A standstill.

Alyssa and I stood there with our armour protecting every part of our bodies. As long as they won’t use blunt attacks, they won’t be able to reach either of our skin with those weapons. Especially Alyssa with her new armour I forged out of the best metals I could find.

Unlike my armour, which was meant to be used more for stealth hence the name Stalker, her armour is intended for a fierce fight. A knight’s armour, where most areas were plated with cold metals and built magnificently to not let the wearer lose any kind of agility or speed.

And with the [Speed Up] rune on both her armguards and metal boots, she could fight even faster than usual.

I admired my good work but for only a moment. I had something else to do. But before I could act on it, Alyssa moved her head ever so slightly towards me, whispering.

“What’s the plan?”

“Niklas will most likely approach me while hoping you will be held back by the other three. And to be honest, I wish that would be the case for now. I’ll try to get everyone out of the building while trying to get him as far away from you as possible. You should be able to handle Frank and Walter easily with your ability. The other one though, I can only hope that he won’t be that much of a problem. But remember. You have a two-level difference between Frank and the other one. As long as you use your ability right, you can hold on for long enough for me to get everyone out of here.”

“Alright! Let’s do this!”

BOOM

And there she goes without any care in the world. I love how she has so much trust in me.

But I’m sorry that you have to be the last one to get out of here, Alyssa, but with your ability to affect reality however you want, you are my best bet now to get everyone out of here.

“And remember, only think about killing the moment you are left with no choi-!”

CLI-CLI-CLANG

Wow! She hit Regina through all of the three’s weapons, breaking everyone’s guard simultaneously. Is this the effect of the [Insight] rune on her sword? That she can copy this much of my understanding of weapons…

Great! I moved Fangs’s parts around the building, trying to drive each little piece to the nearest person to me.

“Like I’ll let you so easily! You three handle that wrench while I go after that bastard!”

Bait taken! Nice!

But for you to be able to catch up to me, you have to be as fast as I am.

And speed is the one thing I’m very confident about.

Especially when I slowly lowered my upper body down, this time falling backwards while strengthening my core to the maximum.

And off I go, almost flying through the classroom, touching a student, compressing their space like I’d do usually to myself, and opening a wormhole from my hand to Keyser on the outside.

“Please! Save us!”

“Laith, please!”

Pleading screams.

People that were always ignoring me.

People that actively made my life a living hell.

People that were too afraid to take a step.

That didn’t matter now. Because they all had something in common.

They were just people. Powerless people who have not done anything to be killed. Innocent people who have nothing to do with this fight. Scared people that couldn’t move even one bit under this constant pressure.

So I won’t let any one of them just behind, getting a hold of everyone one by one to only send them away one by one.

Even James… that bastard that I presume brought those fuckers inside the school. I’ll handle him another time but even he has to get outside of the building.

And ironically, the last two people I reached were non-other than Felix and Gina.

“Laith!”

“Laith, you okay!”

“Better than ever! And off you go!”

ZIIP

I could see everyone that I sent outside standing right next to Keyser, outside of this barrier.

Good. Now I ca-

“Don’t get carried away!”

Shit! I forgot that I was supposed to keep running before he could catch up to me-

“-HEEEE!”

SWU-CLANG

The sword’s edge missed my neck as I leaned backwards. But it still hit the metal on my shoulder, letting me understand how much the difference between our strengths really is. He seems to be on the very edge of ascending to the next realm.

This is bad.

ZIIP

“What? How did you do that? What is going on!”

A teacher inside another classroom was screaming at me most likely out of fear from seeing the flying little blades going all around the school. And having a student they knew just appear out of nowhere in front of them may not do any better.

“Laith! Why aren’t you answer-”

“No time.”

ZIIP

And the teacher vanished into thin air, making the scared expressions of the students in the classroom much more prominent than before.

“Can’t believe Mr Helmut still does his extra 10-minute lesson during lunch break even after he got scolded for it.”

“What the hell did you do to him?”

“I send him outside where it is safe. And I will do it to yo-”

“LAITH ARSLAAAAAAN!!!”

Shit…

Change of plan! No more talking. Or else I’ll just waste time, letting Niklas catch up to me.

Just like now. There was no time to explain anymore, letting everyone almost shit their pants right before I transported them out of the barrier.

ZIIP

And just as the last one got warped awa-

BAAM

“UGH!!”

“Don’t you dare run away aga-!”

ZIIP

Argh… that fucker may have hit me with one of the greatest straight-right punches besides Gramps. That even knocked me out of the building. If it wasn’t for the blades flying through the building, I might have clashed against the barrier, which gave me an awful feeling.

“Huh? How did you get here?!”

Huh…

“Wait! You…”

“The leech?”

“The rumours were true?”

Noisy. I don’t have the time nor the will to deal with their comments, leaning forward to grab the first student that is about to get warped but…

“BLURGH!!!”

“Oh my god!”

“Iiiigggh!!”

“Did he just throw up blood?!”

Fuck. it seems the punch from earlier did create some internal injuries.

This fucker is too strong! If his attacks are strong enough to get through my weapon body, then how the hell am I supposed to rescue everyone? At this point, I’m not sure if I can even help mys-

No. I have to. Remember Laith!

No more regrets.

“Sorry…”

“What do yo-”

ZIIP

ZII-ZII-ZII-ZII-ZIIP

And I cleaned up this place as well. It seems that I had just enough time to bring everyone here out of here.

But now, he is coming again.

“So you wanna get beat up again?”

“No. I just wanna do my job.”

“This is futile, Laith. The moment your little bitch gets captured, this mouse and cat game will end just like that.”

“Hahahahahahah!”

Seeing my nonchalant expression, it seems like Niklas became uneasy. His expression was that of confusion, anger and… confidence?

“What’s so funny?”

