In this story, there are no heroes, only those whose thoughts were recorded in detail.
Now, every movement Alister did was brimming with power, his eyes much more focused and alert, while his body was ready to dodge and counter each strike.
Alister fought with his instincts, body and memories to guide him to avoid the attacks, counter with devastating power, and find the right opportunity to put in a few punches on his own while taunting his opponent to do more. Meanwhile, despite his movements, his eyes were glazed, a distinct lack of focus on his gaze as if his soul was not truly in his body.
In his sight, the school was no longer visible, the present turn of events has disappeared into nothing but a background detail.
Instead, what he saw was a world with skies colored with dark, viscous substance that dripped off from the trees and contaminated the water. No blade of grass was even spared, the sticky, oil-like ichor rendered it an indistinguishable, inky mess. The only thing that could be seen were bodies, battered up and scratched and no longer moving.
He saw memories of anger, of hatred and desire for vengeance, and it resonated with his own troubled life. The desire became a driving power for each of his strikes.
Bam!
Alister launched an uppercut towards the group leader's jaw, its force enough to make the bulky boy bite on his own tongue. a few teeth were knocked loose, and he landed with a thud, bruised eyes glaring at Alister with indignant fire.
"How dare you, Alister!"
It was clear, the boy was merely trying to act tough, but there was no substance behind his threat. So far, he had only depended on his looks to strike fear, and now that it had no longer worked, he was at a loss of what to do.
"Get him!"
Driven by loyalty, or perhaps fear of what may come later, the others in the group of bullies surrounded Alister.
"You are so brave, to hit William like that. Do you want us to break your fingers after school?!"
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
Everyone was shouting, the turn of events stoking their excitement, and some of the quieter students who came only to watch without drawing attention to themselves started to look around, afraid of the teachers coming to investigate the ruckus. Out of the corner of his eyes, Alister glanced at the crowd, watching as a few of them return to their classes, obviously no longer wanting to involve themselves in the entertainment.
The memory still took most of his concentration, and as the remaining four students continued attacking, Alister saw that one of the black ichor-covered bodies were still moving. Alister saw that the body he viewed the memory from flipped the body around, bringing into view a woman with beautiful blue hair that shimmered in the little light. Her eyes were a striking red, just like Zeri's eyes, and a pair of golden horns shaped similarly to a bull's horns rested just above her pointed ears.
"You are... I am so glad to see you... Please save yourself, and bring our dreams with you, too..."
Anger coursed through Alister as light in her eyes faded, and he punched whoever was in front of him without hesitation. During the flashback, he had dodged the attacks and their attempt to surround him, and the boy he punched was launched straight at the unsuspecting, cheering crowd.
Said boy landed on the floor with a loud thud, accompanied by the scared shouts of the bystander students. The sight made Alister flash a cruel grin, and coupled with his now focused golden eyes, it created a terrifying sight to behold.
"Who's next?" Alister sauntered over to the fallen boy, and wiped his bloodied fist on the boy's uniform.
Now that they realized what Alister did was not a fluke, the remaining three looked at each other and gulped in fear. No one expected the thin, silent boy that couldn't even throw a punch before to become a terrifying force.
"What is happening in here?!"
As if prepared for this eventuality, the crowd of students parted, only to show an enraged teacher. When he saw her face, Alister cursed his luck, for it was the infamous Mrs. Lisa, the one teacher everyone agreed to be the least likeable teacher.
The bullies who were still standing were aware of that fact, too, and they immediately backed off from their target. Relief flashed in their eyes, for they saw a way to stop their newly unleashed enemy and stay safe in one fall swoop.
"Miss Lisa, Alister was fighting with William over there. John tried to restrain him, and now look at him!" One of them shouted, and it was followed with noises of affirmation from the other two. The urge to punch them all rose in his throat, but Alister decided to hold his desire.
"What are you waiting for, boy?! Get them!"
Alister recognized the voice, and he glanced to the side from the corner of his eyes, as he watched Zeri appear in a slightly transparent form. His smile was hungry, his gaze crazed with need for more violence.
"Come on, boy, I shall give you a gift, use it well!" Zeri stepped on the floor, creating a crack on the pristine floor, and a massive black sword, surrounded by black vines covered in curved, deadly spokes, appeared from the crack. Most of the blade, including the handle, was a distinct pitch black, with shining points scattered on most of its surface. In a way, the sword looked as if it was forged from a fallen chunk of the pristine night sky.
As Alister walked over to pick up the blade, the others stared at him in a mix of shock and horror.
"Hey, you guys saw that too, right?"
"Are we dreaming, or was this-"
Alister approached the sword, his eyes once again unfocused. His thoughts were filled with the urge to kill, kill and let out his anger at them who made his life hell thus far.