Exam VI

[Lica Pov]

The fourth day of the exam.

The end was visible and the tension surrounding all of us remaining examinees was palpable.

I took my gaze off the front and moved it to my companions.

"Ason," I said, looking at one of the two boys who made up our group. - Tell us, what did you see."

Ason took on a serious look and leaned back against a tree, resting his sword in the process.

"Nothing worth celebrating - he sighed and moved his gaze between the trees, to the fur camp set up beside the river. - There are 8 of them, all above Rank F, and of course, there's also Aris and Sudh, both at Rank E-."

A heavy silence fell as we all watched the camp torches, which reminded us of our plan.

"Nothing changes, let's follow as previously prearranged," I said, conjuring my sword from my storage. - What about Alan, any news?"

"Nothing I don't know what he'll be doing," said Jien, one of the girls in the group. - But we'll most likely see him at the battle today."

At the sound of Jien's words, all of us including me finished our preparations and took another look around the camp.

"You know what to do," I said, in the meantime, everyone had moved their hands to their swords. - Finish off every last one standing."

*****

So who was running ahead of me, hopped through the branches stretched out his hand?

We all stopped and as we fell over the branches we looked carefully and cautiously at our surroundings.

"We are five minutes from the entrance," said Stao's feminine voice, "we must split up."

Their gazes fell on me, waiting for the order.

"Don't hesitate. - I said as I summoned a resistance potion from my storage. - We are strong."

-Glup.

The glass potion fell from my hands to the snow, announcing the start of our plan, we each ran to our assigned place.

-Crack.

The branches creaked with each leap I made over them, as I approached the camp.

The rustling died down as I reached my target, the east side of the camp, and I carefully and slowly climbed down from the trees and approached the river.

The river was deep, but thanks to our reconnaissance we were able to identify the places with less height.

The water splashed softly with each step I took, approaching me towards my objective like an animal towards its prey.

Finally, I managed to watch as a boy passed behind the trees with his hand on his sword and his guard up, looking for any intruders.

My heart pounded like never before in my life and my sweaty hands moved slowly to the sheath of my sword. If I failed we would all die.

The thought was terrifying, but somehow it managed to remind me of my goal.

I had told the boys myself, that we were strong. - I unsheathed my sword and slowly covered it with a translucent green Aura. - I hadn't said it just to encourage, I said it because I and all of us believed it.

My eyes closed and when I opened them again I was already in front of the boy bringing my wind-covered sword towards his neck.

He only met my eyes with mine, a fierce light shone within them, but before he could do anything my sword had already pierced his neck, killing him instantly.

-Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!

A whistle resounded throughout the forest, the resting animals ran scared, but I paid no attention to them and fixed my eyes on the decapitated body of the boy.

Bloodstained the snow beneath him and as planned any sign of life had disappeared from him, all according to plan, except for one thing, the small red rock from which a deafening beep emanated from between his fingers.

-Claap~. -Claap~.

Two elongated, annoyed claps rumbled behind me.

"As stupid as ever. - Said a voice full of sarcasm, to which I turned around. - If you could think it yourself of course I would too, my dear~ Liica."

My gaze was riveted on the boy with the sarcastic voice, black hair, blue eyes, slightly brown skin, features I had seen from a long time ago and remembered perfectly.

"Aris. - I said positioning my hand on my previously sheathed sword. - Stop spouting shit and let me fucking kill you."

"Ara~. You're too violent, you don't seem to change even when you look death in the eyes. - Aris moved his hand towards a dark-skinned boy with purple eyes standing behind him. - Finish her my Sudh."

Instantly the floor beneath Sudh broke and with a leap he came towards me, at a frightening speed his sword was unsheathed and a purple Aura that almost completely lost transparency surrounded it.

I responded by unsheathing and conjuring my green Aura around my sword, I tensed my legs and prepared my whole body for the impact.

-Claang!

The sound of our swords clashing devastated my ears and my eyes closed almost instinctively, only opening them again when I felt the air hitting my hair.

To my dismay, I was flying and Sudh was coming towards me, without pause and with killing intent.

By pure reflex, I moved my body and managed to dodge a bullet of fire, but I could not reposition my body in the air and ended up falling backward on the snow.

I heard Sodh's footsteps crunching in the thick snow and leaned my arms, trying to get up, but before I could stand up a kick landed on my stomach.

My eyes along with my body rolled in the snow and I only stopped when Sudh stepped on my sideburns, burying me in the ground.

The pain of the blow erased my dizziness and cleared my mind. I could see what was happening.

Such unsheathed his sword and raised it, the purple Aura slowly enveloped the blade and his eyes glared at me in a trace of pity, which was abruptly cut off when he made a lunge towards me.

-Clang!

I waited for the pain of being pierced by a sword, but it didn't come and instead, I heard the sound of swords clashing.

