Inner Conflict

Running at top speed, contesting respectively with lightning, the boys ran and ran, not knowing which way nor path they were going. Inevitably, they got lost.

"Dammit! Why were those bastards tryin' to kill us" John spat in frustration, his temper was at it's worst right now.

"Yeah. I've never heard of this before from MSA. Is this the first?" Carl asked the group rhetorically, expecting no one to knew. Yet, to his surprise, someone answered.

"No. This happens all the time. In fact, from what I heard from my brother" Luke paused to recall his brother's exact words, "It's not the monsters you should be scared off, it's the people"

Hearing this, the others were relatively shocked. In fairness, they had just been chased and watched their comrade die before them in the space of around five minutes.

Many questions began to circle around their heads. Where did he learn that? Why didn't the MSA say anything? How did they keep this a secret? Then they realised something was amiss.

"That's right! You're not allowed to speak about what's goes on in the dungeon, it's written at the back of the contract!"

'He actually read the contract' the others thought in unison.

"Then, that's why" as Carl continued, his face darkened, "They're sending us here to die. I saw before that you can become stronger by killing other people with powers like us. I though it was a joke at first but...what if...it's not?"

Soon, the area fell silent as many began to ponder. It made sense. The mortality rate; the unexpected accidents; the sudden betrayal, it all linked to one conclusion. They were sent there to fight one another in a situation where only one could stand above the others, literally on a pile of their corpses and rise to power.

The dark secret the MSA never revealed: those who rise above their maximum ranking, known as the anomalies, were actually just a group of murderers.

"What can we do?! If we go back, they'll kill us. If we don't, we'll die here. Or worse, we'll be trapped in here once the gate closes" Carl worried yet someone interrupted.

"Simple. Let's just kill them" Luke's face became excessively dark, like the image of an empty cave with no light source.

"What?!"

"We can't just kill them!"

"I don't want to be a murderer!"

"If we don't, we'll end up just like Joe. Dead." Silence devoured the room again. Can they really kill humans? But they joined the MSA to fight for humanity! How are they supposed to kill the things they swore to protec-

"Listen. I know what your thinking but those guys are not human...they're just monsters" Luke again broke the silence of the area, looking at the others with the same dark expression. He wasn't a bad person, he was just someone who was prepared to accept reality and throw morals away for survival. In his eyes, morals are a form of stupidity, just an excuse for the weak to back out of their own survival.

Soon after that, the group decided. If it was the only way, then it wasn't their choice to take it, it wasn't their fault if anything bad occurred. That's what they told themselves at least.

On the other side of the cave, the veterans were still fighting.

"Ugh. There's still two left" Hunter complained with an aggressive and infuriated expression.

"It's a shame we couldn't kill those kids. I wonder how much stronger we would be" his close subordinate whispered. While the other elders wished to kill the boys for different reasons, they had no idea of the concept Carl had mentioned. In fact, they were completely oblivious and were simply manipulated by Hunter into believing the kids were just a burden.

"What are you talking about? There'll always be more" Hunter guffawed, the elders ignored his maniac laughter and continued to fight against the remaining knights.

SLASH

CLING

BOOM

They continued to bombard the two knights, weakening them with every second. Soon, the battle finally ended and the last two knight fell to the ground with an echoing THUD.

Breathing heavily, Hunter called over his subordinate.

"Listen. I need you to help me find the corpses of those stupid kids. If we can find 'em, I'll be able to take their strength. I'll give you some too, of course"

Hunter mentally opposed his outward words, 'as if I'd give his idiot any strength. Once I've got enough power, I'll just dispose of him and get some stronger lackeys. That's right. I'll become the king of this place'

After coming up with an excuse to leave the group, Hunter and Gary, his loyal dog, began searching for the teens. Luckily for them, it didn't take long.

"Oh, so ya survived!" Hunter laughed at the group.

"Huh. Are you braindead? Barely any monsters spawn in this place. How the hell did you expect us to die? We're not fragile pieces of shit like you" Luke scoffed before his face grew black and his eyes turned demonic, "Lucky for me, the prey came looking. Saved me a job"

As the words struck his stubborn ears, they turned red. Fury. Rage. Bloodthirst. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to tear that arrogant, haughty brat to pieces.

"You're pretty cocky kid. For someone 'hos about to die" Hunter stared daggers into Luke with red eyes that could burst at any moment.

"hmm. I'm pretty weak, so I'll probably die. But, at least I'm trying...the moral way"

Moments later, the entire scene was a bloodbath. The peaceful breeze became an assault of wind and the calm air was set ablaze by warfare. Fist against fist. Sword against sword. Ability against ability. In mere seconds, the battle turned graphic.

"aggrhhhhh"

"Shit!"

"My leg!"

Screams from both sides were heard, yet no one knew which was which. Blinding their ears from the sense of familiarity, the sounds of battle caused the contesters to become ignorant to which was which.

"Die!"

Blood covered the walls. Someone had died. Yet, no one knew who.