"First of all, let's discuss our current predicament." David said as his voice fell several pitches lower.
The others payed attention when he began...
"The world has changed on a fundamental level. All sorts of weird, messed up stuff that we can't make heads or tails of have happened."
"Many of those we know have died, and we are possibly the only ones left that survived. We don't know the situation of the main campus, not to talk of the rest of the world."
Their expressions all fell one after the other, as the realization of their circumstances hit them hard. This wasn't a game. This was real life...
The situation they were in just felt too unreal, and because they hadn't come across any real life-threatening encounters, they hadn't felt the immensity of the danger their lives were in.
""We know how dangerous the situation is. But thinking about it too much is just going to make matters worse." Hunter, who had been silent all this while, said as he rose to his feet.
"What do you know?! Aren't you the one undermining the situation we are in?! Back then, in the forest, when it was time to perform, you didn't even lift a finger to help. Yes, all of us are strong, and there was no way we could have died fighting the monster. But not even making an attempt is an unforgivable thing to do!" The depths of Blaze's eyes were alit with flames as he stared straight at the stoic face of Hunter.
"That may be true, but do not forget one thing. If I wanted you to die, there is no need for me to scheme." Hunter said in a cold unsympathetic voice.
"Uh-oh!" Vincent said, a burst of cold air escaping from his clenched teeth.
"Hehehehe... This son of a bitch!" Steve on the other hand burst into a cackling fit.
"What did you just say?!"
Suddenly, everywhere turned silent, as the temperature in the hall they were in dropped visibly by a few degrees...
"Can you guys knock it out? Please! Stop fighting!" David's pleas went unanswered as the two hotheads stared each other down.
"I said, I don't need a petty scheme to handle your ass. Satisfied?" Hunter said in his typical monotone voice.
"Well why don't you try me out?!"
An explosion of flames instantly went off like a plastic explosive.
BOOM!
Blaze turned into a literal blazing flame, as his signature spear materialized in his hands.
"Well... This shit turned ugly pretty quick, didn't it?" Steve said in amazement.
"I couldn't agree more." Vincent said, the same expression as Steve's on his face.
"You want to fight me?" Hunter said like he had just heard the most incredulous joke of all time.
"Fight you? You are gravely mistaken."
With a twirl, the spear in Blaze's hands turned into an agile serpent as it traced complex trajectories in the air, before it settled in his palms, parallel to the ground.
"What I hate the most in this world, are cowards who have power, but choose not to use it to do good, and snakes. You just happen to be the two of those."
"So here's how it's gonna go... I'm gonna beat the living shit out of you!"
***
"Remember this, Blaze... The three core tenets that make a man."
A huge hulking behemoth of a man, and a young man with a solid build and red hair the same shade as that of the bulky old man that stood opposite him.
This young man, is Blaze Armstrong, 17 year old student, and the first son of a family with a very deep background in the military. The man standing before him is his grandfather.
"Unbendable principles, a strong and unyielding heart, and the most important one of all, righteousness..."
"Without these tenets, you turn from being a man, to a demon capable of inflicting pain and suffering on those around you. Only with these constantly embedded within your heart, would you be able to make good use of the power you were born with."
"I understand, grandfather."
The eyes of the young man seemed to glow with an undying, unquenchable flame. And it seemed as though the old man could see it very clearly.
The old bulky man and the young man were dressed in old military-style training gi. The young man was panting, as beads of sweat covered his forehead and rolled down to hit the mat below him.
In his hands, he held a wooden polearm, while the old man was completely barehanded.
"Begin!"
"Yes Sir!"
The old man took a single step forward, prompting Blaze to frantically move out of the way. He made it just in time, as without even making any contact with him, the air in between the both of them stirred violently.
With a series of beautiful twirls, the polearm danced in his hands like an agile serpent. Blaze bent his knees, and used all the force stored withing his large frame to leap up as he swept the wooden polearm at the old man without any hesitation. Of this hit struck, there were no doubts that it would result in an injury for the old man.
But this wasn't your regular run-of-the-mill old man...
The old man stared at the incoming weapon with disdain in his eyes.
"You call this an attack?!"
With his thumb and index finger outstretched, he simply grabbed the polearm with his vice-like grip.