“Just the fact that you believe I’m the stronger one.”

“Don’t make me laugh. That girl is only a level 3 at best while you are almost a level 5.”

“Well, I have to say you are right about that. But you didn’t forget how fights between awakened works, right?”

“No…”

“That’s right. The only reason I got so strong was by chance. This girl instead is the true genius between the two of us.”

I wasn’t bluffing. If it wasn’t for the Orichalcum I had to absorb, I would most likely still be at level 2 maybe 3 but this junior of mine was already a level 3. This growth rate is just astonishing.

And to top it off, her ability is way better than mine and that is because it is her ability.

It is her ability to affect reality like a dream. And after all the time I have spent with her, the thing I know the best about her is that she is a perfect dreamer.

So try me, Niklas.

ZIIP

Try to stop me while waiting for help.

ZII-ZII-ZII-ZII-ZIIP

Because she will be the one that will stop you.

The same classroom.

The desks were slightly out of order.

The blackboard still had the chalk on it.

The windows were as wide open as ever.

Yet there is one fundamental difference from its usual appearance.

Because all the students in Laith’s and Alyssa’s class would never study in this classroom.

Now that it was in flames.

The desks that were out of order were slowly melting, the blackboard charred with the marks of the exploded chalk on it and the windows were dyed with the smoke coming from the flames.

“Oh no~! I forgot the meat! We can’t have a barbeque without the meat!”

“Don’t you dare mock us!”

SWISH

A cut precise enough to almost cut away the other arm of Walter. Yet he was lucky enough to have two level 5 aides with him.

But even that wasn’t that much of a help. The difference here was that unlike normal awakened that usually need time to reach another level, these aides of the families were special trainees selected to then be strengthened by soul-eaten drugs, enhancing their Will.

But although it might sound like an advantage, gaining more Will than your existence can handle won’t make you stronger. It only gives the person more energy to spend on an ability that hasn’t grown the same way.

This made Frank a level 2 and Dinis a level 3 when it comes to their understanding of their abilities.

So it wasn’t impossible to see them getting pushed back.

“Are you sure you are here to kill me?”

“Hah!”

SWISH

“Wind blades again? You do realise that…”

Purple smoke formed around Alyssa’s hands as she held her palm in front of her. And before the blades could even pierce the armour, the shape of the blade changed, getting pointed at Dinis who was about to throw a couple of needles at her.

“...this is pointless.”

“How the heck can she counter my strongest move like that!”

“She is at most a level three but whatever her ability is, it let’s her almost be as strong as young master Niklas.”

“You two, shut up!”

“Yes, young master.”

“Yes, young master.”

‘This is pointless. She counters every projectile we throw at her and anything we do with our weapons gets either repelled or won’t even get through that armour of hers. I guess we have no other choice now.’

“You two, eat it.”

“But sir, we have orders that we can only use them in an emer-”

GULP

“You imbecile! Have you forgotten the orders of the head?!”

Dinis seemed shocked that Frank just swallowed something like a pill without any hesitation. And as Dinis’s shocked expression was pointed at Frank, he only looked back with more conviction.

“I only follow the young maste-ARRRRGGHHH!!”

But that conviction wasn’t enough to stop him from feeling the immense pain coming with the pill. It was obvious by now that this pill is an item created by soul eaters.

A prototype. But definitely from them. That would also explain what was happening to the loyal fool in front of them.

One word.

Horrendous.

The only way to describe it was horrendous. His body bulked up as if growing more and more. Skin turning in different shades and colours all along. His face became more and more unlike one of a human’s.

‘It’ seems to try and find the perfect shape.

Yet before it can finish finding its proper form, it halted. Or to be precise, it was forced to stop. Pink-violet clouds surrounded him as if to cover up his whole body. No…

To cover up his current state. To stop the event that is about to happen.

And Alyssa stood there, arms stretched forward and every part of her body currently forcing every bit of power out of it. She was struggling since her effect on reality wasn’t limitless.

Alyssa’s ability is something everyone can envy but unlike others, she has to spend a lot more energy on a particular action. If she wanted to create fireballs, she would spend a bit more energy than Walter would do when creating his fireballs with his ability. But the trade-off for doing anything she wants is worth the ability.

Yet suppressing someone that was not only stronger than her in terms of their realm but also someone that is using the burned energy of souls to strengthen themselves further made her use an abnormal amount of Will to only stop him from changing.

But that could only stop him for moments. And not to mention that Frank wasn’t alone, having Walter and Dinis jump at her simultaneously.

Alyssa picked Regina back up to parry the two incoming opponents with her sword.

‘ [parry right one first. Diagonal from bottom left. Grab the wrist of the left one. Throw him to the other one.] this sword helps out a lot! I have to thank my dear again~! ‘

CLANG

Throwing away the needles in his hand, Dinis had to retreat or else that slash could have cut his left eye. But seeing that she then aimed for Walter made him regret his decision even further.

CLENCH

“You bi-”

“You don’t talk to a woman like that!”

BOOM

Crashing into the servant, Walter was nothing else but furious. This isn’t how he planned today.

This isn’t how his brother told him things would go down.

The appearance of another awakened besides Laith and Alexander, the sword outside of the building able to bring out all the potential hostages and burdens and not to forget that armour that makes attacks which would lead to heavy injuries become nothing but a scratch.

“Did your parents never teach you manners? Oh, who am I kidding? I already know that your parents don’t give jack shit about you. Especially after your outstanding defeat last time.”

“SHUT UP, YOU BITCH!!”

VUUM

More flames and water whips. He was furious, driving every bit of Will out to only shoot a barrage of fire, water and wind on her. He wasn’t able to conjure any earth spikes because the surrounding didn’t have enough earth, to begin with.

Alyssa moved around the room with no particular destination in mind. Just stay in this room and all would be well.

