An eery silence filled the forest.
Trembling and barely able to maintain his stance, the last man standing among the Homonculi staggered backwards. His breaths were rough and loud, breaking the silence like a punctuation mark.
Around him, his comrades lay broken, and for those who weren't lucky, there was barely any part of them left.
All courtesy of a single boy now crumpled on the forest floor.
Levi.
The man took a shaky step back, then forward again, confusion and disbelief turning his mind into their playground.
His hand, still trembling, slowly reached up to pull down his mask. “What the hell is up with this kid…” he muttered,. “Did he really—? Did I just—? What the hell just happened?”
He staggered backward again, nearly tripping over a fallen branch, catching himself just in time.
“Those guys said we might encounter someone different among the students, but this....”
The warning they had received from Darius' team was something they took as a joke. Even if a student was different, at most he'd be a 2C.
But this wasn't about strength. The horror he just witnessed. The aura that crawled into his veins from Levi like a rope of ice slowly running through him. He couldn't attach it to any feeling he has experienced since the day he was given consciousness.
Take him alive when you find him, that was the order they gave them.
"They want us to take this thing alive?" He grit his teeth. “why can't they fucking do it themselves! They're not prioritizing his capture, so why are they making us risk our necks for it?"
"But... Can this monster really be allowed to live?”
He stretched his rand hand out. It glowed as he gathered Ki into it, some particles began to glow around it too, and from them, a glowing spectral sword began to materialize.
This was another basic utilization of Ki. Materialization of objects in form of energy. It varied according to users. On a basic level, basic objects like spoons, swords, and sticks could be formed, but for individuals who specialized in it, the objects were more complex, ranging from buildings to machines.
"This monster can't be allowed to live.” the man said, stepping closer to Levi, raising the blade.
His movements were halted by a sudden voice.
“Whoa, whoa—relax,” a calm voice came from behind the trees.
The attacker froze, his blade hanging over Levi.
“I knew you guys were low,” the voice continued, “but I didn’t know you were that low.”
From the shadows, a boy stepped out. He had short purple hair and eyes matching his hair color and his face was completely blank, showing no emotion of any kind. He also had a faint tattoo arcing from the right side of his forehead toward his eyebrow.
Behind him, the bush came apart again, revealing a girl with long red velvet hair that spilled over a white crop top and light blue cargo pants. She had a similar expression to the boy, but hers resembled annoyance more.
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Among the senior year students, Grade 12s, nearly all maxed out at Rank 3C, still years from hitting anything beyond. Even Raika who was supposedly l the son of one of the pillars, one of most powerful families on Astrovia was only at 2C.
But there were two students who stood out as exceptions in Levi’s class. These two were the same youngsters standing face to face with the Homonculus at the moment
Silver and Bianca.
Bianca crossed her arms, her gaze fixed on the attacker. “Just take care of him fast, Silver. I don’t feel like dealing with small fry."
The man turned toward them, his grip tightening on the sword.
“These two…” he muttered. "Did they just call me small fry?"
The information given to the Homonculi was only about one student being different. As a result, the man was currently underestimating Silver and Bianca, making him infuriated by the fact that they called him small fry.
Silva cracked his knuckles. “You know, I was really hoping to nap today, but watching you try to stab an unconscious guy you lost to kinda killed the mood.”
The man was exasperated by the fact that Silver and Bianca were looking down on him, but his fear for Levi at the moment was currently more than his annoyance towards them.
“You don’t understand what that boy is,” the man growled, stepping back. “He’s not normal.”
“Apparently, neither are we,” Bianca said, brushing a lock of red hair from her eyes. “But we don’t go around executing people for being scary.”
“Just shut your fucking mouths and stay out of this, kids.”
“Kids?” Silver snorted. “Interesting...”
In an instant, Silver vanished. The man barely had time to react before a flash of purple appeared in front of him, and a fist smashed into his ribs with a crack that echoed like gunfire. He stumbled sideways, coughing blood, and the sword he constructed with his Ki vanished.
While this unfolded, Bianca just remained in her spot, letting out a yawn.
Then after watching Silver's punch hit, She simply extended a hand and whispered something under her breath. Chains covered in flames erupted from the ground and wrapped around the attacker’s arms and legs, slamming him to the earth.
“I said take care of him fast,” she muttered.
Silver knelt beside Levi, checking his pulse.
“Still breathing,” he said.
“Good." Bianca said. “ Should we get him out of here?”
“No need," Silver responded. "Let’s leave him. His friends are already on their way. He’ll be fine.”
And with that, they both vanished.
Almost immediately, Kyle and Violet jumped out of the same direction Silver and Bianca had come through earlier.
They too had felt the change earlier. The sudden coldness that spread through the forest like a shockwave, earlier. The barrier might have prevented them from sensing the energy itself, but I couldn't erase that chilling presence.
And they recognized it. It was the same presence they felt earlier when Raika first confronted Levi.
That was enough for them to pinpoint his location.
But by the time they arrived, the damage had already been done, and they'd missed most of it.
“Levi!” Violet shouted, racing towards his body.
Kyle was right behind her, dropping to his knees. “Levi! Levi, can you hear me?”
His hearing was still dull but he was beginning to hear Kyle and Violet's voices in Muffled forms. His eyes opened slowly and he blinked a few times, steadying his vision, then slowly turned his head to see Kyle above him.
A sharp pain ran through his head, and he winced, clutching it.
“I’m… I’m awake,” Levi muttered, gripping Kyle’s wrist. “Please stop shaking me.”
He sat up slowly, groaning as his body ached. His eyes darted across the area, and the sight of the bloodied corpses made his stomach turn.
He still wasn't used to the bloody sight like Kyle and Violet.
“What… happened here?” Kyle asked, scanning the scene.
“I don’t know,” Levi murmured.
His mind instantly gave him a response to Kyle's question. The images of what happened stormed through his mind.
That thing inside him tearing those men apart like paper.
And a streak of red hair cutting past his vision.
“Did… did you guys see anyone pass through here?” Levi asked suddenly, turning to them. “A girl… red hair.”
Kyle raised a brow. “Red hair? No. I didn’t see anyone. Violet?”
Violet shook her head. “No. We didn’t pass anyone on the way in.”
Levi didn’t mention the energy that had consumed him. He didn’t understand it himself. And more importantly, he had sworn not to drag his friends into it.
“I thought I saw someone,” he said after a pause. “A girl with long red hair. But… maybe it was just a dream.”
“Long red hair…” Kyle murmured, then glanced at Violet.
Violet’s eyes met his. They didn’t speak, but at that moment, they both knew who Levi was referring to.
From their earlier days in Rakuzan. Few could forget those two.
Kyle exhaled and looked around again. “Well… if it was them, then yeah, maybe they did this.”
He stared at the carnage one more time.
“That’d be believable. Especially for Silver.”
"Still a ruthless assassin..."
