"Kukuku! So you dare to challenge me...? Then so be it! I'm sad to say that you won't even be remembered after falling to the hands of me, The Harrower himself!"
'I want to die...'
The second-hand embarrassment was too much for me to bear, almost forcing me to my knees as I spectated the black-dressed clown that was Peter. Whatever semblance of coolness he had in my eyes was now completely blown away.
'But I still have to see this...'
*Kriik!*
With the horde of goblins now slowly creeping forward, having stopped their rush to size up their opponent, I kept my eyes glued to the current protagonist of the story.
"Kukuku! Now, what are you waiting around for? Come at me, all at once!"
*KRIIIK!*
With his shout, the goblins finally started their attack on the isolated man, fully intent on ripping him to pieces. However...
"[Hands of Shadow]!"
A huge number of black arms emerged from the stony ground, easily catching several of the goblins who had led the charge. *Kriik?!*
Surprised by the sudden stop, the goblins tried desperately to escape the dark hands that held onto them, but to no avail. No matter how they punched, clawed, or pulled, the hands just wouldn't let go of them.
The worst part was the thing was just getting started.
*Step*
A single step was the beginning of the slaughter that we were about to witness, with Peter slowly walking up to the closest goblin.
*Splurt!*
Then, he slashed its throat, making purple blood spew out in the dimly lit cave, only visible thanks to the torches on the walls. Wiping his trusty blade with a napkin, he spoke loudly, activating the skill that I would inevitably have to control in the future.
"[Vengeful Shade]."
*Kriiik?!*
A dark shadow arose from the fallen goblin, a shadow that bore no face or consciousness.
"Go."
Not needing anything else than Peter's simple command, it thrust its black arm into another goblin that was captive by the limbs coming from the ground. And just like that, another goblin had fallen, quickly followed by Peter speaking yet again.
"[Vengeful Shade]."
The second shade had now spawned, also intent on following its master's desire. And this was where the slaughter began for real.
From one to two, to two to four, to eight, to 16...
*KRIK?! KRIIIK?!*
Purple blood was flying everywhere as the shades never stopped moving, never stopped the massacre before us. If I hadn't been so focused on the bizarre vision I was presented with, I would have also seen the pale faces of my classmates by my side, all of us lost for words at what we were witnessing.
In the end, every single goblin was slaughtered and replaced by what seemed to be an endless army of shadowy beings, all now standing in front of their dark master, awaiting their next command.
'That's...!'
It was nothing less than insane. I knew from the game that his Manual was capable of controlling minions, but to be able to spawn one from every enemy he slayed?
I now fully understood why he had performed so well during our excursion, how he could have slaughtered so many goblins all by himself. It was thanks to this skill. A skill that would inevitably make him a person of extreme interest to me.
He was a contrast to the hero of the story, who needed to become strong enough to fight head-to-head with the strongest of the demons, Peter was a person who might as well could have been an army by himself.
"Zero...? Are you okay?"
A worried Stella had come up to me, putting her hand on my shoulder as she tried to make contact with me.
Unbeknownst to me, I had actually started to shake with excitement. Excitement about getting a new toy now that I had let go of my last one without getting the replacement I originally wanted.
'Wait... Why am I this excited as Zero?'
As Zero, I usually didn't look forward to these kinds of things, most of the time just finding it to be a case of 'for the greater good'. Now, however, even in this form I felt the excitement from what was the come just as much as I would have as James.
'I need to calm down...'
"Fuueeee...'
Taking a deep breath, I managed to settle the rush of emotions inside of me, quenching the vision of having the strategic weapon that was Peter for myself.
Right now, he looked like a better tool than any of my classmates around me, incomparable even. Why would I care about owning Thomas, Stella, or Caroline if I could have the army of one in front of me?
Smiling brightly, I washed away the worries of the blue-haired girl, "Ah, I'm fine. I was just a bit surprised. Peter is so strong after all!"
At the same time, Peter had just dismissed his minions and was walking back to us after finishing his business. "Kukuku! That's right! This is the power of the Harrower himself!"
'Ah... Maybe it wouldn't be worth it, after all...'
It was a heavy price to pay. Even if he could be said to carry potential as one of the strongest military powers I had ever seen, I wasn't sure if the trade would be worth it. Because I would have to withstand the 'Kukuku' coming from him.
Interrupting his little speech, Caroline stepped forward, "I guess we can continue now, right? We still have quite a bit of time."
Seeing the little lady confidently stepping up, I saw Peter flinching a bit, unable to understand why she didn't worship him by his soles after witnessing his power. Sadly, when he saw her stone-cold eyes, he folded.
"...yes. Go ahead..."
It was almost as if his stupid speech had completely blown away any awe that we could have held for him in an instant. Not even Thomas seemed bothered about the display he showed anymore.
"Y-yes. L-et's continue!"
However, there was one person who still wasn't quite able to collect herself. With a downcast expression, Stella just nodded and followed the two energetic youths. Somehow, it appeared that Peter's display of power had only reinforced her inferiority complex.
Slowly trailing behind them, my head spun once again.
It was unfortunate that someone with such a magnificent Manual was so stubborn, but I also felt like it wasn't my business to interfere with it. There must be some kind of reason why she stuck with the shield, and if I went about this the wrong way, it would only end with her falling even more.
Though it also had to be said that I wasn't even sure if I needed my classmates at all, or even Peter to be honest. The only person I was sure that I needed to have control of was Arthur, the bringer of light.
With that being said, there was also another person who I wanted to have in my palm, but whom I could never attain. Mostly because I wouldn't break the promise that I made.
Sophie, the draconic woman with endless potential, but one I would never ever try to manipulate. Because she was still the only one left that James could possibly call a friend.
It was quite weird. The fact that the one he had left was a violent woman who would never leave him alone, who was always rude and could never understand him. A woman that even now still didn't understand him, but also didn't feel a need to. She still just wanted him to come back.
==========
Having finished our dive without a hitch, bar the goblin swarm that Peter fended off, I was now walking by myself under the starry night through the academy grounds.
Due to the curfew, there weren't a lot of students who were out and about this late, as they were all pretty scared about what might happen. Granted, they didn't know that it wasn't actually the demons who had attacked, but a group of humans. Very monstrous humans but still humans. Or at least so I thought.
Unknowing how or why, it didn't take long for my feet to lead me to the park that was centering the big pond, now glittering beautifully under the stars. This time, however, I didn't place myself on top of it, instead just taking a seat next to the water.
"Zero? What are you doing here?"
A gentle voice came from behind me, a voice that instantly awoke my memories of the weekend that had just passed us. A voice that belonged to the dragoness herself.
Turning my head, I forced myself to smile brightly, not wanting to give anything about how I was really feeling away.
"Good evening, Sophie. I was just... watching the water."
Now clad in just a sweatshirt and some black slacks, she didn't look nearly as impressive as she usually did. Instead, she looked a lot more human.
Answering me with just a smile on her own, she took a seat next to me and stared at the water as well.
"Say, Zero... If there was someone you knew... Someone you wanted to believe was a friend but did a lot of bad things... What would you do?"