Prologue(1)

Theodore's bright green eyes gazed through the window as he rested his chin on the palm of his hand. He watched as the rain drops slowly dripped down the glass pane and occupied himself by listening to nature's white noise, completely ignoring a teacher that was lecturing in front of the class. On the whiteboard were complex math equations that he didn't bother to read, which was the reason why half of the class was slowly growing tired of listening to the endless babbling of the teacher. A female student that was sitting next to him seemed to have given up on the subject completely and decided to sleep, lying down on her arms as she snored softly. He let out a bored sigh, turning his attention towards the front of the class. More specifically, he was looking at the clock which was about to turn 3:00 pm in just around three minutes. He could see that everyone was silently counting down the clock inside their minds. Two minutes. One minute. 30 seconds.

Three.

Two.

One.

The bell rang and immediately the class was thrown into disarray. Students stood up from their seats as fast as they could and the sounds of footsteps and chairs scrapping against the ground silenced the teacher's frantic shouting. "Wait! I didn't say you could leave!"

Everyone ignored him and started leaving the room one by one. Theodore didn't rush though, seeing that the impatient students were clotting up the exit, he took his time packing his bag until the traffic was gone along with the rain outside, leaving only a faint drizzling as the sunlight of the evening seeped through the window. "Another day ended..." He thought as he swung his bag over his shoulders and began to walk. He could see his friend, Merlin, waiting for him at the front of his class.

The red-haired boy was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, his dark brown eyes were searching through the crowd as if looking for someone. His arms would flail upwards with excitement when he spotted Theodore walking toward him. "Yo, Theo! Want to get some ramen today?" Merlin's naturally playful tone complemented his easy-going posture, when Theodore got closer his right arm went around his neck and rested on his shoulder.

"You mean that new shop? They sell ramen?" Meanwhile, Theodore's voice was deep and melodious in a way that people often mistook him for a singer.

"Yep, that one! You wanna go?"

Theodore took a moment to think. He shrugged before speaking. "Sure, I have nothing else to do any—"

Without warning, the floor started violently shaking, occupied by the screams of people down the hallway. Theodore and Merlin barely kept themselves standing as they turned towards where they'd heard the sound. "An earthquake?" Rubbles fell from the ceiling, prompting the two boys to start moving to safety. He grabbed his friend's wrist, much to his surprise, and dragged him into the classroom, sliding beneath a table while they waited for the shaking to subside. However, the cries of terror from the other students outside didn't stop. In fact, Theo heard a boy saying something along the line of "Monsters".

"Monsters?" Merlin frowned, having heard it as well, he was occupying another table right next to Theodore. "What are they talking about? Isn't this just an ordinary earthquake?"

"...They're still screaming. Something's wrong." It's normal for people to panic under the pressure of a natural disaster but this is simply too much noise.

He could suddenly hear frantic footsteps outside the classroom as the shaking slowly came to a stop, and moments later another person would enter, his clothes were tattered with blood all over his arms and legs, and his blue eyes were wide as he cautiously looked around the room, eventually noticing the two boys under the table. "Is this place safe?" The dark-haired boy asked, his voice shaking with fear.

"It's safe," Theodore replied just as the earthquake stopped then he and Merlin would slowly get up from the floor. "What's going on though? I kept hearing people screaming 'monster'."

"Y—you don't know?" The newcomer seemed confused as he frowned. He turned around for a moment to look at the door as if wary something could hear him speak. "A muscular dude is running around clubbing everyone to death—he looked like an orc from those video games..." He spoke in a low tone as he found himself a chair to sit on yet his whole body was still shaking from fatigue. "I barely escaped...But my friend...She..." The boy couldn't say anything else and he looked down at the floor, his eyes glinted with shame. "I ran like a coward and left a woman to die. I have no excuse."

Theodore and Merlin looked at each other, the redhead was frowning in disbelief. "An orc? How is that even possible?"

"I don't know!" The black-haired body screamed and clutched his head, he seemed to be reaching his mental limit as he suddenly broke down crying. "I don't want to die...I just don't want to die!"

"Calm down, we can slowly work this out," Theodore suggested. He thought that maybe this was simply a terrorist attack—which would be just as bad as having fantasy monsters roaming around killing people—but at the very least it's an explainable reason. "First, let's find the other survivors and move in groups, that man uses a club, right? We might have a chance if they're not using a firearm."

"Theo, buddy." Merlin sighed, he was getting agitated and afraid as well judging from the nervousness in his tone. "From what he said, there's only an orc, right? It means that one singular dude managed to kill a bunch of people and is still doing it right as we speak. We stand no chance!" He pointed towards the crying boy, who was now sobbing quietly to himself.

