As Lucas stood face to face with the future face of humanity, he only had one thought as he looked at him.
Pathetic.
The one who was said to become the strongest was simply pathetic.
"What are you doing?" Lucas questioned coldly.
The hero in front of him was just frozen like a statue.
Unlike him, the other two champions at least got ready to fight the moment Lucas moved.
Leonne Velheim had his double-edged sword out, surrounded by a red aura.
Amaya Frostheart's hair fluttered in the air as the wind went wild around her.
"W-what..." Klaus asked, confused, not understanding what Lucas meant.
"You could clearly tell that I was about to attack you. I even slowed myself down so you could see me, yet instead of taking any action, you just stand here not moving at all..."
"Honestly, it is just pathetic."
"But..."
"What do you expect, Lucas Nightstar? You just came out of nowhere and attacked Klaus when he was least expecting it. There was no reason for him to be on guard," Amaya Frostheart responded cutting in, trying to defend the hero.
Hearing her defense for such a pathetic display, he coldly looked at her and spoke:
"Least expected? We are in an apocalyptic city overrun by monsters. No one knows where the three calamities are. No one knows what other creatures could be lurking around the corners. You are meant to be always on guard in such a situation unless you just want to die and fail the exam. Besides the three calamities aren't the only threat in this city."
"It looks like you lot haven't really encountered many creatures that reside in this city. Truly amazing luck since you are just standing here in the open street with none of your guards up as if offering yourself up as prey. Oh, and do not forget that it never stated that we couldn't kill each other."
Lucas kept going as he venomously spat each reason why they shouldn't be this relaxed.
He was honestly feeling a little bitter since the moment he arrived he had to fight three disgusting king predators of C rank.
'So unfair...'
Hearing his cold words, all Amaya could do was close her mouth and avert her eyes.
Leonne didn't even bother to argue with him since everything he said was true after all...
They shouldn't have been this relaxed.
'This Leonne really reminds me of Victor for some reason...'
"And you guys..."
Lucas said as he turned towards the other members of the group, and more specifically to the people who were arguing before, which Lucas had heard everything about.
"You are all seriously having an argument in the middle of the street, attracting every beast's attention that could be sleeping beneath your feet? Are those heads of yours just for decoration or something? Just hiding in the shadows of the other champions hoping to pass this exam easily? You really think they aren't monitoring our every action? They obviously wouldn't allow such people to enter the academy."
Lucas spoke annoyed at the leeches trying to easly pass the exam while sticking close to the champions.
"You! You dare speak to me this way! Even if perhaps these rumors of you are true, you still aren't officially a champion! And besides, know your place. You are only a son of a mere viscount! You have a little sister, right? If not yours don't think I won't be able to make her life miser-"
"Hey."
Before the human, who was probably of a higher status than Lucas, could finish speaking, everyone heard the cold voice of Lucas that sent chills down their spines as he suddenly stood behind the boy.
'Fast!'
That was everyone's thought as they didn't even see him move as red lightning crackled around his body, not even leaving a trail this time.
"Huh?" The boy suddenly exclaimed, confused.
Lucas, holding the right arm of the boy which he had ripped off, had claws made out of red lightning on his hand. He continued to speak as if unfazed by the bloody arm he was holding.
"Just who gave you permission to speak and especially dare to threaten me?"
As he spoke, the boy slowly glanced at his right side only to see that blood was spurting from where his entire right arm should have been.
"A-AAAAARRRRGGGGGGGHHHHH!!!"
The boy shouted as he fell on the ground and started rolling around, hoping to lessen the pain he was feeling from having his entire arm ripped off.
Not being done with him, Lucas stabbed his sword right into the boy's left shoulder, keeping him in place on the ground as he unleashed another wail of agony.
Yet Lucas was merciless and didn't show the boy any compassion.
"Consider this your final warning. Threaten anyone I care about ever again, and you could be the crown prince himself. I will still kill you in this world and the other," Lucas stated coldly without an ounce of remorse as the boy could only weakly look up at him with just fear.
"I-I am s-sorry... p-please forg-give me..."
He said weakly as all the others watched in horror, not being able to do anything.
Well, not everyone watched in horror.
Leonne, Sylviette, and Amaya all watched neutrally at the scene, as they weren't bothered by it at all.
They all felt that what Lucas did was justified since the boy dared to threaten him when he gave them advice.
But...
The face of the hero, Klaus.
It wasn't neutral in the slightest.
His pathetic demeanor of rainbows and sunshine finally disappeared, as well as his bewildered face from before.
He was currently looking at Lucas with immense anger, and golden aura was oozing out of his body surrounding him. Holding on his right hand was a beautiful silver sword with engravings that would make people do anything to obtain it in the name of greed.
