Nine waited outside the boundary of the organisation's headquarters. Maybe it was because they were overconfident about their organisation being watertight, and thus no one would leak the information, but the training grounds and the headquarters were located in the same place.
All the better for them. Although it might make sense so that the higherups could instil a sense of loyalty in their recruits, it was a bad idea in the sense that should they ever be discovered, the outward forces could take out the whole facility in a fell swoop should they have enough power.
Nine wasn't taking part in this little exercise this time, leaving it to her students. They were in desperate need of some real-life experience so they could put their training to use. Fighting monsters and Magic Beasts was all good, but at the end of the day, fighting humans with their lives on the line was different.
She shooed Subject Twelve towards her students as they snuck into the underground facility.
She sent Seyton and Shade in together with them in secret to avoid anything out of the unexpected happening. As Nocturne made to follow them, Nine tugged the back of Nocturne's shirt, pulling him flush against her.
Nocturne's brain ceased functioning as he registered the soft warmth radiating from his back. He struggled to control his face from lighting on fire.
Disregarding Nocturne's struggles, Nine inspected Nocturne's body, only feeling reassured when she got back results that said nothing was wrong. The way he reacted to Subject Twelve had been concerning, and though it could easily just be fear, she knew that the voice at the back of her mind wouldn't shut up until she confirmed for herself that he was fine.
Nocturne stayed as still as possible, his heart practically exploding out of his chest, realizing that Nine was lost in thought. He didn't want to make any movements, overt or otherwise to remind Nine that he existed. The happiness he felt was practically spilling out of him. Luckily, no one else was around to witness this.
Nine eventually realized that she was still in a compromising situation with Nocturne, causing her to release him and step away.
Nocturne desperately missed the warmth that radiated from Nine's body, but he controlled his expressions to maintain neutrality.
"Mm," Nine murmured, looking away from Nocturne, who was unconsciously giving her a look reminiscent of a neglected wife.
°•°•°•🐢. . . .
Todd Dominique was impatiently walking along the corridor, annoyed at the fact he had been held up by the higherups. Every time he was summoned, he always ended up getting abused by them. It was like they didn't understand that progress wasn't made in a day.
Because of this, he always ended up unintentionally going harder on the recruits. He always felt bad about it afterwards, but what could he do? Honestly, they needed this boost anyway, or so he tried to reassure himself.
After the death of Subject Twelve, which he unintentionally killed, he had to take a lot of flak from the higherups who railed him out. It wasn't his fault, though. How was he to know that she would die just like that?
…He lied. He did know she would die, but he just lost his temper at that time. How could a person just be so useless…? It was the first time he had taken on the training task, so it couldn't be helped he lost his temper a little. He was still a good person, but he thought that if they kept looking at him like that, he would lose his temper with them as well.
Subject Twelve had dragged the whole group down, with all of them helping her out. It only made sense that he got rid of the burden so that the herd could move on, right?
Right.
In an even worse mood with the reminder of his loss of control, he kicked open the door to the training room harshly, greeted by the sight of eleven indifferent faces. Just the sight of it curdled his blood. To think that they used to be so cute.
Now, they all just reminded him of Subject Twelve whenever he saw them. They carried the same indifferent face, as if trying to deliberately remind him of her every day. Day in and out, he almost couldn't handle them anymore.
Sometimes, he woke up from his dreams of ripping them apart limb from limb, but he had to stay his hand. The higherups were already unhappy that they lost a potential recruit. Apparently, she had some sort of seer bloodline or some nonsense.
Everyone knew that such things were fake. There were no such things a seers or prophets. Fate was controlled by their own hands, not set in a linear path. He scoffed, almost feeling glad that he killed her. If the higherups ever started relying on her, then her position would likely be above his own.
Subject Three hid her glare from the instructor, biding her time. The day they graduated from training, she and the others would pay a 'friendly' visit to their instructor. Killing wasn't forbidden amongst members. So long as they had the strength to back it up, they were allowed to do as they wished.
The moment they filed out of the door to return for the rest of the day, the entire place shook. The ground trembled under their feet, but they managed to stay upright due to their intensive training.
The same couldn't be said for their instructor, however. They secretly curled their lips at the sight of incompetency the man showed. They didn't know how he could have been an instructor, if it wasn't for his prowess as a mage. It was obvious that he had obtained his position using some connections.
Their eyes were cold as they scanned their surroundings with indifference, categorising the earthquake as an enemy attack from the surge of magical energy above them.
Instantly seizing the chance, Subject One to Eleven immediately jumped on their 'instructor' before he could get to his feet. Subject Seven shoved his dirty sock inside the disgusting man's mouth, preventing him from speaking any spells.
Todd snarled as the brats started attacking him. Immediately, he scrambled off the ground, keeping a distance from them as he spat out the disgusting object from his mouth. With no time to lose, he started up a spell, casting a barrier over himself.
With that, he grinned nastily at Subject One through Eleven. Like this, he would be able to explain himself to the higherups and his brother, allowing him to get away scot-free with nary an injury on himself.
The dagger that Subject One threw at him was too late, bouncing off the barrier a split second after he formed his shield. Todd secretly wiped off the cold sweat that soaked his back at the close call, feeling proud of his quick reflexes. He smirked at them, eyes flashing with superiority. What could they do now, with no magic to help them?
Luckily, magic was only taught to the recruits once they passed their training and took their oaths. Without any training in magic, there was no way for them to dispel his barrier. He could take them on all day without breaking a sweat.
Laughing, Todd cast the Third Tier spell, Flame Burst, which caused damage over time through the use of burning flames. Without magic, they would be unable to put out the magically induced fire.
Subject One to Seven watched with barely concealed horror as their siblings burned, letting out a scream of pain that echoed in their hearts as Todd played with them, killing them off from the lowest rankings up. They desperately threw their weapons at Todd, but none could penetrate the barrier that had been erected.
The smell of burning human flesh etched itself into their minds as their family burned in the narrow corridor. The bodies left behind were beyond recognition.
The flames of hate and sorrow burned bright in their eyes as they were once again helpless as they watched their family die in front of their eyes.
As Todd locked eyes on Subject Seven, Subject Six's eyes flashed with terror, throwing herself into the path of the Flame Burst, taking the spell for Subject Seven.
Subject Seven screamed as Subject Six started burning, her choked off scream as she scorched, before she resolutely withstood the pain.
"No! Six!" Subject Seven screamed out, knowing that his girlfriend had taken the attack for himself.
"I love you, Seven," Six said with her dying breath. She struggled with all of her strength to throw herself towards Todd. The flames burned and scorched, causing a painful death.
Todd grinned at the desperate play put on by the two, enjoying every second of it. He even allowed Subject Six's body to hit his barrier before he casually cast away her burning remains.
Subject Seven let out a scream of anger as he reached out desperately, disregarding the fact that the magical flames would be contagious. He didn't feel like he could live without Six.
Todd clicked his tongue when he realized that his killing order had been interrupted.
Subject One darted forward and held Seven to himself, his eyes prickling with tears.
"Run!" he shouted, jerking everyone else into action. As the leader, One had a responsibility to uphold.
Seven struggled in One's hold, reaching out for Six.
Subject One slapped Subject Seven hard, shaking him. "Wake up! Do you want Six's sacrifice to be in vain? We still have to come back and take revenge! We won't stop until we can kill that bastard!"
Seven wept, staggering as he ran after the rest.
Todd grinned as he leisurely chased after them, akin to a cat playing with a mouse. He was immersed in his game when he heard a voice.
"Oh? What's this?"