「Arc 1: Subjugation」

Chapter 0018 「Flame」

"Ew." Shivers passed down 18's spine as she realized 200 noticed her.

"18." He dropped the boy and spoke. "You're from the 20^th class." A wide smile grew on his face.

18 scratched her cheek, "He just had to be standing right in front of Labyrinth's exit."

Swish!

She stood very far from where 200 initially was, but he closed the gap between them in a blink and threw his arm towards 18 like a vicious beast trying to sink its claws in its prey's head. But 18's eyes caught 200's moment. She tilted her head to the side and saved her face.

"Hey, hey, aiming for my head like that." She leapt back, maintaining distance between them. "You could have scarred my face with fingers like that."

A vein bulged in 200's forehead. "You think I care?" he charged once more.

18's moment was light and stable. She dodged every one of 200 strikes.

200's face reddened. "Fight back!" he yelled.

18 chuckled as she kept dodging. "Why should I?! Your strikes are breaking the floor and the walls. I am a fragile girl with a fragile body and a fragile fist. I can do you no damage."

More veins bulged on 200's face. His face reddened. "Fragile?" His anger boiled as he felt mocked. "If it were not for those seals, you would be dead." 200's strikes kept getting wilder, yet none managed to hit their target.

"Nothing more wasteful than a pretty face but an unlovely personality." 18 smiled. She jumped and landed on his straightened arm. Using her right arm, she grabbed his headband and landed back on the ground.

200 was left in disbelief as he pressed his fingers against his forehead and realized his headband was just taken.

"Whew, that was fun." 18 looked at the headband. "There might be more to your seeming façade of a violent personality, but I have no interest in men who bash others' heads." She winked. "Let's hope we never meet again." She laughed and started running towards the exit.

"Ha." 200 gritted his teeth and tightened his fist to the point that blood dripped from his fist. "Get back here!" He yelled. The clothes covering his back tore as four pairs of wings emerged. The wings were blackish and thin.

On the right side of his face, another set of sharp external teeth emerged like the maws of a beast.

"I'm gonna kill you!" His wings flapped.

"What…" 71's head started to get hazy. "You..awakened before me." His heartbeat rose. His pride–his entire identity was forged on the fact that he was always on top. Only he knew how much effort he dedicated to Awaken before everyone. Yet he got overtaken by the very man who he once abhorred.

The violet veins around his eyes started to become visible. His mind was overwhelmed by emotions.

"Huh." 50 flinched, seeing the sclera of 71's eyes morph into the shade of amethyst.

Whack!

71's kick came in like a hurricane. 50 coughed blood as his guts felt a sudden hit.

50 covered his head to block the incoming strikes. His eyes discerned from behind. 'My eyes can barely keep up.' He realized.

Crack!

71's barrage of attacks pushed 50 back. Each hit produced a loud noise and wounded him. However, the sound of the bone cracking didn't belong to 50, but 71.

"You are killing yourself." 50 managed to grab both of 71 arms and send him flying back with a potent straight kick.

71 landed on his feet.

Once there was enough distance between them, 50 saw the changes in 71. His eyes looked unnatural, veins were visible throughout his body, including the tip of his finger, and his skin reddened.  

"How dare you." 50 grimaced with his eyes bulged in anger. "You dare lose your sanity before seeing what I am truly capable of."

71 charged again. 50 stopped being passive and clashed. Their fists met. This time, the shockwave caused the nearby oil lambs to break and spread fire throughout the floor.

Amidst the burning path, they fought.

Crack!

50's limbs started to crack, and his skin tore, but he wasn't worried. 71's arms were broken even before his instincts took over. The sudden surge in 71's speed and strength resulted from his heart pushing his body to its absolute limit as a last-ditch effort to obtain victory.

50 knew if he endured for a while, he would be the victor as 71's heart would fail, and he would lose his life.

 "This is not how I imagined it would be." The fire around them started to whirl. 50 met 71's eyes. "You cannot see me. You cannot hear me." Before 50 awakened, during his torturous training sessions, he also lost control many times. He understood what it meant to lose your mind. However, it was precisely because he managed to pull through all that, that he became a True Awakenee. "I wanted you to see and realize the true difference between us, but this fight has lost its purpose."

The flames vanished near 50. He grabbed both of 71's arms once more. 71 retaliated with a kick, but 50 stood adamant, making 71 immobile.

50's amber eyes started to shine. "See, this is the difference." Brownish black flames began to erupt through 50's wounds. The fire spread through 50's arm to 71's body, covering 71's torn skin.

50's head fell back, only to thrust forward and hit 71 with a powerful headbutt.

Thump!

71 fell on his back.

"The Second Stage of Dark Arts – Summoning." On the middle of his palm, a ball of brownish-black fire emerged. "This is proof of how madly I trained and how far ahead I am." He looked at the unconscious 71's body. "Too bad you fell so early." The fire disappeared from 50's body, and the wounds were no longer present along with the flame. The bulged veins in 71's body also disappeared, and his tore skin recovered. "You owe me your life, but you will never know that." 50 wiped the blood from his face. "This defeat will hunt you, like how mine hunted me. So, next time don't be a disappointment."

Thump!

82 slammed one of the kids into the wall as he choked his neck. "I spared all of your faces, so it doesn't look like our class got brutally assaulted by the others in this trial." His grip tightened. "After this, obeying me won't be a choice anymore. I will make sure of it."

