Hello world, a beautiful day as always, isn't it?
I'm Razel Bartlet, a noble of the Arklight Empire, of baron rank.
Originally, I'm a foreigner, not from this country, but from this world. Since I'm a reincarnated person.
I died and woke up in a game world; many bad and good things happened.
That's why I was greeting you, world. I need your help!
"Guys, 15 minutes left."
The voice that gave the time limit was Professor Lloyd, a good teacher with messy hair and closed eyes behind glasses.
We were taking an exam, and not just any exam. The exam that concluded the first semester of the school year.
The weeks following the fight against that giant armadillo-like creature were boring.
The upper grades went on a camping trip as their exams were brought forward.
I'm sweating a lot; my desk is getting dirty with my sweat.
I'm trying to force my eyes to copy from one of my classmates.
In the middle of the second row of students was my friend Derrick, a guy with very strange green hair. He also seemed to suffer as I watched his eyes trying to pop out of their sockets.
I turned to my classmate next to me, Cliff, a boy with black hair in a bowl cut with a V on his forehead. He also seemed to be crying because he didn't know what to write.
In my case, it's the same because yesterday the three of us spent the day together at a game center.
The attractive guy with the dull personality who is my friend, as well as the prince of the empire, Cidfert von Bryes, affectionately we call him Cid. He wouldn't let me copy despite the unpleasant sounds I make.
Oh, he turned to look at me.
(I beg you, let me copy you! I want to have summer vacation!)
Cid looked at me... the very bastard covered his notes so I couldn't see them.
(Traitor!)
"Hurry up, 5 minutes left."
Uwahh, I'm going to get bad grades for having fun and not studying! Being a lazy student is horrible no matter what world you're in!
(I beg you, goddess Alexia! Save my ass with a miracle!)
I prayed to the existence that the protagonist always had to turn to in the game, and, as if by coincidence, it happened.
"Hands up, everyone!"
Heavy footsteps sounded in the hallway, and the door was opened very violently.
As it was destroyed, I saw my salvation, but...
(I didn't ask for a terrorist attack on the academy as a way to help me!)
To make matters worse, not only was their clothing familiar to me, I also knew that something like this would happen one day, since it's the most cliché event in games.
Invading a school academy!
◇◇◇
A group of masked men dressed in knight's clothing with an insignia in the shape of crossed swords invaded the academy.
Every class was interrupted, whether occupied by students or teachers or not.
In Razel's classroom...
"Who are you?! Do you know where you are?"
Professor Lloyd confronted the intruders.
"This is the royal academy located in the capital! You won't get out of this easily!"
One of the men laughed... he suddenly lunged at the defenseless professor and plunged his sword into his stomach.
"Puah!"
Lloyd spat blood as he fell to the floor.
The students screamed in fear, seeing their professor being killed.
"Shut the fuck up, you shitty brats!"
"If you don't want to end up like this, get down quietly!"
One by one, but with fear on their faces, the students approached the invaders to be gagged and have their hands tied.
Razel's friends were sent with another group, leaving him alone.
"Uhm..."
Razel made a strange movement while grabbing his pants.
"What's wrong with you? Are you a monkey?"
The invader wanted to put the ropes on his hands, but Razel's strange movements wouldn't let him do it calmly.
"I have to go to the bathroom!"
Razel shouted.
"I need to release a big one!"
The remaining students, as well as the invaders, all made the same face that said. --Is this guy serious?
"Because of the exam, I got a little stomach ache, and now seeing my professor dead made it all accumulate and it wants to come out! Gaaaah!"
Razel shouted while making weird poses, covering his stomach and rear.
"Hey, can I kill him?"
"No. The boss said not to kill the students or teachers."
"But I already killed one of them."
"That doesn't matter, but the students shouldn't be touched, he said."
"Gaaah! I'm about to give birth to a very brown and stinky baby!"
"Take him to the bathroom! If we take him with us, he'll stink up the place."
"F-Fine."
The invader grabbed Razel by the shoulder and placed his sword near his neck.
"Guide me to the bathrooms and don't do anything strange."
Razel, still covering his parts, walked straight to the bathroom.
His classmates couldn't believe how scared he was.
◇◇◇
Once they arrived at the bathroom, the invader lit a match.
He was a smoker, so it was normal to carry them.
The bad smell reached his position, and even from a distance, he had to light several.
Razel came out as if he had done the best job in the world.
"Fuah~ I thank you. I couldn't get that out while still in class."
He rubbed his stomach as a sign that nothing was stuck anymore.
The invader approached to take him back.
"You know, even if this was the help I wanted, it wasn't necessary to kill him."