BANG

BA-BA-BANG

“Young master! Please aim correctly!”

“GET OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY!!!”

He couldn’t hold himself after being made fun of and getting disrespected like that. The attention he never got from his parents was his sour spot. And Alyssa knew that.

It was a common trait of the children of the big families. Besides the true heir of the family, which is usually the firstborn, the other children were all raised with a severe lack of parental love. Most of them even saw their servants more than their actual parents.

And Walter was one of them.

“I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU!!!”

BOOM

The floor broke in as spikes appeared out of the ground. Alyssa dodged but caught a glimpse of Frank.

He was standing now.

Debris was all around him after the fall but he was standing.

Yet the only reason why Alyssa could identify him was that he should be the only one that could look so…

Inhumane.

Tusks, fur, eyes filled with blood red and arms that were almost as thick as his upper body. He seemed to have mutated. Unknown of what he has become, Alyssa tried to suppress him with her ability.

And although the pink-violet clouds surrounded Frank with even blue lightning crashing against his body.

It did nothing.

And ‘it’ moved towards her.

Imposing steps, breath so strong that it could blow away the wall behind Alyssa if ‘it’ will and an energy outlet that Alyssa never saw.

It wasn’t like the powerhouses she has seen in her life. They had far more Will as well but something was different about ‘it’. Because unlike the higher realm awakened that she knew, ‘it’ wasn’t releasing the energy controlled.

It was as if the energy had no other choice but to exit the vessel. And this wasn’t Will.

“So that pill makes someone transcend their state for a moment… before it dies out from burning up their soul.”

“You are as intelligent as your boyfriend it seems.”

“LET ME GO, YOU LOWLY SERVANT! I’M NOT DONE WITH HER!”

“No, young master. ‘If it comes to the moment where one of you swallows the pill, leave immediately. As young master Niklas said, our job here is done.”

“But I need to see the face of that fucker the moment he sees me raping the shit out of his slutty girlfriend.”

Alyssa was shocked. But not for the reason you thi-

“Ehehe~. I’m thankful that you think I’m his girlfriend.”

She had a screw loose even for awakened standards, blushing in this situation where she got threatened to be defiled in front of the person she values the most.

But it wasn’t the time to get embarrassed. Laith was searching for every human in this building before going to the highest floor and rescuing the last people all while being chased by an enemy he never thought he would face so early on.

‘My dear is putting his trust in me. Don’t get carried away! I’ll just defeat this monster before getting to the other two. I had enough experience in a group fight already.’

But it was easier said than done. Especially since it seems that suppressing ‘it’ wasn’t much of an option but it lead to an understanding.

‘It’ was not in a conscious state nor was it intelligent. Alyssa concluded this because her suppressing wasn’t affecting the realm of her opponents but their minds. Alyssa didn’t have the strength to suppress the realm of other beings yet.

So with her ability to affect reality, when she wished the person’s realm to be suppressed, in actuality, they would just lose the ability to show their full might. For awakened ones, having doubt and losing focus can lead from sloppy control of their Will to even not being able to use their abilities.

Yet since ‘it’ still had its energy outlet going wild, she concluded that whatever she did now, she had not the satisfying amount of Will do what she intended to do.

“‘Frank’! Go kill her! Let’s go, young master.”

Dinis ordered before running away. Now in this empty room with nothing but the two left, Alyssa readied Regina and stood in a defensive stance just before she…

Ran away.

“I won’t fight something that’s bound to die!”

ROAR!!!

‘It even screams like a beast. I first have to catch up with the other two. I can’t let them get to Laith while he is trying to warp every person outside the barrier. And ‘it’ seems to just be in a berserk state. If it was following verbal orders, it would have reacted to my abilities somehow…’

SWISH

A mouse and cat game started like this as Alyssa was chasing the two that were trying to find Niklas as the monster formerly known as ‘Frank’ chased after Alyssa.

I heard a crash! Did something happen in the classroom? I should have been able to bring everyone on that side already out but I can’t stop but worry. It’s a miracle already that the building hasn’t fallen into pieces by how many times Niklas came right through the walls.

BOOM

Like right now. Seriously what is his problem?

“Why are you always running away? Am I that unwanted~?”

“AAAH! Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! Please don’t kill me! Please don’t ki-”

ZIIP

Last one out. All that’s left is the third and last floor where the principal was fighting. I’m not doubting his abilities but it seems like he has his realm suppressed.

“At least spend some time with me. I swear that I won’t kill you at that time.”

CLANG

“Why would you even say that after lunging at me with your sword.”

“Nice daggers. Must have been expensive~! Too bad that they will be broken by the difference in our strength!”

VUUM

Again with that pressure! If I only stay like this, getting pushed back, then he could break Skia. Skia isn’t meant to be held under pressure and all the other weapons aren’t meant to be used so closely.

So I let go of Skia and dodged to the side as I got Ladrao, the shortsword, in my right hand while grabbing his wrist with my left. Even if he tried to pull his arm away, he would only pull me with him, not being able to stop me from trying to cut his wrist with Ladrao.

But before I could reach him, he parried with only one hand on his sword. Even if he couldn’t use all of his strength on his sword, the sheer amount of pressure was still a bit overwhelming.

And as we stood there, not even moving an inch, we reacted to something at the same time.

“!!”

“!!”

Wait! What’s this!?

Something is approaching us and it seems…

Not human.

“So it was earlier than I thought. Still no problem.”

If gazes could kill, his head would have been exploding countless times by now. I was staring at him with deep, hidden anger rising from places I didn’t know could have such anger.

“What is that thing?”

My voice may have been calm but coupled with the fact that Will was unconsciously leaking, making my runes glow slightly and releasing a lot more pressure than before, it seemed more like a threatening statement rather than a question.

Yet, this couldn’t shake him in any way.

