Sévir balled his fist and stuck out his index as the hedgewolf closed the distance far too close for comfort.
I don't know how you're still alive, "Aspida," he muttered as the beast stood a meter before him, a white translucent platform conjuring between them, but if cooking up your insides won't work.. "Hakka." his hand glowed red, and as the beast charged head first like a bull, a meek ray of fire fought back and penetrated its soft head.
In a blink of an eye, the beast glowed red and combusted in a ringing bang, splattering its skin, blood, bones and organs everywhere. Sévir avoided the splatter with the translucent barrier, which faded away when he relaxed his arm. Then blowing up shall.
He turned around and walked to the familiar blood-stained door. As he turned the knob, he let go of it. Wait.. he facepalmed, his frown growing disappointed. I forgot to give Zephyr her allowance. Though, there's no more turning back. with a quick resolution, he walked past the door and the bridge, entering the territory of The Forbidden.
.
The ominous girl sat atop the ledge of a chimney at a roof of an eight story building that stood out amongst the smaller houses surrounding it, she held her blood red mask on her left hand, and with her right hand, pulled down her black hood.
Her blood red hair looked short by how it flowed down only to her shoulder, but it was definitely longer if only her twin pigtails were untied. She flicked her hair off inside of the coat and sighed. That's thirteen gangsters off the list, still a lot more to go.
…
There stood a sea of men and women in black attires with black armbands wrapped around their upper right arm, before them was a stage like that of a theater, and a noble-looking man who stood atop with hair as black as coal and eyes as green as grass. He wore the same armband, and long and grey jacket with golden lines and buttons around the collar, cuff and front placket, beneath was a buttoned black vest and beneath again a white and ruffled turtleneck. He wore black shorts, white woolen hoses and low and brown leather shoes.
The lights from white shards held by black poles were aimed at him like spotlights–similar to those from the tournament.
"You may be asking; 'Sir Demeter, why did you call us?', I called all of you here for an important reason." he folded his arms, a disgruntled look masking his face. "It is all too clear that none of you are at the level of our top assassins–Silver and Crimson."
They turned heads to the mentioned–a guy in his middle adolescence, silver-haired with unreadable golden eyes, and a blood red-haired girl of the same age with blood red eyes–the two wore the same outfits as the rest.
"However, an opportunity has been presented before us, one you may as well consider a threat.
As you all know, there had been a tremendous increase in gang activity the past years as we aimed to wipe them out completely, and with us sending our guns–Silver–the Little Gang KIller and Crimson–the Crimson Girl, they had been more agitated to protect their interests and uncanny culture."
He took a grey shard off his pocket. "Not only have they enticed the common men of the Southern Districts, but they have rallied more of them from every corner of the country." he pointed the shard up the air, to which it glowed and presented a map in a holographic manner–the brown map was carved with black lines and texts, resembling a birds' eye view of a city–borders and rivers everywhere splitting the area, and by the north, what seemed to be a lake.
The texts were handwritten, but were readable enough. "At a checkpoint in Sutsa, six Trystan Knights halted the incoming line of horse-drawn carriages for inspection, only to be ambushed from the surge of men from every carriage." he looked down, his tone sympathetic. "Not their gear, nor magic could've saved them, for they were overpowered and killed on the spot–this incident occurred six hours ago. From the looks of it, they were the recruited help of those petty gangsters."
"It is needless to say they are gearing up for rebellion, it is our job as the West Capital Organization–an assassins' guild to not only accept jobs for payment, but protect the city the way we see fit–the way the government and the Adventurer's Guild can't do."
He extended his free arm and pointed at every one, his brows furrowing and his voice animating. "All of you are here for your own reasons, and while they vary, what doesn't is our desire to complete the jobs with our sense of righteousness–I strongly believe in that. Within our code are our pledges to follow the WCO every step of the way and never betray the organization–I strongly believe in that–I strongly trust you all, and for that reason, I am sending all of you out to nullify the gangsters. Go all out if you wish, but it is best to keep your targets alive when possible and capture them so we can conduct interrogation."
He zipped his mouth afterwards then resonated a loud clap five times as a way of saying you are all dismissed, they caught on and left the large room within a minute. Though Silver and Crimson remained, Demeter jumped down and walked towards another room, gesturing to them to follow.
.
They sat on the free chairs faced sideways from Demeter's desk, then there was the man himself, resting his chin on the back of his clasped hands, his elbows resting as well on the table. He turned to Silver first. "Sévir, are you sure you're leaving Stepanburg at this time?" he asked. He glanced at Crimson, who was most surprised, he took the reaction as her not knowing. "You haven't even informed Sanguinex?"
Sévir tilted his head down, folded his arms and leaned back. "Yes, I'm leaving for a bit, I'll be heading to Magiaville."
Demeter raised a brow, curious. "You're returning? Why so?"
