Oliver and Hailey merely watched as their peer brutally ripped the head from the neck of the man.
Without a doubt, that man was a criminal.
He was scum who deserved no mercy.
However, on seeing the horrid violence and hearing the demented laughter as their peer performed such gruesome actions, they could not help but to be filled with fear.
"I'm.... glad he's on our side....", Oliver whispered.
Stepping forward, Garett threw the head of the man to the side, holding his hands out playfully.
As he did this, the five other men flinched back in horror.
"Boss...."
"He..... killed the boss...."
"Heh heh..... here's the deal. I'm going to close my eyes and count to 10. And when I reach 10, anyone who is left in my sight is going to die. Understood?"
The crackling voice of the demon flowed into the ears of all present, and at that moment the five men looked to one another in horrified confusion.
"One."
Garett begun a count, speaking with absolute authority as he closed his eyes, leaving himself completely open to attack.
"Hah..... hah!!! You idiot!!! Closing your eyes in the middle of a battle!!! Haha!!! Die!!!!"
One of the elven thugs rushed forward, swinging a club at the head of Garett.
"Ahahaha!!!!!"
The club swung down at Garett's head with immense speed, however with only two fingers, it's arc was stopped.
"Wha-"
Grabbing the club, it broke into wooden shards as Garett didn't move from his spot, keeping his eyes closed all the while.
"Two."
Taking hold of one of the shards before they fell to the ground, Garett threw it like a throwing knife as it landed directly in the chest of the man with such force that a hole was carved out as if he had been hit with a cannonball.
"Three."
The elven man fell to the ground with a look of horror on his face, blood dripping from his mouth as he died without another word.
"Four."
"Agh!!! L-let's get out of here!!!"
"I.... I didn't sign up for this!!!"
"I thought that we were supposed to be taking on a bunch of new students! Not monsters like this!!!"
"Five."
On hearing the continued counting of the student, the remaining four fell back, taking flight.
"We have to get out of here!!"
Running into the brush, they disappeared from the sight of the group.
"Six."
All the while, Garett kept counting, keeping his eyes closed.
Hailey grabbed the shirt of Oliver from behind, shivering as she watched this scene.
"Seven."
"Hey.... Oliver....."
"Y...."
With a gulp, Oliver responded, unable to take his eyes off Garett.
"Yeah?", he said while making an attempt to control his breathing.
"He..... is on our side..... right?"
"Eight."
"He.... isn't going to attack us.... when he finishes counting... right?"
"Nine."
"Right!?!?!?"
Hailey looked to Oliver with desperation, having been completely overcome with fear as she cried out.
"I....."
As he shivered in terror, Oliver couldn't even run.
He didn't know whether or not he should run, but he was too scared to do so.
"Ten."
As soon as Garett said this, the two flinched back, falling backwards as they shielded themselves with their arms.
"D.... don't kill us!!", Hailey shouted.
"P.... please!!"
Opening his eyes and turning around, Garett flashed the two a wicked smile.
"Kill you? What am I, some sort of monster? For what reason would I kill a fellow student?"
"Huh?"
"Eh?'
The two looked at Garett with confusion, but then looking back, they came to a realization.
"Ah...."
"So.... that's how it is....."
"Hahaha...."
"Hahaha....."
The two began to laugh at their own idiocy.
How could they have doubted a fellow classmate like that?
How could they have lowered him in their minds to the point where they believed that he would attack them?
Thinking about it logically, that was ludicrous.
He was protecting them. He had killed the criminals who attacked, and nothing more.
'Why then..... did I feel so scared?', Oliver thought.
'Was it because he was powerful? No.... not just that. It was also because of the bloodlust he had.... even if it wasn't aimed at me... so this is what Gary is like when he gets angry then?'
Standing up, Oliver held a hand out to Hailey, who slowly took it.
'I never want to be on the receiving end of his anger.', both thought.
"Um..... so you're just going to let the others go like that?"
"Ah, yeah. They're not in my sight any more, so I suppose that's it. Anyways, I gotto take a piss. Be right back."
"Ah.... I see."
The two stood up, walking over to the campfire with bitter smiles.
