"It was always him... it was never me..... so yes. I killed him."
The dark elf whose hair covered half his face looked up with a dull expression as he made this eerie confession to all those who sat around him.
"He was the one who I should have been looking up to. He was the one who I should've been following. He was the one who always did everything right. I was the one who always did everything wrong. Whenever I made a mistake, they'd make a huge deal out of it. They'd yell at me, tell me that there was something wrong with me.... that I should be more like him."
The boy held his head as if remembering horrid memories.
"But when he did something wrong, they'd say it was because I influenced him. They'd say it was because I did something to make him choose wrong, to make him mess up, to make him..... fail. I was the source of failure, and he was the source of success. That's all I ever was to my parents. And when I killed him..... I killed every bit of success that they prided themselves on."
The boy spoke calmly, slowly forcing the words out as the students listened breathlessly.
It was not something which they could even comment on.
To say something as simple as "You're nothing more than a murderer." would be nothing more than arrogance.
To those who didn't understand.
To those who couldn't understand.
"But...."
Natalia looked up to comment, however as she thought about her response, she realized that there was nothing to say.
"So in the end, you killed him because you hated him? Or because you hated them?"
Garett looked the boy in the eye, to which he looked over in surprise.
"You're not going to rebuke me?"
"Rebuke you?"
Garett smiled as he held out his hand in a grasping motion.
"I'm the last person who would give you a lecture about not killing people. After all, everyone is in it for themselves, right?"
With a laugh, Garett looked around to everyone.
"I've realized something. People.... really are corrupted at heart. They drive others to madness. They like to cling to one another, claiming that they will always be there for each other. People love this fake love. They call it true love. They call it a whole bunch of things. But then as soon as things start to get hard..... hahaha....."
With the snap of his fingers, the lips of Garett curled upwards, ever so slightly.
"That 'true love' is gone in an instant. And all that is left is self preservation. Friendship? It's something that can be ruptured and destroyed. I've never seen a friendship that can't be torn apart. And even if there was one.... wouldn't it just be because that person's pride wouldn't let them break their own word?"
Leaning forward, the whisper of this figure who now took the form of an elf slithered into the ears of the students.
"In the end, everyone does everything for themselves. Me.... you..... her.... him..... but is there anything wrong with that?"
Shrugging his shoulders, Garett closed his eyes, making light of the statement.
"Isn't that just how this world is? Those who have win. And those who don't lose. Those who can take can, and those who can't get taken from. And now the real question. Does it have to be this way?"
"I..... don't think it has to be....."
With soft voice, Natalia spoke her own thoughts.
The once cheerful girl was now looking back and forth along the ground, unsure of herself.
"If..... if we were to all come to an agreement-"
"Is there such thing as an agreement which does not profit ones self?"
Trevor spoke while pushing up his glasses, shooting down the words of the girl.
"The very first and foremost rule of business.... to provide another person something which benefits them, as much as their goods or services benefit you. Isn't that the law which guides all actions?"
"So what you're trying to say is that we should agree with you because it benefits us?"
The red eyed girl who had been distraught moments before looked up with a serious expression.
This high elven female was Hailey- a former noble who had chosen this hell of her own free will, as opposed to being married off.
"Of course. Unless you don't agree that it benefits you to cooperate. In which case.... you are free to follow the rules which the principal and the military set forth."
Looking to the side with irritation, the girl averted her eyes.
"Alright. I got it."
"It would seem that among us, there are many who have endured different levels of having been rebuked, however the fact remains. Each and every one of us have been at one point, rejected by those who we thought would support us without condition. Is that not correct?"
"So what do we do about it? Eh?"
The rough boy who spoke was Edward- also known as 'minus 6'
"Simple. We first become excellent. We prove to this Academy that we are more than just useless garbage that has been thrown aside. And we do it according to their rules.... for now. I am proposing to you a mere alliance, among classmates. We work together to strengthen one another, and when the time comes.... we make our move. When that time will be, I do not know. But for now, simply focus on bettering yourself and those around you. That is all."
At this, many of the students looked to Trevor with surprise.
When he spoke of rebellion, they anticipated that he had some sort of major plan, however instead he merely told them to do exactly what they would have done either way.
'After all.... what use are a bunch of pawns who are not even worth mentioning?'
"Fair enough.", Victor murmured. "If you don't care about the fact that I killed my own brother, then that makes things a little easier on me."
This statement clearly made ripples through some people, however everyone present was able to merely nod at this in agreement.
"Then.... I think we can leave it at that for the night. I look forward to classes with you all.", Trevor said as he stood up.
"Don't think too hard about all this. It'll wear your brain out.", Samantha said with a mature smile.
'And mine, hearing all these useless thoughts.'
And with that, the students left the campfire one by one.
Eventually, only Oliver was left with Victor at the campfire.
Oliver began to clean up the leftovers, putting out the fire and starting to clean up the spit.
