Both elders stood together, looking at the shaking gates. The right elder appeared middle-aged, with a wide, muscular body. His white upper body was completely exposed, as his robe was tied around his lower body, and his laid-back crimson hair spiked around his head. His weapon, a large, heavy sword reaching the height of his dantian, stood vertically next to him. The elder was 7 feet tall, a little shorter than Clifford in his soul form.
Waiting to deal with the intruder, the elder's thoughts ran wildly. For someone as talented as him, he had ended up protecting this damned place with no other choice. Unlike the rest of the elders who volunteered to stay here, he did so only to repay the academy's favor and sever any attachment to it. However, his stay had been boring, making it feel like a waste of time.
The elders protecting this place with him prevented him from leaving, as he couldn't take on all four together. But now it was different. A couple of weeks ago, one of them disappeared, leaving the remaining three lost as the academy descended into chaos. Now, the one who caused all that had returned, and his presence here only meant that the two protecting the upper floor had met their demise.
"I'm leaving." Making up his mind, the elder spoke quietly while lifting his sword, catching the attention of the one standing next to him.
"Where? Are you leaving me to deal with this alone?" Looking at the giant standing next to him, the elder asked patiently, a frown painting his face. His expression changed shortly as he witnessed his partner swinging down his sword, aiming at him.
Caught off guard, the elder flew back, hitting the wall as a large cut extended from his left shoulder down to his right kidney. Blood covered his robe, and confusion covered his face, unable to understand why his partner did it.
"Why? Wait!" Watching his partner make his way to him, he understood that the man was hellbent on killing him.
"It's about time I continued on my path. I won't stay here for a single minute more." Stating his reason, the elder advanced toward his target.
"CURSE YOU, RANDALL!" Screaming with all his might, the elder met his demise as his head rolled to the floor and his blood sprayed the ground beneath him. Tired of waiting for the intruder, the muscular elder made his way to the gate to confront his enemy.
Hearing the scream from inside, Clifford stopped his relentless pounding, wondering what had happened. The answer came soon as the gate split into peices, and three aura beams passed by, scaring the hell out of him. Collapsing to the floor, the gate shattered into debris, and a dusty cloud covered the area.
Stomping the floor with his foot, the elder generated a wind wave that quickly cleared all the dust. Watching Clifford's figure, the elder sneered in disapproval, wondering how these fools had died to him. His talent compared to theirs always made him feel superior, as he was the only one of them to successfully combine his elements and form a world foundation.
The elder marched toward Clifford while releasing his killing intent. Dragging the sword against the floor, the elder carved a line that followed behind him. Feeling his senses screaming from the impending danger, Clifford started absorbing the dark force, entering predation immediately.
As the sword rained down on him like a hammer, Clifford attempted to catch it with his hands. Surprisingly, even in his current state, Clifford couldn't stop the sword. It broke through his defense, leaving a visible cut that nearly severed his shoulder from the rest of his body.
"Just die already," Randall spoke, watching Clifford scream in agony. He then proceeded to kick him mercilessly, sending him flying back. Moving forward, Randall approached the boy lying on the floor. Stomping down with his right foot, Randall aimed for Clifford's heart, shortly leaving a large hole behind.
Witnessing Clifford's demise, Randall continued on his way to the upper floor, carrying his sword on his back. Passing by, Randall entered the resources room and smuggled everything he could, knowing he would never return here. Ascending to the first level, Randall encountered some instructors.
Seeing the elder, the instructors breathed a sigh of relief. Looking at the trash blocking his path and standing before him like an idiot, Randall acknowledged his hatred for these fake positions given to them. Compared to actual instructors and elders in big academies, the ones here were nothing but puppets tasked with scouting good candidates.
Swinging his sword, Randall created a path for himself by slaughtering them one after another. Although he knew he would be hunted later by the main branch, he didn't care and continued anyway. Reaching the surface, Randall disappeared from the scene, slaughtering anyone in his path and leaving no witnesses behind.
Due to his ruthless actions, Clifford was left with the dead elder's body and enough dark force to heal himself back up.