Kaiya:

you want backup?

Li Chunhua sighed. Kaiya could always be so dramatic about these things.

Chunhua:

No. Please prepare for the scouting mission

Kaiya:

you sure?

i could lend you a hand

Chunhua:

Focus on the mission, Kaiya

Kaiya:

alright alright if deon kills you its not my fault

Kaiya was sweet and helpful whenever she wanted to be; however, while she was sweet most of the time, she was also unhelpful for the same amount. Chunhua laughed to herself remembering this one time. Last year, they had thrown a surprise birthday party for Professor Hei—it wasn’t actually a “surprise” because someone accidentally told her (Kaiya). Someone also forgot to fetch the custom-ordered cake so Xavier had to fetch it last minute (Kaiya). When the party was over and it was time to clean, someone ended up falling asleep on the couch and refused to wake up (Kaiya).

Naturally, that someone spent the next few days apologizing and getting on Chunhua’s good graces again.

It was memories like these that she took for granted. She thought she’d long for these days years from now, sitting at a lop-sided table drinking tea and reminiscing about her youth. Not now, when she was at her prime. Perhaps this was the treasures that her elders had, the jewel to look past on fond years and regret that they didn’t do more.

That she…

No, she’d rather not focus on those thoughts. After all, she had to reach out to him and see if he was ready. Deon Griffiths, the Vice Class Representative of A2, who practiced great defense magick.

According to the others, Deon was at the back of Sun Hall for no apparent reason. Maybe to find someplace quiet; Ordo University was never quiet, but it was near-impossible to find a place to yourself now. For Deon, who was a “brooding introvert” as Victor teasingly called him, he thrived on the lack of social interactions. Well, that wasn’t being an introvert and more of a hermit, like Sage.

Chunhua walked to the back, passed a few people carrying boxes, and they were right. Deon was sitting underneath a tree wearing his heavy armor, his iron fingers clawing at the dirt. He was an African-American man, standing alone at around one-hundred-ninety centimeters, with short dark hair and night eyes. A large man, capable of wearing burdensome white armor and wielding a greatsword.

Of the four B-Ranks, he had it the worst. Chunhua, Kaiya, and Victor were all on campus trying to defend against the attack.

Deon was at Ordo University Hospital, volunteering. During the initial assault, it had a distinct lack of capable personnel who could fend against the monsters. According to the survivors, it was a madhouse. Monsters were coming in from every door and window, people were slaughtered, patients, the helpless. Deon managed to corral survivors to the fourth floor, boarded up the windows, did everything to barricade themselves.

He alone fought, hearing screams above and below him, knowing he couldn’t do anything but defend the people he knew he could protect.

When the Army finally liberated the hospital, they found Deon leaning against a wall gravely exhausted, surrounded by dead beasts. Of the four B-Ranks, Chunhua thought, he might be the strongest out of them. Victor said Deon was aiming for Royals; it’d be a great fit for him, Royals. Chunhua and Kaiya wanted to apply to Martials, and Victor wanted Angels (ended up fighting Alexander due to a conflict over Leona).

Happier times, Chunhua thought, happier times.

She approached Deon, standing a few meters away and he didn’t seem to react. “Deon.”

Deon didn’t open his eyes, but he tilted his head slightly in her direction. “What?”

“Have you chosen a team yet? For the mission?” It was practically suicidal to fight alone for any reason. One of the basic fundamentals for Slayers was teamwork. Only a few could survive alone. Survive long, that was.

He nodded. “Yeah.”

What could she say? She wasn’t as good as flattering others like Kaiya, nor was she excellent at consoling like Professor Hei. “What are your thoughts? About the operation against Pereyra?”

“My thoughts? They don’t care about what I think,” he spat, digging a finger into the dirt. “We’re the grunts here. We don’t have the experience or the smarts to come up with a scheme to kill Pereyra. But we can sacrifice ourselves for Ordo just like a century ago, when we drafted kids like us to fight wars.”

