WELCOME, “EXECUTIONER” (1)

In the end, I never finished my breakfast.

Guilt and shame overwhelmed my heart and ruined my appetite. I knew the girl was right but I couldn't do anything except watch her leave.

"Class 10-A… Class 10-A…"

While I walk my way through the flights of stairs and corridors, younger students always turn my way in amazement. Seeing the youth in the eyes that will soon be purged reminds me of my sister and it causes a pang in my chest. Regardless, I must ignore them.

The bell rings the moment I step in front of my classroom. There's a semi-formed line with students on their phones and our homeroom teacher waiting for us to line up.

Without any instructions given, I quietly make my way behind a classmate who spares one glance at me before looking down at his phone.

My homeroom teacher this year is older than my previous one. With visible gray hair and a bald spot on his head, he scrunches his eyes at us through his glasses and with his hands behind his back.

I recognize a lot of the people lining up with me, but no one recognizes me. Which is good. No one has spoken to me so far except for the girl earlier. Hopefully, she'll be ok.

"You guys are all seniors! Not kindergarteners! Hurry up!" The old man shouts at the lousy students at their lockers. Some of the boys sneered at him but obeyed either way.

He finally let us all in when everyone had lined up. Students flow inside the classroom and take their assigned seats. Mine was fortunately located at the back of the classroom. So far so good.

"You students are so lousy! Stop wasting time! Time means money!" The teacher carries a heavy Chinese accent but his Vietnamese is decent enough.

However, based on what I've heard, he isn't a kind teacher at all… At least there's some personality compared to my previous teachers.

It takes the class around ten minutes to settle down, and by then our teacher is carrying a scowl on his face. He uses his wooden ruler, slamming it down onto the table twice to gain our attention.

"You call me Mr. Andrew! I'll be your form teacher and Math teacher!

You're all high school students now, so best act like one!

I won't tolerate lousy behavior! Your parents paid you to be educated so you will be!

Seniors' jobs are to represent the school, so don't embarrass us!"

I sigh, I've already figured out that the responsibilities of a senior would be greater. At least this time the teacher cares that you should keep up good behavior… That means if you get caught committing violence, the school will finally take action.

And here comes the introduction like always… He can happily doze off for five minutes while his other twenty classmates impress others with their speech—-

"You! In the back! Stand up!"

Huh?

I blink once, twice, five times and Mr. Andrew becomes more furious as I waste time. Having no other choice, I stood up from my seat in the back. The eyes of my classmates all turn to me with some expectations.

"Who is that?"

"Is he a new student?"

"No, he was here last year…"

"He's shaking… How pathetic."

Indeed my hands were trembling, I clasped them together and looked straight at the teacher. The guy from earlier stared at me with disinterest, and that didn't cease my nervousness at all.

"Hi- everyone…? My name is Huynh Quoc Trung—"

"Your English name!"

"Oh- Kai!— I like soccer and reading…" Slowly, my voice becomes quieter as I say whatever is on my mind. Hoping that he'd take it as an acceptable attempt.

"Soccer? He's not on the sports team!"

"I don't see him on the field either…"

"Is he lying then?"

The whispers reach my ears in no time, forcing me to get my introduction over with hastily, aiming for the finish line.

"—and cooking is also nice too!— Well that's it- thank you for listening!-"

"Sorry, I'm late,"

The shift of attention from me to another person makes me exhale in relief. Just as I was trying to repay my oxygen debt from merely speaking out loud, the teacher furiously exclaimed;

"You! You're late on the first day?! What's your name?!"

The center of attention becomes the girl from earlier, her face is bruised black and blue. One of her doll eyes is swollen shut but her face still holds the same neutral expression. Her ponytail is messier, her uniform disheveled.

She glances my way and makes eye contact, mouth opening to say each word as if they were directed towards me.

"My name is Tu Diep." Was she mad at me for not helping her? I find myself shrinking under the voids of her gaze.

"English name!" Mr. Andrew furiously demands.

"None." She replies casually, scratching at her swollen eye in boredom.

Then the teacher unleashes his wrath upon her. Scolding her for her attire, and time management, more and more until form class ended.

All I can do is watch as she stands there with wide eyes observing her surroundings. The students watch the scene unfold with amusement, while some hold a devious look on their faces.

