What is that...
A horrified look flushed through everyone's face. They couldn't make up what it is as only its silhouette was showing from the alley.
Everyone thought it was a big burly man with some exaggerated features due to their ability, as that was not rare at all. But it didn't take long for everyone to realize their mistakes as It tilts its head to the side revealing a huge elongated beak.
" Help me...."
As if they've finally managed to identify the being standing in the alleyway, they all walked behind Mr. Gerald despite everyone's disagreements.
It peeked its beak through the gap, finally showing a pitch-black beak and the head of a crow, paired with the body of a massive gorilla.
" A... A Shrieker... " Yang stutters as he stares at the massive Inter peeking through the entrance with its head tilted to the left.
It was an Elite beast, something that is way out of first years league. The pillars could handle something like this easily, but it's not like the monster was the biggest threat in their training, as a low-ranking Original soldier was hidden among their group.
Something like a contract should be the highest-ranked Original handling this class as
Thankfully, Mr. Gerald will be able to handle it as he was a B-class Guardian. A tier of Guardian that could easily handle a Grand(-) Inter.
" Help me! "
Thud!
It steps out of the alleyway with its massive foot.
" How did a bird suddenly stumble in our playground? " Gerald says with his arms behind his back. His red hair was flowing through the sudden breeze of the wind, and his eyes were slim looking straight at the Shrieker on the opposite side of the broken road.
" Should... should we move away? " A member of Reign's group stutters, terrified of even being in the same place as the Shrieker.
Mr. Gerald didn't speak but he rose his hands toward the Shrieker.
This made the Shrieker look at Gerald as a threat causing it to rush towards him like a gorilla.
" Lava Manipulation " Gerald says in a relaxed manner, showing his calm demeanor even when facing the Inter in front of us.
Pshhhhh...
As he does so, Lava starts to escape his hands. It glows a blinding yet dark shade of red, before turning and compressing into a lance-shaped object.
The Mein Family was a family known for their abilities related to producing heat and Gerald the heir of the guild was no exception.
" Lava Manipulation: Pierce " Gerald whispers as he waves his hand upwards causing the lance-shaped lava to rush towards the Shrieker piercing both of its legs.
" GRAHHH " It screeches as it tries to move its legs forward.
Though it didn't talk on for the Shrieker to fall as his legs gets melted by the blazing lava.
It didn't stop the Shrieker whatsoever though. Thanks to its immense pain tolerance, it wouldn't be able to feel any type of pain. That was what's separating the Elite- class Ogres from Shriekers despite being the same strength as each other.
It will continue to rush you down with no pain stopping it.
But Mr. Gerald was something way out of this Shrieker's league despite being an absolute abomination.
" Lava Manipulation: Burst " Mr. Gerald whispers, causing the lava lance to burst making lava food everywhere around the Shrieker.
It didn't come out slowly and thick as you would think how viscosity worked. But It was more of a burst of liquid that it seemed like he was spraying water dyed in red instead.
Tsk...
Despite the others looking at Gerald in admiration and trust, I couldn't help but feel off about him.
Rena said Gerald was a weak and timid kid that cared and loved for everyone when they were young, but on a seemingly normal day, his talent suddenly changed for the best even beating all of Rena's older siblings and even her who was known for her talent. It would've been great for Rena, but his strength came with a bad attitude. There was no warning as to why he changed, but he became a completely different person after all of it.
This story kept circling my mind, due to its content. I might not know everything about this world nor the rules surrounding it, but I'm sure unless an artifact was at play, Gerald wouldn't be able to suddenly do something like that. And if I think about it more, with the sudden change in his personality, it could even be a cursed artifact.
" HELP ME!!! " The Shrieker roars as it tanks the flowing lava head-on, causing it to screech. His disgruntled voice turned more bizarre as it continues to break every single letter it spoke.
" KRUAHHHHHH! " It roars so loudly that it made everyone cover their ears as a large yet deep grunt escapes its mouth.