“Something not meant for now at least. Well, we do have guests now so why don’t we entertain them!”

He stepped back while twisting his wrist to free himself from my grip. I could use the situation of getting pulled in, not thrown through the air so eventually, I had to let go.

Closing in with Orage, I went for his legs while he parried only to then aim for my shoulder.

A back and forth was created with me switching between different weapons at hand.

But that beast was approaching even faster and it was then when I realised what Niklas meant with guests.

Alyssa was chasing Walter and the other servant while she was getting chased by that thing. And if it continues, they would eventually reach us here. So it seems that they planned to have Frank become this while getting to me.

“You didn’t want to kill me so your little brother can get the kill?”

“Of course! I dote a lot on my little brother!”

“Wow! I’m so…”

VUUM

Stahl appeared right between us and as I spun around, Niklas moved aside as if he knew exactly that I wasn’t aiming for him.

“Get him!”

BOOM

Walter screamed at his servant to pounce at me but that obviously led to him getting hit by Stahl right at his right temple, making him fly through the wall out of the building.

“WHAT!! USELESS!!!”

“Oh please, cry me a river! He had it coming if he was to just blindly attack my dear.”

“Seems you couldn’t keep them in check?”

“You think I could with that? No way! Hahahaha!”

Seeing Alyssa casually standing next to me made me feel slightly relieved. But that was it.

“Help me out, will ya?”

“Sure thing, my dear.”

VUUM

Pink-violet clouds surrounded my body as I stood there. We understood that Alyssa could suppress someone with her ability. So then we also tested.

What happens if she tries to strengthen someone?

And the answer, for me at least, was something unexpected. Our first guesses were that someone would only become more efficient with their Will since creating more Will is impossible unless using life energy.

But instead, what happened shocked even Granny the moment she understood what happened.

So now being covered by these clouds, I advanced. And even seeing the worried face on Niklas made me unconsciously go even faster.

“This is to ear- Stop her from supporting him! If this goes on any longer, Frank will be-”

“Too late!”

BANG

A fist right at his face.

But not only his face. Walter was also hit right on his nose, making him fly further than Niklas did. Yet I never went to either of them. Or to be honest, I did and didn’t at the same time.

See what these clouds do is help a person understand something about their abilities that they couldn’t before. Alyssa’s wish is to raise my realm and since she can’t give me more Will without a sacrifice, her abilities try to boost my understanding.

As far as I know, the thing I had to learn and understand first was what I realised on the first day of Granny’s training.

Unpredictability.

And it wasn’t just simple unpredictability but something that even knowledge of the future could tell.

That’s as far as I could understand from my boosted self. Thanks to Alyssa, I can use a part of this understanding but will never learn from it. As if you push a button to do something and only see the result.

This leads to our current situation where two different me’s appeared and hit each Peltro right in the face. That was because whatever that Unpredictability is, it makes me able to appear at multiple places with different actions.

And that is how I could hit the two with a simple punch while heading to that thing. And as I reached it, obviously…

ROOOOAAAAAAR!!!

It was furious seeing someone weaker than itself closing in on him so quickly. Maybe there is still a sliver of Frank inside that thing as well that reacted to his master flying away.

But either way, it was clear that it was angry at me, throwing its massive fist at me the moment I was in range.

But as if it was instinct, I vanished and reappeared next to him.

Multiple times with different weapons.

Skia pierced the left eye and shoulder of it. Or at least it was aimed at that place but the daggers weren’t sharp enough to pierce its thick pelt. But at least the eye got damaged enough.

Orage though could pierce the pelt much better, letting me dig on its right arm before kicking off the ground, spinning around its arm and creating a circular wound going around his arm.

Ladrao also pierced the beast but unlike the arms, the pelt was much thicker around its stomach.

So Stahl came with a big swing and hit Ladrao right on its end like a chisel, pushing it far enough to damage its liver slightly.

The thing didn’t know what to do. There were multiple enemies and its mind seemed to not be intelligent enough to understand how to defend against all of us.

So it was thrashing around its abnormal arms like a gorilla

But that was a mistake.

Since it seems that Orage was able to pierce the monster, cutting the tendons behind his knees was easier done than I thought, making the beast fall, pushing against the ground with its ginormous arms.

“Laith!”

VIIUU

CLA-CLALALANG

The clouds disappeared as the other Laiths vanished and the weapons each one held fell to the ground… which either means that Alyssa was already at her limit or she had to focus on something else.

And it hasn’t been two minutes yet, her current limit, so that only means that she was being attacked again.

And seeing Niklas pulling his arm and shoulder back right in front of her with that difficult expression made me hurry up even more.

So I threw one dagger at each of the two, trying to separate the two from each other but…

CLANG

Walter parried it!? Not to mention he even grabbed my daggers, snickering at me from where he stood.

…

Perfect.

ZIIP

BOOM

“Fuck! You despicable-”

“Relax~! You pulled back just in time to not kill your little brother, didn’t you?”

“Laith?! How! I could swear that he parried your knives.”

“It’s fairly easy to understand.”

Taking out a small blade hidden between her armour pieces, I showed her that small blade stuck right between her shoulder armour pieces.

“It was all thanks to a very throughout pla- stop blushing…”

Seriously. I just touched your shoulder and you are already blushing? Isn’t that a bit weird because you are the one that sneaked into my bed for the last months?

“Hahaha! You two can even flirt during a fight? I knew you were special.”

“Why thank you, mister Niklas. But I do not have the time to entertain you anymore nor do I feel the need to do so. Goodbye.”

“NOT AGAIN!! I'LL TEAR YOU TO PIECES!!”

ZIIP

So annoying that Walter. Does he know nothing but to scre-

What the actual fuck!

“Alyssa! No time to waste! Go get every person that you find on the third floor.”