Alongside his introvertedness was an unapologetic cynic—he called himself a “realist” (“That’s what they all say!” as Victor would comment)—Deon was a good man. Behind his demeanor, anyway. He was a nihilist but he had a heart. So, right now, it hurt to see his negative outlook be dialed up to eleven.

Chunhua frowned and shook her head. “It’s volunteer-only. We have the choice to opt out. You could’ve chosen to stay—“

He opened his tar eyes, glaring. “I’m not going to fucking stay.”

“Then don’t complain about sacrifice when you chose this,” Chunhua retorted.

Deon laughed, scratching the ground. “I thought you came here to fix me, Chunhua, not berate me. I’m right though; our lives matter little—“

“I came here to see if you wouldn’t be a burden on your team.” Chunhua crossed her arms. “As far as I can judge, you’re more combative than usual. Conflict is the last thing we need, Deon—“

“What do you expect from me then? Huh? Do you want me to act like there’s nothing wrong with the world when people are dropping left and right?”

“That is not what I mean—“

“What is it, then? Do you want me to throw parties and celebrate that our friends got torn to fucking pieces?”

“I am asking you to at least be cooperative! To be a part of the effort, not against it!” she shouted over him. “You are not the only one who suffered, Deon. Do not act like you are special for suffering when we all have; everyone now knows the feeling of loss more than ever—“

“Shut up, you of all people don’t get to lecture me,” he blurted. “Victor has his head stuck up his ass, Kaiya’s too much of a bum—“

“You don’t mean that.”

“And you always pretend that you know what you’re doing, you don’t. I heard about what happened with your class, Chunhua.” Deon’s gaze pierced her, and she bled anxiety. “If you’re asking me to be cooperative, then you need to be useful.”

Chunhua’s breath hitched, and she tightened up.

“I can’t say I understand you, but maybe if you lost Kaiya, then you’d understand my position—“

“Kaiya has nothing to do with this conversation,” she muttered. “You are lashing out, Deon. You’re angry—“

“Yeah, but at least I’m rational.” He tapped his head. “I’m not deluding myself like you.”

Chunhua stammered something, then shook her head. “Don’t say these things. I will tell Professor Ichiken—“

“This isn’t fucking elementary school—!”

“This is about our lives!” Chunhua exclaimed, shouting over him again. “Your life is not the only one that matters; it’s everyone’s, everyone in Systemic Works. What is wrong with you? You’re being so unreasonably selfish right now, I don’t understand—“

“Of course you don’t.”

“I am not saying I do, but that doesn’t matter. If you cannot handle working in a team, then you don’t deserve to be a Slayer at all—“

“Excuse me—?“

“It’s true,” she reiterated, “if you continue to be argumentative, you will only be a burden on the others. What happens when your negligence will lead to another of your classmate’s deaths—?”

Suddenly, Deon jumped to his feet. It was surprisingly fast considering how heavy his armor seemed to be. Chunhua instinctively stepped back; she always forgot how large Deon was. “Don’t fuck with me, Chunhua.”

“I am not fucking with you,” she said, firm. “You are doing that to yourself. Victor tried to reach out to you; he failed. Kaiya tried and she failed too. And myself? Frankly, I always resented how pessimistic you can be, Deon. I approached you hoping that you’d be of a right mind to fight, and you are. You are fighting everyone you see.

“If you want to participate in this mission, fine, I don’t care, but do not drag your team into your self-pity. Fight by yourself. No one will save you if you get hurt. It is exactly what you want.”

Deon gritted his teeth. He had nothing to say. Chunhua took that as a signal to leave then; what a disaster this had been. She thought she could appeal to him, but she should’ve known better. Her own emotions came in the way; whatever, she will speak to Professor Ichiken after this. It’ll be his decision to allow Deon to participate.

Chunhua frowned, seeing if Deon had anything else to say, and he didn’t. As she turned around, she noticed his shadow fluttering on the ground, and she heard the familiar whine of metal flowing throughout the air. Immediately, forest leaves blossomed from her body as she avoided a surprise punch.

