[A week later]
Mikhail stepped outside of his camp tent, finding his squadron already assembled outside.
As always, he wasted no time with the group already following behind him.
Walking towards the drill grounds, he looked around at the state of the academy.
'Still a lot to work on.'
A whole week had passed since the incident.
But the reminders of the destruction were still there.
Broken buildings. Broken Glass. Broken Trees and Plants.
Dry blood marks on the ground.
The recovery process was very slow but Mikhail couldn't blame the academy for it.
The incident wasn't reported to the Empire so of course, there would be no help provided from them.
The academy was trying to procure resources from other academies and towns in the wilderness for the meantime.
The Stables had also been partly destroyed, making most of the drill routes too long to be checked.
Moreover, Daniel had suffered quite many injuries in the battle, so there was no one to direct them.
But despite the losses, Mikhail didn't fret over the results.
As he had said before, it was much better than last time.
At least one thing the academy maintained was its liveliness with the cadets.
'Something that was lost in the past life.'
If anything, Mikhail appreciated the Empire not giving the academy any help.
This incident had served as one of the catalysts to open every cadet's eyes.
The betrayal they felt when they weren't saved by their-so-called god, the Dominique, had made them truly realize their situation.
'Everyone has no one to rely on but themselves.'
Entering the grounds, Squadron 21 was quick to go and stand in their position.
The past week had been given off to everyone to recuperate and rest up.
So this was their first call-out ever since the incident.
And as everyone came to stand, for the first time, they came to notice in reality just how many people they lost.
The ground, which almost seemed to be filled to the brim before with this wall of cadets standing in formation at the edges…
Was now left empty in certain parts.
It was as if the wall of cadets had cracks in it now, with a lot of people missing from certain squadrons.
In fact, Mikhail could only see 11 squadrons or less that hadn't lost any member in the fight.
His squadron being one of them.
These 11 squadrons were all the squadrons with 5 members or less.
Or in other words, they were the squadrons that had the strength within themself to fight the monsters.
"Do you feel something different today?" Raviel asked from the back, sensing the energy.
"It isn't just the silence of the deaths, it feels like some oppressive atmosphere has descended on the ground," she continued.
From the front, Mikhail nodded.
"It is. It's the squadrons that lost a member or two in the fight. Look at them."
Listening to his words, the whole squadron looked around.
And instantly, they felt the aggressive glares and stares from the mentioned people.
'They are acting like children.'
Rather than blaming it on the stronger people, they should just blame themselves for their weakness.
'But of course, it's much easier to find flaws in someone else than yourself.'
It was just nature's course. A child's maturity level.
Mikhail didn't feel anything about it. The same had happened last time.
In fact, it was much worse last time as the squadron's that didn't lose a member were not more than 3 or 4.
The treatment they got was much worse but Mikhail's squadron couldn't care less.
Not that time and not this time.
They were only concerned with themselves and the well-being of their family.
'As it should be.'
If only these people were able to reach this level of understanding.
To become strong enough to protect yourself rather than seek protection from the strong.
Just like how they did with Dominique.
'Too naive. Too weak.' Mikhail concluded calmly.
One of their weakest traits.
However, there was another difference this time around.
A major difference that wasn't present the last time.
And Mikhail knew what it was. Even his squadron felt it.
"Mikhail," Raviel called from the back.
He didn't answer so she continued.
"Why are a lot of them glaring at you instead of us?"
It was true.
A large majority of the glares directed their way weren't at his squadron.
It was at him. Mikhail Hendrix, 1st Platoon Leader in the raid.
"I'm sorry Mika-" Amariel apologized from the back.
But Mikhail was quick to make her stop.
"Don't."
Turning his face for the first time, he looked her dead in the eye with his blue calm eyes.
"I wasn't able to say it before but, you did a great job handling the platoon in my stead."
He took a pause.
"No one could have done it better than you and I mean it."
He genuinely did.
In all of the deaths that had been reported to him by Modric, only a record 6 deaths were from the 1st Platoon.
Only 6.
He couldn't be more proud of the way she handled that large of a platoon.
Especially considering she had no experience in doing so.
"It's their fault for being weak. They need a target to channel all this hatred into. Now that they found one, the best you can do is ignore and focus on yourself."
At Mikhail's compliment, Amariel was left speechless just like the hospital.
Everyone knew how much Amariel admired Mikhail.
Well, everyone in the squadron did but Amariel's devotion to Mikhail was something else.
A faint flush of pink rose to her cheeks as she quickly nodded.
"Y-yes, I understand." She tried to calm herself, now fixing her expression.
If Mikhail had appreciated her, she needed nothing more.
"Good."
Turning back to the front, Mikhail focused on himself.
He didn't want to make his squadron feel the pressure from these glares or opinions.
That was all he thought about.
The hatred directed at him personally? Mikhail couldn't find himself caring a damn about it.
It wasn't the first time and it wasn't going to be the last one.
'Just a natural process.'
Focusing back on the ground, Mikhail saw the substitute staff finally enter the ground.
Since Daniel was in recovery, they were the ones handling the squadrons.
Mikhail knew what they were assembled for here today.
It was going to be the same as last time.
A small way of keeping them busy until the academy got back on track.
And that was…
"Assessment Tests."
Yes, they were going to be tested for their fitness and mental strength.
Especially after how many were left traumatized after the attack.
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