By eight o'clock, panic had begun to settle in.
When Sylva and Nathan failed to return, their classmates quickly raised the alarm. The instructors initially assumed the two had simply wandered off, perhaps lingering too long at one of the survey points. But as the minutes stretched into nearly an hour with no sign of either of them, concern turned into urgency.
The entire group, including Acacia, joined the search. The matter was promptly reported to the field security personnel stationed nearby—precautionary staff always present during such excursions.
But locating them wasn't easy.
Because the two had ventured deep into the forest for their fieldwork and had been ambushed before getting far, it took nearly an hour to find any trace of them. The forest was dense, the terrain uneven, and they had left barely any trail behind.
Then a scream shattered the silence.
"Ahhh!!"
A piercing shriek echoed through the trees. Every student in the vicinity froze for a minute and then broke into a run. Those nearest to the source sprinted toward it, calling out names as they pushed past branches and undergrowth.
Within minutes, the first wave of searchers reached the scene—and there they found him.
Nathan, unconscious, lying in the underbrush beside the bloodied body of one of the nearly dead men. His breathing was shallow and dirt streaked his skin. No sign of Sylva.
After seeing Nathan, they hurriedly called for the others, shouting his name and waving their hands. Someone pulled out their phone, contacting their supervisor with quick, panicked words. "We found Nathan! He's unconscious, but—there's a man here, too. It looks bad. We need security out here. Now."
Within minutes, more students arrived, pushing past the brush with frantic expressions. Two of the stronger ones crouched beside Nathan, trying to rouse him. When he wouldn't respond, they carefully lifted him between them, his head lolling slightly as they adjusted their grip.
"We need to get him out of here fast," one of them said, already walking.
The rest began dispersing again, the urgency in the air growing heavier.
"Keep looking for Sylva!" someone called out. "She might be close!"
The name echoed in the forest as feet crunched against leaves, voices called out, and the search resumed—this time more frantic, more fearful. The moonlight filtering through the trees did nothing to ease the tension that now pressed down on everyone.
Acacia, who had been standing back with a tight grip on her pants, stared at the scene in silence. Her brows drew together, a mix of confusion and disbelief crossing her face.
Nathan had no visible injuries.
But the man lying some feet away? Bloodied. Barely conscious. Their face was swollen and beaten in like they'd been mauled.
'What the hell was going on?' she thought, eyes flicking between Nathan being carried away and the groaning man on the ground. That wasn't what she expected. Not even close.
Olivia, who had arrived at her side without her noticing, gave her a sideways glance. "What's that look for?" she asked, suspicious.
Acacia quickly wiped the expression from her face and shook her head. "Nothing. Just… shocked."
But inside, she was already trying to rationalize it.
I told them not to hurt Nathan, she reminded herself. And they didn't. That means… he did this?
She swallowed, eyes narrowing slightly. If Nathan had been the one to beat the man nearly to death before getting knocked out… then what about Sylva?
It had been hours. No trace of her. And now only two people have been found. The implication was clear.
They must've taken her. Maybe they killed her and dumped her deeper into the forest.
The thought settled into her chest like cold lead. Not because she was worried. No. If Sylva was dead, then that made things easier.
Still, Acacia turned and rejoined the search party, calling Sylva's name without any real effort. It was a half-hearted search at best. She just had to keep up the act long enough until someone stumbled on Sylva's body.
The search party spread further through the underbrush, unease settling over them like mist. They found the rest of the men—two more, sprawled between roots and moss, their bodies bruised and bloodied, faces barely recognizable.
The moment they saw the second and third bodies, everyone's expressions shifted—fear, confusion, disbelief. These men were strangers, clearly not part of the student body. Their clothes were different and rugged.
"Who the hell are these guys?" one student murmured, taking an instinctive step back.
"Why would grown men be out here?" another asked. "And attacking students?"
No one had answers. Only questions. And a shared, creeping realization that something was deeply wrong.
Acacia's expression mirrored the others—grave yet outwardly composed. But inside, her stomach had turned to ice for a very different reason. She kept her head low, her fists clenched tightly by her sides. This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Olivia stood close to her, pale and trembling. Her lips moved as if in prayer, but the only words that escaped were breathless, panicked fragments. "What's going on? What the hell is happening?" She repeated it with every new man they found, her voice shaking.
And when they found the last of them, the most injured of the lot, her reaction finally broke.
She grabbed Acacia by the wrist, her fingers digging in hard. "Three of them," she whispered. "Three of them, Acacia. They're all down. And Sylva—she's still missing. What does that mean? What does it mean?!"
Acacia said nothing. Her lips were pressed tight, her mind racing. There's no way. Sylva couldn't have— But hadn't she already been suspiciously good at defending herself in school fights? Wasn't she known for being a little too calm when others panicked?
Still, this—this wasn't martial arts. This was a life-and-death situation.
No, Acacia shook her head sharply, forcing herself back to her version of logic. She didn't beat all of them. Even if she took the others down somehow, there's no way she got past Rael. He was stronger, smarter, and ruthless.
She has to be dead.
"She's dead," Acacia said suddenly, earning a few glances. She lowered her voice, scowling at Olivia. "Stop acting weird. Don't make people suspicious. Everything's fine."
But everything was not fine.
And in a matter of minutes, it would be much worse.
The search didn't slow, even with security present. None of the students wanted to stand idle knowing Sylva—dead or alive—was still out there somewhere.
Then, thirteen dread-heavy minutes later, a voice crackled over the comms from deep in the forest. One of the security officers.
"We've found a body."
The words struck like thunder.
Acacia's breath hitched—and despite herself, a wide smile broke across her lips.
Finally.
But it vanished the moment she and the others arrived at the location.
It wasn't Sylva.
It was Rael, the person she'd hired to kill Sylva.
The reaction was instant and overwhelming.
Gasps split the air. Some students swore loudly. One girl clamped both hands over her mouth to muffle a scream. Others turned away, faces twisted in horror, nausea rising in their throats. A few scrambled behind trees and bushes to throw up.
His body was a wreck—ripped open across the torso, blood pooling beneath him, the expression on his face still frozen in a silent, twisted grimace. No one could look at it for long.
Acacia stumbled at the sight, her legs nearly giving way. She caught herself on a tree, her skin suddenly cold and clammy. Her lips trembled, but no sound came.
No… No, no, no.
He was supposed to be the one who made sure Sylva was gone. Not this. Not him.
Olivia looked at her, horror etched in every line of her face. "He's dead…?" she whispered. "Acacia, what the hell is going on? Did Sylva—?"
She didn't finish. Couldn't.
She didn't need to.
Acacia's silence said everything.
One student, a girl with sharp eyes, had caught something no one else had—a fleeting smile on Acacia's face before they arrived here. Her eyes narrowed, lips pressed thin as she studied Acacia and Olivia from across the clearing.
Questions burned in her mind.
Back at the scene, Acacia stood frozen, her mind unraveling.
Did Sylva kill him?
Then that means… She's alive?
No. No! She can't be. She's not supposed to be alive.
Her body must be around here somewhere. It has to be.
They continued the search, shaken but relentless. No one wanted to leave without answers.
But even as hours passed, they found no body.
Only a blood trail—dark, drying, winding through the underbrush and vanishing into the shadows of the forest.
And then… nothing.
No body.
No Sylva.