He glanced at Sanguinex, then back to Demeter. "There are some things I need to discover on my own, some things that Magiaville can answer."
The latter nodded in understanding, vetoing not to question any further. "I trust you, therefore I will excuse you."
Demeter tilted down as he grabbed something from the bottom drawer, which he put on the desk when he found it–a coin bag which as he opened, was flooded with Zinarius. "Lately we've expanded our operations to those outside but near the city," he nudged the coin bag towards Sévir, "consider this your salary–"
Sévir snatched it from the table without hesitation. "Appreciated. By the way, what happened to the guy you were recruiting?" the sudden question left a smile on Demeter's face.
"Ah yes, you'll get to meet her when you come back, but she'll be arriving at about.. Two days."
The former raised a brow. "Her? A girl?"
Demeter nodded, then grabbed the stack of papers and arranged them. "Yes. If that's all you'll ask, then you may leave, since you already entertained all my questions.
The two nodded then left his office right away.
.
Sévir stepped out of Demeter's office with a frowning Sanguinex behind him. "What was that all about, Sévir? Why are you going back to Magiaville? And without me?" she pointed to herself. "Isn't Minerva there?"
…
It's scary to think the gangsters were able to muster a force this big, she turned around, facing north, the Trystan Knights and the Adventurers' Guild will collaborate for sure, but what about the academy? WIll they partake? knowing her question won't be answered unless the time comes, she took off the ledge of the chimney, masking her head with the hood and the mask. I'll spend the rest of the day liquidating as many gangsters as I can.
.
As the loud and slow ring of a big bell echoed from the academy's belltower, which gave the view of the sea and rivers surrounding the big island atop the mountain where the academy resided–it was quickly succeeded by a faster pace.
If to others it was odd but wasn't a big deal, then to the students, it was. Upon hearing the rapid ring, the students were quick to march down and out to the back of the academy near where the stadiums resided.
In between the two parts of the campus was very flat land filled with grass–it was able to fit in the whole student population which sat at about three thousand.
Everyone was curious by nature, not expecting an urgent call from the academy's director at all, who stood in-between the whole lineup of staff–Ms. Ardell and Ms. Phoebe included, totalling about two hundred.
The director, who had never shown himself to us before, appeared before them as a man as tall as Venice. His platinum blonde hair's style was similar to the Lieutenant, his eyes as blue as the sea beneath.
The director wore a brown leather coat and black gloves he rubbed against each other, a white and ruffled turtleneck like Demeter, slim black pants and brown leather shoes like the male students.
His breath hung visible as he exhaled, the uninvited cold sinking in deeper with their location–it was worse for the students with their slimmer Half year of Pioneers uniform–a jacket of violet blue, black and gold, thin white gloves, white or grey shirts, red tie or ribbon, black and gold pants or skirt and brown leather shoes of varying types.
"Hello everyone," spoke the director, his voice resonating through white shards similar to the WCO's and the tournament, "you all must be wondering why I declared an urgent call, even your teachers didn't seem to expect it."
He glanced at both sides. "Emperor Faris sent me a letter twenty minutes ago and laid out the events that occurred in the past six hours–the issue was nothing like I've seen before in this prosperous city."
He took out the scroll from his pack and unrolled it, raising it up in the air. "This is the letter he sent me, writing how the situation in the south has spiralled out of control with the gangs arming for rebellion, and he's asking for our help."
The sea of students glanced at each other, confused. "At first, I was confused as well, but I realized something–he's giving our academy a chance to bring you all out to a real scenario." his voice turned flat, the students turned silent.
"For this whole time, we've been honing your crafts in a controlled environment with our ideal methods, but ideals don't run this world." he licked his lip for moisture. "You know where I'm heading, right?" he lifted off the ground and levitated. "I want volunteers–brave volunteers who can prove they can apply what they have learned in this academy."
He tapped his chin, his face beaming for a second. "Ah change of plans–this will be the final examination, therefore everyone must participate."
As he expected, the students grew louder in even more surprise, confusion and a mix of protest and excitement for the idea.
He glanced again at the staff. "Class is suspended for today, you will all return to your classrooms with your advisers and discuss this situation." without waiting for violent reactions, he floated back to the academy.
.
Ten minutes later, the hallways rendered empty with what would sound like murmurs from behind the doors where the classrooms resided, and among them was classroom 3-2–Zephyr's classroom.
Standing alone across the room was a woman in her early middle ages–the light pink-haired Phoebe Omala, glancing at everyone with her pink eyes. "You guys heard from the director; participation is a must.
A few kept silent and tense while the rest's voices erupted in excitement; Agnes, Zephyr and Adina were one of them.
Phoebe smiled at their enthusiasm. "It's nice and all to show enthusiasm, but you must remember," her smile switched to a deep and serious frown, her voice following suit, "we are fighting gangs–the notorious pests of the city–no, the whole country. Those who fail in life reside in joining gangs, be it magician or magicless.
