The engineer in charge of the stopwatch froze in place. His gaze never left the time displayed on the contraption in his hands. Wondering what Malachi’s result was, Levi took a peek as he was the nearest person.

However, unlike the engineer, Levi took a few steps back upon seeing the result.

“Care to share what you saw, Levi?” Said Malachi rather arrogantly, seemingly knowing about his result already with the smirk he was sporting. “I’m quite ‘curious’ about the result.”

Levi repeatedly opened his mouth, unknown whether he had to voice to say it.

“Twelve seconds…?” Another answered for Levi, but it wasn’t Malachi. Alexa gave an answer, but she was unsure about it. “That… That was approximately 12 seconds, right? My counting shouldn’t be wrong.”

Malachi’s smirk became a grin, and the engineer and Levi could only nod in return. Indeed, Malachi was able to achieve a record of 12 seconds with his strange execution of the kill house. Even more so for his strange behavior and mutterings as he ran through.

‘Even the chant had carried over,’ thought Malachi, ‘but then, was I subconsciously chanting—or, rather, thinking about it as I commanded the squads years prior? Now that I’m conscious about it, I suppose I should put it into practice soon.’

Malachi turned his attention to the two girls, and gestured for them to… try… and beat his record. What was supposed to be training has become a competition for all interested parties. Arlianne and Alexa stared at the young man before them grinning widely—as if mockingly—with his challenge.

///

The next day, Malachi gave his class a training schedule. In the mornings, Class 13 would be running laps with Shyama. After lunch in the afternoons, they would be drilled in the kill house and firing range to improve their records and reaction times respectively. After giving the schedule, Malachi had his class carry it out while being overseen by Arlianne.

That morning, while the rest of his class ran for their lives, Malachi went to the library to read up on their mission’s target: the Hell Worm. He approached the librarian’s desk situated near the entrance to request assistance.

“Excuse me, do you know where I could find a book about the monsters inhabiting within the kingdom?” He asked, “We have a mission coming up and I’d like to learn more about the subjugation targets.”

There was a swivel chair behind the desk with its occupant facing away. When Malachi voiced his question, the occupant spun around to greet him. Malachi, though, was in for a surprise.

“Oh, hello, Malachi.” Greeted the librarian. It was a woman with long braided hair and a pair of eyeglasses. “You’ve grown, haven’t you.”

“M-Mi-Miss Clara?” He replied in disbelief, “Weren’t you supposed to work at the arena?”

The librarian, Clara, was the same person who worked as Axton’s secretary in the capital city’s arena. Even though they rarely met back then, Clara always watched the children’s exercises before the Fire Ant incident.

“It shouldn’t be surprising, though?” Replied Clara. She rested her chin on her palm as she spoke with a smile. “I mean, the arena was destroyed and the chief got transferred here. Since I had nowhere else to go, all I had were my skills and my love for reading. Axton put in a word to have me work here.”

“Did everybody in the arena come out okay? I mean, apart from the drill master’s arm.” He asked. Malachi frowned when he recalled the people he met and the Fire Ant incident. “Did they also get transferred here?”

Clara smiled at his concerns.

“They’re okay,” she answered, “though, most of them were soldiers and were transferred to other garrisons. The civilians, like me, got new jobs in more clerical positions within the kingdom. His former Majesty, His Highness Eleazar, took the initiative to get us work. Your grandfather is a truly great person.”

Malachi hurried to cover her mouth.

“Hey!” He whispered, panic in his eyes, “So you also know, huh? Be careful about blurting that out. Nobody outside should know about my lineage.”

Clara giggled.

“Calm down,” she said, “There is no one here. Nobody visits the library at this time. If there are, it would only be a handful.”

Malachi retreated and massaged his temples.

“Back to business,” he continued, “can you show me a book or not?”

“Rather than show, I’ll lead you there.” She answered. Clara stood from her seat and left the desk. She gestured to Malachi to follow her as she led him through the shelves to his requested location. Although, Malachi raised a brow as he noticed her rather sultry movements. “You’ll find everything about the monsters in these shelves. The mission was for a Hell Worm, right? I saw it in the mission rosters assigned to your class. Here’s a book compiled by the past cadets and soldiers about the Hell Worm.”

