As bad as the situation was at the start, with Talon''s strength, hepletely shifted the bnce of power in that ce. The terrifying Rain Walkers that were there to shed the blood of students suddenly became unable to even defend themselves against this raging monster.


    One second, one of them is still alive and the next second, they''re gone. None of them were spared from the terrifying sharp de of this human.


    The number of Rain Walkers quickly depleted till only a few were left. Those few were cornered by Talon as hepletely cut off any possible route of escape for them.


    Staring coldly at the terrified monsters in front of him, Talon felt his anger soar. These nasty things have killed multiple students when he was absent and it obviously didn''t sit well with him. These students were his group and while he didn''t know each one of them individually, seeing their lives being stolen in such a way was something he couldn''t ignore.


    He felt his heart boiling with anger and he knew that simply murdering thesest few of them wasn''t going to cut it. So, he came up with another idea, a more twisted one.


    *Snap*


    Snapping his finger, a small, azure me formed in his hand, illuminating the dark ce even more. When the monsters saw the me, they cowered back even more. Their instincts told them that the me wasn''t normal at all.


    "I will make sure to send you to hell in the most painful way possible." He said coldly. "You will never rest easy knowing you shed the souls of innocent people."


    After that, Talon aimed his hand at the monsters and left the fire to fly toward them slowly. the monsters'' screeches echoed in the building as they looked at the Azure me approaching.


    The feeling of its heat hit their skin and made them cry from pain. However, the real pain didn''te yet.


    The Azure me took a few seconds to reach them. Upon contact, the size of the mes increased exponentially as they spread over the body of one of the monsters. What followed after was the most spine-chilling cries Talon had ever heard. The inhumane sounds of a creature getting burnt alive by these mes echoed in the vicinity.


    It sounded cursed, unbelievably so. The Rain Walker squirmed around as it fought the mes. However, that only made things worse not only for it but for the rest of the Rain Walkers. In a matter of seconds, the mes spread to the other monsters.


    Meanwhile, Talon watched coldly as they burnt alive. Seeing their skin getting cooked and their bodies getting tortured made him feel a little better.


    Seconds passed as the sounds of these monsters started dying down and their bodies slowly disintegrated. Unlike normal mes, the Azure mes were eating thempletely, not even leaving ashes behind like a gluttonous monster. No bad smell came out of their burning corpses either.


    As he was like that, Talon received a notification.


    [Ding!]


    [You have killed 4 Rain Walkers using Azure mes. +2 Strength, +2 Stamina.]


    "What?" Talon raised an eyebrow when he saw the notification. "Why did I get stats from killing them?"


    This was a first for Talon. He thought with how high his level was, there was no way for him to actually gain any power from killing these creatures. It was also what Acrypha told him.


    "Hmm…" Acrypha grabbed his hand and looked at the information. "Yeah, that''s expected." She said.


    "What? How is that expected?"


    "Because you killed them with the Azure me, you have not only destroyed their bodies but alsopletely destroyed their souls. Doing that gives you bonus points more often than not." She exined.


    "Woah, really? That''s convenient." Talon nodded his head thoughtfully. "I should start finishing off monsters with the Azure me from now on."


    Then, he turned around, only to see Hyun-Jae approaching him in a hurry.


    "Are you ok?" She asked worriedly as she scanned his body with her eyes.


    "Yeah, I''m fine. What about you?" Talon replied.


    Seeing that he was unscathed, she exhaled a small breath of relief. Then, she looked behind her. "I''m fine. But… What were those things? I didn''t even see them or feel their presence till they infiltrated the ce."


    "I don''t know myself. I was also ambushed out of nowhere outside."


    Hyun-Jae nodded her head faintly as she watched the students silently. They were still in deep shock at what happened. Some were able to at least help the injured to stand up while others just stood there, in a daze.


    Watching that scene made Hyun-Jae frown even harder. Even though they were able to get rid of the monsters, the damage has been done. The students were hit with an unexpected attack that instilled fear in their hearts.


    Seeing their fellow students on the ground can crush their morals with ease. Especially in such a delicate situation, their enemy knew very well what they were doing.


    ''She was never going for kills. She wanted to crush everyone before the true battle.'' Hyun-Jae clenched her teeth as she realized the true intentions of the enemy.


    "How many died?" Talon''s voice broke her train of thought and made her turn around.


    "I… I think 5 students…" She replied in a quiet tone.


    ''Five…'' Talon mused. It wasn''t a big number by any means. But, these were still human beings, people that did nothing wrong and yet met their end in such a brutal way. It was painful to see it.


    Inhaling and exhaling to calm himself down, he said. "We can''t remain quiet like this or she will continue toying with us."


    ''She doesn''t mind sending a few monsters to their death if it meant crushing her enemy''s morals before the fight. On the other hand, we can''t do that…''


    "What should we even do at this point? The weather is extremely bad and we can''t move now. We can''t retaliate either until there is actually a clear path to the forest." Hyun-Jae replied.


    Unlike them, the mysterious girl had nothing to lose if she sent a few monsters to die fulfilling her goal. After all, they were simply monsters and not actual people. On the other hand, Talon and Hyun-Jae had moral boundaries they couldn''t cross even if they wanted to.


    "Give me a moment to think," Talon replied as he rubbed his temples.


    ''There has to be something I can do. Think!''


    The situation kept deteriorating quickly and he couldn''t find a single way to make it any better. He felt as if his enemy was always one step ahead of him no matter what he did. It didn''t sit well with him to be on the receiving end the entire time.


    However, that didn''t mean that he could really do anything at the current time except fix whatever he could fix and get the students ready for the battle as much as he could. It wasn''t optimal, but with theck of other options, it was the only thing he coulde up with.


    "Tsk…" Clicking his tongue, Talon shook his head. His aura slowly rose from his body as he felt his anger rise higher and higher.


    Calling what he was feeling at that moment ''anger'' was an understatement. In his entire life, Talon had never felt this pissed off ever.


    ''I will definitely make you regret all of this. I''m going to pay you tenfold for everything.'' A weird glint shed through his eyes for a split second.


    If his enemy wants war, then so be it.


    ***


    Meanwhile, outside. A silhouette stood on top of a huge building as she watched the scene in the far distance.


    Her eyes shone with a bright blue color akin to two magical orbs. Very cold yet also mysterious, she watched the gymnasium silently for a long while.


    Rain fell on her body but somehow, she didn''t seem like she was getting wet by the endless torrent.


    "That should be enough…" She murmured as closed her eyes for a second as if she was taking in the scenery.


    Then, she opened her eyes again and stared up at the pulsating gate. The magnificent scene of that giant behemoth floating in the air was mesmerizing and terrifying at the same time.


    "I wonder how long before I can get to you… 10… 15 years?" She asked as if she was talking to someone. However, since no one was there, she didn''t get an answer.


    In the end, she simply turned around and started walking back to the exit. "The n is officially in motion now… I can''t stop… Even if I wanted to." The door closed behind her as she went back inside the building.


    Her words dissipated into the atmosphere, unheard by anyone, and yet carried a deeper meaning than what many wouldprehend.


    (A//N: Thanks to everyone who supports the book with power stones and golden tickets, you guys are the best:) )