“What! Why the ru- SHIT! Alright!”

We rushed off as soon as we saw the fight between the principal and the dozens of masked warriors that were keeping the principal at bay.

That was something I didn’t think was possible. The amount of Will the principal currently has was way smaller than he usually does while just drinking tea.

It was growing more and more but in this current state with the multiple hostages and injured people he believes he needs to protect, this may as well end in defeat sooner or later.

He can’t unleash his ability as well it seems. I’m not sure what it is but whatever it is, it will help in fighting these bastards since Gramps hinted once that the principal’s ability is suited for combat.

Let’s see. There aren’t as many people on this floor as there were on all the other floors. About 30? Thankfully, this was as many as I can handle before that bastard finds me.

If my guess is right, he is gonna catch up in fifteen seconds to two minutes.

“Laith! Here are other people!”

“Hold them with your left hand and let me see them!”

Alyssa lifted someone with just her left hand as high as she could. I had to see the person so I could cover the space they were in and warp them.

Although I have gotten extremely fast and efficient in warping, I can’t just use my Will to sense every part of a thing quite yet. I can make a mental picture but not like my other senses so it’s not a sense I can use in actual combat.

ZIIP

ZIIP

ZIIP

ZIIP

ZIIP

ZII-ZII-ZIIP

I went around as fast as my legs could carry me and warped everyone out of here. I was thankful for luck being on my side for once. But something was off.

“Alyssa! Boost!”

A pink-violet cloud before jumping into the air, even without a foothold.

Since the ground beneath me just caved in.

“There you are, Laith!”

“Just leave me be!”

Stepping on the faces of the three that just broke through the ground at the same time, my multiple selves pushed them back down before appearing next to Alyssa.

“You ready?”

“I don’t know if I can keep boosting you and fighting at the same time.”

“Then change of plans. Don’t boost me but the principal.”

“That’s not possible. I can’t boost him like you since he most likely has already reached the peak of his understanding. What he lacks is his Will.”

“Then let’s go help out as well. One less burden and he should be able to defeat the rest.”

“You want to fight [Illustratus] realm goons? You aren’t sick, aren’t you?”

“Then let’s get the principal and ditch this barrier.”

“There is the smart Laith plan! I’ll look for other people while you distract the three of them by yourself for a time.”

“Got it!”

Wait! Did Alyssa just make a smart decision?

What the fuck?!

Whatever! No time to think about her actual intelligence. I can tell that those three are about to get up again and this time, I won’t have the power of multiple clones with me.

I wonder why that technique even worked on Niklas. If I can connect the dots properly, I may as well find out how to truly understand that technique of mine.

BOOM

Here they come!

CLANG

CLA-CLANG

Deflecting incoming needles and blades, I threw Walter and Dinis off course. My eyes locked on Niklas who was observing me. His eyes darted to multiple parts of my body as fast as they could, trying to get any detail engraved in his mind.

I was surrounded.

I had almost no chance of winning this.

My eyes had nothing but anger in them. A crazy feeling.

Yet my lips only formed a smile that I only know when I get excited to fight. A smile beat into me by Gramps. The smile had a meaning.

To smile even in the face of death. To smile even at your last moment.

Because that smile shows your own choice and to never regret your past.

And I do not regret my past right now. My choices, my actions and my determination while going through all this. It was going through my mind at this moment.

I wouldn’t be here if I had finished Walter off for good.

I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t act on the day Walter appeared in class.

I wouldn’t be here if I never made that agreement with Big Sis Ange.

I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t taken Gramps’s hand the first time I met him.

But I regret none of them!

So smile, warrior! For you have started to walk.

You were given training that every person would kill for! You were born with such crazy affinities! You have met people that will help you out with deep love! You have connections that would be impossible to gather in just a month!

So smile, Laith! For you have started to walk with wings on your feet!

So smile, Laith! For you should show them how you fight!

And when these thoughts that came from a place in my heart that even I wasn’t aware of shouted with such a strong voice, I started to shout.

“HAAAA!”

VUUM

I am filled with Will. My mind is set and my weapons appeared one after another besides Keyser.

Skia, Orage, Disparo, Diana, Stahl, Ladrao, Fangs.

The worry on Niklas’s face grew slightly but that was all the reaction I could get from them. But did I care? No. I started to enjoy this. So screw all the other reasons and show me how deep your emotions go!

“Walter! Dinis! Attack as planned!”

“Yes, Brother!”

“Yes, young master!”

And they soon dashed towards me, with a sword in Walter’s left hand and needles in the right hand of Dinis.

And as they came closer and closer, I grabbed Skia and stood in a defensive stance. But I didn’t parry, block or counter.

I just went with my daggers and aimed for Walter’s neck. He was already in motion and it was hard to dodge or block my attack by now. So Dinis had to run in between each other and take that fatal hit with his back.

That is if my attack would have hit him. But no.

Like a snake curling around its prey, my arms curled around his body before I pierced his abdomen with the two daggers, creating a fatal wound right in his guts.

Leaving my daggers inside his gut, I pulled my right arm back and opened my hand wide open for Stahl to land on it as I called it to me immediately before swinging it horizontally only to be stopped by earth spikes that Walter just created.

Pretty sturdy, I have to admit. But that won’t stop me in any way. Even if Walter was creating more spikes beneath me.

ZIIP

It would only throw Stahl in the air as I have already moved next to the two of them with Orage already in my hands. And its blade was only millimetres away from cutting off the other hand of Walter but before I could do so, the needles in Dinis’s hand came to my eyes.

So ducking as fast as I could, I used the butt of my spear to first hit Dinis on the side of his head to then proceed to pierce his right foot and jump away from the new spikes with the spear still piercing his feet.

And as I spun around Dinis’s back, my eyes were glancing at Niklas.