This is why you never involve yourself in others' businesses.

Remember at Cosmo Intellect…

Your actions have consequences.

————

Lunch break comes quickly. Classes were all the same on the first day, an introduction to the subject, reading the syllabus, and being prepared for future exams… Thankfully everyone forgot about his poor attempt at an introduction due to Tu Diep's late arrival.

Even with money left in my pocket and enough time to stop by Granny, I bought myself a bag of chips to satisfy my hunger.

Everything seems to be fine on this side of the school. The bullies from last year are restraining themselves at least.

I settled down in a lone corridor on the ground floor and took some time to think for myself, about how the ones from year 9 and below can fight each other. What sort of fun do you get from violence anyway?

Was it the look of your victims that satisfies you? Fucking sadists...

Or is it the sense of power you have over beating up the weak? Eccentric motherfuckers…

But then again, a school that puts so much pressure on you by being one of the best schools in the country alone is enough. It's understandable for students to form entertainment among themselves through questionable methods. As long as it's not illegal… Or rather as long as no one finds out about it.

Cosmo Intellect is so successful that many teachers are asked to keep a secret about the ways of education at school. To avoid competition was their excuse. But there's something more to just that. You could be charged for spilling any information no matter how small it is…

"What do you have there?"

I was startled, jumping back to look into the single open eye of Tu Diep. She was crouching beside me, staring at me. It's the only thing she's been doing this whole day.

"… Why are you here?" I slowly mutter out. She isn't a threat to me, judging from her beaten-up look, she's not looking for trouble.

"Don't friends hang out?" She tilted her head to the side, like a curious puppy. The question was so innocent that it contrasted with her age.

"We're not friends." I confidently state.

"Yes we are, you know my name." She stubbornly insists.

"You don't know mine." I bite back a sneer from the sheer annoyance.

"I'm Ho Ngoc Tu Diep, what's your name?" She even extends her hand out to me. I stare at the offer in offense and slap her hand away.

"I don't want to be friends."

"But friends can help each other out." Ah, there it is. She's just like the others looking for someone to help them hide from the scary Supernovae. How can anyone expect to live in peace at the campus when all they do is hide?

"I'm sorry but I don't need your hel-!"

My words end abruptly when I'm face-to-face with a black hand covering Tu Diep's swollen eye, the end of the limb dissolves into smoke while a lone eye with visible red veins stares into me. Its pupil moves around wildly, observing its surroundings at a fast pace.

I blink multiple times and rub at my eyes to try and clear the hallucination but it remains on her face. Tu Diep must've realized I could see the… creature as her neutral blank face broke into a wide smile.

It's not the regular simple smile girls show boys to attract them, no, with her razor-sharp teeth greeting me and lifeless eyes widened, almost bulging out of their sockets to stare at me.

"Are you sure? These guys are a little feisty to handle!" Her bland tone switches to a crazed one, full of joy and excitement while her hand moves up to hold the one on her face,

As if to demonstrate, the detached limb moves frantically, struggling against her hand while its eye zeroes onto mine.

"W- What are you talking about?—" My voice trembles, the smile on her disappears but she still regards me with a crazed look.

"Are you only seeing them now? Considering how much Karma this place has, it's a surprise… Executioner." The teeth appear again, and her extended hand snaps forward to hold my chin. Forcing my eyes to meet hers while I feel the painfully sharp nails digging into my skin.

"Or maybe is it your eyes? Should we replace them?" She talks to herself, her free hand moving dangerously close to my sight and I shudder in fear. Arms shoot forward to push her away but she remains where she is.

"You're pretty weak for an Executioner too…" I regard her disappointed look with fear in my eyes.

The moment I feel her grip loosen, my hand pulls back as fast as I can, and I turn back to run away.

Immediately, I slam myself into someone else.

Luck isn't working out for me.

"Watch where you are going!" The person snarls, grabbing my collar to send me a death glare. Shit, it's Minh Khang. Even if my height overpowers him, my attributes for fighting cannot be said to be the same.

Thankfully, he throws me aside to look at Tu Diep. Her smile is gone, remaining a blank face with a more hostile look in her eyes.