Clara handed Malachi a thick book from the shelves. It was evidently heavy as she, and Malachi, needed to use both hands to lift it.

“Damn thing is heavy,” he commented, ” ‘Monster Book’ huh? Someone got lazy in the naming department. No fancy flairs or anything like that?”

“What did you expect?” Said Clara, “It is an encyclopedia of the kingdom’s monsters. There’s no room for anything fancy, especially when it was written by cadets and soldiers.”

“Eh, thanks, anyway,” he said, “Guess I’ll start reading.”

Malachi went to a nearby table and plopped down. With the book on the table, he flipped to see if there was a table of contents and found the page where information about the Hell Worm was written. Opposite of him, though, Clara sat down.

“You need something, Ma’am?” Asked Malachi.

“How does it feel to be alone with an older woman?” Asked Clara abruptly, “Two people of the opposing sexes alone in a quiet place like this.”

Malachi raised a brow. Shocked and confused at the sudden question.

“Were you always like this, ma’am?” He wondered, “Honestly, I didn’t think about it nor did I notice it until you made me conscious about it. Since you said you liked reading, I figured you to be more reserved. Guess I assumed wrongly. Are you a carnivore that delights in eating up men younger than yourself?”

Clara smiled.

“Maybe,” she said, “Despite your age, your looks are very appealing. Especially since you were born from the men of the Royal Family. Well?”

Malachi stood up and left his seat. Clara followed him with her eyes until he went right next to her. Malachi leaned close to her face, bringing his lips to her ear, and sent in a whisper.

“That’s a very scandalous proposition you have, ma’am,” he said, “Truthfully, you are very tempting with your beauty and your figure.”

Malachi slid his hand down to her waist and brought Clara closer to him. She gasped in surprise but smiled afterwards.

“For a kid, you sure know how to make one excited,” she commented.

“Maybe,” he said, “Sadly, I am already committed to someone else. It wouldn’t do well to get into your mission too much.”

“What?” She uttered.

Malachi pulled out a knife from somewhere on her body and brought it to her throat. Having a blade in close contact, Clara became silent.

“Was this a test,” continued Malachi, “Or was it of your own volition? I could also assume you were an assassin or a spy working for another faction sent to kill me, or you could be from another nation entirely.”

“Since when did you know?” She asked, “I was certain that I hid that dagger well.”

“Your movements were unnatural,” he answered, “You were walking like you had something hidden in your clothes. I must agree that you hid it well, but I must say that your movements, no matter how minute they were, gave you away.”

There, a man walked out from behind a bookshelf. He clapped as he approached the two people. Malachi turned his eyes to look, never having the blade off Clara’s neck.

“Gramps? The hell did you get here?” Said Malachi. He retreated from Clara and placed the knife on the table. He had not even noticed Eleazar’s presence. “Did you set me up?”

“Just a curious grandfather, Malachi,” said Eleazar, “Seeing how you know so much, much more than others of your age cohort, I wanted to see what kind of person you truly were. Reports could only give me so much information, and seeing the real one would blow it all away.”

Clara was pouting when she was left alone.

“He deliciously delivered your expectations, right, Your Highness?” She said, “Forgive me, Malachi. His Highness only did this for the well-being of the kingdom. It wouldn’t do good to have an immoral future king, no?”

Malachi stared at Clara.

“Immorality aside,” he said, “Who are you, really? Gramps, the way she acts and speaks, you have your own specialized division, don’t you?”

Eleazar sighed.

“You really are too sharp for your age,” he said, “I have to throw the same question back to you; who are YOU, really, Malachi? From the reports I’ve received about you, none tell of any incident for this rapid maturity.”

Malachi smirked.

“That, my dear grandfather, is a secret,” he said, “A secret that I, too, have no idea what it is.”

“Are you joking right now?” Asked Eleazar, “That statement is absolutely impossible. How can you not know your own secre— you don’t even have a secret, do you?”

“You catch on quick, Gramps,” commented Malachi, “Although, with this, we could say I inherited it from you since you seem to be quick on the uptake.”

