Chapter 23: Parting Gift

It was a whisper, barely heard, but it echoed in Danus' ears. The ring of light as well as the ball disappeared, and Danus' massive head was immediately slammed to the floor, sending waves of water at the group. 

Maria acted quickly to split the waves, and it passed by the sides of the group instead. Grant, with his hands in his pockets, slowly walked towards the struggling Danus, who could not fight off the King's Aura. 

Grant was now glowing in a golden aura, the color much brighter and deeper than Travis' light yellow. He unsheathed his greatsword, and with both hands, raised it over his head, ready to swing it. 

"King of Kings, third movement…" 

Grant's words echoed in the flat, watery world, as he prepared to kill a Demon King.

"Royal Execution."

"To be slain by another king…" 

Danus muttered to himself the same time Grant finished speaking, and the sword fell. 

Grant's sword cut through Danus's face like butter, causing a massive explosion the moment the tip reached the floor. But it didn't end there. The cut on Danus' face continued to dig deeper, until it reached all the way to his lower body.

The water that was sent in the air from Grant's attack came back down, raining on everyone. After a few seconds, Danus' body separated, perfectly split vertically, like a fruit being chopped in half. Surprisingly, there was no blood, or innards, or anything. Just a bunch of black mass that had been separated.

"S-So…" Sid said, breaking the silence. "This means we pass, right?" 

Van nodded absentmindedly. He was a little stunned by Grant's display of power. "I guess." 

The group looked around, and saw that there was a portal a short distance away, leading back to the academy building. Relieved at their victory, the group, most members being tired, started the walk back. 

All in all, Van felt like their fight was harder than what the previous groups got. He didn't see Group 5's wolf summon pillars of burning light!

Van also wondered, if he was treated normally by everyone, if he was able to get a good skill, would he have been able to fight Danus? If he was in another group, one that didn't target him, would he have been able to cooperate with them?

Interrupting Van's thoughts, Grant started walking next to him. 

"You know Van, we've known each other a long time," He spoke, earning a side eye from Van. "Just listen to me first." He sighed.

"We've known each other a long time. We've had our ups and downs, well mostly you, but we've had them." 

They were near the portal now. Van was glaring at Grant, and he glared harder the more he spoke. Unnoticed by Van, the rest of the group started walking slower, huddled together in order to leave Grant, Van, and Sid at the very back. 

"I know you most definitely hate us for everything we've done to you, but let's admit it. We're probably the closest thing you've ever had to friends." Grant continued unperturbed.

Van was now digging his nails into his palms. They were almost at the portal now. 

"But believe me when I say, we all enjoyed our time spent together. We didn't want it to end. Remember, you jumped off that construction site on your own." Grant pointed a finger at Van, who was doing everything he could to not try to punch the blonde asshole in front of him. 

By now, Jake and Trish were already entering the portal. 

"Alas, we all have new things to focus on in life, in this new world." 

Maria, Jessica, and Emil were walking through. 

"So, in honor of our time spent together, the 8 of us decided to give you a little parting gift, since we won't see much of each other anymore after this." 

Travis and Belle had gone through, and all that was left were the three of them. Grant went in first, joining the group back in the building before turning back to face Van, who was stepping into the portal.

"This is goodbye, Van. We'll probably forget you." 

"The hell you mean by that?"

Van was now back in the building as well, and Sid was stepping through.

Grant smiled at Van.

"This." 

The moment Sid exited the portal, the whole group quickly took a step back, knocking into Grant. At that moment, Van realized what they were planning, but it was too late. 

Grant stumbled forward and stuck out his arms to balance himself, shoving Sid and Van in the process, sending them back into the portal, which immediately closed. Grant fell to the floor and acted worried, hiding a smile on his face with his hand. 

"Van! Sid! Sir, It was a mistake, I fell, can you get them?" 

Grant turned to the lead instructor, who was shocked. The staff closes the portal immediately after the last member of a group passes through to prevent these kinds of situations. Unfortunately, Grant had fallen into Van and Sid as the staff shut it down, which is why they fell through before it could close properly. 

"Damn it! Why were you guys standing so close to the portal, anyway!?" 

Grant, putting on an expression of anger, turned to the rest of the group, who feigned embarrassment and shame. Some mumbled an apology. 

"This isn't good. Get me Level 5 agents, now!" 

The lead instructor barked orders, the staff mobilizing as the entrance test was put on hold. The instructor then approached the remaining members of Group 12. 

"I'm not going to lie to you guys, it's not looking good. The time dilation between Fendor and Pibar in terms of days is a ratio of 1440:1. That is, 1 minute on Pibar is a whole day in Fendor." 

He wiped some sweat off his brow before continuing.

"After we give the agents Transmigration devices, we're going to wait 10 minutes while they search for your friends. If they don't turn up, then we'll have to assume the worst." 

After explaining it to them, he rushed off to direct the agents and brief the staff on the situation.