He was the only one I couldn’t read. The other two were too easy to understand and my ability made it easier to fight them but what I couldn’t understand was what Niklas was planning.

The scariest kind. The ones that plan cautiously and predict your every move.

Ladrao appeared in my hands now as I went for the feet of Dinis and slashed them away before cutting his eyes.

SWUSH

“AAAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!”

My blood was boiling, my heart was racing and my mind was screaming. But I felt great! I was on a high I couldn’t explain in any other way than…

“Fighting maniac!”

“Hahaha! I seem to have gotten a nickname now! HA!”

Answering Walter with laughter, I threw a couple of blades from Fangs before…

ZIIP

“Where!”

“HA!”

CLANG

“Keough!”

Oh! It seems like Niklas can’t wait and watch anymore, interrupting my heavy swing with Stahl from the air. I let go of Stahl, having it get thrown behind Niklas. I warped Skia back to my hands, ready to pierce him as my eyes focused only on him.

With Will shooting him forward, Niklas reached me before I could prepare to act though, slashing with his Will-filled sword.

Too bad I can warp away at any moment. I can’t propel myself as he does with pure Will yet but I can move to Stahl and jump from the massive hammer.

Flash step. Something I was unable to use because of the long preparation time. But now, there was no up. No down, left, right.

Only one target. And luckily, I was already in that position the moment I warped to Stahl.

So I vanished from the spot, reappearing right behind Niklas with the two daggers pointed at his ribs while Stahl fell faster. But Niklas seemed to have caught on way before I warped, already turning around and pointing the tip of his sword towards my eyes.

Fangs split up meanwhile and came at Niklas from every direction. This was not only to have as many options as possible but to also show him.

That he can’t see the future. Only predict with what he knows. And whatever it is, I will be outside of his prediction, making my moves.

4 cm until his sword pierces my eyes. Niklas’s face had confusion written wide open. How was it that I didn’t teleport yet? What did I really plan? Where was I going to be next?

1 cm until his sword pierces my eyes with my daggers way far away for him to get hit in time. I’m a bit taller than Niklas but my arms won’t make up for the length difference of our weapons. Niklas’s eyes were now moving from one point to another, trying to find a weakness.

2 millimetres. Violet lightning slowly started to appear around my body and the daggers in my hand. This made the confusion on Niklas’s face disappear. His eyes were focusing on his surrounding more than on myself. That was until…

10 micrometres. A 100th of a millimetre. You could say that it was impossible to warp away now since the tip of the sword was already impossibly close to me.

1 nanometre. The sword tip was about to pierce my left eye and Niklas watched in astonishment, not realising.

ZIIP

That I was gone now. This whole ordeal was making my sensory receptors go wild, making me believe that time was slowing down on an extreme level.

But I wasn’t near Niklas in any way nor was Skia in my hands.

But Stahl.

BOOM

And with a big swing just like a golf club, I hit Walter and Dinis and threw them off the building.

And so they flew off with Niklas only being able to watch on from the air. But he couldn’t stay distracted for long.

Since Stalker was still aiming Skia at his ribs.

Yes. I left my armour in the air with the two daggers and warped my body alone to Stahl which was falling towards Walter already thanks to my Flash Step.

This was all so I could get his eyes off my weapons and watch as his last two pawns were out of the picture now.

And to finally get a good wound on him. And although he could parry one of the two daggers away, Stalker pushed the other dagger that was crackling up with purple lighting around it right to his ribs, piercing his lungs for sure.

“Laith!”

ZIIP

“How many?”

“About 5 here and one I can’t reach.”

“One you can’t reach?”

“The principal’s secretary. She is unconscious right on the battlefield. Any move and I will get hit.”

“Then let's move!”

I looked at the principal and it seemed like his strength was slowly coming back to him as he was fighting all these elite warriors.

Yet his recovery is too slow to say that he will win. And if Niklas has something up his sleeve, then I can only do one thing and that is to get everyone out of here, even the principal. This meant that the moment the barrier is down, they can get away before the Association members are ready to capture them.

Niklas would have prepared at least this much. That bastard…

“Alright. Try to tell the principal that he should get the last person and come to me as soon as possible.”

“Okay.”

SWUSH

And she dashed towards an impossible fight for her, trying to deliver a message with her life on the line. I’m sorry, Alyssa.

ZII-ZII-ZII-ZII-ZIIP

I finished warping the last five people before sitting down for a bit. With my dagger filled with Space element piercing his sides, Niklas shouldn’t be able to recover as quickly as possible since although it is only a tissue wound, it will take months to heal something like this.

But that won’t kill him. An awakened can even move his Will to make up for organs that have been damaged.

But that will take him about ten minutes. I should be saf-

“I didn’t want to use this but…”

What?! When did he?

SLASH

I dodged at the last moment but that weirdly shaped dagger still pierced my right ankle cleanly.

That clean wound should never be possible unless it is a weapon of a higher grade than [Uncommon] as my body has become a weapon on that grade.

So that means that this weapon is soul-eaten. Since Niklas was still unable to use any higher-graded weapons.

“You are more dangerous than I thought, so it left me no other choice but to try and kill you yet you even dodged that! What a waste of two artefacts.”

As he said that, a cloak and dagger were visible only for a second before turning to dust in front of my eyes. A one-time-use weapon? Those are worse in the sense that they can overcome the difference in realms only once by burning up the souls inside the weapon.

Shit! What the hell was that dagger? What effect did it have?

“Oh well. Having you out of the field for a long time won’t change my plans by a lot and the moment you recover, it will already be too late.”

“What are you talking about?! What have you done?”

“I just use the cloak to hide from all your senses and tried to kill you with this dagger that can even hurt the soul.”

!?

That bastard! Just how… HOW…!?

“HOW MANY PEOPLE WERE SACRIFICED FOR JUST THAT ONE DAGGER!?”