Eleazar and Clara stared at Malachi.

“I mean, I am… what do they call me… a Tainted?” Continued Malachi, “I am one born from the union of an Eskur and a non-Eskur. Knowing about both my ancestries’ histories, I needed to learn a lot, as much as possible in the quickest and most efficient manner. Let us say that my… maturity… stemmed from my conviction, so to speak.”

Of course, this was a lie. Even if he did tell his only secret to his immediate family, Eleazar was of another faction entirely.

‘Let’s just settle for this, Gramps,’ he thought, ‘I don’t know if your own faction got infiltrated by uncle’s or by spies from other nations. I can, at least, trust Pops and Uncle Greg to be silent about it even from their own faction. I can’t even trust this woman next to me.’

“Conviction, huh?” Said Eleazar. He looked into his grandson’s eyes, and Malachi looked back into his. Malachi’s gaze did not waver in the slightest. “All right, that is an acceptable reason. It is true that much of the kingdom still remembers the war decades ago, and those of my generation hate your kin for it.”

Eleazar’s gaze finally softened. Malachi, however, still did not break eye contact.

“Gramps, since you’re here, can you tell me everything about my ancestry?” Asked Malachi, “I only know about Clan Skaria being the cause for the Uprising to reach this region. Apart from that, I know nothing else.”

Hearing his question, Eleazar smiled.

“I was wondering when you would ask me that, child,” he commented, “How about this: succeed in your first mission, and only then I will tell you about Clan Skaria and your other grandfather. Come find me in my office once you finish submitting your mission report. Until then, have fun with Clara.”

“With pleasure, Your Highness,” chimed Clara, “Please take care of me, Malachi.”

Clara seductively smiled at Malachi, but he ignored her. Malachi returned to his seat to read the book, and Eleazar left the library. Despite Clara’s presence, Malachi was unperturbed with her advances.

“Tsk, you really are a loyal man, aren’t you?” She commented, “Well, fine. If you have any need of information, just come to me, all right?”

Malachi glanced at the woman in front of him, and Clara sent him a wink before leaving him alone with his reading.

“A spy, huh? Reminds me of brother,” commented Malachi, “She left her knife?”

Clara’s knife remained where Malachi placed it, on the table. He took the blade and inspected its construction.

“Pretty light.” He said.

Malachi tossed the knife into the air and caught it with one hand before it pierced the table. He twirled the blade around his fingers, let it spin on the back of his hand, and tossed it again into the air with a flick of his wrist. Except, the knife did not return to his hand.

“Forgot about this,” said Clara, “Nice technique, by the way.”

Clara caught the knife in midair, unknown of when she had returned, and placed it in its sheath on her waist. She smiled and waved goodbye before returning to her desk at the front of the library.

‘I’ve seriously gotten rusty,’ thought Malachi, ‘I didn’t even notice the both of them.’

Malachi shook his head to dispel any unnecessary thought and resumed to reading the book before him.

…

Hell Worm

The Hell Worm is a gigantic, arthropod with a segmented armor-like hexagonal exoskeleton covering its body. It is primarily obsidian black in color, but also features reddish streaks along its body. It has 12 limbs, 8 of which make contact with the ground, the other 4 being used for digging and grasping prey. The average Hell Worm can reach lengths of over 40 meters and heights of over 5 meters.

…

Malachi read the entries for the Hell Worm written in the book. From its physiology to its behaviors and diet. Despite reading the available descriptions, the book itself did not have size comparisons or illustrations.

“Did none of our seniors even bother to study its body?” He groaned, “Not even an idea on how thick its exoskeleton is neither a simple drawing nor picture to know what it even looks like.”

He closed the book and proceeded to replace it on its shelf. Suddenly, there was a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, it was Clara, again.

“Finished?” She asked.

Malachi stared at her for a while.

“Do you have any illustrations or pictures of the monsters in that book?” He asked back, “Just mere descriptive texts won’t help me with the operation planning.”

Clara sighed.

“Sorry, we have none of those,” she apologized, “I’ve seen all of the books this library has to offer, but I don’t recall seeing any one book with pictures. All of the books here can be deemed as boring.”

