Chapter 9 : The Breaking Point

  Haaa… I just woke up. My entire body ached. We had trained until 3 AM the night before, and now, every muscle screamed in protest. Damn it.

  Still, today was important. I had to meet with the president to see if my tributions were enough to secure my pce here.

  To be ho, I felt like I had already proven my worth with the defensive walls I reinforced. But I guess that wasn’t my decision to make.

  I arrived at the room where the president spent most of her time. From what I heard, it used to be the director’s office before everything fell apart.

  I knocked on the heavy wooden door. “Toc, toc, toc. I e in?”

  “e on in.”

  I stepped ihe room was dimly lit, the air thick with the st of old paper and ink. Stacks of reports and dots covered the desk in front of her, a sileament to the weight she carried.

  “Hi, Prez. I’m here for my report.” I gave a half-hearted salute, trying to lighten the mood.

  She let out a long sigh before finally looking up at me, her icy blue gaze pierg through the dim lighting.

  “…At ease. So, Suicide Boy, huh?”

  I groaned. “Seriously, when will you guys stop callihat?”

  Now that I thought about it, this was actually the first time I had seen her since my arrival excluding the first day. She was either guarded by the student cil, out hunting, or buried under paperwork like this.

  Approag her was difficult—not just because of her busy schedule, but because she carried an unshakable aura of authority. She wasn’t just strong physically. She had a presehat made you questioher you were worthy enough to talk to her.

  And well, even without all that… the past week had been insane. I hadn’t spoken to anyone unless necessary. I was too focused on grinding, on improving, on making sure I didn’t fall behind.

  I should probably take some time with Lay or Cire, at least. But every sed I spent not improving, someone else was getting ahead.

  Sigh.

  “I read the report on the upgrades you made,” she tinued, flipping through a dot. “They are… satisfactory. While we do have someoh a barrier ability, it has its limits.”

  Wait. Did she just ignore my pint?

  I frowned but said nothing. Instead, I took a moment to study her more closely.

  Her face remained impassive, as if the weight of leading so many people didn’t affect her. How was she s? She had seen tless students, teachers, and possibly even close friends die. A, here she was—not breaking, not faltering, just leading.

  She caught my expression and narrowed her eyes. “What is it?” she asked bluntly. “Just say whatever’s on your mind. I hate wasting time guessing.”

  I flinched. Should I really ask?

  Tsk. Before I could decide, she clicked her tongue in irritation. “Do I o freeze your brain to get you to stop overthinking? Spit it out already.”

  I hesitated but eventually spoke. “…It’s just, what’s your motivation for taking the lead here? How do you stay s whehing is colpsing? You don’t seem like the type who wants power for the sake of ruling over others.”

  “I-I mean, I think you’re doing an amazing job, but you…” My voice trailed off as the words started feeling heavier than I expected.

  She stared at me in silence. For a moment, it felt like ay. Her unreadable gaze held mine, and I swore I saw something shift in her expression.

  Then, finally, she spoke.

  “…And why do you want to know?”

  I exhaled. “Because… you seem lonely.”

  The words left my mouth before I could stop them. But they weren’t wrong.

  I khat feeling—the feeling of being out of pce, of g true e, of existing without a clear purpose. Maybe, in some way, I rojeg my own doubts onto her. But I had to wonder… was she feeling the same?

  For a fra of a sed, I thought I saw surprise fsh in her eyes. But just as quickly, she masked it.

  A heavy siletled between us before she finally sighed and turoward the window, her gaze distant.

  “…Tell me.” She said, her voice softer than before. “Have you ever felt like everything you did up until now was for nothing?”

  I felt a lump form in my throat. “Yeah… More times than I t.”

  She turned bae then, her gaze sharper, filled with something unreadable. For the first time, she looked like she was actually seeing me.

  Her lips parted slightly, as if she wao say something—

  “Toc, toc, toc.”

  The kno the door was sharp, urgent. The vice president stood there, out of breath, his forehead glistening with sweat.

  “Cra, there’s an emergency!” His voice cracked slightly, panic leaking through his usually posed demeanor.

  The president didn’t hesitate. “Lead the way.” She pushed past him, already moving before asking any questions.

  I followed close behind, my heart pounding. Somethi wrong.

  When we reached the gym, the sight before me made my stomach lurch.

  Holy…

  Ten people y sprawled across the floor, bleeding out, their bodies broken and barely ging to life. The metallic st of blood filled the air, thid suffog. My throat tightened. I think I’m going to puke.

