"Mayor, don't you see what this missionary is doing? I clearly have a core but…"
"Insolent!", interrupted Taren. "We all checked your body, and no one found your core. Are you accusing all of us as liars? You are an adult now. Your actions have consequences. Consider it carefully. What would your mother think of you now?"
Tepo's eyes opened wide after this statement. Was the mayor threatening him? With his mother?!
The young man couldn't believe his ears. His brain short circuited as he shouted:
"How dare you b*stard pull my mother into this?!"
A vicious glint flashed past the mayor's eyes. Just as Tepo wanted to say something the pressure on him lightened. Feeling as if he walked into a trap, Tepo took a step back, raising his arms.
The school president and Rosefall looked at this interaction in indifference. Now, it wasn't about the awakening anymore. Tepo was clearly digging his own grave. The young man should be glad that the mayor was still bound by certain rules. Rosefall wouldn't be lenient towards the rebilling youth.
Meanwhile, Vyrohna almost had tears in her eyes. She didn't understand how the situation had developed so far. Why was Tepo so stubborn, and why was the mayor pushing him? Was this her fault? She made up her mind to go back to headquarters and confess immediately after the ceremony.
As the mayor's pressure descended again, Tepo grew wary. He looked into Taren's eyes, but it was hard to read them. Only as the man's solemn voice rang out, was Tepo certain that something was off here:
"Tepmodus te Avatio. You disrupt the ceremony and frame the missionary without evidence! You have no respect for the strong and even insult the mayor! I herby sentence you to jail!
Men! Take him away!"
"What?!"
Tepo and his friends exclaimed at the same time. How could the mayor throw him in jail? Others also interrupted the ceremony after they couldn't awaken a core. Someone even refused to leave the stage and had to be carried off by soldiers. But no one was thrown into jail so far.
His body shaking, Tepo looked around him. Everything seemed to register in slow motion. The mayor's extremely hidden smirk, the other bigshot's indifferent faces, the missionary's … guilty? regretting?... expression, the audience entertained by a good show, the gloating Tondka, and soldiers stepping forward.
Brain running on overdrive, Tepo was searching for a way out. To his right only two soldiers were coming, although one of them seemed to be of higher rank. Therefore, Tepo was prepared to gamble. To everyone's shock the young man suddenly dashed to the left.
When the soldiers noticed his actions, they were amused. The two on the right sped up. To their surprise, however, a few students blocked their way. Unfortunately, Tepo's friends had just awakened. How could they resist trained soldiers? They were rudely shoved to the side.
Meanwhile, Tepo was already before the three soldiers to the left. His mind went into combat mode. His full concentration was on his opponent. But he wasn't here to fight, but to escape. Thus, the young man fainted a step to the left before jumping towards the right. Body leaning forward, shoulder aiming at the soldier's chest.
Unfortunately, Tepo had no concept of the warriors in this world yet. Even a normal soldier was not something he could overcome with his present strenght. When his shoulder collided with the man's chest, the soldier took a few steps back while Tepo heavily landed on the ground.
A grown left his mouth, but he immediately prepared to stand up again. But another soldier wouldn't have it. Just now he looked stupid as he was tricked by Tepo's faint. He quickly took a step forward, heavily kicking the young man on the floor.
With a loud cracking one or two of Tepo's rips broke. He was incredulous. When was the last time he had been this helpless? Even as a child when the outsiders chased him, he could resist for longer. But now he was seeing stars and had the urge to empty his stomach on the ground.
While Tepo rolled on the ground, his friends' eyes reddened. They almost wanted to jump on the soldiers back, but Nocia stopped them at the last second.
"Let me! Let me! Those mhmm?!", screamed Yerive until Nocia pressed her hand on his mouth.
"Guys. You need to keep a clear head now. Don't get thrown into jail, too."
"But, Tepo!", whined a red-eyed Ganaph. At the side Rosefall nodded slightly. His new talent was willing to fight for her friends. This was a characteristic the Free World Alliance definitely valued.
Suddenly the friends drew sharp breaths. Next to Tepo the soldier took a swing with his leg again. He almost kicked Tepo, but fortunately he was stopped at the last second by one of the higher ranked soldiers. After all they were still under the eye of the public.
Next, Tepo was rudely gripped at his arms. The higher ranked soldiers sternly advised:
"Criminal! Stop your futile resistance. You will only prolong your sentence!"
Tepo wheezed heavily. His lungs burned; his ribs pierced his flesh. Pain shot through his body as the soldier pulled him upwards.
Never did he imagine to hear such words one day. How often had he said those in his old life? Now that he was on the receiving end, he had to admit that it felt like sh*t. The former investigator had the urge to punch the soldiers face in, but he held himself back. He gritted his teeth and shut up.
Meanwhile the mayor looked on coldly. He hadn't expected that such a good opportunity would present itself today. His superiors would certainly be happy.
With a light smirk Taren watched on as his soldiers dragged Tepo away. With disheveled clothes and a painfilled face the young adult had to endure the audience's judgement. It was hard to say if he would ever recover from such a blow.
On the stage Yerive was indignant, Parton helpless, Ganaph crying, and Nocia stoically planning. Unfortunately, they could only watch as their friend was dragged away like some murderer. They still felt the impatient gazes of the other soldiers, waiting for them to make a move.
After a few seconds Tepo had arrived before the door. As soon as it opened, the young man was rudely pushed into the room.
He had a bad feeling. When the door closed, the last Tepo saw was the concerned faces of his friends.
Immediately after, a fist landed in his stomach. Tepo groaned in pain, but he didn't go the floor.
A soldiers mocking face appeared before him.
"That's for making me look stupid!"
Meanwhile the other soldiers formed a ring around them. They blocked the room's windows, idly looking around as if nothing was happening.
Tepo gritted his teeth. His body broke out in sweat. He didn't understand how he ended up in this situation. But he sure as hell wouldn't let that loser beat him up!
Another fist aimed for Tepo's chin. The former veteran faked a stagger. The soldier was certain to hit. An ugly chuckle left his mouth.
Suddenly Tepo ducked forward. He ignored the pain from his ribs, as his elbow aimed for the soldier's solar plexus. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. The experienced fighter already realized that the soldiers were stronger in pure physical strength, so he could only go for weak spots.
However, Tepo felt a strange sensation. While he wanted to attack with his elbow, his muscle memory prepared for a palm strike. This caused Tepo a split second of delay. The soldier saw his punch miss and quickly retreated. Tepo only hit empty air.
"Daring to fight back now?! A criminal should have the self-recognition of a criminal!"
"Shut up b*stard! A soldier should have the self-recognition of a soldier. Are you proud about being the mayor's lapdog?!"
Hearing this, the other soldiers frowned as well. Was Tepo suicidal? Why did he keep insulting the mayor?
One of the captains finally had enough. He snorted heavily before turning around and striking the back of Tepo's head. The young man felt danger, but the captain's speed was of another level. Tepo couldn't defend himself before his vision turned dark and he slumped to the ground. The last thing he saw was the soldier's gloating face.
Meanwhile the audience in the ceremony was shocked. It took a few minutes until the bigshots restored order.
As the students left the stage, a shaky Vyrohna continued her duty. But the festive atmosphere was already destroyed. Everyone thought back to the student who had been dragged out of the venue.
Whenever someone failed to awaken their core, they didn't dare to make a single sound. Although the mayor wore his bright smile again, the students all remembered his anger. Especially Tepo's friends. Anxiousness prevented them form concentrating on the ceremony. They desperately wanted to leave and find a way to help their friend.