The Monster Within

Ryder lay unconscious on the ground, defeated and rescued by unknown allies. But luck had abandoned him. A male homunculus, passing by, spotted him.

He noticed the corpse of his comrade, riddled with wounds. "What happened here?" he wondered.

He saw Ryder's body, a few feet away from his fallen ally. "Who the hell is that? His energy is barely detectable, even for someone who's knocked out."

"He's too injured to have killed this guy," he glanced at his dead partner. He drew a dagger from his pocket and advanced towards Ryder. "As compensation for our loss, I'll take this kid."

"It's only fair that way," he said, raising his arm to stab Ryder in the heart. He stopped abruptly. A cold chill ran down his spine. He leaped back, putting some distance between him and Ryder. "What the hell is that aura coming from him?" He stared at Ryder, fear coursing through his veins.

Ryder's body rose from the ground, wrapped in an aura that radiated pure rage and bloodlust. He was still unconscious, but his body moved on its own, driven by the aura that emanated from him. In a flash, he appeared behind the homunculus.

The homunculus felt a sharp pain in his right arm, which spread through his body. Half of his arm was gone. He screamed in agony. When he looked at Ryder behind him, his body trembled. He saw a long object, clad in black, in Ryder's hand. It was his arm.

"M... Mon... Monster!" he shrieked.

"They didn't tell us there was a monster among the kids!"

He wanted to run, but his body wouldn't obey. His instincts told him he would die if he moved. He also knew he would die if he stayed still. Either way, he had only one fate. Death...

"I'll kill you!" He lunged at Ryder. He felt something pierce his chest. It was his arm. Blood gushed out of his mouth as he fell to his knees and collapsed.

"What... The hell is this thing?" Those were his last words before he joined the ranks of the dead.

The aura around Ryder's body faded and he collapsed. All his wounds had healed and his life was no longer in danger. But he remained unconscious.

****

"Silver?"

"Silver!" Violet called out her friend's name.

He turned and smiled. "I knew you'd be fine."

"And it looks like your regenerative abilities came in handy," he added.

Violet ignored his remarks and ran towards him. She hugged him tight, like a sister who hadn't seen her brother for months. Silver's body was flooded with pain from the injuries he had sustained in the fight. He tried to free himself from the embrace, but he was too exhausted and weak.

"V... Violet. You're killing me," he gasped, struggling to breathe.

"Oh, sorry," she giggled and let go of him.

"I was just so worried, because these guys are skilled and we were ambushed--"

"Where's Ryder?" Silver interrupted.

"He's fine. He's unconscious, but he's fine."

Just then, they both felt a cold sensation in their bones. They raised their guard instinctively. They didn't know who the aura belonged to. But they knew one thing for sure. Whatever had such an aura was dangerous.

"Wait, it's coming from Ryder's location!" Violet warned Silver.

"His body's moving."

They both dashed towards the source of the cold aura. They knew the peril that awaited them there, but they didn't care. All they wanted to do at that moment was save their friend.

When they arrived, the aura had already dissipated. They saw the corpses of two homunculi. One was slashed and bruised all over, the other was sprawled on the floor with his right arm torn off and impaled in his chest. Both were dead. Ryder's body, on the other hand, lay a few feet away from them.

"You don't think it was..." Violet glanced at Silver.

"It was them. They're the only ones among us who can beat these guys like this," Silver confirmed.

"But this is the first time I've felt such an aura from one of them. I wonder what triggered them..."

They both hurried to check on Ryder. They felt a surge of relief when they saw his body was unharmed. Violet grabbed Ryder's shoulders and took a deep breath. She shouted in his face, "Wake up, sleepyhead!"

"My chest!" Ryder screamed as he came to his senses. He looked at the dead homunculi and pointed at the one with slashes. "He was about to kill me."

"Did you beat them?" Silver asked.

"Them? I only fought one of them. The guy covered in slashes, and the last thing I remember from that was him trying to crush my chest with his leg," Ryder said.

"I would've died if it wasn't for..."

"I didn't see their faces, but there was a boy and a girl..." He added.

"The last thing I saw... Scarlet..."