Casually shrugging his shoulders, he looked at me with a victorious smile. That bastard! I was furious for a reason!

“About ten thousand?”

“W-w-what? You? Ten thousand?”

“Oh yeah! This cloak was cheap as well for only a thousand. These effects are worth way more than the price to pay for them.”

“...they had family…”

“What was that? What did you just say, Laithy boy?”

He didn’t hear my mutter. So that piece of shit isn’t even regretting his actions!

“How dare you! They were people! Humans! They had dreams! They had goals!”

I was no hero. I wasn’t someone that would sacrifice himself to save strangers unless it was my responsibility or I profit from it.

I was no hero. I won’t be that kind of person.

But I know that life isn’t cheap. I’m not a believer in second chances or any sort of that but I know that these people didn’t deserve their souls to be burned away.

They were only unlucky.

And that thing called luck was half of my anger.

With the other half being right in front of me.

VUUM

“Oh! Just like a hero! You would fight injustice the moment you see it!”

“Shut up!!”

VUUUUUUM

I don’t know where exactly my emotions came from but they were currently running through my body with the Will as their driving force. The more I felt, the stronger my outburst.

But my right feet. I couldn’t feel it. It must be the effect of the dagger. But was that really something that would hold me back?

No.

No!

Just walk up to him and give him what he deserved!

“Orage…”

I had Orage in my right hand, using it as a staff to keep myself balanced. And with this crippled right foot, I moved forward. My eyes filled with scorn aimed at Nikla- no. at this beast that didn’t realise the price others had to pay for him.

I took a step. And my surroundings grew darker.

My weapons slowly floated. This wasn’t like usual where I use my Will to move them around.

They responded to my feelings. To my soul. And it was this response that was what made Keyser outside shake like an erupting volcano as it responded to my soul.

“Are you sure you want to fight with that leg of yo-”

ZIIP

Not just me but every weapon besides Keyser which was outside and Orage which was used to keep me on my feet were pointing at Niklas with nothing but my soul's connection driving them.

“I should have listened to the principal. I should have killed Walter then and there…”

“But you were too sentimental. You are smart but too emotional. It is a dangerous combination especially since awakened are driven by their strong emotions.”

“And that will be my downfall, not yours. And don’t even think about using your weapon.”

I said as I saw his hand go to the hilt of his sword. But something in me said that whatever he tried to do with just that sword won’t work.

“Even if I wanted to use my sword, I can’t possibly kill you now that you have so many weapons aimed at me. And besides…”

“Laith!”

“Shut up!”

“Alyssa!”

What the fuck! How could it be that Alyssa got caught by someone like Walter? He was supposed to be knocked unconscious by Stahl. How was he able to stand not to mention overpowering Alyssa and keep her locked between his one arm?

“You didn’t think that I was the only one who had an item filled with souls, did you? That was my plan all along. Bait you into thinking that Walter and Dinis were out of the game when in actuality, Walter was still alive and kicking.”

“Then how is it possible for him to overpower Alyssa? It is impossible.”

“Now why should I tell you?”

Fuck… how did it come to this? When did it come to this? Where did the first mistake appear?

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

“Hahahaha! That’s it! Where did your smile go now, Laithy boy?”

“Shut it! Both Walter and I have hostages. If you want to live, then leave Alyssa out of the picture.”

“Oh, that would be the case if both were in the same situation. But unlike me, who has still power and options, your little helper there has lost her powers just like Alexander.”

“But she wouldn’t get caught in such an obvious attempt to drug her.”

“That’s why Walter has been drugged as well. Letting a grenade filled with the realm suppressing drug explode while being covered by a cloak was the only way he could have done that without getting found out beforehand.”

“So your ability has far greater insight than a simple prediction?”

“What says my ability is prediction?”

“Obviously because you were too prepared, you also realised how my boost-up mode was too dangerous, even for you, and the fact that I could see your openings but they vanished as soon as I tried to act according to them.”

“You are truly too smart to be left alive.”

A standstill again. But unlike the first time, this was where I have no options.

It’s checkmate.

“So? Want me to just release you because there is no other option than to stand like this?”

“Oh no. I know that you won’t be able to kill me. But you can be ruthless as well so I at least want to have my limbs intact.”

“What do you propose then?”

“Oh, nothing. I just want to wait like this.”

“Stalling time for the principal?”

“That was my goal all along. Knowing that there were more awakened beside the principal made me act next to our elite warriors. And having far more elite warriors from other families would only make Alexander suspicious as well as hurt the pride of the Peltro family.”

“I would love to stay like this but I know that it will only end badly for me so…”

“MAKE ONE MOVE AND I’LL BREAK HER NECK!!”

“Try it and you will die in the most agonising way possible!”

VUUM

“Leave it, Walter!”

“But brother!”

“Just leave it!”

Grumping as he listened to his half-brother, Walter held Alyssa still locked in his arm. I have no idea if Walter is truly drugged but I can’t feel Alyssa’s Will at all.

It wasn’t gone. It was more obstructed.

“I didn’t want to use this as well but today has already been an expensive day so…”

“GRANNY!”

What!

She was there! Akiko Eguchi! She looked at me with a stern look with which I could only reply with a smile.

The third [Caelestia] realm awakened. Akiko Eguchi.

Although she is only third, saying she is only third is a ginormous underestimation of her powers. Because she has the power to restoration. This means that she can revert any effect that happened to a certain degree.

If Alyssa had the power to create an effect on reality, Lady Akiko had the power to reset said effect.

And now she was touching Keyser with her right hand.

“If I hear any sound, I’ll let Alyssa die!”

“I wonder who would be faster… a [Caelestia] realm awakened or your [Mortalis] realm brother?”

“I guess I really have no choice.”

“What do you-?”