'I can't believe someone so strong was in our midst....'
'No wonder he was selected for the 4th division..... his fighting prowess is ridiculous.....'
To Hailey and Oliver, both of whom had been taught from the moment of their births that magic was in every way superior to physical strength, they begun to wonder to themselves.
Was that actually true?
"It looks like even as warriors.... we might be able to show a great amount of power.", Oliver stated with confidence.
"Y-yeah....", Hailey replied.
The two sat down, awkward smiles on their faces.
They attempted to put on brave faces, as if nothing had happened, but even now, it took everything within them to stop themselves from crying out in terror.
Looking up to Hailey with a crooked smile and defeated eyes, Oliver spoke with trembling tone.
"Hahaha..... it looks like we still have a long way to go."
----
"Huff..... puff..... urgh.... agh...."
"Let's get out of here..... hahaha..... our crimes have been pardoned..... let's..... let's just go back into society and avoid people like that!"
"Y-yeah! There's no reason to take on a monster like that! The boss was an idiot to do so, and that's why he died!"
Four thugs rushed through the forest, desperately trying to escape the elven child who carried monstrous power within him.
"I heard that that school trains their students to become monsters, but we were supposed to be facing new students!! How the heck was that guy a new student!?", one asked.
"I don't wanna think about it. Let's just keep running.", another replied.
The four looked around with terror, hoping and praying that they weren't being followed.
"He.... he said that he wouldn't kill us if we left his sight before he finished counting, right!? He shouldn't be chasing us then..... right?"
One man turned to the others with hope as they ran, and the others nodded in agreement.
"Y-yeah! He shouldn't come after us. After all, he's just a student, right? He has no obligation to kill us! No motive! No reason! Driving us off is enough! Haha...."
"No reason to kill?"
The four were frozen in their tracks as they heard the crazed voice of the student.
"Hahaha... let me ask you this then. Does a monster need a reason to kill?"
"W....."
"Wha....."
Appearing in front of them with his back turned, was a figure which stopped the four in their tracks.
A demon.
A crimson demon.
Horns protruded from his head, and veins lined his own skin like a matrix. Claws tipped his hands, and this demon turned around to show his horrid expression.
Protruding from his smile were a set of fangs, and he licked his lips with bloodlust.
"What..... are you....", one dwarven man barely managed to whisper.
"What am I? Hahaha..... I just said, didn't I?"
Turning around, the demon took a step towards the group, causing them to fall back in fear.
"I'm a monster."
The four wanted to scream, but even that was not an option.
They were too terrified to do so.
Sweat flowed down their faces, and their hearts felt as if they were about to burst.
"W.... wait.... didn't you say that..... you would let us go? If we were out of your sight?"
One man barely managed to spit these words out, and the others nodded vigorously.
"Y.... yeah...."
"T-that's right...."
"We.... we'll leave your sight..... we'll never come-"
"One."
The demon raised an index finger, cutting the four off as they spoke.
"He's.... counting again?"
"Sorry, no. I'm not giving you another count. I was saying one as in, number 1. Let me restart then. I'm going to tell you everything you did wrong."
With a horrid grin, the demon once more raised his index finger.
"One. Did I ever say that I wouldn't kill you if you left my sight?"
As the demon said this, his smile wrapped around his face from cheek to cheek.
His eyes thinned in mocking manner, and the demon looked down to the side, closing his eyes with cackling laughter as he paced.
The words of the demon were then replayed in the minds of the four.
[Heh heh..... here's the deal. I'm going to close my eyes and count to 10. And when I reach 10, anyone who is left in my sight is going to die. Understood?]
Rubbing his hand on his chin, the demon looked up in thought.
"Looking at this..... it doesn't seem like that's the case. I merely said that anyone left in my sight would die."
As he said this, the four were filled with despair.
The demon before them held no such thing as mercy.
He never intended to allow them to escape from the start.
"W....wait..."
Raising another finger, the demon spoke again.
"Two. Did you think that by running away you could escape my sight? Hahaha....."
Bringing his face close to an elven man, the demon placed his clawed hand on the man's head, gripping him firmly.