“Man, this kingdom is lazy,” commented Malachi, “There was a lot of entries in that book, yet none of you bothered to study about them? Even if it was risky, there should have been theses about these monstrosities.”

Clara frowned.

“Hey, watch your mouth,” she scolded, “You may be the Prince, but that doesn’t give you any reason to badmouth your people. You really shou—oomph?!”

Malachi grasped her mouth, and glared into her eyes.

“Inefficient and ineffective people are still useless in my eyes,” he warned, “Rather than protect the deficiencies of your kind, why not improve upon it, eh? You sound like you’re just whining and complaining, but all I see are POS littering the kingdom.”

His grip on her face tightened and Clara’s gaze involuntarily shuddered from fear.

‘Wh-what is this kid?!’ She screamed in her thoughts, ‘This strength is ridiculous! Even his gaze… those aren’t the eyes of a young man. If only glares could kill, I’d be dead by now!’

Malachi’s eyes carried an unnatural intensity coupled with his crimson red irises. The silent library only intensified his threatening atmosphere. Seeing that Clara was about to burst into tears, Malachi released her from his grip.

Clara collapsed to the floor and was gasping for breath, she could not look up at the young man looking down on her.

Malachi sighed and crouched down to her level. He placed his hand on her shoulder, surprising her, and spoke.

“Sorry about that,” he apologized, “Bad habits are hard to get rid of. Sorry for scaring you, but you really shouldn’t be satisfied with this kind of mediocrity. Remain like this and it will soon become a cancer that eats away the kingdom’s strength.”

Malachi stood up and turned to leave. He left Clara where she sat and exited the library. As for Clara, she could only stare at the floor and shiver from what she experienced. Or so one would assume.

“You… Being so aggressive like that,” she whispered, “Overpowering me, then apologizing… What the hell? Such a naughty child…”

It would seem that something awakened from within.

///

After lunch, Malachi headed towards the kill house to meet up with the rest of his class. Entering the area, he noticed a new installment that could be seen from the entrance.

There was a board that listed down names and records of people. Evidently, it displayed the fastest records achieved in the kill house. Below the board was Remi directing the engineers to fix the display. When it finally lit up, Malachi’s name was at the top of the list and next to his name was his 12-second record. Below him were Arlianne’s and Alexa’s names and records, respectively, as well as his classmates’ names and records.

Remi finally noticed Malachi.

“Hey, boy,” she greeted, “That was an insane record you had achieved. Will this be the benchmark for top performers?”

“Who put you up to build this?” Asked Malachi, “I never suggested for something like this.”

“It was the Headmaster’s idea,” answered Remi, “He saw your past and present records, and the records of the others who went through the kill house. Suddenly, he thought about publicizing the records to push the others to improve since he has accepted your proposal to adopt this sort of training for the academy.”

As they conversed, the rest of Class 13 finally arrived at the kill house, and gasps of disbelief filled the surroundings. The gasps of surprise were because of the records board: Malachi’s record, and Alexa’s involvement.

“Twelve seconds?!” Cried a cadet, “Hey! That incentive still stands, right!?”

“Why is Lady Alexa there?” Wondered another cadet, “To be even with Arlianne, too.”

Class 13 was in an uproar because of the seemingly impossible record Malachi had achieved.

“Hey! You sure he didn’t cheat!?” Roared a cadette, “Did you have to make life harder for us!?”

“Bang!”

Malachi shot the ground where Class 13 stood. He glared at the cadets that were making a ruckus about his 12-second record, saying how impossible it was. It must be noted, though, that his eyes were just like what Clara had witnessed.

“Are you complaining?” He asked them, “Heh, no matter what happens, trash will always be trash.”

Out of all his classmates, Patrick was the only one who glared back at Malachi.

“Something you need, Mr. Bryant?” Inquired Malachi mockingly, “Rather than speak your misgivings about the truth, why not turn it around and prove me wrong? Otherwise, you’re all just bark and no bite, and I have no use for fangless dogs.”

Malachi glanced at the Eskurs.