Silver and Violet exchanged a knowing glance and chuckled. "It was definitely them," they said in unison.

Ryder's mind cleared and he realized the people he was talking to were his friends. He looked at Silver, who was standing near the homunculus with an arm in his chest. "Silver?"

"Violet?" He looked at Violet, who was standing next to him.

Ryder hugged Violet, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist. "I'm so glad you guys are okay," he said with a tone of relief.

Violet's cheeks turned red. "Uhm..."

Ryder didn't notice how close he was holding her. It was the first time anyone had ever hugged Violet like that. She hugged him back, running her fingers through his hair and calming him. "Thanks for worrying, we're fine..."

"There's no need to worry about losing. What matters is that you're alive," she said.

He tightened his hug and buried his face in her, still oblivious to what he was doing.

Silver stared at Ryder and Violet in awe. He was already aware of how Ryder felt about Violet. He wondered how Ryder would react when he finally realized what he was doing.

"I can't wait to see how this turns out," he giggled

"Make room for me!" Silver shouted with excitement as he jumped towards Violet and Ryder with his arms wide open.

They all tumbled to the ground and laughed with relief. But they were still aware of their current predicament. They had to regroup with the rest of the students.

"I'm sure you can tell... The teachers and Principal Layla are already fighting," Silver said as he got up.

"We have to get back to where the rest of the students are and avoid getting caught up in their fight," Violet said, dusting off her clothes.

"Yeah, we'd only hold them back, big time..." Ryder got up and stretched.

"Violet, can you find them?" Silver asked.

"Yup, I can smell the student council president's blood, along with some other students I'm familiar with," Violet answered.

"They're all at the island's coast," Violet added.

Silver moved closer to them and smiled. "Well then, lead the way. I guess we all know where we're going now."

"We'll decide what to do next after we meet up with them," Violet said.

As the trio ran through the island, towards the location of the other students gathered by the teachers, Ryder's mind kept going back to what happened after he lost consciousness.

"Hey guys, when I mentioned scarlet earlier, you both said it was definitely them."

"Do you know the students who beat that guy?" Ryder asked.

"You don't need to worry about them much. They're not bullies like Raika," Silver replied.

"They're two of Miss Riley's students, Bianca and Jellal," Violet said.

"They're also two of the most talented and dangerous students in the whole of Rakuzan," Silver praised.

"They mostly stick with each other and they barely move around or relate with other students. That's probably why you've never noticed them."

Ryder nodded, giving a positive affirmation. "I see..."

One question kept bothering his mind. Although he didn't see much, he was aware that they left immediately after killing the first man. The second homunculus didn't appear right away. So that left the mystery behind the death of the second man. He tried to figure out if Bianca and Jellal came back, but nothing came to his mind. He hit a dead end.

"Uhm guys... The second guy, I don't think they killed him..." Silver and Violet stopped in their tracks.

"What do you mean?" Violet asked.

He explained the whole situation to them. They were also puzzled. The homunculus looked like he was beaten without a chance to fight back. Aside from the teachers, only Bianca had the strength to physically overpower one of them like that.

But they didn't have time to dwell on it for long. "Guys, I can smell blood from some other students who just arrived at the coast. They're bleeding," Violet alerted Silver and Ryder. They resumed their journey.

As they got closer, Violet sensed other strange presences and informed her friends. "I can smell three more scents similar to those who just tried to kill us."

"We have to hurry," Silver said, grabbing Violet's hand and pulling her along.

They ran as fast as they could, dodging the fallen trees that littered the ground. Ryder lagged behind them, panting and stumbling. He was not fast enough to keep up with them, but the situation didn't allow Silver and Violet to slow down for him.

They reached their destination, a large clearing where a male homunculus was burning and screaming in agony. The smell of charred flesh and hair filled the air. They saw groups of students enclosed within shimmering barriers. Outside the barrier, they saw Olivia sitting on the ground, blood soaking her clothes. Raika was standing with three other students who were slightly injured.

A few seconds later, Ryder joined them. He bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping for air. Sweat dripped from his forehead and his face was pale. When he lifted his head, he saw Raika staring at him with contempt. "Well, well, well. The weakling survived..." Raika taunted.