The Five Statues and the Unconscious Corrosion

10:45 AM, murmurs echoed across the room as the Espers talked in hushed whispers. They were surprised that Madam Mila hadn't arrived to class in the time she had designated. It was surprising because everyone in the military academy emphasised about punctuality.

"Maybe, something happened?" An Esper sitting on the 6th row whispered, his tone belonging to one in search of gossip.

"Nothing can happen here," A girl sitting next to him snorted, "This place has many Tier 4 Warriors and Espers. Moreover, the Vice Principal is a Transformer while the Principal is a Sky Controller. With their presence, nothing could happen to this academy."

"That is true," Another Esper interjected, his tone filled with suspicion, "But, what if a Wave had occurred? The previous Phantom Wave had created severe casualties from the 10th Ring, all the way to the 7th Ring."

"Fool, that is only because people were dispatched from here. No wave has ever managed to break through our walls. The walls were created by Psychic Ancestor Marble. Unless a Tier 6 Frenzy Beast attacks it, the walls would never even suffer from a scratch." The girl retorted, unconsciously raising her voice.

Suddenly, the door was slammed open as five humanoid figures walked in, yellow in colour, made from crystal. Their faces sculpted to resemble a human face, looking lively despite being solid.

Jyorta looked at their faces in shock, exclaiming aloud, "Rakh?"

Hearing his shout, the five humanoid figures turned to gaze in his direction, making him feel a sense of oppression. Their facial features morphed, with each sporting a distinct emotion. They ranged from Anger, Laughter, Calm, Sorrow, and Despair.

The Sorrow Figure closed the door behind them, guarding the exit. The other four figures bumped their fists, looking ready for a fight.

"Jyorta, be ready to fight." At some point in time, Haesha appeared beside him, holding a long spindle, looking ready for battle.

Jyorta nodded, picking up a rod that had a blunt end, its head sporting a small bulge. It was altogether 60 centimetres in length. The four figures sprinted towards the Espers in their proximity, raining down punches and kicks.

Some Espers were caught off guard, unable to react as they suffered from the blows, crying out in pain. In his hurry, an Esper controlled his Refined Object—a disk that had a diameter of 3 centimetres, weighing a gram—and sent it flying towards the Anger Figure.

The Anger Figure swatted it towards the side, as if brushing aside a feather that had fallen on its shoulders. The moment the disk flew some distance away from the Esper, it no longer responded to his thoughts, looking no different from a normal object.

The Anger Figure sent a punch to the stomach of the Esper, reeling his body a step back. The Esper clutched his stomach in pain and kneeled, unable to fight. The Anger Figure sent a kick, knocking him unconscious. It then targeted the nearest Esper, lunging at its prey.

The Despair Figure fought its way towards Jyorta, knocking out an Esper with every two hits. Clenching the rod in his hands, Jyorta charged forward, overlaying the false persona on him—one of calm, optimism, and full of focus.

Taking the gap when the Despair Figure punched at an Esper, he lunged forward, slashing horizontally, hitting on its right shoulder. A loud ringing sound echoed as if he had struck a hollow metal, the sounds disorienting his senses.

In the fraction of a second it took for him to react, the Despair Figure swiped at him with its elbow, making him lose balance as he tumbled to his back. The Despair Figure connected its actions to its next attack, sending a kick. Haesha used her spindle like a spear, arriving on time to make its tip come into contact with its leg, making use of its force to pierce into it.

Just when Haesha felt that her attack was a success, she watched the Despair Figure continuing its kick, her spindle passing through its leg and coming on the other side, like a train passing through a tunnel.

The kick made contact with her stomach and sent her flying, a trail of blood accompanying her. His false persona shattered as Jyorta lunged forward, grabbing hold of the hip of the despair Figure. Using his body weight, he made the Despair Figure lose its balance, pressing it down on the ground.

"Attack!" Followed by his shout, the surrounding Espers converged on the Despair Figure with punches and kicks. As Jyorta held down its left hand, another Esper held down its right. Two more people sat on the legs, using their body weight to restrain it.

An Esper grabbed the rod from Jyorta, raising it high up in the air, his expression twisted in anger. Jyorta slightly craned his body towards his right, lest the attack hit him. The Esper holding its right hand too did the same as the rod slammed on the head of the Despair Figure, creating a tiny dent.

"Faster!" Jyorta shouted, his expression malevolent.

"Hit it harder!" The other Esper bellowed, resisting the ringing sound followed by each hit to the Despair Figure's head.