When I opened my eyes Ason was standing in front of me, pointing his sword in Sudh's direction.

"Pathetic. - He said, causing my heart to sink even more than it already was. - To think that the day would come when I would have to save you. didn't you say we were strong?"

His words pierced my heart and made me remember the promise the five of us had made before we started the exam.

"Leave this bastard to me, I'll finish him off," Ason said as a faint beeping sound flooded my hearing and a translucent gray Aura surrounded his sword. - You go get the older bastard."

Instantly both Ason and Sudh ran to meet him.

-Clang!

Their swords clashed and followed that Ason generated a whistle that traveled extremely fast through the air as did his attacks.

With each step, Sudh responded by attacking with his purple covered sword, between all the attacks Ason raised the levels of his beep.

Ason took a step back and just as he fell he sheathed his sword, Sudh seemed to hesitate, but not for long as he ran as he wrapped his sword in a fire that turned purple.

-Baaaaang!

Ason's stance changed and he unsheathed his sword with a roar.

This was his deviant affinity. Sound.

Thanks to the hot air the sound transferred even faster towards Sudh who spurted blood from his ears, but he didn't stop and swung his sword in Ason's direction.

In an instant, the two clashed their swords, but to Sudh's surprise, the sound died out and exploded somewhere else. Inside his body.

"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR RUN!"

Ason's words snapped me out of my daze and reminded me of my purpose, to kill Aris.

In an instant, I rolled my foot in the wind and hurried my steps towards the camp, where Aris was watching the fight.

Two of the boys who were watching with Aris moved to meet me, but before they could do anything Jien and Stao blocked them and took the opportunity to give me a slight smile.

Their gestures gave strength to my heart and speed to my steps, there was little time left to finish with that son of a bitch.

As I watched Aris' smile disappear, a wild force resurfaced from deep inside me and led me to prepare myself for the fight.

"Baaastaard Aris, get down from..."

-Giaaaaahhhhh!

Before I finished my words a deafening scream echoed, stopping my run.

A shiver ran through me and my eyes were riveted on Aris who slowly opened his mouth, trying to stifle his charges, until he couldn't anymore.

"Pffft, hahaha. - His laughter rumbled in my brain as I turned my body towards the source of the screams. - Ahhh~. You are quite stupid Lica."

-Eh?

Stupid morphs escaped from my mouth as I watched two boys covered in blood walk through the snow.

Their footsteps were weak and their faces begged for the quickest death possible, but that didn't happen, the boys watching them were just toying with them.

They slowly plunged their swords into the skin of the pair. - A man and a woman. - And they dragged her away, shredding every part of her body.

Death screams escaped from the boys, but slowly they died down until a silence of gloom filled the place.

By this time I was already lying on the ground, I had wanted to go to save them, to run to them, but the strength had abandoned me, I continued to observe the two lifeless bodies of my two companions.

They were siblings, the two had always been very serious, especially the girl, she was beautiful just like her brown hair that she shared with her brother, but there was no trace of those beautiful features, only a twisted bloodstain remained on the snow.

"Come on Lica. - Said Aris as he came towards me along with the two boys who had tortured my friends. - I thought you would entertain me more."

Aris continued to tease me for a long time, but I couldn't say anything, my mind was lost, blank as the vast snowy landscape around us.

"Look they're about to finish. - Aris said, waving his arm at the footman on his left side, who grabbed my chin and forced me to look at my friends. - Maybe Ason could have won, but when you fell on the snow he lost all concentration."

My heart contracted when I saw Ason, who was dripping blood down his missing left arm, his skin was already as pale as snow and any sign of will was gone.

"Look at the other two, the only good thing they have are those pretty faces. - Her lackey forced me to move my gaze to Jien and Stao, who were in a worse condition than Ason, they were being raped. - Well that's enough, this site won't let me eat later."

At the sound of his words, those who were playing with my companions stopped and thrust their swords, without fail and quickly over the hearts of my companions, my eyes met Ason's, who formed a relieved smile as he checked my condition.

"Now what is what is what..."

-Spurt.

A bullet of air flew and pierced the head of the boy holding me.

Another blast moved my sword towards me, which I rested on my hands, and followed by that I poured my entire mana core into my air-filled feet.

A short swing to the right spread blood everywhere as my sword slashed into the head of the second footman.

My eyes met Aris' surprised gaze and without pause, I pulled my sword out of his lackey's body, but before I could do anything an explosion reverberated and kicked up all the snow.

—Baaaaang!

As soon as the snow blurred my eyes moved around looking for Aris, but instead, they stopped somewhere else.

Right, where Ason's body was, a large pillar of ice rose, and at the top of it was Sudh's body impaled and next to him a beautiful man who fluttered his platinum blue hair in the air and looked at me, causing my breathing to stop and a shiver to rise from the soles of my feet to my brain.