The man's eyes went wide with fear as he was faced with this creature of chaos.
"Allow me to let you in on a little secret. This entire forest..... no..... this entire world.... is all within our sight."
Gripping the man's head so that the claws drew blood, the demon ripped the man's head off violently, causing the other three to shriek back in terror.
"Three."
Raising another finger, the demon walked back to his prior position, pacing back and forth.
"Even if we count that which is in front of my two eyes alone..... are the three of you not within my sight right now?"
Performing a backflip, the demon drew an arc with his leg, which landed in the chest of a dwarven man, creating a splatter of blood as the man's eyes became lifeless.
"And finally..... four. Even if I did say that I wouldn't attack you... did you really think that you could trust the words of a monster?"
It was then that the two remaining men felt a choking sensation as their throats were grabbed.
Each of the men were lifted up, one in each hand of this demonic figure.
"Did you really think you'd be so lucky that I would let you go so easily? Hahaha... idiots. I just wanted to see you all filled with hope..... just so that I could smash you back down to reality. After all....."
Garett then squatted down, and in the next instant he had jumped.
He jumped high into the sky at tremendous velocity.
The three were thrusted into the air at high speeds, and in seconds they were hundreds of meters high.
"If you shoot for the stars..."
As Garett reached the top of his arc, he threw one of the men in his arms up so that the man flew even higher.
"You don't land on the moon."
Throwing the other man up as well, the two were now screaming as they entered a state of freefall.
"Agh!!!!!"
"Help!!!!!"
Sitting back in a reclining position, Garett begun his own descent with his arms behind his head.
"You simply come crashing down to the earth from a height so high that you're guaranteed to die."
Garett fell to the earth, landing before the two with a pile of dust, after which he stood up, looking into the sky to see the men as they fell to the ground.
"AGH!!!!!"
"STOP THIS!!!!"
"PLEASE!!! AGH!!!!"
And then, the men smashed into the ground, painting the scene red.
"Aim a little lower next time."
The crimson demon then begun to transform, once more taking the appearance of an elf.
Walking off, he smiled with satisfaction as he laughed to himself.
'Heh heh..... well, that was fun. It's been a while since I've been able to do something like that. Although.... it isn't as fun when Ashley isn't with me.'
Heading back to the encampment, Garett popped out of the forest with a smile.
"Yo. Finished pissing. So uh.... I guess the dinner kinda got ruined because of all that. What do you guys say we try this one more time?"
The two looked over to Garett, lightly smiling.
"Sounds good. I'll get to cooking.", Oliver said weakly.
"Mhm....", Hailey added.
Taking a seat next to the two, Garett grabbed the shoulders of each of them.
"How about I do the hunting and cooking this time? I'm more skilled than you think when it comes to this stuff. I'll bring us back some real good meat, and do my best to make a nice meal for the three of us."
The two looked up at Garett, somewhat surprised.
"Are you sure about that?", Oliver asked.
"What do u mean?", Garett replied.
"Well..... you know.... you just saved our lives and everything.... to make you do these simple tasks even after that...."
"Don't worry about it. After all.... killing isn't my specialty. Creating is."
----
Sitting around a campfire were three male students.
The first was a dark elf who had a studious and intelligent demeanor, yet he didn't appear to be 'nerdy' in any way. Rather, he had the cool appearance of a calm, quiet type.
The second was a wood elf with spiked hair who appeared to be somewhat anxious for action, looking around with clear irritation at the peaceful environment.
And the third was another dark elf who had an emo look, with his black hair covering half of his face.
"Agh..... this is really strange, isn't it? Don't you think something else is going on besides just a normal survival activity!? I mean, this is too easy. Especially in a group of six! The others have only 3 each, but they've got the same task right? So don't you think they'd try and make it harder on us?", Edward asked.
"The fact that we have to feed you is a challenge enough.", Victor responded in dull tone.
Nodding in agreement, Griffen spoke up.
"He's right. The more people there are, the more there are to feed. It isn't an advantage or a disadvantage when you're trying to survive. You have more people to work, but also more work to be done. Perhaps that's something they've been trying to teach us?"