"Ah, the bitch is here. And I was just about to go look for you." Compared to Minh Khang, Tu Diep seems so frail. The struggling limb moves frantically as the man approaches her, wanting to escape. Its pupil shrinks in fear while the girl's widened almost like a cat assessing its prey.

"I'm sorry, it's rude to interrupt when your seniors are talking." She politely states while Minh Khang barks a laugh.

"So you're a senior? Then you shouldn't interfere in somebody else's business." The slap echoes through the hall, gaining the attention of some students before they look away knowingly.

She stands in her place, her head to the side yet her eyes remain on the offender.

Then the unsettling smile is back on her face.

"Are you enjoying this, you sick filthy sadists?"

At first, I thought she was talking to me. Since I am the only spectator. Yet her eyes don't meet mine instead she is looking past Minh Khang's shoulders. Even her companion looks confused, crunching his in puzzlement while trying to figure out what she means.

"Feasting on others' pain and giving your blessings to this fucking psycho. No wonder you'll never be saved!" She laughs, throwing her head back while fury builds up inside of Minh Khang.

"What the fuck are you on about, you crazy bitch?!" He shouts at her face. Her laughter doesn't cease, instead, it grows louder.

"You better eat your fill, because I've found the Executioner that's waiting to declare you as guilty!"

My attention stays on the limb on her face, serving as a substitute eye for her. The creature wails and furiously struggles more.

Then, black smoke seems to come out of Minh Khang's back, wavering for a while before taking shape.

An imagery of a figure with a hunched back, the bony arms covering his eyes while its rib cage is visible. Its trachea splits into three, connected to three heads with equally long hair. Covering all of its skinless faces, leaving the crooked and sharp teeth on display.

The lower part of its body spread across Minh Khang, like a plant growing from his back while implanting its roots inside of him.

"So you can see them too!" She exclaims to me, pointing a finger my way. Her substitute eye is tearing up already, begging for help. But I can't even say anything before a fist slams across his face.

She falls onto the ground like a puppet without its strings. While her eyes never leave mine. Minh Khang is outraged at her, I can see his veins popping out from underneath his skin. The three-headed figure seems to hiss out words into his ears, controlling him with its hands covering his vision.

The assault doesn't stop there, fists rain down on her while she doesn't scream at all. Taking all the hits without complaints. Despite the blood that stains Minh Khang's knuckles.

With the realization that he isn't going to stop, I regain strength in my legs and run over to the two. Pulling at the offender's raised fist, I screamed at him.

"STOP! SHE'S GOING TO DIE!" It gets both his attention and the occupant rooted to his back.

It turns its heads around like an owl, and I stare at it dumbstruck. Fear strikes my heart like knives, paralyzing my body. So stand there looking up at its pitch-black eyes.

It jumps a bit. Realizing that I can see it, the smoke departs and dissolves into the air. All that is left is the rotten scent of corpses and blood.

Minh Khang tenses up, he doesn't turn to look or yell at me, his body suddenly goes limp and he falls backward.

I caught him on instinct, his eyes rolled back inside his head while his mouth gaped, voice hoarse while he tried to get words out.

"Kekekeke~"

My attention turns to Tu Diep. Her expression remains unchanged yet blood spills from her nose and broken teeth lie on the floor. She licks her bloodied lips and says, her sharp teeth on display;

"We will meet again, Executioner…" Then she loses consciousness but not her crazed smile. Her chest stopped rising while her head fell onto one side.

Executioner—

A person who carries out the death sentence of a person by legal means.

"What's going on here?!" A female staff hurriedly asks. She gasps at the bloodied scene in front of her. There are approaching footsteps of nearby students coming into check but she yells at them.

"You guys return to your classrooms! Lunch is over! Mr. Louis! Come and help me over here!"

Then her gaze turns to me.

"You. Go to the principal's office immediately!" She ordered, but I was too shocked to obey fast enough. My eyes remain rooted to the body of my psycho classmate, the scent of decay still lingers in the air. The unfortunate soul that was picked to be her substitute eye crawls away from the corpse and flees the scene.

Violence is looked down on. Those who use their fists to harm others are the worst.

How about those who conduct violence on official orders?

I've grown up hating those who beat others down to show their powers and strength. I've avoided doing the same at all costs…

Then why did she refer to me as "Executioner"?…

We will meet again, Executioner…