Softly, she pressed a hand against Deon’s outstretched arm. With her other, forest leaves propelled her arm and smashed her palm into his solar plexus, or where his armor would be protecting it. It didn’t matter. She had used [Torrential Leaf Drop] of the [Nine Palms of Tranquil Forest], an unarmed combat style. It focused her qi into a single, piercing point.

Deon was launched back into the tree he was sitting against earlier, his head knocking first into the trunk before he slid down. He was moving though. Chunhua was holding back; at full power, it'd be possible for his armor to break and he'd be temporarily paralyzed. If Deon had used his defensive magick, he would’ve taken it with hardly a scratch.

But… She was disappointed. She never would’ve imagined that he’d try such a dirty trick. “You are fortunate that I am the only witness, Deon. The others would be ashamed of you.”

She left, leaving her friend there. If he had any self-awareness, or the capacity to change, then he would. Maybe not all at once, but enough to contribute to the collective effort. If not, then that too will be his choice.

A part of her knew that his words, although painful, were also right in some sense. She had faced an intrinsic aspect of herself and was forced to acknowledge it: the possibility, or rather reality, that she was not as competent as she originally thought. It plagued her. More than she was willing to admit.

Only Kaiya had a sense of how deep the wound went. During the initial attack, a majority of Class A1 was sparring outside of Field Alpha. Then the insects came, and everything went dark, and there were screaming. As the Class Representative, it was her job to hold everyone together and provide leadership.

It didn’t work exactly as planned. She froze, stunned, horrified by what she saw. No one knew what to do. Some recklessly enough ventured further into campus. Some tried to stop them knowing it was safer to stick together, some froze just like her, and they found themselves under attack.

Chunhua tried to give orders but hardly anyone listened over the ensuing chaos; not even she could hear her own voice. The orders were ineffective and too late. The situation rapidly changed and her mind couldn’t begin to process how fast their day had changed. It was only when Kaiya took control, managing to unite everyone just enough so they could maintain their position.

Then Professor Hei came, and they’d be alright.

It was a shameful time. Chunhua was not the natural born leader everyone thought of her as. Everyone’s perception of her had changed, herself included. For her incompetence, several of her friends were either missing or dead.

That was something she would have to live with, she thought. You could divide your memories like that: the ones you cherished, the ones you regretted the most.

She sighed. She needed to hope Operation Scorcher went well.

~~~

“Berating you takes my agency, yet compliments I must give: you are, in fact, a valued and treasured fiend of superior levels, Pereyra,” said Wonder, who must’ve had a smile after Pereyra had informed him about the latest mission that those humans in Ordo University were planning.

They were going to investigate locations with a high monster concentration; they will not find any traces of their foe unfortunately. Nothing but wasted effort. They’ll discover that soon enough, so let them despair.

Pereyra, however, was despairing whenever he had to speak with Wonder. “Yes yes. My trust in you is admittedly low, prideful one, take care in management, like a fragile glass. The human children are crafty, yet they are human, yet they are children. The fact earns your acknowledgement, thus earning your attention, your effort.”

“Yes yes,” Wonder mocked, “I am aware. I am gravely and dearly aware, yes yes. Speak of time, as Ikeya had so reminded, we lack. Speak of manpower, the contrary. To speak of ‘humanity’, absent. Of the human children lies within them the poor, aching hearts that shed human tears and human lies and sins and virtues as their so-called ‘God’ or gods had given them, yes.”

Pereyra frowned. “Your point?”

“Oh, my friend, my dearest friend, fellow servant of the Great Kreutz, servant of Sirius Aethfell, the Lord of Many, I beckon you and come to my proverbial knees that you surely, absolutely feign excitement and indulge me.”

“No.”

Wonder huffed and turned. “So be it. My point is proven, my intentions are said: the human children will receive a gift from the miracle that I am, Wonder, servant of the Great Kreutz, servant of Sirius Aethfell, one that reignites the tragedy executed, one that forces the execution of tragedy.

“Let them investigate and witness death, of the flesh tormented.”