"Get away from him," he said coldly while pointing his sword at Lucas.
This time everyone except for Lucas was surprised at the sudden change in Klaus's behavior.
Lucas didn't do what he asked, and only a grin appeared on his face as he straightened his back and looked straight into his golden eyes with his blood-red dragon eyes.
"What if I don't?" Lucas asked, amused at his sudden behavior.
"I'll become your enemy," Klaus responded as he narrowed his eyes at him.
This time it was Lucas's turn to narrow his eyes as he heard what the hero said.
"Was that supposed to be a threat? What makes you think I care whether you are my ally or enemy?" Lucas asked, intrigued by what Klaus meant by becoming his enemy.
Everyone here could tell that if Lucas wanted, he would easily be able to kill him. Even Klaus knew that perfectly.
The atmosphere was getting quite tense as most stood watching with bated breath, expecting to witness a confrontation between the white devil and the hero.
"I might not be able to defeat you now, Lucas Nightstar, but I will one day. Being my enemy would also make you the enemy of humanity," Klaus said, though only the last part was true in Lucas' eyes.
Hearing his response, Lucas only shrugged his shoulder in amusement as he answered
"Been there, done that already once. Wouldn't mind becoming the enemy of humanity for a second time."
Lucas's answer confused everyone, furrowing their brows as they tried to understand how he could have been the enemy of humanity before.
"Besides, what makes you think that you would actually surpass me? Don't get confident, Klaus Ceviel, just because humans believe that you will become the strongest. It is, after all, only a belief and not a reality at the moment. I could always just kill you in real life before you reach your peak."
Lucas stated bluntly, causing Klaus to grip his sword tighter, acknowledging the truth in Lucas's words.
It was obvious to everyone here that Lucas didn't care in the slightest about what race he belonged to and would simply kill if he deemed you an enemy.
It was as if he didn't see himself as part of the human race at all, disturbing many present...
"Even then, that would be for me to worry about later. Right now, I'll ask you again: please step aside and let the boy go. There was no need for you to be so cruel towards him since he only used empty words against you."
"Naive, just how naive are you, Klaus Ceviel? Just because you are the hero of humanity doesn't mean you are meant to be every human's hero. How would you know if what this boy said was just empty words, huh? Why should I wait and let him grow until he becomes a thorn in my path?" Lucas said, annoyed at Klaus's reason for pointing his sword at him.
"Even then, there is always a better way to solve this. We shouldn't act like demons; we aren't like those vile creatures. We should act better," the hero suddenly said, leaving Lucas and the rest dumbfounded.
"Are you stupid?" Lucas honestly asked, bewildered this time, as he heard what the hero just said.
"Sure, I agree that demons are vile creatures that need to be exterminated, but... this world isn't just black and white, Klaus. This isn't a fairy tale where humans are good and demons are bad. There are plenty of humans who would do far worse than demons would. Don't let your hatred for demons cloud your judgment," Lucas warned.
"The same could be said for this boy here..." Lucas continued as he gripped his sword and twisted it slightly, making the person beneath him cry out in pain.
Klaus's face became only more complex at hearing Lucas's words and witnessing the actions he performed in front of him.
He felt that what Lucas said was right, but at the same time, he believed that Lucas shouldn't be this cruel.
He could only grit his teeth as he contemplated what his next actions should be against Lucas.
"Enough," Sylviette suddenly cut in between them, calming the atmosphere down a little and causing everyone to release a breath of relief.
Turning towards Lucas, Sylv spoke gently, making everyone feel complicated.
"Lucas, can you play with him later on? We need to save our energy, which we have already wasted a lot today, to fight the calamities later on."
she asked, hoping Lucas would understand—luckily, he is a very understanding person who always listens... yes, definitely.
'She is right; I shouldn't push him too much for now...'
"Mm, you are right. Let's go relocate somewhere safe instead, where we can talk about how we should handle this exam and the calamities"
Lucas said as all nodded their heads and started leaving the streets, trying to find a perfect place to camp for now.
Pulling out his blade from the boy, he walked over to Sylv and walked together with her as everyone only looked at the boy with pity, since no one wanted to help him.
In the end, this was still an exam where it was only necessary to team up to defeat the calamities, and right now, Lucas Nightstar and the other champions are their best bet.
So they decided to ignore him and follow the champions silently, not wanting to get on Lucas's bad side at the same time.
Everyone did that except for Klaus, who walked over to the beaten boy and gave him a healing potion to stop the bleeding and ease the pain.
That was all he could do as he started carrying him towards the rest.
The other members glanced at him and then at Lucas to see if he would get angry.
Lucas, though, was unbothered by his actions and kept conversing with Sylv as they tried to find a camp to rest.
'I wonder how long this exam will take...'