CHAPTER 8: THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP

 ( Seiki's flashbacks)

During their meeting of the "phantom clown troupe," Seiki orders Byakko to attack Toshi. He then pretended that the beast was once again uncontrollable. Seiki informed them that the beast was simply acting independently. Seiki chose to attack Toshi because Toshi was hiding his aura effectively, which made it difficult for Seiki to gauge Toshi's true strength. Seiki raises the stakes as Byakko hits Toshi with its enormous, blazing claws. Seiki was shocked that Toshi did not sustain any damage as Toshi faced it head-on and handled it like it was nothing. Then Seiki apologized to Toshi and immediately sealed Byakko. Toshi reassured Seiki that he was okay and that the attack was not as powerful as it seemed. Seiki then understands the severity of his situation as he is now surrounded by four powerful individuals. Hibi alone has the power to wipe out an entire kingdom; if the four of them work together, that power may be far greater. At that point in time, Seiki made the decision to take on each of them one at a time because it was his only option. Currently, he plans to gain a better understanding of his surroundings and there is a possibility that he may discover a better position or opportunity to eliminate the other members of the Phantom Clown Troupe individually. 

Upon returning to the current situation, one of the knights suggest that the creature they are facing could potentially be the S rank demon known as "Tarrasque." The knight describes Tarrasque as a monster with enormous teeth and claws, and its body resembles that of a sightless prehistoric dinosaur. It is also encircled by a powerful, menacing aura strong enough to challenge multiple S-rank individuals. "Lucas then encourages everyone to settle down because, the only way to defeat the monster is for them to work together. Although their opponent may be more powerful, their well-planned strategy and unwavering faith in their friends will give them the power to overcome even the most formidable foe." Professor Fray swears she will get revenge for the death of his younger brother. Then she used the fifth tier spell "heavenly grace," The spell gives them holy defensive attributes that lessens any damage the demons inflict to them. It also doubles all of their "light" attack damage against the enemy. Afterwards, a female student confidently speaks up and addresses the class by affirming Lucas's viewpoint. She suggests that by working together, they have the potential to surpass even the strength of the A class students. But comparing an S rank monster towards other students that is superior to them is their first mistake, as she utter the words "the power of friendship can make anything and everything possible." A massive axe suddely was thrown in her direction, cutting her body into two. Leaving everyone in shock as her blood splatters all around them. "They observe a large creature is approaching them, and they soon realize that it is a huge minotaur holding a large chain in its left hand." The dungeon quivers with each step of the minotaur, shattering the student's hopes in the process. Professor Fray rushes towards the girl's upper body, not knowing what to do. She cries and attempts to heal her, but it's too late. Shin then asks Lucas what to do, to which Lucas responds in shock and silence. Even though they have no hope of winning, the two knights run in front of them and they rush towards the enemy. They all begin to cast a body enhancing spell "indomitable soul," but before they could even finish casting, Tarrasque the demon slashed their bodies into countless parts. Following that, it quickly moves towards the students mimicking the voice of Professor Fray's sibling. The demon continuously repeats the phrases "please help me, someone! I'm begging you" at a fast pace. Then Shin got to his feet and draws out his enchanted sword. He charge at the demon, but Lucas shove him aside, shattering his body but protecting Shin on the process. The demon head towards professor Fray, but Seiki pulls her away from it. The girl's upper body was devoured by the demon. The demon then starts to imitate the girl's voice, saying "by the power of friendship" several times before gradually laughing as it speaks the phrases. The students become terrified and flee to save themselves, however, the demon minotaur uses a sinister spell known as "turmoil" which causes the ground to shatter, leaving the students unable to move. Seiki chooses not to intervene and allows the group of twenty-two people to be brutally murdered. One by one, the demon devours them until only five are left-Shin, Kurei, Kaizo, Professor Fray, and Seiki. Seiki's lack of concern for his classmates is the reason he didn't bother trying to help. In addition, he only needs a few witnesses to verify the events in the dungeon and remove any suspicion surrounding him. "He also intends to improve one of his strongest skills while taking advantage of this opportunity." The two demons then