"Toughen up your heart, Blaze!"
Before the young man could even blink, the palm of the old man came crashing unto his chest like a mountain, sending him flying across the room.
BANG!
"Again!"
"Yes sir!"
The boy picked himself off the ground and once again, he launched himself toward the old man like a bullet.
'I promise you, grandpa... I promise I'll grow up to be the man you want me to be! Even if I have to sacrifice everything. As long as I have even a bit of breath left, my principles will never be broken!'
"ARGHHHH!"
The boy held his polearm diagonally as he shifted his feet in a complex pattern, allowing his body to completely disappear from the old man's line of observation. He appeared an instant later behind him, bringing his staff down with the force of a sledgehammer.
Without even turning back, the old man simply raised his hands, and with a clap, stopped the approaching weapon in between his two palms.
Shifting his weight to his other feet, he turned around like a spinning top and used the other to land a kick directly onto the midsection of the boy.
"Blegh!"
BANG!
Once again, the boy was launched like a thrown rag doll across the room they were spared in.
"Alright. We stop here for today. You have made significant improvements since last time. Good job, kid."
The old man walked forward and handed the boy a bottle of water and a towel.
"Thanks, Grandpa." The boy said while keeping a sulking expression on his face.
"Eh?! What's up? Did I hit you too hard?! Are you okay?!" The old man said in a fit of panic.
"No grandpa... I can handle a few blows just fine." Blaze said with a sigh.
"Oh... Then what's the matter."
"I'm just wondering... What if I can never become the man you want me to be?" Blaze said while looking up to the man who had raised him and the only person he truly respected in his life.
"Hahahaha! That's what's got you all blue?!" The old man burst into a fit of hearty laughter.
"I knew you'd laugh... Hmph!"
"Hahaha! Sorry, kiddo." The old man let out a few more chuckles before turning the boy around and placing his huge hands on his shoulders.
"Listen to me, Kiddo. The world is a scary place, and there is a lot more evil than good in it. As long as you stay true to yourself, and fight against that evil, you are a man."
The young boy had stars in his ruby-red eyes, as he pondered about what he was told.
"It's okay. You don't have to understand it now. It will come eventually. Just make sure you are ready when it does. Hahaha!"
"Okay, grandpa!" The boy said, a smile finally appearing on his handsome face.
***
"So here's how it's gonna go... I'm gonna beat the living shit out of you!"
The two boys stared at one another, their auras and ideals clashing, trying to see who would come out superior. It was very similar to the clash between Cain and Hunter, but a tad more intense.
"Summon Demon Wolf!"
A huge burning wolf with flames for fur jumped out of Hunter's shadow and stared Blaze down with its rapid eyes, its fangs bared, ready to pounce.
"People like you disgust me. Always scheming and having some sort of underhand tactic to pull off, but today, I'm gonna make sure you fight, fair and square. I'd love to see what that little doggy of yours can do!"
"Sure. I have no qualms fighting you. Bring it on!" The flames on the body of the huge wolf brought a bit more illumination, as well as shadows into the room, making Hunter look a bit more sinister than usual as his eyes glowed within the contrasting darkness...
"Fine by me... Ha!"
And just like that, a completely unexpected, but necessary fight between the two youths began.
***
Meanwhile...
{Will the host like to proceed?}...
Cain stared at the information provided to him.
On one hand, he wanted to play it safe. It said that he would experience a mutation with 100% certainty. He didn't know what sort of mutation it would be, but he was sure it would turn him into something no longer purely human.
On the other hand, he wanted to take the risk. He had concluded that the ability to absorb power from God Ash was way more important than preserving his humanity.
'Trying to preserve my so-called humanity would be stupidity. As long as I have power, then humanity can go fuck itself!'
Although he was oblivious to it, Cain was still salty about his most recent loss. And since it happened just recently, it was still fresh in his memory. The feeling of defeat had slightly altered his thought process.
If it was the old Cain, he would have stopped to ask himself a few questions before proceeding. But the current Cain had his mind subconsciously clouded with his obsession to beat the {Devil-eyed White Primate}.
All he could see was the power that would be granted to him if he could attain the ability to absorb God Ash.
So, without much hesitation, he agreed...
"I wish to proceed!"