"Aargh!" Letting out a bellow filled with fighting spirit, the Esper used all his strength to bring the rod down, feeling it get stuck at the moment of impact, the ringing sound muffled. At some point in time, the Despair Figure had opened its mouth, biting into the rod, cracks forming on its teeth as a result of the force.

It jerked its head, pulling the rod downwards. The slight change in the movement of the rod, against his expectations, destroyed his balance as the Esper fell forward, throwing the delicate stalemate formed by Jyorta and the other Esper.

Using the chance, the Despair Figure wriggled its way out of control. Jyorta craned his gaze to his left, looking at the injured figure of Haesha that was struggling to get up, coughing out a mouthful of blood.

The Despair Figure got up, retreating a couple of steps, noticing its lack of a left arm. It then turned its head, looking at Jyorta holding its left hand, the area in its socket region showing minute traces of melting.

Jyorta slammed the severed arm on the floor, the severed region impacting the surface. The impact made the severed region crack and crumble. His mind went into overdrive as he lifted the severed arm, the minute traces of melting no longer present. He looked like he was venting his anger as the blue soul overlaid the false persona on him—one of calm, optimism, and full of focus—once again.

Without taking a breather, he charged towards the Despair Figure, using the severed arm as a weapon. The Despair Figure leaned towards its left, trying to balance the weight distribution of its body. It sent a kick with its right, aiming towards his stomach.

Using the severed arm, folding it along its elbow, Jyorta received the attack, using his body weight and the severed arm to withstand and catch hold of its leg. Having propped herself, Haesha had sneaked towards its back at some point in time, her body forming a kick as she jumped, aiming towards the back of its knees.

Losing its balance from Haesha's attack and thanks to Jyorta's body weight, the Despair Figure fell to its right. Jyorta hurriedly placed his hands into the gap on its right leg—formed when Haesha's spindle pierced through it—pulling at the sides. Another Esper hurriedly brought a rod and inserted it into the gap as Jyorta retracted his hands.

As he held the leg, the other Esper craned the rod, using it as a lever, actuating using the weight of his body. With a snap, the right leg of the Despair Figure broke, falling off as crumpled crystal shards. Just as he witnessed the breaking of its leg, Jyorta felt a hit slam into his right, sending his body rolling a couple of feet, coughing out blood.

As Jyorta tried to get up, he winced at the pain, unable to move his body. He then watched the Despair Figure swarmed by the Espers and beaten using everything they could find as weapons, eventually demolishing it into smithereens.

Seeing it lay in a crumpled state, Jyorta heaved a sigh of relief, secretly pocketing a couple of crystal shards, 'Dammit; blinded by anger, I reflexively used my Corrosion on its arm socket. This is most probably a test by Madam Mila.'

He lay on the ground, resting, taking a look at Haesha who flashed him a wry smile. Seeing that her condition wasn't serious, Jyorta heaved a sigh of relief, his worries abating. He then looked around the classroom, looking at the other figures getting beaten down.

After all, there were 131 Espers in total in comparison to the 5 figures. Even if they had good fighting capabilities, they were swarmed by the Espers and soon beaten into smithereens.

Almost all the figures were beaten down in similar manners, with the Sorrow Figure being the sole exception.

As it guarded the exit and prevented the Espers from escaping, it gave Laila enough time to make her preparations. She descended one step after another, finally arriving on the ground level, picking up the yellow spear-like spindle.

When the five figures first appeared, many Espers had the idea of using the yellow spear-like spindle. After all, it was a Tier 5 Artifact.

But, the moment they approached its proximity, they felt a faint aura affecting their bodies, making them unable to think. The more they closed in on it, the greater the aura affecting them. Not one could approach the surrounding 3 metres radius from it. But Laila, on the other hand, showed great determination.

Even though her body trembled like crazy, with her eyes turning red, creating faint gashes that appeared on her skin, Laila approached the spear-like spindle, picking it up. It was lightweight, easily wieldable as Laila dashed towards the Sorrow Figure.

The moment she closed in on it, the Sorrow Figure began trembling in fright, unable to move its body as it intended to. The aura of the Tier 5 Artifact seemed capable of even influencing it.

Without any unexpected suspense, the tip of the spear-like spindle touched the Sorrow Figure. At the next moment, cracks appeared all across its surface as it shattered like glass. Immediately, numerous nerves all across the body of Laila ruptured, spraying out blood like a mini fountain.

The spear-like spindle flew away from her hands as a pale-blue fluid emerged from beyond the door, gushing into her body and healing her injuries. Soon, the pale-blue fluid entered the bodies of all Espers, recovering their health to their prime.

"You did well." Madam Mila appeared before everyone, finally making her existence known.