, he stopped to look at Jenny.

"Is something wrong, Jenny?" he asked.

"What?" Jenny answered, shocked, like she had just been woken up from a daydream. "No, nothing's wrong!"

Pator looked a bit worried. "Don't let things get to your head, okay?" he said.

"S-sure," Jenny answered.

Pator smiled brightly, nodded, and walked out of the warehouse.

When the door closed, Jenny released a shaky breath, and a terrified look appeared in her eyes.

Thinking about the young and cheerful boy dying was too difficult to bear.

"Follow me," Wyntor said evenly as he walked to the Containment Unit holding the Screaming Coffin.

The three of them nervously followed Wyntor.

Wyntor typed on the console of the Containment Unit a bit before opening the employee door.

"Come in," Wyntor said as he entered the Containment Unit.

Jenny and Trevor took deep breaths.

They had no idea what was in there, but they knew it had to be a Specter.

Coming face to face with a new Specter was always terrifying.

"Don't worry," Nick said. "It's basically harmless. The Dreamer is way worse."

Trevor and Jenny just looked at each other before entering.

After the four of them entered, the employee door closed, and they all saw the Screaming Coffin.

Trevor and Jenny just looked at it in shock.

It was just a coffin?

Was that it?

Right now, the Screaming Coffin was just lying on the ground, doing nothing.

"Jenny, what do you know about it?" Wyntor asked without looking at her.

Jenny looked with uncertainty at Wyntor. "You said it eats corpses."

Wyntor nodded. "Trevor, what do you know about it?"

"That it screams a lot," he said, realization appearing in his eyes.

Nick and Jenny hadn't realized it yet.

Wyntor turned to look at his three employees.

"I told all of you different details about the Screaming Coffin," he said.

"Nick knows everything since he caught it and works with it."

"Trevor knows that it screams a lot."

"Jenny knows that it eats corpses."

"And Pator knows that it's a Possession Specter."

"None of you are privy to the details I told the other ones, and you also have barely any time to meet during the day to exchange information. Additionally, I told all of you to not share your information with anyone but Nick."

"Ardum said that he knows that I have a Possession Specter, and only Pator knew that."

"Therefore, Pator is the spy."

Silence.

The three of them had troubled expressions on their faces.

However, it was just too difficult to believe that such a young kid was capable of such a massive feat of deception.

Whether they wanted to or not, Jenny's and Trevor's eyes landed on Nick.

Nick also knew everything about the Screaming Coffin.

He could have also leaked it.

Nick took a deep breath.

Naturally, he had noticed the others' expressions, and he knew what they were thinking.

"It's not Nick," Wyntor said. 

Trevor and Jenny felt called out and ashamed.

After all, Nick was their boss.

Yet…

"Nick is too dumb and honest to be a spy," Wyntor said.

Nick awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

He wasn't that dumb.

"Nick is either the best manipulator in the entire world or no manipulator at all," Wyntor said. "Trust me, I put Nick through so many tests that it is basically impossible for him to be a spy."

Nick's eyes widened. "Tests? There were no tests!"

"Questions about things we both already know the answer to. If you keep lying and someone inquires further, you have to keep lying, and you have to keep this web of complicated lies coherent and logical. By continually asking you about details, you would eventually slip up if you were lying." 

"Asking you to explain things while in a very emotional situation. Lying takes a lot of brainpower, and faking emotions also does. Doing both at once is extremely difficult."

"I also kept questioning your morals and why you believe in what you believe in."

"I've been testing you for months, Nick," Wyntor said. "And I am quite certain that I can trust you with my life."

Nick felt too shocked to respond immediately.

"That sounds unrealistic," Nick said.

Wyntor just snorted. "These things have been drilled into my head ever since I was just five. By now, it's unrealistic not to do it to everyone I meet."

"But you didn't realize that Pator was a spy?" Nick asked.

A moment later, Nick felt bad.

That was not an appropriate comment.

However, Wyntor just sighed.

"The signs were there," Wyntor said before looking at the Screaming Coffin absentmindedly.

"I guess I just ignored them since he's been my servant for the last two years."

"He was the only one I could openly talk to in that oppressive mansion."

Silence.