The class stood in silence for the next 20 minutes, wondering why Aria stopped them. As far as they could tell, they were simply standing in the middle of a sea of monsters.
Bladed grass swayed all around them, making every gentle breeze of wind feel like a Kaiju walking just out of sight. Every instinct told the students to flee, to run while they still could. Yet Aria told them to stay.
So, they stayed.
'I can sense quite a few Kaiju...' Adam thought with a frown.
Varek was looking out at the grass with a heavy look of expectation on his face. Adam's brows furrowed the more he watched. It was like the bastard Red Hair was only born to fight and kill.
Considering the impending apocalypse, Adam didn't find that part too bad. However, it was what he had said...
That Thea was a waste.
Was she stupid and naive? Yes.
But she was also innocent, a happy girl thrust into an apocalyptic hell. When she got that flower, it wasn't even for any personal gain really. She just wanted to show Evan something she found cool.
'Like that matters...' Adam thought.
This world didn't care about stuff like that. All it noticed was power. The strong eat the weak. What could some innocent bullshit like flowers or love do to them?
Crumble and die?
The facts were obvious. Until he eliminated the Kaiju—every last one of them—they would never be safe. Innocence would be synonymous with death.
In a way, he understood what Varek meant.
But innocent people weren't a waste. Cynthia, Faye, Mom, and Dad—they were his reason to fight. To never lose them again.
...
"Don't move," Aria reminded the class, looking directly at Evan.
Sweat poured down his sullen face, making it shine under the heavy sun of Ereshida. However, it wasn't heat that made him sweat.
Pat. Pat.
Dozens of light footsteps could be heard in the tall grass. Dozens of Kaiju hunting them. Even though it only took 1 to kill Thea and heavily wound their strongest member.
'Second strongest,' Adam thought. The strongest was Aria, their mentor and the one who told them to stop.
That's why every student became a stone monolith, even though every instinct told them to run. Thea didn't follow orders, and now she was dead. Whatever waited for them in the grass... only Aria could stop.
Besides Varek and Adam, everyone shared this thought. Of course, Varek only trusted himself and his strength. Adam knew that Aria could be too slow to save them.
Pat. Pat.
Dozens of footsteps circled around them. Small whimpers left a few students' mouths. Their bodies shook violently as they closed their eyes, praying that this moment would pass.
The Kaiju answered this prayer by moving closer. Every movement in the bladed grass entailed death. No student dared to blink as they watched for any sign of the Kaiju.
"Stay still," Aria exclaimed as multiple students were shaken down to their core.
They were going to die here.
Run.
Run while you can.
Run before you're torn apart like Thea.
"Calm down," Varek said with a smile as he walked toward the grass.
Aria's eyes grew wide as she summoned her baton, dashing forward and screaming, "Varek! I SAI–"
Grawr!!
Multiple beast Kaiju ran from the bladed grass, their humongous fangs bared as they lunged at Varek.
Varek flashed a grin as he nonchalantly raised his right hand. A second later, 5 red beams of light shot from his hand, striking each of them in their hearts.
15 more of these Kaiju that resembled a blind, gargantuan sabertooth ran out from the bladed grass. Their roar flattened the grass and even knocked most of the students down.
Adam watched with silent approval as Varek summoned 15 more beams of light.
By the time Aria managed to reach him, the threat was already neutralized. Varek flashed her a wild, malicious grin as he said, "Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, I can keep you safe."
She passed him without even acknowledging the taunt, quickly dropping his smile. Adam raised an eyebrow as Varek turned around, creating another light beam to strike Aria.
Varek's attack ended before it ever began, replaced with pure shock. Adam instinctively changed his arm into a sword when he saw what Aria was actually walking toward.
Though neither of the top students thought they could do anything to the Kaiju before them.
It didn't exactly appear threatening. Barely a meter tall, the Kaiju was simply a small circular ball of fur.
However, its aura...
Because he was still, Adam only felt an immense pressure of death peeling him apart. On the other hand, Varek had moved quite a lot.
Every part of his body twisted and contorted in every angle. It felt like every movement he had made was tearing him apart from the inside out. Bones cracked as flesh tore. Tendons separated from the bone as his skin sizzled.
Then, when it felt like he was about to die, Varek looked down. His body was perfectly fine—for just a moment.
"He saw you move 11 times. I'm sorry," Aria said as she gritted her own teeth and pressed forward.
Adam understood what had happened almost immediately.
Although this Kaiju was small and seemingly harmless, its true power was horrendous. Just being in its presence was enough to feel like you were dying.
However, for someone it had seen move...
A psychopath's pleading scream was all he needed to know the pain. Until now, Adam had only seen Varek be a cold, calculating killer.
Yet, under the gaze of this Kaiju, he had become little more than a sniveling baby.
'So how strong is Aria then?' Adam thought with newfound admiration. Even if she wasn't the best teacher, she was undoubtedly strong.
And, even though Varek was an asshole to her, she took on the burden of his pain as soon as she could.
"Adam. It's going to take me a while to get to this Kaiju. Because Varek is out of commission, you're the next best option to lead the students."
"Lead?" Adam asked, completely perplexed.
Gritting her teeth against immeasurable pain, Adam instantly regretted his question. Her forced perfect composure had blinded him to the pain each word caused her.
Sweat pouring down her face, Aria took a few pained breaths before muttering, "Take them south. Now."
[Road to Ereshida's first temple uploaded]