Chapter 185

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*- Seraphina*

This is the 185th chapter of *unORDINARY*.

## Plot

Zirian met with Claire at the appointed meeting place, with half of her class in tow. The group was getting restless waiting for John to show up, but Claire ensured that he would. She also urged them to keep things civil and warned against activating any abilities, though the crowd wasn't receptive to this advice. John eventually arrived, and immediately asked for an explanation from Claire. She explained how everyone in the group made up a fraction of the student body that suffered under John's leadership. They had enough, and they wanted him to put an end to the abuse. The accusations were lost on John, who only cared about the grand act of defiance Claire organized behind his back. Claire couldn't believe that John didn't feel any remorse for the pain and suffering he inflicted on everybody present. Attempting to argue with him got her nowhere, as he ordered her to shut up, and told everyone that even pooling their strength wouldn't be enough to defeat him. At this boast, the mob decided that reasoning with John was a waste of time, and decided to prove him wrong by charging at him in full force. Claire screamed that this was his intention, but they didn't listen to her. Their belief that John wouldn't be able to defeat them all would soon be proven wrong. The moment they activated their abilities, the battle was lost, and so was Claire's last chance to get through to her former friend.

John demolished attacker after attacker until Claire was the only one left standing. He approached her and demanded she explain why she turned everyone against him, only for her to say that he turned them against himself. She smacked him across the face and told him to take a good look at what he's become: a selfish, tyrannical hypocrite who's always on the lookout for reason to hurt people. She told John she regretted ever helping him attain power he didn't deserve, and wished she'd never met him. John, getting angrier with every insult she threw at him, told Claire to shut up. She dared him to silence her as he did everyone else. Before the final blow was struck, Claire looked John in the eyes and called him a monster. In the present, Claire tells Seraphina that her next memory was waking up in hospital bed. But she had heard that just after knocking her out, John noticed Adrion had followed him to the field. He watched everything unfold before making a bold decision to make a call to the Authorities right in front of John. Furious at another "betrayal", John rushed at Adrion full speed and knocked him out. But the report identifying him as a rampaging high-tier at a field near New Bostin High was successfully made.

Her story had reached its end, and Claire still remembered the sting of John's last words before he knocked her out. Even after using and betraying his friends, and his bloody era as King, he left the school still believing everybody *but* him was in the wrong. Instead of becoming a leader who empathized with students who suffered as much as he once did, John embarked on a quest for more power that turned him into someone worse than the ones who made the lives of him and his friends miserable. The bitterness of the memories about her failure to undo her mistake causes Claire to tear up, to her embarrassment. Seraphina comforts Claire and tells her not to blame herself for John's poor decisions. She revealed that John actually enrolled in Wellston as a cripple who advocated for fair treatment to all, so Claire's efforts weren't a total waste. While this does come as a pleasant surprise to Claire, she doesn't miss the fact that she wouldn't be having this conversation if the change had stuck. She asks if John is using the same methods he employed in New Bostin, which Seraphina confirms with dismay. Unsurprised, Claire warns Seraphina to forget everything she thinks she knows about John, and to keep in mind that she's dealing with a selfish tyrant. Putting faith in him would lead to disappointment, and trying to reason with him would earn her a beating. Claire's account of John comes as an unpleasant surprise to Seraphina, and leaves her wondering how the information is supposed to help her deal with him in the present.

Claire then inquires whether John has defeated everybody at Wellston. Seraphina tells her that he has yet to fight the top-ranked student: herself. Seraphina states that she never considered fighting John before. She also admits that her ability is currently compromised, so trying to fight him isn't a viable option at this point. Claire asks how that's even possible, but Seraphina states such a long story is best saved for when it isn't so late in the evening. Claire agrees, and wishes Seraphina the best of luck in getting her ability restored.

## Appearing Characters

* New Bostin Students
* Zirian
* Claire
* John
* Adrion
* Seraphina

## Appearing Abilities

* Multiple Unnamed Abilities
* Aura Manipulation
* Crescent Slash

## Trivia

* Adrion was presumably the only student not to take part in Claire's insurgency.
* This chapter marks the second time John copied Crescent Slash.