ZUAP

He... warped…

HOW!?!?

Don’t tell me another fucking item! How far did he prepare?

“I know what you think. Let me be honest here, I have one more device to teleport and…”

SHING

That dagger!! No!

“ONE MORE TOOL TO SAY GOODBYE!!”

“NOOO!!!”

SHHHUNK

No…

Alyssa got stabbed right on the side of her stomach.

No…

No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!

“NOOOO!!!”

BOOM

“YOU BASTARDS!!”

I took every weapon I had with me and attacked Niklas as he left the dagger in Alyssa’s stomach and jumped back, taking Walter with him.

I stopped right in front of Alyssa and held her between my arms.

ZIIP

“What happened.”

“Soul weapon that stabbed her stomach. I’m not sure if any organs got injured critically but that weapon is a one-time use that damages the soul as well. I got hit with it on my right ankle as well.”

As I said this, the dagger that was still in Alyssa vanished, making her wound bleed even more.

“Then give her to me right now.”

“You have to help Alexander first.”

I wanted to swallow these words. I wanted her to treat Alyssa as soon as possible… I wanted Alyssa to just open her eyes and…

I just didn’t want this!

But if Alexander falls here because of my selfishness, then I won’t forgive myself either way.

“Please… kill his opponents first and then bring him and the unconscious person to me.”

“Alright. And about tho-”

“They are mine…”

That’s right. They are my prey.

Thanks, Niklas. Thanks to you, the one thing I thought was too heavy to say.

I just said it easily.

Because right now, my hatred exceeded my beliefs. And all I wanted right now is you dead by my hand.

“Fast… I can’t stay still for long…”

VUUM

“Growth is important but never step over the line.”

BOOM

BANG

As fast as she disappeared, she reappeared with Alexander and his secretary in her hands.

“Thanks, Granny.”

“What happened, Laith?”

ZI-

“Laith! Do-”

-IIP

Gone. I’m free to let loose now.

“Haaah… I… I-I-I’m sorry…”

I started to bawl out. Just like a little child.

BOOM

Lady Akiko hit the barrier as hard as she could but against the powers of so many souls, even she couldn’t destroy the barrier without putting everyone around her in danger. And besides, Alyssa had to be treated first.

Alyssa…

Why do you hurt so much?

I don’t know. Maybe seeing that I am the reason for this makes me only hate myself more.

“Are you still going to cry like a baby?”

“Seriously. Brother, did we really ge-”

“Keyser…”

Silence.

And a beautiful Kilij appeared in my right hand. The handle, the blade and even the small runes engraved across the blade.

I missed you.

SLASH

“DODGE!”

BOOM

I missed you, my dear friend.

So why don’t we ignore everything and start to show who we really are?

Because I’m now not only sad but also excited.

My first kill is coming!

And it will be the one that brought it up on himself!

So I swung my Kilij.

RUMBLE

And the space around us rumbled, shaking according to my swings.

I then took one step forward.

And the world around me vanished, becoming dark as the starless night sky. And the only things I saw were…

Those two bastards were now looking at me while almost shitting themselves.

What? Do I look different? Do I remind you of something? Do I remind you that you have to pay a price for everything?

So why don’t I just take a single step and be in front of you? Why don’t I just slice at you with such precision that you will feel the pain yet won’t have such a great injury?

Maybe I should try to slice them just deep enough to reach the pain receptors. You know, just cut as deep as the Dermis part of the skin.

Right, left, left, up, sidestep followed by a diagonal left, down.

Hey! Where do you think you are trying to go? I was so in the groove of slicing.

“You realise that this is nearly not enough to repent for your sins, do you?”

That was when it was the first time I heard something.

“Please… spare me…”

“You must have heard it a lot of times when you raped all those innocent girls while killing off their boyfriends or parents whenever they tried to help their loved ones.”

SLASH

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!”

“Maybe now you should be able to understand it.”

And off it was.

The other arm. The arm that held Alyssa before she got stabbed by that other…

“Why aren’t you moving?”

“Should I really run away from a monster that could easily traverse fifty metres in a single step?”

“Says the real monster.”

I don’t like it.

I don’t like the fact that Niklas stood there with a smile. It wasn’t an honest smile. It was a smile to hide away the negative emotions. But if you can have such a smile, you are determined enough to fight.

So I really don’t like this.

SLASH

So stop smiling. You can dodge all you want. You can predict my moves all you want.

You won’t be able to handle me if I just appear behind you and cut off the tendons of your feet anyway.

“!?!”

“What? You thought you could seriously predict me forever?”

BANG

And so I kicked him away. He flew far until his back hit Walter who was still in shock from losing his other arm. Walter’s eyes were still in a daze but Niklas looked at me just as I looked back at him.

“You really became a monster… I guess my work here is done…”

“WHO THE FUCK IS A MONSTER!!”

SLASH

CRACK

I slashed with Keyser at the side, hearing something crack. But I couldn’t see what it was.

Oh well… not my problem. I just had to kill those two and it will be all over.

“See you in hell!”

That thing in his hand? No!

“NOOOOOO!!”

I won’t-

ZUAP

Let you…

No. who am I supposed to kill now?

No. how am I supposed to pay them back for stabbing Alyssa?

Why couldn’t I have made better armour for her? Why couldn’t I have her by my side instead of sending her away to talk with Alexander? Why was I so sure that Walter was out of the picture?

Why!? Why was I so cocky in this fight?!

ROOOOAAAAAAARRR!!!

I screamed out loud, almost like a beast. Maybe it was like a beast.

But now, I feel tired. So I’ll sit down and calm down. That is all I can do now since I can’t feel anything around me anyway.

And the more I calmed down, the more my vision cleared up.

And the more I could see the anxious looks on everyone’s faces. Even Granny looked at me with worry.

What happened?