"This… is the Pit?"

Van's eyes wandered everywhere as he looked at his new surroundings. He had imagined what the Pit would look like all the time that he was running away from the people that were chasing him.

​​

He imagined that it would be full of people tied up in chains. Dark, desolate, with only the cries and moans of people in pain lingering in the air. But this… He did not expect this in the least.

The scenery around him was something that he would have never imagined. There were… houses. Houses even better than the ones in the Relic Graveyard. Some were made with stone, and some with sturdy wood.

And the darkness that he expected was nowhere to be seen, except, a bright and heavy light showered over him as if the sun's rays were greeting him excitedly. There were also people walking around as if they were just strolling casually across the streets, not even heeding him any mind.

Van was about to open his mouth to call for help, or at least call for anything. But when he saw what seemed like a city guard in front of him, he quickly crawled away, no. Perhaps wriggled away was the better word as his arms were still tied up.

But alas, now that he was able to move, he was also able to feel.

"Gah!"

The sharp pain covering his entire feet crawled all the way through his head. He could feel every shattered bone mutilating his feet even deeper.

"D… don't move too much! Your feet are broken, we need to heal them first before you can walk! Let me heal you."

"!!!"

Seeing the guard leaning closer to him, Van could not help but once again wriggle away, biting his lip to try and ignore the pain. But then, as he was wriggling away like a worm, he felt something bump on his head.

"Oh? Are the people outside starting to turn crazy? They are throwing kids in here now? But…

...You are kind of cute, aren't you?"

Van turned his head up slowly to look at the source of the voice, only to see a muscular man… without any clothes on him.

"!!!"

***

"Brother, let me pass! I need to go and help Van!"

"Don't be ridiculous, you think you can just barge into one of the heaviest guarded places in the country!?"

With the restrain on him completely gone, Harvey quickly stood up, rushing to the door without even a slight pause. But before he could leave the room he was in, Gerald blocked his path and pushed him back inside.

The room they were currently in was the room that's being used by the Enhancer sophomore class.

"It's only been a few hours, I am sure they are still on the road! We can--"

"That is enough, Harvey!" Gerald stomped his foot on the floor, leaving a mark and smashing it. "I told you not to associate yourself with him! Just leave him behind and forget him!"

"No! You're the one that I should leave behind, you're a fucking psychopath!"

Harvey let out a roar that filled the entire room, completely silencing it afterward. The only sound that whispered into his ears were his and his brother's pained breaths.

And the only thing that Harvey could see was the stunned expression on his big brother's face, his eyes blinking slowly as it looked to the ground.

"B… brother… I--"

"Then go."

"I didn't mean--"

"Go!"

Gerald's jaw trembled as his voice cracked through his unrelenting roar. Harvey could only slightly back away, his brother's shouts whispering into his ears like cries. But still, he did not know what to say. He could only let out a stutter before completely rushing out of the room.

"..."

"My, my. Brotherly love sure is hard."

As soon as Harvey was gone, a tall man with silver hair suddenly showed himself. The sword that was hanging on his waist lightly hit the doorway as he entered the room. It was Michael, the instructor that was handling the sophomore's Enhancer class.

"Such a beautiful moment and I witnessed all of it," he said.

Gerald, on the other, only let out a scoff as he passed him by, completely ignoring him as he left the room.

"..As always, you are going to pay for the damages, right?" Michael followed up as he pointed at the deep footprint that Gerald made when he stomped his foot earlier.

"...Tch."

***

Harvey ran through the Academy, hoping to still find something in the Academy gates. But alas, the reality was always what you expected it to be, the worst.

All that remained near the gates were the craters created by Charlotte. The walls were still not back to normal as the barrier still covered the entire Academy, with chunks of it falling once again due to Charlotte wreaking havoc.

There were also students still outside, with the instructors bunching up to assemble the students, ordering them to go back to their dorms. Even those that stayed outside the Academy were still here, wanting to seek answers from the gossips and whispers that were still fresh from their minds.

Everyone was and is here, except for the one person that Harvey wanted to find.

"...Harvey."

Harvey quickly turned around as he heard a voice call for him from afar, only to see Victoria standing in the gateway with Albert behind her.

"Victoria? What… are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for you." Victoria quickly replied with even a slight pause. Her usual emotionless eyes were gone, and all that remained in them was a fire that was waiting to be unleashed.

"What? What for?"

"We need to talk."

"...Talk?"

"About how to rescue Van from the Pit. My grandmother is also expecting us in the house."

"!!!"

Harvey's eyes could not help but widen as he heard Victoria's words. His breaths were becoming heavy as the fire inside of him started to show in his eyes.

And so, letting out a short breath, Harvey nodded and walked through the gates. "Let's go."

"W… wait! Please wait!"

However, before the two could enter the carriage that was already prepared for them by Albert, a familiar voice shouted for them from behind.

"Please, let me come with you!"

"...Bea? Are you… are you alright now!?"

On the other side of the broken gates, stood Beatrice.

"What did they do to you!?" Harvey quickly rushed towards Beatrice, even Victoria, who was already inside the carriage, stepped out to check on her.

Seeing Harvey and Victoria approaching her, Beatrice could only let out a stutter.

"I… I--"

"Those bastards!" Before Beatrice could even let out a word, Harvey's voice completely drowned her, "It wasn't enough that they arrested Van and treated him like an animal. They also had to hurt you!"

Harvey's words traveled across Beatrice's body, piercing the very depths of her heart. She wanted to say something, but the only thing that was coming out of her mouth were stuttered breaths.

She… She was the reason why Van was caught. If she told Harvey that, would the concern in his voice still remain?

"Tch. Come on, then. Let's go and rescue our friend!"

Harvey grabbed Beatrice's wrist and pulled him to the other side of the broken gates. Beatrice, however, did not move her feet. Their arms are the only thing connecting them through the gates.

"...Bea?"

Friend… Does she even deserve to be called that? After what she's done… She…

No, right now it doesn't matter. She thought as her lips quivered. What mattered now was that they needed to get Van out.

And so, with a nod, she passed through the gates and got into the carriage with Harvey and Victoria.

"..."

Elton, who was watching the scenario unfold from afar, could only squint her eyes.

'Are we involving kids in this as well now, Hans?' She then turned towards Headmaster Hans, who was busy calming down some of the students. But as he heard Elton's thoughts, he quickly let out a long and deep sigh.

'...We were kids too when we learned the truth of this world, Angela.'

***

"S… stay away!"

Van could only helplessly wriggle his body as he tried to get away from the naked muscular man. His breaths started to get heavy as numerous memories started to pop out from his mind. He could feel a sharp pain building and crawl up on every inch of his skin.

"Ah… yes, I remember this feeling. I like it when they resist. Is this a gift for me since I have been behaving lately? Did they give me a friend to cuddle!?" The muscular man slowly stretched his hands towards Van, his fingers moving coquettishly.

Van wanted to run, but most of his body was still bound up in chains. The sound of his teeth chattering as his jaw trembled uncontrollably. After all of that… after all the months spent in the Academy… was he… was he still the same boy that left the Relic Graveyard?

"Stay away from the kid!"

"W… what?"

Van let out a short breath as he saw his vision being blocked by the back of the city guard he was with earlier.

"What the… Why is there a guard all the way here?" The naked muscular man quickly retracted his slimy hands as he stared at the guard.

However, as soon as he said that, the people that were mindlessly walking around them instantly stopped. Their heads, slowly turning towards the guard.

"!!!"

The city guard quickly unsheathed his weapon as he finally realized his current predicament…

...This is probably the worst place he could be.