slowly make their way towards Seiki." He then cast the spell "hypnosis" on his comrade, and soon they all fell asleep. Seiki can now battle without restraint and hindrance. He proceeds to mock the two demons telling them how weak they are. The demons are enrage and they both charge towards Seiki. When suddenly Seiki emits a very strong ominous aura that is intensified by a vast quantity of "Reiki". The demon halts in fear. Seiki then activates his god skill "cruel world," their surroundings started to shift and became mostly dreary. The demons were terrified and the silence was defeaning. Tarrasque, one of the demons, chooses to run away from Seiki, but its body is being sliced to shreds. The minotaur starts to move cautiously as it sense a very thin invisible thread surrounding them. It attempts to strike with its enormous axe, but the thread is so strong that it doesn't break at all. Suddenly, Seiki move his fingers, and simultaneously, a thread penetrates the minotaur's head, continuing throughout its entire body. The demon's body steadily disintegrates resembling a thin thread slowly coming out from its body. The minotaur has no choice but to patiently see its own impending demise. Seiki then chooses to pretend to pass out and lies on his professor's chest as he waits for help to arrive. Seiki and the rest are eventually rescued, receiving medical care and having their injuries treated. The captain of the First Division, known as "Muji," along with the imperial commander Tomoyoki, have arrived with Sirthur Kalōs. "He inquires about the whereabouts of his dear son, and she responds with tears, asking for forgiveness as she witnessed his son being killed by the demon. In response, Sirthur commands "Muji" to kill the professor." Without hesitation, he stabbed his katana into Fray's heart, causing her to slowly rot and die. Seiki was quite enrage upon witnessing his professor's death; he had intended to console her and engage in some sexual activities with her, but this was now impossible. Shin suddenly launches an attack on the captain, but Seiki intervenes. Shin was furious as he explains that "everyone is involved in the incident, including his son Lucas, not only the professor was to blame." According to him, his son even encouraged them to help their professor. When Sirthur lost his cool, he choked Shin in the neck. Sirthur is abruptly stop by Captain Efrim, who is accompanied by his sister Silvia. The commander stops Captain Muji as he tries to sever Captain Efrim's arms with his katana. "He proceeds to shout and criticize everyone for their ignorance and stupidity, warning that he will impart a memorable lesson if they do not cease their behavior." The commander had had enough of the chaos since, not so long ago, he lost a powerful captain named Lionel, and now they are fighting one another. Then, as the ground begins to tremble, the commander gives off a powerful aura that expresses his rage. As they all pause to listen to Commander Tomoyoki, Seiki recalls that it was because of him that the kingdom is currently lacking a captain. He also makes a comparison between the commander's power and Hibi, the strongest member of the phantom clown troupe. He admits that he is unsure whether he can defeat either of them on a fair fight. Silvia suddenly gives Seiki a hug and kiss for she is very worried about Seiki, she made him feel extremely uncomfortable. Seiki wanted to grab Silvia's ass but was unable to. Subsequently, Captain Efrim defends Shin and he stands in front of him, while eventually Sirthur retreats. With tears in his eyes, he then makes the decision to return home without the body of his beloved son. The commander then proceeds to interrogate the remaining four first-year class B students: Shin, Kaizo, Kurei, and Seiki. He is interested in learning about the events that occurred in the dungeon and how they managed to escape unscathed. Since Kurei and Kaizo are both in shock and unable to respond appropriately, the commander decided to disregard them. Shin says he can't remember anything after passing out during the demon's onslaught. Then Seiki suddenly tells them that Professor Fray had a spiritual awakening and transformed into an actual angel. In fact, Seiki already prepared two separate methods for this kind of investigation. The first method involves influencing Professor Fray to discuss the heroic individual who rescues them from danger and then disappears shortly after defeating the demon. His second plan, which he came up with on the spot after captain Muji killed professor Fray, is to convince them that she awakens into an angelic state and eliminates every demon. Despite how crucial it is, he concluded that the dead cannot speak for themselves and since she is capable also for casting light magic, there's a chance she could turn into an angel. The commander accepts his explanations since they are the only logical explanation for what transpired on the dungeon. The commander then instructed them to take a five-day break in order to heal both mentally and physically.