QT: Against My Will

483 7.105 – [END] Current Rankings 5 – War Of The Wickeds

A few days later in the same park, Liam was walking along the pathway leading to the lake. He looked around, checking on the condition of the trees and plants. A small boat was tied to the shoreline.

The traces of the latest fight were gone. It was said that a beast passed through a barrier and killed a few students. There were no clues about what it was or where it was staying, all the nearby cameras thawed due to the wild fire. Apparently Riley and Damon sacrificed their life to kill it, becoming overnight heroes.

He walked further ahead, looking for the exit to this place. Something caught his attention. He stopped in front of a tree. He felt a tingling sensation. Something inside him told him to move closer to the tree and look closely at the bark. He leaned towards it, trying to feel something, anything that could give him some answers.

“Why am I doing this?” he muttered.

Suddenly, the tree began to rumble and shake. The leaves started to sway slowly and the trunk became thicker and more prominent.

“What the hell is happening?!” he shouted before jumping back. As soon as he jumped back, the branches started moving. Small twigs and leaves fell off the tree and the ground vibrated.

“No,” he gasped. “This can’t be real!”

As the tree grew taller and taller, its growth seemed to never end — it began to reach the sky. In no time, the tree had become a giant and its roots were pushing through the clouds. Eventually, it hit the barrier. Crack.

“The fuck just happened?!” A few students screamed out. The barrier was cracking!

.....

“This isn’t possible!” They all panicked and ran into their dorms as the emergency sirens rang loudly across the city.

· · ────────── · ???· ────────── · ·

Elera was sitting in the library, studying for her exams. She heard the loud buzzing noise and looked up to see the growing tree outside the windows. She stood up and walked outside, only to find everyone else doing the same thing. Some people were panicking while others were calm and collected.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I have no idea,” Victor replied. “But I doubt it’s good.”

Soon, Elera saw a group of LADs flying out from all parts of the school. They’ve created a magic formation to stop the barrier from cracking further.

A few seconds later, the barrier started to crack again.

“Damn it!” One of the LADs cursed. “We have to hold on until the reinforcements arrive!”

The others nodded grimly in agreement, knowing that their only hope of getting out of this mess alive was for the reinforcements to arrive.

Victor rolled up his sleeves and jumped out of the window, landing next to the LADs, a group of people dedicated to protecting the city, and began chanting something in a strange language, throwing a ball of light into the sky.

Everyone watched in amazement as the ball of electricity flew across the sky. It grew larger and brighter, holding the cracks together in a dazzling display of light.

Another group of LADs appeared from afar, their distinct dark green uniforms set them apart from the rest — they looked far more prominent than the simple homespun clothes that the local LADs wore. The group also had a distinguished aura about them, more menacing, imposingly so.

The students quickly realized that these were not just any members of the Lycan Assault Division; these were the elite that just travelled here from outside the barriers. They were far more skilled, dangerous and intimidating.

They followed Nathaniel in the front, and all of them formed another magical formation. This one seemed to be working better than the first one.

· · ────────── · ???· ────────── · ·

When Riley’s system left the world after it checked the aftermath of Riley’s death, Ru Quan placed the remains of Silvia on the mattress of her dormitory room. He used the ancient technique he learned from Damon’s memories to remove the thousand-year fire — stopping it from trapping her soul.

As Xuan Mu mentioned before, this world was for the souls that wouldn’t learn a lesson if taught by normal means. He had to make Riley give up on his revenge against the HQ somehow.

Riley would now remain by the demon king’s side forever. He would remain in a coma-like state until the Demon King decided whether he wanted to resurrect him with all memories intact or put him through a reincarnation cycle.

It would have been easier if he let the food lady take over Silvia’s body entirely and get rid of the original Silvia, but this was better. Rarely would he have so much ‘fun’ during work.

Xuan Mu doubted Riley would seek revenge against them. Riley and Damon died as heroes while seeing Silvia dying at the bottom — it should be satisfying enough for them. Hopefully, the two would be so occupied by each other for long enough that they would forget that there ever existed an HQ or a person called Silvia LeClére.

· · ────────── · ???· ────────── · ·

Entering Silvia’s dormitory room, Bertha held a plate with a birthday cake. It has been three months since the incident with the barrier. Its cracking was successfully postponed, but for how long? Nobody knew.

Most importantly, Silvia’s condition was critical. She needed constant care and medical attention but there was nobody who could cover her medical expenses after she dropped to an F rank. She couldn’t afford to remain in the hospital or the cheapest dormitory room either. Her biggest hope was to wait until Juliet took over her family’s business.

It was strange to see Liam and Juliet work together. Bertha didn’t know exactly what happened but after a particular day, everything regarding Silvia had been financed by the Robbinson family.

═══════?????═══════

CURRENT RANKINGS:

1. Victor Egerton (S)

2. Jo Tyrrel (S)

3. Lucilius Mikhael (S)

4. Tia Knight (S)

.

.

.

8. Julliet Robbinson (S)

.

.

18. Liam Stevens (S)

.

20. Henry Ernchester (S)

.

23. Elera Mai (S)

.

25. Laura Shan (S)

.

.

.

.

.

130. Bertha Hamilton (C)

.

.

.

.

999. Alain Night (E)

.

.

.

3874. Silvia LeClére (F)

3875. Nathaniel Hauxley (F)

═══════?????═══════

Juliet stepped inside the room. Despite the scandals, Silvia was a good ambassador, remaining a top-class student and promoting their equipment during the ordeals. She didn’t expect Silvia would keep promoting them even after that accident — as the only survivor, many believed it was because of Robbinson’s armour, “How is she doing?”

“She’s still unconscious and in bad shape,” Bertha replied. After she blew the candle in Silvia’s stead, she went to get the water ready to change Silvia’s bandages.

“Why are you doing this?” Juliet asked, wondering why Bertha chose to remain by Silvia’s side when most had chosen to follow the new captains, “Why are you helping her so much?”

Bertha wasn’t sure how much longer she could keep this a secret. Even if she told the truth, nobody would believe her, “It’s because....” she pressed her lips together, finishing her words in her mind, ‘It’s because I’m Riley LeClére, her brother.’

Upcoming next…

Arc 8 – Monster Heist