It's still alive? It was currently eating the ability of a top-ranked Guardian yet it was still struggling against death.
Thank god we didn't even dare to try and fight it when we were in the tower. It was a death sentence waiting for us.
It takes a few steps forward extending its arms toward Mr. Gerald, before ultimately falling down to the ground.
"What the hell... " Kate mutters.
It was a reasonable reaction. That thing really didn't stop even when its legs were fully melted. It only fell when the lava reached its upper abdomen causing its heart to stop pumping.
" How did that... " Reigns looks at the molten corpse.
" How is that thing here...?" He mutters trying to nudge Gerald who was staring at the body as well.
" Seems like a rat has been snooping around. " Gerald says.
Tsk...
This is irritating. I'm incredibly suspicious of him due to the turtleneck hiding the logo, but his sentences and the way he acts all seem to be incredibly normal. As if he doesn't know what is happening too.
Then who was it?
" Mr. Gerald! " A peculiar voice calls out for him.
The students heard someone call out for Gerald as they look at the Shrieker in nervousness and fear. The sudden abruptness of the voice coupled with the silence caused them to flinch thinking it was something dangerous.
But as they look behind, they couldn't help but smile as the crazy yet reliable homeroom teacher they know of calls out for them.
" Mr. Froil! " Yang calls out for him, waving his hands.
He was happy to see him. They were all happy to see him actually.
Mr. Froil is an A Rank Guardian. Guardians at the top of strength were only bested by a few individuals that could be recited within 15 seconds.
They didn't know what was happening, and Mr. Froil was their smokescreen from whatever was roaming around here. Unless a Noble Inter shows up, no one's capable of harming them in any way.
Well, that is if he was on their side at all...
" Where were you? Mr Froil. " Gerald mutters as he holds his hands behind his back.
" I've sensed a drastic change in the mana flow so I tried to find a spot that was still somehow flowing fine but I failed to do so. " Mr. Froil explains as he pulls up his phone.
" I tried to dial Sense a few times but it seems like no tools are currently transmitting. "
...
Gerald looks at him dead straight in the eyes without flinching.
Mr. Froil didn't even notice his gaze as his focus shifted to the corpse behind Gerald causing his eyes to enlarge.
" A shrieker? What the hell is that doing here? " He looks at Gerald asking about the current situation.
" I don't know Mr. Froil. Why don't you tell me that? " He says with an even deeper voice showing how serious he was at that moment.
" Are you saying I did all of this? " Mr. Froil's expression turned serious as well causing his shocked eyes to turn into annoyance.
" Mr. Gerald what are you talking about!? Why would he do something like this?! " A few students look at Gerald as if he was crazy.
It's not like they didn't have any suspicions about Mr Froil, but it's more like they wouldn't be able to do anything even whether they know that fact or not.
He was an A-tier Guardian after all.
" How come you didn't notice Elite Beasts' presence when I could do it easily? And how come you pop up after that thing was slain, yet only react when you saw its corpse despite knowing full well I was killing something strong? Unless you've become weak and can't even sense simple mana activity? " Mr. Gerald continues to pressure Mr. Froil.
" What? Stop this nonsense, Mr. Gerald! " The students continued to stop him from taunting Mr Froil anymore.
" Hey Mon, you're good at this stuff right? What do you think? " Yang nudges at me sneakily, trying to get my opinion on the matter.
" It's weird... "
" What? " He asks.
But before I could answer him at all. A sudden laugh erupts from Mr Froil who was looking calm and collected just a little bit earlier.
" Kukukuku " He grabs his eyes as if he couldn't believe all of what's happening.
Though Mr Froil does this in a daily basis. The students look at him in fear as if the common maniacal laugh of Mr. Froil turned from harmless to deadly.
...
" You're pretty sharp ain't yah? " Mr. Froil looks up with a wide grin on his face.