(Marcus POV)
anwhile, on the other side of the forest where the smoke hadn’t reached yet,
there was Marcus, running through the forest while holding a lantern.
He sped through the forest, trying to find other first years.
"That smoke earlier slled like rotting corpses. Is it poison?"
He was now more worried about Jade’s whereabouts. She had left earlier to check on the first years.
Marcus tapped the badge on his long coat, and it showed the remaining teams.
————————————
#1 Black teams: 25 flags
#2 Purple teams: 19 flags
#3 Yellow teams: 19 flags
#4 Pink teams: 18 flags
#5 Orange teams: 17 flags
#6 Green teams: 12 flags
...
...
...
Number of expelled teams:
65
————————————
Marcus frowned, seeing the number of expelled teams.
"This is far from normal. We’re definitely getting attacked!"
Just then, he heard a boy screaming.
He stopped running and shined the lantern towards the source of the sound.
There was rustling inside the dark forest.
Marcus prepared himself, thinking it was one of the people attacking the school.
But instead, a student ca out of a bush. It was Caron. His uniform was stained with blood, and his eyes were panicked.
"What happened—"
Before Marcus could say anything, the student dropped to Marcus’s knees and gripped his coat tightly.
"Help... Please, Marcus, help!"
His eyes were watery, and he was visibly shaken.
"What happened here?"
Marcus bent down to et Caron; he asked with a serious face.
"I... don’t know. I rember that and my friend were waiting for our other friends to return, but they never ca back. That’s why I went out to search for them.. And...."
The boy stopped; he then burst out sobbing, while Marcus tried to comfort him.
"Did soone attack you?" Marcus asked.
"No... But I saw one of my friends getting eaten by a monster lady!"
"Monster lady?"
Caron rubbed the tears from his eyes.
"YES! She has teal hair color and she’s wearing a work suit. And it’s not just that. When I returned to tell my other friend, he was also gone! And the only thing that was left of him was his headless body—"
Caron puked on the ground, while Marcus tried to remain composed. But hearing all of those things, he couldn’t help but feel guilty towards the first years.
I need to solve this quickly. I hope Coral called the cops.
"What should we do..." Caron asked Marcus with teary eyes.
Marcus patted his red hair.
"Don’t worry, buddy. You have . I won’t let you get injured."
Marcus tried to reassure the panicked Caron.
He took a deep breath and smiled at Marcus.
"Thank you—"
SSHHHKK
As if speaking too soon, a katana penetrated through Caron’s stomach, leaving a puddle of blood everywhere on the ground.
Caron’s body plopped to the ground, but his face was still smiling.
He thought he would be safe.
Marcus watched as the student he promised to protect died in front of him.
"WHAT?!"
Marcus got up; he scanned the nearby forest.
He kept hearing bushes rattle and shake. When he shined his lantern towards the bush, there was no one.
"Shit, soone is definitely here with !"
There were many things going on in Marcus’s head.
The sudden death of the student he thought he’d save stabbed him right through his heart.
But Marcus knew better than to mourn the dying later.
But he couldn’t help but take a peek at the dead Caron.
Marcus’s eyes were shaking; he felt responsible for the death of the student.
Letting his guard down, the katana scread through the air.
Marcus’s eyes sharpened, and his chest let out a cyan glow.
[ Origin Aspect — Prismatic Sovereignty ]
Authority Acknowledged.
Light Domain: Active.
He pulled out the light from the lantern.
Marcus barely shaped the light before steel crashed against his barrier of light. The impact rang like a struck bell, then the blade shattered, fragnts scattering across the ground.
He exhaled sharply, wiping sweat from his brow.
"How many katanas do you even carry?"
It was as if he was speaking to no one.
It was total darkness. Until a deep man’s voice echoed in the forest.
"Careful, president..... You might blind yourself playing with lights too much...."
Marcus reacted instantly. Light twisted in his hand, reshaping into a spear just as—
THUNK.
The katana’s steel t Marcus’s spear of light.
The force rattled his arms. For the first ti, Marcus saw him: a man in a black blindfold, cat ears rising from his head, expression utterly still and stoic.
"The fuck?"
Their weapons scraped apart. The blind fighter flipped backward, landing beside Caron’s body with effortless grace.
Marcus noticed the man wasn’t wearing any shoes; he was barefoot. And he also had a tail matching his cat ears.
"Is this so kind of joke? Who are you?!"
Marcus demanded. He pointed his spear towards the blind man.
"Hah....." The man scoffed.
He circled around Caron’s body and pulled the katana from the corpse’s chest.
Blood stread down the blade.
Now he was wielding two swords in both hands: one that was clean and sharpened, while the other had the blood of a student on it.
"I’m...."
The man then tapped his foot on the ground, confusing Marcus.
"The...."
He took an attack stance, putting Marcus on high alert.
"Blind..... rcenary of the Broker..... Alexander." He whispered under his breath.
Marcus thought that the man would strike at him.
Instead, he threw the bloody katana towards Marcus.
His eyes widened, seeing the unexpected move.
SCHKK
He managed to block the attack using his spear.
When he looked back, the blind rcenary was nowhere to be seen.
But Marcus felt the wind brush his blonde hair. When he looked up,
sure enough, Alexander had jumped and was ready to strike Marcus.
SCHKK
Marcus, yet again, blocked Alexander’s attack.
Both of their blades clashed against each other. Marcus was visibly struggling, while the blind rcenary remained unfazed.
How is he able to know where I am if he’s blind?
Alexander whispered at Marcus.
"All of that light.... And you’re still blind..." The man spoke with his deep and calming voice.
"SHUT UP!"
Marcus overpowered Alexander, and his spear won the clash against the blind rcenary’s katana.
Alexander was thrown into the air, but he still had that stoic face, even though Marcus couldn’t see the man’s eyes.
Alexander landed on a tree branch; he nudged his blindfold a bit so it wouldn’t slip off.
While Alexander looked like he was fresh out of a hot spring, Marcus, on the other hand, was huffing out of breath.
He rembered Alexander ntioning being a Broker.
"The Broker?! Aren’t you guys the wanted group of terrorists that’s known for destroying the strong connection between spirit animals and Elgregreas?"
Alex scoffed.
"That’s right... I guess we’re famous, huh? Even the ’Light Sovereignty’ knows us."
Marcus wiped his sweat. He was shaking, terrified of what Alexander might pull next, but he didn’t want to look scared in front of his opponent.
"That’s so kind of you, calling that. Despite being a group of maniacs who think they can shape a new era with no spirits."
Marcus said while smirking.
There was so sort of violent intimacy between the two: a blind rcenary who don’t rely on eyesight, and a president of the student council who was reliant on light to guide his way.
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