"Mmm..... I guess..."
Edward mulled on the hidden meanings of the exercise, however he could still feel like something was missing.
It was then that two girls approached the group.
Both were high elves, and both of the girls had pure white hair. One had her hair tied in two short strands in front of her face, and the other wore a long ponytail behind her head.
These girls were Vivian and Alexa, respectively.
"It looks like Ally is asleep, so keep quiet over here. I don't really know how she can sleep so peacefully in a place like this, and on the ground too.... but whatever.", Alexa stated.
"Well.... she looked pretty comfy..... though she was drooling all over the place....", Vivian whispered.
The two took their seats at the fire, letting out sighs of exasperation.
"Ugh.... it may be easy for you boys, but it isn't that easy living like this. I'd really like to take a shower, but I can't.....", Alexa muttered.
"Yeah....", Vivian agreed.
The five were left to sit around patiently, doing nothing more than waiting for the time to pass.
"The thing that sucks about this exercise is that all we have to do is survive. There's no tasks to complete, nothing!", Edward stated. "It's so boring just being out here without any goal."
"Perhaps that is another lesson we're supposed to learn?", Griffen suggested. "That most of the time when we're in the military, we'll be stationed places without any missions or tasks, but rather just waiting around for something to happen?"
"Ugh..... if that's how it is, then why are we joining the military in the first place? If nobody ever does anything, why do they need more soldiers?"
"Because you never know when people may die.", Victor stated coldly.
This morbid statement caused the others to look at the boy with discomfort.
Knowing that he had killed his own brother, even after hearing their story, they weren't completely comfortable being around him.
While they had accepted his reason, and the reason of Ashley for killing the instructor, that didn't mean they liked it or were completely trusting of them.
"Well.... anyways! We've already had dinner, so take a look at this!"
Vivian grabbed a pouch from her side, opening it up with a bright smile to reveal that it was full of raspberries.
"Me and Alexa picked em wild today, so we can have some dessert!"
"Oh..."
"Great."
"Thanks."
The boys thanked the girls for their hard work, nodding in approval as the food was distributed.
"We know these aren't poison, right?", Victor asked with suspicion.
"They aren't.", Griffen said. "I've done my research on the local plantlife. These should be safe to eat."
With this affirmation, the five dug in.
"Should we wake her for this? Or should we let her sleep?", Edward asked with irritation in his voice.
"Let her sleep. She's worked oddly hard recently. Though, I have no idea how much of a toll on her body her magic takes. But based on how much she sleeps..... it's probably pretty big."
"Hmm..... so maybe she isn't as much of a monster as we thought?", Edward muttered.
"Maybe....", Alexa stated.
The five continued their meal for a while, however it was then that they heard the crunching of leaves and the cracking of twigs.
"Oi oi... looks like we've got some nice ones over here. Haha.... though I'm not sure if we got lucky or unlucky. We've gotto take on the most people, but I guess we also get a couple of women to ourselves."
Exiting from the brush was a short elven man with scars all over his body, and behind him were a number of burly criminals.
The eyes of the students went wide, and Edward immediately shot up, preparing for combat.
"Bastards..... what the hell are people like you doing here?", he asked with disgust.
"Oi oi... those aren't some very nice words. Didn't your mother ever teach you how to speak to adults?"
At this statement, the eyes of Edward were filled with a fiery rage.
"Why you...."
"What's wrong, boy? Did something I say offend you? Ah, that's right. All the students of this place were abandoned by their parents. Sorry, sorry! Talking about your mother..... she probably ditched you, didn't she?"
Edward blew a fuse at this statement, however he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Wait. Don't let him provoke you. If you're going to kill him, then do it right."
Looking back at the boy who said this with anger, Edward stopped himself.
It was Victor.
"What..... you....."
Standing up, Victor and Griffen took fighting positions.
"Fighting as a group is our best bet of victory.", Griffen said.
Vivian and Alexa looked around with concern, however on seeing the boys stand up, they too stood forth.
"That's right.", Alexa said.
"Let's show these thugs that they messed with the wrong unit."