"I can't say anything about your brother or your situation. But I don't intend to do anything like that. I can tell you that for sure.", he stated without looking at Victor.
To which, the boy merely smiled.
"I never said you had to. Just the fact that you're not gonna look at me with disgust is enough."
Standing up, Victor began to walk off.
"Look at you with disgust?"
Oliver spoke out to him as he walked off, with a strained expression.
"I can't say for sure what I would've done. So how could I look at you with disgust?"
And then, as if he were spitting on someone, he spoke with complete disgust.
"If I did that.... then I would become someone who I really despised. People who condemn without trying to understand why.... after all, the things Gary said earlier.... they go the other way too, right?"
Victor looked back at Oliver with surprise, but nodded.
"If people are really just in it for themselves.... then they won't just do something wrong for no reason. They have to be driven to it."
"That leaves one question though.", Victor responded.
As the dark elf begun to walk away, the built wood elf continued the cleanup.
"What is driving them?"
Walking away, Victor left Oliver with that simple, yet ever so deep question.
'What is driving them.... eh?'
Closing his eyes and wrinkling his own brows, Oliver thought to himself.
'Pointless greed.... or perhaps even sadism..... arrogance.... placing themselves above others..... there are so many things that people want, and so many ways to obtain them.... and these are all lines. Lines which some will cross in order to maximize their own pleasure. Whether a person is good or evil.... that's hard to define. But one way of looking at it would be where they draw that line.'
-----
The next morning came quickly.
Waking up at a time where the sun wasn't even out, the antiheroes quickly headed to their class, where they would endure another day of living in the Alliance.
"So we've found a group of pawns to manipulate. Great. Now we wrap their minds into a twisted mess, and..... what exactly?"
Samantha looked to Trevor with curiosity as they walked alongside one another, to which the elven figure grinned in horrid manner.
"Should I tell you? Or perhaps I should keep it hidden from you? After all, your mouth is quite loose, woman."
"Wha-!? Loose!? What are you talking about!?"
"I am joking with you. You are quite adorable when you get all flustered like that, you know."
"....."
Samantha merely looked down as the two walked, both in elven forms.
"We are going to mold them into terrorists. And when all the stars align....."
Drawing a line through the air with his finger, Trevor then snapped his finger.
"Boom."
"Does the Determined know of this?", Samantha asked.
"Does she know of it?"
Trevor looked to Samantha with a smile, chuckling to himself.
"She was the one who came up with it. A wretched mind, she has. One which has given everything up for the sake of destroying a single man. Yet..... it is also for the sake of the people of this world. Therefore.... I can say nothing more but to praise her own resolve."
As the four walked forward together, Trevor's voice lowered to become a whisper.
"Her resolve to become a monster."
----
The 15 students now all sat in class.
The casual conversations of the previous day were no more.
After the events of the previous day, not a single person could merely chat casually as they did before. A couple of the students appeared to have bags under their eyes, as if they couldn't get to sleep the night prior.
Six o clock came, the time in which classes were supposed to begin.
"Do.... you think they weren't able to find a new instructor?", Raphael asked quietly.
"No, that isn't possible. There will be a new instructor.", Trevor quickly replied while eyeballing his watch.
"Although..... to think that they would show up late on their first day.... how unprofessional."
It was then that the door to the classroom opened with a high energy.
"AH!! Sorry I'm late, everyone!!! I got lost on the way here, and you know..... you know! So let's get right to it!"
In walked a female elf who had pink hair which trailed down either side of her.
She was young and carried an energetic air around her- one which usually would fill students with excitement and passion.
'Geh. We got a bitch over here.', Ashley thought.
'A shameless woman who flaunts herself around, charming everyone with her nauseating energy.', Samantha thought.
'Her own tardiness appears calculated, which would imply that she is using this as a tactic to increase her own likability among the students. While she gives the appearance of a kind and cheerful instructor, she is likely a demon waiting to pounce. We should be careful of this one.', Trevor analyzed.
The woman walked forward with a kind smile, heading to the desk before grabbing a clipboard.
"Is everyone prepared for class today? I hope that you all have had a good nights sleep.... though it would seem that many of you aren't sleeping very well. Is it because the beds are uncomfortable? Ah.... that isn't good. And your points.... they're all negative.... hmm....."
Closing her eyes, the woman stroked her hand through one of her locks of hair before nodding.
"Well, since I'll be taking over as your new instructor, I'll let you all have a reset. As of right now, everyone is at zero points."
The students merely watched with suspicion as the instructor didn't even bother to introduce herself, but rather got right into matters.
The numbers above everyone's heads became 0 immediately, to which the woman nodded with a satisfied smile.
'Zero.... as you should be. While a negative could imply the worthlessness of someone in another manner, it could also be interpreted through absolute value.... that these students hold at least some worth. We can't have that.'