The palace now looked almost like a graveyard, filled with corpses yet to be buried. They were not dead. Of course, 82 didn't kill anyone. He didn't go easy, either. The ones in the group looked fine from the outside but were wreckage from the inside.

"Ha." 82 sighed as he let go of his grip. The kid fell on the group unconscious. 82 scratched his head. "If only you guys followed me from the start."

82's ear flicked. He tilted his head, yet the needle grazed his cheek before crashing into the wall.

"Who's there?" he asked.

"You won't believe where I was summoned." 84 revealed his figure from the shadows. "Right up there on the second floor." He pointed his arm toward the second floor. On his other arm, he held a wooden blowgun. It was small enough to fit in his palm.  

"84." 82's eyes narrowed. "If you were here all along, why didn't you help?"

"Well, I knew you would handle it." 84 shrugged.

82's fist clenched. He took a step forward. "You bas.." before he could complete this sentence, he fell on his knees. "What?" 82's mind felt dizzy. He remembered the scratch on the cheek by the needle. "What did you put in it?" he met 84's eyes.

"Man, you and your instincts. You almost dodged it." 84 kept the dart in his mouth. "This time, you can't move." He blew it.

Another needle came flying toward 82's chest. Unfortunately, he could barely move to dodge it but still blocked it with his arm.

"Good effort but useless since it penetrated through your flesh." 84 grinned.

82 felt dizzy and fell on his arms. His body felt numb. "What did you do to me?"

"You can still speak." 82 started to pick up the headbands from the other classes, unconscious kids. "When I tried that sedative on myself, I was knocked out for a day. I couldn't even remain conscious. I envy you. You are just built different."

"Sedative?" 82 struggled to keep his eyes open.

"18 made it, and the needles carry it inside them. One touch is all it takes." 84 tore one of the kids' clothes to make a pouch where he collected the headbands. "But credit for the blowgun belongs to me. I read about it in a book and made it using a broken log from the training room."

"You played dirty.." 82 felt his body shutting down. Such a situation would have caused him to be enraged, but the sedative numbed his emotions.

"Dirty..?" 84 chuckled. "See, this is why you would be a terrible Dictator. I would call what I did, well, unconventional. Sure, Martial Arts and Dark Arts help you win, but that doesn't mean they are the only way to win. It's better to look at things not directly given to you and think outside the box." He babbled as he collected the headband. "Think about how we were summoned. If you had somehow convinced those 10 to remain on your side. I would have been left with no choice but to reveal myself and work together with you. I believe I was summoned to the 2^nd floor because the professors knew precisely how I would act. They knew that those ten would turn their back on you. This entire palace was your predicament, designed to see if you could turn the tides and be worthy of the position of Dictator. You failed. Do you know why they believed 50 was stronger than you? Simple, a few nights ago, he showcased his might by climbing the waterfall in the training room. He annihilated your record."

82's eyes widened. His fingers curled and made a fist.

"You were not even aware of it. I only saw it because I was also training that night and hid when they arrived. Still, imagine if you gave it all when you climbed the waterfall. Were you worried that others would see the difference between you and them and lose motivation? Pathetic! You kept everyone at an arm's distance, enough to give them hope that they could overpower you if they trained a little bit more. Sure, this may have encouraged them, but what use was it when it came at the cost of you being questioned about your leadership." 84 crouched and tapped 82's headband. "Never hide what you're capable of, prioritize your needs above everyone else's, and always think of what everyone else is capable of—just some friendly advice. Everyone makes mistakes. No big deal. This one will only cost you the position of the Dictator." 84 took out one of the headbands from the pouch and threw it near 82. "The consequences of not having even one point might be severe, so consider this a token of goodwill. I do hope we can work together after I take the title."

Rumble!

84 took a few steps back.

The floor beneath 82's fist cracked. His heart which was supposed to be numbed by the sedative, thumped louder and louder. He grabbed the broken tile and slashed a line across his arm, inflicting a deep wound. "I've not fallen yet." With eyes full of anger and conviction, 82 stood up.

"Truly terrifying." 84 smiled.

Meanwhile.

"Leave me alone!" 18 yelled as she kept sprinting. Unfortunately, the path she thought was the exit turned out to be no more than one of the Labyrinth's mazes. The worst part being she now had a stalker.

"How long will you run?" 200 laughed.  

Crash!

200 kept crashing into the wall when they would change lanes, or the path would have a turn. He had never flown before. The wings manifested on his back due to his desire to catch her. But he learned how to control his wings at a phenomenal rate.

18 was incredibly fast, but the distance between them kept closing. He had not caught her yet because she followed the scent of others and led 200 near her classmates to slow him down. This only helped to an extent because 200 only needed one strike to beat everyone.

"Finally." 18's nose flicked as she finally found the scent she sought.

Underneath the flames, she saw 71 lying on the floor and 50 standing near him. She realized the fight had just ended. 'So, he lost. Oh, what I would have given to see that happen." She whispered.

"Hey, hey." 18 yelled and waved toward 50. "I bring a gift."

50's eyes fell on 18, but his gaze immediately went past her, and he noticed the one following her. His fist clenched as he realized what those wings and teeth meant. "The Third Stage of Dark Arts – Transmogrification."

She threw 200's headband toward 50. He caught it with one of his arms.

"Good luck." She ran along the flames, grabbed 71's collar, and ran past 50 while dragging 71's unconscious body.