Race Against Time

The area became quiet and gloomy, and suddenly two candles appeared in front of the Goblin, following it was a large cross-shaped item that was raised from the ground.

Sota stepped back, and with his robe still settling due to the abrupt movement he made, he snapped his fingers. Speedily, the cross stuck itself on the back of the Goblin.

"Aaarrrggghh!"

The Goblin produced pernicious and unbearable sounds, which pierced the ears of the apprentices. Suddenly, a strange pin-like item appeared before Sota. He leaned backward, in the process positioning his hand ready to grip it.

A brief silence settled, and the sharp sound of the thrusting pin emerged. It moved at unimaginable speeds until it made its way right in front of the Goblin.

The Goblin braced itself for its fate, the pin made contact with it, and passed right through it, leaving a stream of blood present in the air. Half of its head fell flat on the floor, rolling from side to side.

Sota looked back at the Goblin - who still hung on the cross-shaped object - and smiled. He seemed to be enjoying his current activities. His smile wasn't sincere, rather it felt inhumane. He slightly licked his lips and proceeded to conjure up more pins.

A total of 5 pins appeared and floated right before him. Akira looked back and he couldn't believe what his eyes had seen. His eyes watered, as he wondered what had come over Sota.

"What's going on? What's wrong with Sota?" the three apprentices thought, still hiding behind a pillar.

"I knew something was wrong with this guy when I saw him," Akira thought.

Sota proceeded with the onslaught, fiercely projecting and conjuring up the pins in front of him. One by one, the Goblin lost its limbs. It moaned out of pain, and at a time, pleaded for mercy.

A snap resounded in the building, and the cross seemed to bury itself under the floor.

It was Sota who did it, but Akira did not of what Sota was thinking.

The Goblin fell to the ground, its blood streaming all over the floor. Its body was successfully amputated, with limbs casually resting on the floor.

It was finally time for Akira to come out from hiding, and face reality. Slowly but steadily, Akira extended his body and made it visible to Sota. He quivered, not knowing what Sota was capable of doing.

His mates followed suit, approaching Sota simultaneously. They took every single step forward cautiously until Sota ominously directed his gaze to the students.

They shuttered at the abrupt movement and ceasom movement. They observed him for a while, and a second before they resumed motion, their eyes glowed, and the familiar voice of the system echoed,

[Be cautious! Enemy in sight!]

[Description: Tall man in a white robe, with a name tag of "Masako Sota"]

[Reason: Weird activities. The system suggests you escape, as your teacher is not in the right state of mind]

"What does that mean?"

They questioned the system, while at the same time observing Sota's movements. Eventually, they decided to obey the system's instructions and fled from the building. They ran, with their hearts, pacing and their bodies drenched in sweat as if they were running a marathon.

Shortly after they started running, Sota began to chase after them. His eyes were the most frightening thing of all, followed by the grin he always put on. They ran as fast as they could, but even with a headstart, Sota began to encroach on them.

Then, it seemed like all hope was lost until the system spoke once again.

[You mustn't lose hope or you will down. By his actions, Sota is most likely planning to destroy the entire building. But in the process, you all will die if you remain here]

"Why?!" Akira asked frustratingly, trying to maintain balance as he stumbled over and over while running away.

The building was quite tall, almost a skyscraper and to make it worse, their run began at the very top. The chase was unbearable for the three students as their hearts continuously pounded in their chests.

Akira shifted to the side and slowed down. Panting and weak, he left his friends to go on without him. His fatigue was exceeding, high enough to make him hallucinate and dizzy.

The timing was all bad. Sota approached and didn't seem like he would care to help, rather his expression gave off a contrary idea. With little time left, Akira productively used it to view his stats.

[Stats]

[HP: 100]

[Strength: 15]

[Fatigue: 82]

[Protection: None]

[Level: 1]

[Achievements: Shadow Realm Pass (Beginners), Ultimate Destruction]

[Skill: Stats (Activated), Destroy (Activated)]

[Talent: None]

"Well, it must be 'cause I'm both frightened and running."

He stood up, and with his last strength, he thrust forward. With his friends in sight, his escape didn't seem unavoidable. He turned backward, glancing at Sota who raced down the stairs, seemingly trying to meet up with them.

Akira was still confused, as to the reason he hunted them down. Was it to kill? Or just simply for fun? He simply couldn't comprehend. He set it aside and went about his run down the stairs of the building.

With a slight gap between Sota and Akira, he collapsed. Akira lay on the floor, with pains emerging at different spots in his body. Was it over for him? Sota stood before him, and the same pin-like items appeared.

"I knew he tried to kill me."

With the newly found fear, Akira stepped away, swiftly positioning his body for an escape. He cracked open the window that was conveniently beside him and jumped out of it.

With his many years of self-defense and improvement, he moved his body mass, to reduce the fall damage. But that didn't entirely remove it - pangs still reverberated in his head, and his body ached from the immense pain he received.

A few minutes later, his friends came rushing out of the building, and unluckily, Sota followed behind them. On the verge of contact, they all jumped, finding themselves in the same position Akira assumed.

A large quake emerged, frightening them even more.

"Isn't it over?" They thought.

Cracks formed at the exterior of the building, and it slowly collapsed, with each floor as loud as the one that followed it. As the earth shook, its crust cracked, and the whistling wind made it even worse for the students.

It was pitch black, with few stars decorating the night sky. The area was a land of open space, with only rustling trees in sight. Sota walked slowly out of the building, his eyes shone, and he aimed his index finger at them.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Three sharp sounds ran through the air piercing it, blood stained the concrete floor, and Sota smiled at the pitiful sight before him.