The creature let out a guttural sound, staring in bewilderment at the boy who had overpowered it so easily. Not only was Seiya smaller compared to him that appeared a giant before him, he was also bulkier compared to Seiya's slender frame that housed slim muscles according to the orc.
Around them, the other orcs stood frozen, their earlier bravado dissolving into silent fear. Never in their lives had they encountered such an overwhelming presence—one that appeared to be a child no less. They needed not be told twice before having it ingrained in their senses that the one before them was far stronger than they could imagine—so they could do nothing but freeze and watch in stunned silence as Seiya overpowered their leader.
Even the female staff member, still trembling, stared in stunned disbelief. Though she had seen Seiya multiple times and even came across him in the facility, this was the first time she was seeing this aggressive side of him. Though the air around him appeared calm with each precise step he took, he seemed nothing but a harbinger of death—his mere gaze sending chills down their spines.
"You don't look like bottom-feeders," Seiya murmured, his voice low and measured as he leaned in, his gaze piercing into the orc's eyes. "So I assume you can understand me."
Gripping the orc's horn, Seiya yanked its head back, exposing its thick neck. "Surely, you didn't open this gate on your own, did you? So why the arrogance? Acting so brazenly without permission?"
Cold sweat beaded along the orc's rough skin, its breath hitching under the oppressive weight of Seiya's presence. His eyes, wide and unblinking, bore into the orc as if stripping it down to its very core.
The orc remained silent, too shocked to even offer any form of reaction in response, prompting Seiya to continue, evidently irked.
"I'm saying," Seiya whispered, his tone darkening, "stay exactly where you are. Do nothing—until I say otherwise."
A loud, involuntary gulp echoed from the orc's throat, its body trembling under the force of Seiya's command and his glinting eyes.
Releasing the creature, Seiya turned away without another glance. As he walked, the horde of orcs instinctively parted wordlessly, their fear tangible, creating a silent path for him to pass.
From the corner of his eye, Seiya caught the gaze of the female staff member. Her eyes trembled, wide with a mixture of fear and disbelief, locked onto his. Without breaking stride, Seiya approached her and, in one swift, merciless motion, he delivered a crushing blow to her throat. She collapsed instantly, her body crumpling lifeless to the floor.
Seiya turned away, his expression unchanged, and continued on his path as if nothing had happened. His body and clothes had already been soaked in blood—in addition to the bloody mess he was already bathed in from the previous fight with his teacher.
But before Seiya could take any more steps forward, the thunder of approaching footsteps echoed through the hall, halting him.
Mr. Sanio's eyes burned red with fury as he took in the mess and carnage before him. His gaze locked onto Seiya, his anger boiling over.
"What the hell is this?!" he roared, his brows wrinkled tightly together, his voice reverberating off the walls.
Tilting his head, Seiya turned to him.
As Seiya faced his father, a strange sensation rippled beneath his skin—an unfamiliar tension, though his face remained an emotionless mask. Goosebumps prickled along his arms for reasons he couldn't decipher but he didn't falter in his presence.
"And what is with those eyes?!" Mr. Sanio snapped, confusion flickering beneath his rage.
Seiya's voice came out calm, deliberate. "You know, you've…" He began approaching, each footfall slow and measured .
"…always acted so high and mighty. Throwing down orders, talking like some big shot when you're nothing but a weak, old geezer," Seiya finished coldly.
In an instant, and in a blur of motion, Seiya was in front of his father. With no hint of hesitation and with ruthless precision, he slammed Mr. Sanio's face into the ground, the sound of impact echoing through the silent hall.
The orcs recoiled from the devastating way Seiya acted with a human, one they saw to be his own kind. Cold sweat broke out on their skins, realizing they would've gone through the same or worse in the hands of Seiya should they have protested any further.
A wet cough escaped Mr. Sanio's lips, blood splattering across the floor as bruises bloomed across his face. Seiya yanked him up by the hair, crashing him to his knees. With a sharp tug, he wrenched his father's head back, lifting his face, so their eyes lock—Seiya's gaze was cold and merciless as they bore into Mr. Sanio's eyes filled with pain and disbelief.
Seiya's father couldn't believe the meek and naive child that once couldn't even dare to look him in the eyes, was now the one manhandling him ruthlessly. He wondered how Seiya came to speak so fluently and with such bold words. How he came to be able to look directly in his eyes and act so assertive, voicing out his thoughts—was it his way of training him that lacked? Or was it simply the way things were meant to turn out?
The truth remained undisputed that Seiya was the first from the many subjects he's had to deal with over the years, to rebel.
"For a worthless insect like you, you sure make a lot of noise, buzzing about so freely with no care in the world," Seiya muttered.
Extending his free hand to the side, he whispered softly, "Come."
In an instant, the stainless steel staff, secured deep within the containment room, shot through the air like a spear, slicing the silence as it crashed into Seiya's waiting grip.
Tightening his hold on his father's hair, Seiya yanked him back even further, glaring down at him. Slowly, Seiya raised the staff, angling its tip directly over Mr. Sanio's trembling form. "You—"