Theodore agreed with his friend, he nodded before speaking. "Right I get where you're coming from. But what do you suggest we do? Wait here? What if that man finds us? Our class is way too clean to have a weapon at hand." He took a glance around the room, noting the chairs and desks but that most likely won't be enough to faze such a strong person.

Merlin seemed hesitant as he averted his gaze to the floor, his brows furrowed tightly and his lips pursed, signaling his nervousness. "...What if it's really an orc? They're big and strong...Even if we group up—"

"Don't be like that." Theodore sighed. "There's no point in being pessimistic."

"But there's no point in being stupid either! Theo! We're going to die if we go out there!"

"Then you stay." Theo glared, causing Merlin to flinch with surprise. "I won't force you to come with me then, you can't keep yourself calm enough anyway."

"Hey!" Merlin frowned as he watched his friend go towards the door.

However before Theodore's hands could reach the doorknob, he was suddenly knocked backward by a powerful force. Splinters flew all over the place and the black-haired boy screamed in shock as he got off his chair. Theodore could feel blood dripping from his face and his chest was burning with pain. His movement was stopped by Merlin who grabbed him by the arms, stabilizing his footing and allowing him to stand. "Theo!"

Theodore didn't say anything—He couldn't say anything, it felt as if his vocal cords were shattered and he coughed up blood. He couldn't see through his right eye anymore and his vision was blurry, the ringing in his ears persisted until he could focus on what was in front of him: A two-meters-tall muscular man standing in the broken doorway wearing a singular loincloth around his waist and a necklace made from fangs, his big hands were gripping a large wooden club, its tip tainted in red just like the wielder's shining crimson eyes. The corner of the orc's mouth curled up into a wicked smile as he walked closer to the boys. "And I was wondering where all the noise was coming from." He said in a deep, rough tone.

None of the humans could say anything in return. Merlin took a few steps back while dragging Theodore with him, it seemed that even while in distress he still worries for his best friend. "Get away!" He shouted despite knowing it wouldn't help.

Theodore grounded his teeth, fighting the numbing pain all over his body. He brushed Merlin's hands away and stood on his own, stagging slightly as he struggled to keep his balance.

He'd never thought he could feel so afraid in his life, he thought he was a calm, logical person who could keep his cool in any situation—But never in his eighteen years of living did he ever imagine such a scenario was possible. "...Run." He croaked as he glanced at his friend.

The orc let out a burst of thundering laughter as if finding the situation amusing. "Trying to play the hero here, human? I won't let any of you escape."

The dark-haired boy was near the door. His black pupils wide with fear, he looked to his right and saw the empty, bloody hallway from the large crack the orc had made while entering—it was an escape route. He turned towards the orc one more time, checking whether he was looking or not, before trying to make a run for it.

Splat!

Theodore flinched, he couldn't see what'd happened at all, as soon as the black-haired boy's legs moved, the large club flew towards his face, instantly destroying his head, the body toppled forward and hit the ground with a thud! and blood began to pool around where the head used to be.

"I said. I won't let any of you escape." The orc roared, anger tinged in his voice as if frustrated that they weren't taking his words seriously.

Merlin's legs were shaking, his eyes grew bigger and his back was against the window, he glanced behind him as if thinking about jumping from the third floor. He wisely decided against it and turned back to look at his friend. "Theo...I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier."

Theodore didn't reply and continued to fix his gaze on the orc. He was shocked—in awe even—it moved so quickly that he couldn't see it with his eyes. It's true that he's injured but the human brain under distress could at least pick up the source of danger. Though Theo could say that the boy was granted a swift death due to it.

He didn't know what to do in this situation, everything seemed so hopeless. He went through the scenarios in his head over and over again yet he found no way out. He looked into the orc's eyes as if accepting his fate.

The monster laughed. "You've given up. Very well. Your death shall be swift as well." The orc raised his club high and Merlin screamed his name, Theo didn't waver and continued to stand in front of his friend, at least he could die trying to protect someone, quite an honor, really.

"So this is what it feels like when you're about to die."

Theodore's eyes closed, yet his death never came. He opened his eyes in confusion and noticed that everything had come to a stop, he turned and saw Merlin's terrifying look froze in place along with the orc's club. "What—" He didn't get to say anything further when abruptly he felt something chill run down his spine and the burning pain all over his body magically started to subside. He inspected his body to make sure he wasn't imagining things, especially since he noticed that his hands were emitting a cold mist. "Ice?"

"I have a chance."