Samantha grinned as she heard the inner thoughts of the woman.
'Ah.... so she really is a bitch after all? I'm glad that my senses aren't deceiving me.'
The thoughts of the woman who perfectly hid them with a cheerful smile played in the mind of Samantha, revealing everything which was supposed to remain hidden.
'After all.... these students cannot be allowed to think that they are special, even in a bad way.'
"I am Mrs. Elisa, but you can just call me Elisa if you want! I'll be acting as your new teacher from this point on, so it's great to meet so many new faces!"
With a bright smile, the woman addressed the students, however she was met with silence.
'Hm? What's with them? Can these brats not appreciate a kind and loving teacher? Usually the boys are all over me if I introduce myself like that.... but.....'
Thinning her eyes, she looked around the room to see that not a single student was acting friendly.
'Perhaps they can't appreciate my beauty?'
Samantha found herself hard pressed to hold in a laugh, but it was then that the voice of a young man was heard through the class.
"Excuse me, Instructor. What happened to the previous instructor?"
It was Victor who spoke up, and his words brought an immediate tense atmosphere to the class.
The students looked to one another nervously, for the question which he asked carried a deep weight to it.
Ashley, who had killed said instructor, had admitted this before all.
As a result of this, the students had been forced to accept that they were classmates with a murderer.
And so, among these students, this was the final straw.
This was the last barrier.
They all knew in their hearts that Ashley could not have been lying.
To lie about such a thing would be nothing less than madness.
The fact that a new teacher had been assigned to them was further proof of this.
Even so, they were still filled with concern.
Was this school truly as corrupted as the four mysterious students claimed it to be?
This was a test.
A test of transparency.
"He has unfortunately been released from our faculty", Elisa stated with a perfectly straight expression.
As this woman said this, the students understood something.
They understood that the teacher before them, and the principal who led these instructors, had no intention of letting the students in on something so major- something which absolutely should have been divulged to the students.
This statement, combined with the knowledge of the instructors death, could only mean one thing.
There was no way out.
They would cover up any deaths, and not admit such a thing to anyone.
Even if they were to die, not a soul would know.
And this filled the students with fear beyond anything they had ever felt before.
'Are we.....'
'Really in this place....'
'This horrible place.... where people can die.....'
'And nobody will ever know about it?'
Thus, the thoughts of terror ran through the minds of the students.
'Haha..... listen to them scramble, coming to conclusions like that. It's like watching a ball in a ping pong machine as it flies from bumper to bumper, hitting everything without ever stopping to rest.'
With a smirk, Samantha eyed the woman before her, declaring a one sided war which the other party was completely unaware of.
'And you know what happens in ping pong if the ball ever comes to a stop?'
Folding her pristine elven hands in front of her, she sat up straight as her hair fell into line.
Thinning her eyes with a victorious smile, Samantha ran through her mind a number of ways to drive this teacher and these students into the murky waters of insanity.
And then, mouthing the words, as the instructor was looking down at her clipboard to take the role, she made a single soundless statement.
'Game over.'
----
"It's unfortunate, but it would seem that something stressed him out quite a bit, so he decided to take an... extended vacation. And on the first day too..... I hope that he gets better soon, but until then I will be taking over as your instructor. Now then....."
The woman finished checking off the attendance, clearly having already memorized the names despite not ever having been present in the class.
'A facade of unpreparedness to catch us off guard and invade our personal circles. An act of casual treatment in order to ease our suspicions. She knows what she is doing, for certain. However.... she doesn't realize that her opponents know what they are doing as well. Of course.... there would never be any way for her to possibly comprehend the reality of the situation.'
Trevor couldn't help but find himself smiling.
'That four demon lords happen to have infiltrated this class.'
It was an absurdity.
An insane event which not even the most pessimistic of planners would predict.
And yet, it was the truth.
Within this very class, four beings of power- of which those who rivaled them numbered less than what could be counted on a single hand- were present.
"I suppose it's time to get started! Let's begin by grouping you up based on your assigned division. As soldiers, you have to learn to survive even when stationed at an encampment in the wilderness. Therefore... we're going to be headed to an off campus lodge in order to train you all on both your survival skills and your team building skills. Of course, you'll need to perform your studies even while on this trip.... because we're going to be having an exam next week on general magic theory and strategic planning."
The students listened in, most nodding in agreement as the new instructor gave this schedule.
As they did so, the instructor then begun her own lecture, teaching them about proper magic usage, the theory behind it, and so on and so forth.
The rest of the day was spent learning, and each and every student paid deep attention to the lecture, not allowing themselves to fall behind.
'We have to become high level students....'
'We have to become successful.....'
'Both to show our parents that they were wrong....'
'And to show the people of this school.....'
Resolving themselves, the students made one sided promises to nobody, with no purpose other than hearing it themselves.
'We're more than just tools.'