[Class-C]
The class was in a strange mood since their leader hadn't said anything since he arrived in class. Instead of addressing them like he usually would, he had opted to do something more mundane.
Apollo rested on his chair with his eyes closed and a serene smile on his face while his classmates silently minded their own business.
They had no clue of what was going on in his head but they knew it was best to let the coiling serpent sleep.
'How will it be... Although I'm confident not to get myself killed in the Awakening Trial, keeping the others alive would be troublesome and hinder me.'
'Nah, I'd just head straight into the Citadel and conquer it.'
'However, losing a classmate definitely has a repercussion. And I don't want to uncover it.'
'Ah! How tiring. How troublesome. Its so disheartening!'
He thought as his fingers gently tapped against the table in a stable rhythm.
He opened his eyes and raised his head to look at the class which was now quiet— all eyes on him.
"You all must have been waiting, eh?"
He said with a sly grin that seemed to be always plastered on his face.
"So... How many of you didn't get paired up in the VR?"
The air stilled at his question— silence enveloping the class.
"Huh? No one? Are you lying?" He asked as his eyes narrowed into slits which gave him more threatening aura.
"Fine. I'll just have to check from table to table and table."
Screech!
His chair scraped against the ground as he stood up and walked through the rows with a carefree expression. Like a predator, he studied their expressions, the subtle shift in their demeanor and then the slight pause in their movements— he read it all.
Slowly, he walked towards a girl who was quietly trembling and spoke.
"Who were your teammates yesterday?"
The girl visibly flinched from fear but tried to reply calmly.
"I-it was Maria and Jason. W-we met a few hours after logging in."
A happy smile appeared on his face as he pat her head softly before moving to another student. This cycle continued until—
Suddenly, he stopped before a delinquent-like student and looked at the boy with a tiny grin that didn't quite reach his eyes.
Immediately, the boy began sweating— unable to bear the weight of the stare.
"You didn't, did you?" Apollo asked softly as he rested his palms on the table.
"I-i did. I swear I really did!" The boy almost shouted as his eyes shook in its sockets.
'Oh, no you didn't.' He could tell very clearly. The slight tension in the boy's hands. The faint tremor of his lips. The wild thumping of his heart. They all read into one thing— Lies.
Pat! Pat!
Apollo patted the kid on the shoulder then said with a cold smile.
"I understand. Rebellion is a tempting. However— you have to remember whose orders you are defying"
Alexander silently stood up from his seat and sprayed the camera in the classroom, effortlessly blocking digital record of whatever was going to happen. After all, it wasn't going to be something pleasant.
"Next time, don't disobey ME!"
Bam!
Apollo punched the boy heavily, sending him skidding across the class as blood smeared the side of his face. Soft gasps of shock echoed through the class as they all flinched at such brutality but no one intervened.
'This guy is crazy!'
Alexander winced at the scene but looked away, after all he had once been in the boy's shoes.
Although disoriented, the boy stood up and barked at Apollo— his eyes full of hatred.
"What do you take me for?! A puppet you can trash anyhow?! Everyone came to this school with a goal. So why?! Why do you have to dictate how we live!! Tell me!"
"Hehehehehehe—hahahahahaha" Apollo clutched his stomach as he bent over, chuckling softly before bursting into laughter. "What a nice speech you've made. And honestly, I'm impressed."
Raising his head, his purple eyes turned darker and foreboding as he walked forward— one slow step after another like a quiet promise of pain.
"Why you ask? Let me answer that with a question. What is power, Lucas?"
"W-what?" Lucas stuttered, thrown off guard by the question.
"Power is the ability to control everything. Every single thing. And what I desire— is power. So what do you think happens when two desires clash?"
"T-that's—"
"One consumes the other. The stronger preys on the weaker. And I just happened to be the stronger."
'I will trample upon anything that stands in my way. Be it human or Nirad Creatures. Every single one of them!'
Finally standing before Lucas, he raised his clasped hands and brought it down upon the boy's head.
Bang!
Blood splattered as Lucas fell to his knees. His head ringing and in pain while his vision grew hazy.
"So what is wrong with it? What is wrong with my dream devouring yours?! What is wrong with me looking down on you?!" Apollo asked— his voice full of violent emotions as he pulled Lucas up by the hair. Forcing him to look up at him.
"Don't blame power, Lucas. Blame weakness."
He pulled back his free hand then punched Lucas in the face— effectively knocking him out. The boy's body slumped on the ground, unconscious.
Turning his head back slowly, he grinned despite the bloodstains on his face and asked eerily.
"Anyone else wants to challenge me?"