  I had seen people get injured before. Hell, I had seen many things i week. But this… this was on another level.

  Two bodies weren’t moving. One of them—split in two. The sight was grotesque, visceral.

  “What are you all standing around fet the mediow!”

  The president’s sharp voice cut through the horror, snapping everyo of their frozen stupor. Students, stunned by the age, finally started moving.

  She turo the vice president, her voiow cold, trolled. “What happened?”

  “There was a bck wolf in the east zone,” he panted. “It had… an ability, Cra.”

  No.

  No way.

  This was bad.

  Up until now, abilities had been our only real advantage against the monsters. The mutants had terrifying physical power, yes—but they cked ifts. That was the only reason we could fight them at all.

  And now… now they had abilities too?

  I ched my fists. The stro among us like Lay, Will, the president herself—could hold their own against the monsters. But if beasts could wield them too? If they could evolve beyond just raw power?

  This ged everything.

  The blue-haired girl’s expression darkened. She uood the implications just as well as I did.

  “What are the casualties?” she asked, her voice steady, but her grip on the desk nearby tightened.

  “Six dead. Four lost limbs. Eight others injured.”

  It was subtle, but I saw it—her fingers curling into a fist, trembling just slightly.

  “…I see.”

  She exhaled sharply, posing herself. Then—

  “Lay!”

  “I already told you—I ’t heal others. Not yet.” Lay emerged from the crowd, her expression dark, filled with guilt. “Elian was… an exception because of our circumstances. I’m sorry.”

  Her voice was quiet, but firm. She had already accepted this truth.

  Yeah, she had told me this before. Apparently, ever since I had acquired a fragment of her ability, we had bee linked in some way. That e was the only reason I was still alive after my first serious injury.

  The president closed her eyes for a brief moment. When she opehem again, they were filled with the same unwaveriermination as before.

  “…Lucas. Tell the cil members to meet me in the cil room. Immediately.”

  The vice president didn’t eveate before rushing out.

  I turo Lay, watg her carefully.

  She looked shaken. More than just from the injuries—this was something deeper. Was she bming herself? Did she think that if she had mastered her ability sooner, she could have saved them?

  I hesitated for a sed before stepping closer. “Lay… are you okay?”

  She blinked, almost startled that I was there. As if she had been so caught up ihoughts that she had fottehing around her

  “Y-yes. I… o go.”

  Before she could slip away, I gently pced a hand on her shoulder. She froze.

  “If you ever o talk, or anything else, I’m here. Don’t fet that, alright?”

  She turo me, her violet eyes searg mine. For a brief moment, the cold weight in her gaze melted.

  “…Thanks, Elian.”

  She gave me a small, tired smile before walking away, disappearing into the hallway.

  I just hoped she would be okay.

  But me? I couldn’t afford to dwell on it. Not anymore.

  I had to get stronger.

  Every day, the world outside was getting worse. As I was now, I couldn’t proteyo Lay, not Cire, not even myself.

  I sed the crowd, log eyes with a familiar bck-haired, muscle-bound figure.

  I walked up to him and gave him a light pun the shoulder.

  “Let’s get back to training, Will.”

  He g me, a small smirk f on his lips. “Yeah. Let’s.”

  The five days were hell.

  I made sure to hunt with Lay, practig everything I had learned from Will. I spent hours refining my bcksmithing under Cire’s watchful eye. I pushed myself, using my ability, testing its limits, breaking those limits.

  Eat. Sleep. Train. That was my life now.

  Every m, I forced myself awake at 5 AM. My body screamed for rest, but I ig. I had no choice. The world wouldn’t wait for me to catch up.

  The atmosphere in the dorm had shifted. The tension among the students alpable. More deaths. More injuries. More fear. Small fights were breaking out from the stress. The situation was deteriorating, and fast.

  Maybe it was the wolf. Maybe it was something worse.

  I wasn’t part of the student cil, so I wasn’t sure of every detail. But ohing was clear:

  The survivors were breaking.

  We needed food. Supplies. More fighters. But no one wao go outside. They were too scared.

  I couldn’t bme them.

  The world was ging so fast, we went from peaceful being to prey.

  Six hundred people were packed into this dorm. Only sixty were willing to fight.

  And me?

  “Ouch! Damn it, at least hit me with your hand instead of using that damn stick!”

  Will chuckled, barely suppressing his amusement. “St and keep your arm steady.”

  I gred at him. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  He smirked.

  “…Maybe a little.”

  Sigh. Will was still ruthless, still relentless. Every single day, he made me push past my limits.

  I loved my life.