A human's tenacious survival instinct never ceased to surprise him, he could only guess that this was happening because he subconsciously yearned for a way to escape. Theodore looked at the orc and now that his vision was back to normal, he realized that time didn't stop, it only slowed down—and the effects seemed to be lifting since the club was moving faster and faster. Theodore took the remaining few seconds to grab Merlin and threw the both of them to the side.

Boom!

The club missed its intended target but the force behind the attack was enough to blow away the wall of the classroom. Merlin frantically looked around and saw Theodore slowly standing up—His wounds had entirely healed and his body was releasing a cold aura. "...Theo?"

"I changed my mind." He spoke, his voice sharp and clear. "I found a way to live."

The orc seemed surprised by this sudden development. He frowned at Theodore's healed body and gritted his teeth with annoyance. "So what if you've developed some magic tricks? I can still crush you!" The monster picked up his club and ran towards him at full speed, however, Theo could now see the orc's movements and managed to dodge the attack, dragging the dazed Merlin along with him.

The club struck the ground again and destroyed everything in its path, Theodore used that fraction of a second when the orc needed to pick up its weapon and extended his hands. "Freeze!" Immediately after he spoke, an intricate blue circle appeared in front of his palms and a blast of ice hit the orc in its face.

He didn't know what sort of incantations he needed to say, he only knew judging from the cold air and the orc's speech that he'd developed some sort of ice magic. He was glad everything worked as he intended though.

"You!" The monster roared with anger as it tried to run at Theo again, however, it found itself stuck in place as some ice started forming beneath his feet and it was slowly making its way up his thigh. "!!!" The orc panicked and tried to thaw the ice with its club, however, Theo extended his hands once again and blast the orc with a barrage of spells until it was entirely frozen in a block of ice.

Theodore was panting afterward, he knelt down on the ground before sitting. He glanced towards Merlin he could only stare at the scene in front of him in shock. "Theo...What...How?"

"I don't know either." He muttered as he glanced at his hands, the cold mist had disappeared entirely although he could still feel that the magic was still there. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before slowly getting up, extending his hand towards Merlin. "Let's get out of here."

His friend swallowed a nervous lump before taking his hand. "Ah! It's cold!" Immediately after he got up, Merlin yanked his hands away and shook them as if trying to get rid of the stinging.

"...Sorry." Theodore couldn't tell whether he was exaggerating or not.

"It's fine! We should get going." Merlin seemed to have regained his usual spirited self as he started walking towards the door, flinching slightly when he noticed that he stepped on a puddle of blood from earlier. "...Um...Please walk in front of me, Theo"

Theodore took the initiative and lead his friend out into the hallway. He noted the blood on the walls and ground and the bodies of unfortunate students, he felt bad that he wasn't able to help them but he didn't ponder about it for long and began to move. "No point feeling sorry for the dead."

The two boys walked in silence, they didn't know what to say to each other and they didn't feel that it was the right time to speak either. Theodore didn't mind this though as it allowed him to solely focus on his thoughts. "Magic requires mana...Was that why I felt exhausted earlier? I used around..." He frowned as he recalled his fight with the orc. "Seven spells. I'll have to be more strategic with this it looks like..."

"What are you thinking about?" Merlin spoke, concern lashed in his voice. His friend was always sensitive to Theo's feelings, he could tell his emotions apart just by looking at him, and Theo tends to keep things to himself, not even showing it on his expression so it was quite an impressive talent.

"Nothing, it's about the ice magic I used earlier."

"Oh! That was cool. Ha, get it?" Merlin let out a chuckle, he's always the type of person to try and lift the mood in stressful situations. "Anyway, did you know how you got that power?"

"Probably because I wanted to live."

"But you were willing to die back there!"

Theodore shrugged. "I have nothing else to say, it's the only explanation I could think of."

He took them outside the school and they were met with a chaotic sight. The cars were set ablaze and an explosion was heard somewhere towards their left. The puddles of water left over from the rain turned red from the blood of dead students and teachers. Trees were knocked down violently while some were uprooted from the ground. There was a large, deep hole near the school gates and as they got closer they realized that there was something inside of it. "Is that...A portal?" Merlin frowned at the swirling blue mist similar to portals in video games.

"An orc...Now a portal..." Theodore mumbled before turning around. "The orc probably came from there, let's go somewhere else before more shows up."

Merlin nodded in agreement with his friend and started following him. Theo lead them towards a building near the main building, the gym, it was built to house over a thousand students and could be used for a variety of sports. The structure was mainly intact, unlike the building next to it that was completely wrecked by the orc, however, it took Theo a moment to notice that there were military trucks parked near the entrance—They weren't on fire like the other vehicles. Theodore and Merlin looked at each other for a moment before they ran towards the gym.