“At least the rabbits have their worth,” he added, “Come on! Where is your so called Perlasian pride!? Why not funnel that hatred you have for my kin into improving yourselves!? You bark and roar all about hating me, yet this is all you can show me!? Pathetic trash is pathetic! Me! A Tainted and a Skaria! I will beat you all down and achieve absolute victory over trash like you!”

“Shut up!” Roared a cadet.

“YOU, SHUT UP!” Bellowed Malachi with unrelenting vigor. His eyes had gone ablaze with rage that even the engineers around them shuddered from his domineering voice. “If you have the time to hate me, if you have the energy to be angry at me…! Why not focus your rage within yourselves and change!? This is why you’re all stuck in this class! You’re all pathetic weaklings and cowards that cannot even move to change themselves, much less change the kingdom through service! Why the hell did you all even goddamned enlist if none of you are even willing to work for it!?”

The entire area had gone silent. Malachi breathed heavily as he finished his speech. He glanced at them one last time and spoke.

“The incentive still stands,” he added, “Achieve a record of less than 20 seconds to earn a few days of rest. Remi, have an engineer supervise them. I need to talk to you about something. Arlianne, try to improve your record as well.”

Malachi left his class in the hands of the engineers with Remi. Remi meekly followed behind him despite being the person in charge of the Academy Furnace armory. When he had disappeared from their sight, the rest of Class 13 could only look at one another before they began to run the kill house. Whatever they felt was unknown to one another, but the resolution in some of their eyes could be seen.

Malachi’s scolding hadn’t been all for naught.

///

“Hey, you should relax already,” said Malachi to Remi, “I’m not angry at you, anyway.”

Malachi and Remi finally reached her office. When they entered, he noticed Remi was silent throughout their walk. Malachi turned to look at the girl, but Remi flinched from his gaze, instead.

“I.. I see,” said Remi, “That… That was surprising… Back there.”

Malachi sighed.

“Sorry, it was because someone I met at the library had the same attitude,” he explained, “It just ticked me off when nobody was taking action for their deficiencies.”

“Library? There shouldn’t be many visitors earlier, unless,” she commented, “Did you mean the librarian, Clara?”

“You know her?” He said surprisedly, “Yeah. I was asking about more information that was easy to gather, considering the monster encyclopedia was written by generations of cadets, but the library had none of what I needed.”

“Oh, right. You had to research about your mission objective,” she realized, “What was it that you needed?”

“The Hell Worm’s appearance through an illustration or picture, its body structure, defensive capabilities, or even mere tips when hunting them down,” he answered, “The so-called ‘encyclopedia’ had none of that, just a description of its physiology and what it eats.”

Remi fell into thought.

“Then why not use this as a chance to study it?” She asked, “Take this chance to succeed where we failed.”

Malachi stared at the little girl for a moment.

“Good idea,” he said, “Although it was a subjugation mission, there weren’t any specifics about how we would deal with it. Right, time to turn all subjugation missions into ‘capture’ missions.”

“Wait, ‘capture?'” She repeated, “Wait, wait! I only meant for you to study it in the wild! Not for you to actually bring it back!”

“But rather than taking weeks, or even months to study it in the wild, wouldn’t it be best to directly get our hands on it?!” He asked back, excitedly, “Since the seniors have given an idea on how it looks like, I just need to take out its legs. Though, hmm, I wonder if the weapons on hand could punch through its carapace? I should assume it would be more difficult than a Fire Ant’s.”

Malachi began to walk back to where they came from while mumbling about his plans. Back, and went for the exit. Remi, startled by his sudden outburst, chased after him and grabbed his leg.

“Hold on, boy! Before that, what was it that you needed from me?” She inquired. Remi had a vague recollection that Malachi wanted to discuss something with her. Reminding him of this, she hoped to have him be distracted enough to forget about capturing the Hell Worm. “It seemed important.”

Malachi turned back.

“Ah, right. Do you have enough space for another shooting range?” He asked, “Specifically, a range for snipers and machine gunners. If I can’t make everybody equal in skill, I’ll just focus on developing their specializations. Besides, we might even have a new division springing up after this.”