*Mul-Soo*
We haven't encountered anyone from the Lands since Niam and Tsuki left. Not having the Nordic Alliance breathing down our necks meant that we could finally focus on ourselves.
Every Mana-Wielder and Bearer trained as hard as they could. Mete and Amar asked me to train with them because my water-based Salan ability countered theirs. Lorenzo didn't train with us even though he had the same Salan ability as Mete and Amar.
Since his brother died, Lorenzo changed. He was a lot calmer, quieter. He barely spoke to anyone except Maria. And they bonded as both of them suffered a loss because of Niam.
Maria was Alejandro's wife. I knew they were married, but I didn't care. Even though Maria should've blamed me for using Alejandro as bait and getting him killed, she didn't. She changed too. She refused to do chores inside our bunker and decided that she would start training to avenge her husband.
'I wish she would realize how impossible it is. She will never be able to harm or kill Niam if that is what she wants to do.'
I observed Maria's growth in power with my own eyes. She, a Mana-Wielder that consumed a gem in order to obtain a Mana-Core because her husband told her to, was now stronger than most Mana-Wielders that guarded Piranha School outside of the bunker. She even came close to Alejandro's level of power.
Then, one day, a surge of Mana woke us up. The source of this surge was Maria who sat
cross-legged outside of the bunker. The Mana calmed down, but was still fluttering around Maria in a 10 meter radius. The Mana inside the radius shot in many different directions at once. I coated my body and clothes with Mana to protect myself from those arrow-like Mana projectiles.
Once I stepped inside the radius where the Mana shot everywhere, several cuts appeared on my clothes and skin. I was shocked. My defenses were useless. I wondered what kind of power Maria obtained.
Once I stepped out of the radius, Maria stood up and stared at her hands. Then, a few tears rolled down her eyes.
"With this power I will avenge you, Alejandro." She swore.
The wild Mana returned to normal and gave me and the rest of the people behind me -that wanted to see what was going on- the opportunity to ask what the hell Maria did.
"Maria, what was that? Did you become a Bearer?" I asked.
"I... don't know."
"How were you able to cut me even though I coated myself with Mana?"
"The Mana became sharp." She revealed.
Maria lifted her index finger and guided it across a stone that was on the ground. She threw the stone at me without explaining any further.
Once the stone landed in my hand, I saw a cut that went across it.
'She swiped her finger across the stone and was able to cut it?'
Before I could ask for more details, Maria shut me down.
"Instinct." She said.
"Yeah... Instinct." I repeated.
Every single Bearer knew instinctively how to use their Salan ability right after awakening. In special cases, Bearers will know how to use their abilities but won't know how it exactly works. It's easy to explain or rather observe how some simple abilities like mine or the Fire-Bearers work.
"You are a Bearer now, Maria. Congratulations! I knew you would obtain an ability soon enough."
As I said those words, I saw Maria's face. Her expression had changed and was quite similar to Niam's: Cold eyes observing every being in the vicinity and a face that was unhinged no matter what happened around it.
It may have been possible that Maria's urge to take revenge against Niam made her realize that it was impossible for her to do so. Realistically, a woman who was a simple grade-school teacher for the last years, fighting or harming someone who had trained in swordsmanship for years was not possible. Either she obtained a power that nullified his Salan ability or she imitated him in hopes to achieve the same things he did.
Both scenarios would cause losses to both parties, but taking Niam's character into perspective, he won't care for deaths outside of his personal circle.
'Haru is the complete opposite of Niam. He tries to protect all his allies even if that meant he would suffer. No wonder they could't stand each other.'
"I need to train a lot more, a lot harder. I need to surpass and kill him." Maria swore, pulling me back from my thoughts.
"I will help you with that, Maria." Lorenzo said while carrying 2 bags.
"Mhm. Let's go."
"Huuuuh? What do mean, Lorenzo? Maria, what's going on?" I asked, confused as to what was happening.
"Did you really believe that we weren't a target anymore? Weren't you confused as to why we haven't been seeing any scouts from the European Nation? The reason for them not showing is that Niam killed Reus and destroyed the hospital on the other end of the bridge."
'What is he talking about?'
"How do you know?" I asked.
"I met a guy named Mike, he told me that someone was captured while their scouts were here. And this said person escaped, killing not only his captivators but also innocent people. You can guess who this person is."
"How does that affect us? They would've attacked us by now if that was the case." I answered.
"You don't understand. Mike made me an offer. He wanted me and another person who has no problem of abandoning the school, to join the European Union army. In exchange, he assured me that they would leave us alone."
I faced my first case of treason inside Piranha School. Even if Lorenzo's action supposedly didn't bring any harm, he still kept this offer a secret from me. Maria was also a part of it, but I couldn't blame her.
I knew I couldn't let Lorenzo leave without doing anything. If I did however, I risked everyone's safety inside the bunker.
"If this Mike you spoke about doesn't keep his side of the deal, I will not only kill him, but also you." I threatened.
Mete, Amar and the rest of the school's capable fighters watched as I signaled them to stand down. If it meant that we would have to worry about 1 less Land attacking us, it was worth letting them go.
"Then, go now!" I yelled at them to leave.
***
I was faced with backlash and little to no understanding about the situation. We were a bunch of ex-gangsters, and most of us lived by the "snitches get stitches"rule. We weren't snitched on, rather kept in the dark for our own sakes. The guy's still believed that Lorenzo and Maria deserved to punished in some way or another.
Being a leader was hard, and I wasn't fit to lead Piranha School.
'Why didn't you wait for me, Haru? Going off with Declan Wise, not even saying goodbye to an old friend like me. Then, when I finally saw you when you were fighting troops from the African Kingdom, I feared you had turned on me and would slaughter me like you did them.'