As third years, this is where you learn to never underestimate an opponent and never overestimate your abilities."
The students grew silent, a palpable tension looming in the air immediately. "The likeliness of killing is at an all-time high, so I want you guys to gear yourselves for what's to come."
.
The same occurred in 5-1–Sévir's class.
As usual, they kept silent the very second Ardell clapped her hands. "LIsten, I want none of you to fall to the hands of the gangsters, dead or alive–I want none of you to rush in with excitement or the opposite.
As fourth years, you guys learned how to control your emotions in combat, and this year is an extension for that."
She took out a green shard and placed it on the desk, looking up as it glowed and released images like a holograph.
What appeared before them were images of groups of men surrounding unassuming people, stealing, beating, and killing them among other terrible acts.
"These people are the worst form of crooks, and have been considered such for a long time." she tilted her head down. "Needless to say, you mustn't underestimate them, but that doesn't mean you should fear them–if you fear a certain enemy yet continue to fight them, then expect yourself to die."
She folded her arms. "I'm confident in my teachings–I didn't raise a class of cowards, right?"
The students nodded in agreement, the memories of their time with her flashing right before their eyes.
…
"FASTER! SHRED THOSE MUSCLES!" yelled Ardell as she walked past by her male and female students drenched in sweat, doing push ups with classmates of the same genders sitting on their backs.
Among them, Sévir kept his reps quick and constant without a sign of exhaustion. Ardell noticed this first and sat on his back, crossing her right leg above the left. "This seems to be easy for you, doesn't it?" she giggled as her right hand glowed purple.
As it glowed, Sévir clenched his teeth while his arms wobbled as a dark violet aura grew around him. "What about this? Is it still easy?"
He groaned as he struggled to continue, the gravity strengthening and pushing him down even more. "C.. Curse.. You…!"
…
"Isla minus five, you didn't hit the bullseye!" Ardell commented as the blonde-haired missed the bullseye with her water spell. "Next!"
An orange-haired girl with red-orange eyes walked forward, extending her arm as she aimed at the target. "Sagitta Ahi!" a fiery arrow conjured out her palm and flew to the target, it landed but just barely hit the bullseye.
"You have fiery spirit, but not fiery aim! Brigid, minus two! Next!"
.
"Brent, minus ten! Are you blind!? You nearly shot me!"
.
"Bullseye. Sanguinex, plus five!"
.
"Bullseye, Minerva, plus five!"
.
"Sévir, death sentence–you clearly tried shooting me." she sighed. "Do it seriously."
He aimed his dagger at the bullseye and casted a wind shot spell–hitting the middle of the bullseye.
"Bullseye. Sévir, plus five!"
.
"Percival, how are you going to shoot with your clone magic?" asked Ardell.
Percival held his giggle and duplicated himself. "Don't worry, I got this." he bent down and lifted his clone up. "Like.."
Everyone turned wide-eyed as he braced himself. "THIS!!" he threw his clone head first like a javelin, and actually hit the bullseye. Both the clone and the target fell to the ground.
Ardell, dumbfounded, took her paper and wrote with the quill. "..Percival.. Plus ten."
.
As the sun casted its bright light at the surface, there jogged a line of barefoot students on a flat and paved surface wearing white tunics with a black stylized dove behind and white woolen hoses. In front of them was Ardell who jogged backwards, facing the students with a smile on her face and without breaking a single drop of sweat–in contrast to the students, many were sweating buckets.
"Come on, come on! Five more kilometers!"
"B.. But Ms. Ardell, we've done fifteen kilometers around the campus already!" an olive green-haired male student protested.
"Fifteen is an odd number, so we're making it even!" she giggled and turned around. "Come on Denver! You're the head of the pack, if you can't catch up, then your classmates won't as well!"
.
The class stood on arena grounds, standing across was Ardell smiling smugly. "Today, you're all going to fight a baby dragon!"
They appeared dumbfounded. Surely the might of the whole class would completely overpower such a meek dragon, right?
So, where was the dragon in question? Ardell opened her hand, revealing a mysterious black item on her palm. "Arise." she tossed it up in the sky.
The black item, most likely a shard, blew up and summoned a huge black dragon–a few meters shorter than the dragon from the tournament.
Naturally, the students were left in shock. Percival stepped forward, the most shocked of all. "THAT'S A BABY DRAGON!?!"
"Good luck!" a devious laugh escaped her mouth as she walked away.
…
Needless to say, there were moments they frowned on with contempt, yet those moments mattered.
"Everyone, promise me one thing." her voice turned low, hinting at a softness never heard of before. "Live, do your best to live, even if you must kill." her words resonated in their ears, their hearts tugging a brief moment from the vulnerability she radiated from her sincere words. "If you must betray your moral code to live, then do it."
She glanced at the empty row where Minerva, Sévir and Sanguinex sat. A certain event made me realize it all.