"We might end up in a big fight after this," Ramsay added. "We can’t afford to carry dead weight beyond this point."
Mark’s imdiate reaction was to retort but no words left his open mouth. After so ti he heaved a long sigh and shook his had.
"Please tell you aren’t being serious right now."
The sergeant didn’t reply, his silence saying everything that needed to be said.
"Let ask you a question, then," Mark gave him a mocking glare. "Do you seriously think that nothing will happen if I stay here?"
"Those bastards already swiped this floor. I doubt they’ll return."
"That’s not what I ant! I’m asking you whether it’s truly possible for to stay out of trouble!"
It was impossible, that’s what Mark believed. Even if he were to disregard the ridiculous idea that he was the protagonist of a novel, sothing told him that he would end up in trouble one way or another.
After all, he was sohow targeted by a dragon the mont it entered their world, and the next ti he went out strangers in red cloaks attacked him. An army of the sa strangers for so reason decided to attack the place he was going to. Anyone capable of pattern recognition could tell it was highly unlikely for him to stay out of trouble simply by choosing to remain in the next room.
"This is why I said you should’ve gone to the academy."
Ramsay pursed his lips, his eyes drifting down. After so ti he heaved a resigned sigh. His gaze shifted to Elya and their petite squadmate grimaced as if she understood what was coming.
"You’ll look after him."
"Why !!!" She cried.
"Because you aren’t good with enclosed spaces." The Sergeant replied. "And you’re the only one here who can use barriers."
Soone whose main fighting style involves crushing things with a giant sword wouldn’t do well in an underground arena. Mark thought it was a little odd that soone who could pass for a hobbit or a dwarf would have such a problem. The temperature in the room suddenly dropped.
"Hey," A calm yet terrifying voice called out. "You were just thinking sothing very rude, weren’t you."
Mark could tell with utmost confidence that the only ti he felt such fear was when he first saw Malarak. His orange-haired squadmate didn’t even need to unleash her Soul Pressure to make him quake in his boots.
"I believe you’re mistaken." He replied. "I’m incapable of thinking."
"You sure talk a lot for soone like that."
Mark understood that this was his second warning. If he were to make the mistake of ridiculing her height one more ti, it would be the end for him.
"Sa as before, I will go ahead and scout." Ramsay resud. "If we’re lucky I might be able to get the target out and we wouldn’t have to do any fighting."
"So that’s not what’s going to happen," Franco said. "You gonna tell us the plan or what?"
"I will give you the signal. All you have to do is cause a distraction and-"
"Yeah," Mark smiled wryly. "There is no way in hell that’s going to work."
All eyes turned to him, questioning why he was pointing out the obvious.
"I’m only describing the base plan," Ramsay said. "Just because it’s unlikely for things to go as planned doesn’t an we skip the planning part."
"Plan things ahead and adjust your actions based on the circumstances," Franco said. "Having a plan that goes wrong is still better than not having a plan at all."
"If the plan is going to tail anyway then let’s go with mine!"
The tense discussion was suddenly shattered by Alex’s cheerful voice. Everyone turned to look at him, and seeing the oblivious smile he wore their first thought was to shut him down. That was when Mark held up a hand to silence the others.
"No," He spoke with utmost seriousness. "Let him cook."
~[ ]~
With no fuel for them to burn the azure flas slowly died. They left nothing behind. Only piles of ash littered the floor of the vast hall.
"Clean up and bring the next batch."
Zhang Tianmu gave the order with noticeable irritation in his voice. He gave the air of soone tornted by a tedious task, and that’s what it was to soone of his standing.
He didn’t massacre a few thousand innocents. No. All he did was sacrifice the souls of unworthy heretics. They were worthless scum who dared go against the will of the gods just to save themselves. Their lives should have long since ended.
"Elder Zhang," One of the Red Hoods walked over and knelt by his side. "We have received a report that a few disciples have failed to return."
"Why are you bothering with such trivialities?" The Priest in red sighed. "It is to be expected that so Highlander heretics are still lurking around. Deal with them when they show themselves."
Though they had successfully taken over the shelter, it wasn’t out of the question that the so-called Peace Keepers would sohow make their way in. With no news of the situation outside having changed, it was unlikely that they numbered in the many. They were probably a rogue team aiming to disrupt the selection and buy ti for reinforcents to arrive.
"Whatever the case, it’s pointless."
Tianmu hadn’t kept count but he was sure that the shelter was almost empty. Once the last of the heretics was burned he would have no reason to remain.
The hall was cleaned in a couple of minutes and another group was brought in. This one was much smaller, numbering only in the hundreds.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Tianmu approached the edge of the podium and released his Soul Pressure. He watched as the unworthy dropped to the floor, but his attention was mostly on those who remained standing. Though they managed to cling to their consciousness, they were clearly struggling and would soon fall if it went any longer.
’Even though I’m making sure to hold back.’ He thought as his gaze wandered to the few in the back. ’Hm?’
Among those still standing, three managed to catch his attention. The first one had bright orange hair and appeared to be in her early teens, which was strange since children under fifteen wouldn’t undergo the selection. The other was a tall man with a scrawny build. He didn’t look the least bit distressed despite being under the influence of powers beyond his understanding. And lastly-
"... You..."
The pressure enveloping the hall suddenly grew heavier. Tianmu’s eyes were wide, his face pale like that of a corpse. An instant later it twisted with unbelievable rage as a halo ford over his head and flas manifested in his hands. Silencing any second thoughts he had, his held his hand up and shouted
"DIE!!!!"
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