His simple and fearful tone suddenly changed to a cold one.
"It's very annoying to have to deal with events I don't want to see. That includes what you guys do, Black Crows."
His closed eyes opened in a very sinister way; his smile disappeared.
The invader didn't give it importance until it was too late.
"I never thought you'd attack when it's not mid-year after school started."
Said Razel while disinterestedly twisting the invader's head like a doorknob.
A loud "crack" resonated at that moment.
He walked unconcernedly near a hallway darkened by the shadows of the trees.
"I don't know how you got in, but whatever you're looking for, I won't allow it."
A strange shadow grew from the darkness.
"It would be very problematic if someone saw me. That's why you exist, my alter ego."
A hooded figure dressed in jet black emerged from the shadows.
He wore a black mask, and his smile was wicked.
"It's time for dark justice to do its thing!"
"Let me show you the curtain call from Licht!"
The mysterious figure named Licht disappeared when a cloud covering the sun moved.
◇◇◇
The students, teachers, and other academy workers were inside the party hall.
Some cried, and others begged for mercy.
Cid was calm with Cliff and Derrick.
"I don't see Razel around here."
"He must still be in the bathroom. It's Razel we're talking about."
"We should worry about ourselves more than him."
Cid spoke in a very cold tone, like his role in the game, but he didn't do it out of being a bad friend. He said it because he thought maybe Razel was trying to contact the outside and ask for help.
There were no knights in the hall; that only meant they were defeated very quickly, as if someone knew their exact location.
"I don't think that's true, right?"
◇◇◇
In a room opposite the party hall, an old man was tied up; he was the academy director.
He was the only one not with the others.
While he tried to think of how to save the students and faculty, footsteps approached.
A man dressed in a black raincoat, with ropes on his limbs and a strange mask of an inverted crow's beak, was looking at him.
"Good morning, Director."
"..."
"Not even a greeting? It doesn't matter; I'll be quick and brief since we all want to go home, have hot chocolate, and hug our mothers."
The man's mouth moved, and upon uttering a few words, the director's eyes opened.
"Hand over the document where 'it' is hidden."
"How do you know about 'it'?"
The man in the raincoat crossed his legs.
"We have our contacts."
"Now, hand it over, and I promise nothing will happen to your precious students."
"..."
The director looked confused, but at the same time, he cared more about the students' lives.
"Well? Will you tell me?"
The director opened his mouth, but was interrupted.
"Boss, there's a problem!"
The man in the raincoat turned around to ask curiously.
"What's wrong? It's impossible that they've discovered us since we infiltrated through secret hiding places."
"How do you know that!?"
Ignoring the director, the man reported.
"Captain Silvers ignored your orders and went out to look for the rest of the fugitive knights!"
He clicked his tongue.
"Go after that fool! I only brought him so he wouldn't bother me by doing nothing."
"Y-Yes!"
The man left the room like the wind.
◇◇◇
A small group of knights was hiding in a classroom.
They heard someone whistling approaching.
It seemed he couldn't even watch his back.
One of his hands was in his pocket, and the other was near his sword.
The footsteps stopped.
"Hey, I know you're in there; come out now."
The knights almost made a sound.
"You're not the first to hide your presence."
The knights who were patrolling normally were silenced by mysterious intruders who eliminated them one by one.
Those who didn't stay to fight tried to flee, but the doors were closed, and communications were cut off.
There was even a magic barrier preventing sound from escaping outside.
It was a perfect infiltration.
The knights were scared; after all, they only took the normal course to be the equivalent of a school guard. Not a real soldier.
The enemy in front of them wore clothes that only the Ideal Empire would use.
The knights left their fear and lunged directly at the enemy.
"Die!"
"You won't be able to beat so many of us!"
"For our fallen comrades!"
The swords approached at great speed, but it was useless.
The mysterious man smiled while drawing his sword and using it as a shield with one hand.
The knights watched in amazement, wondering how he did it.
The man had wheat-colored skin, was muscular, tall, with short red hair in a military academy style, and brown eyes.
With great strength, he repelled the knights and laughed at them.
"Hahaha, this is really fun! I love watching insects like you think you can beat a superior warrior! Now... pay for your stupidity!"
A whirlwind of guts and blood happened in a second.
"That's what you get for getting in the way of Silvers the Redhead, the third member of the six strongest fighters of the Black Crows."
A grimace of supremacy over the dead was shown.
A group of allies arrived.
"Captain, we told you not to go!"
"The boss will kill you when he sees you."
Silvers turned to look at them.
"How annoying."
They escorted him directly to the party hall.
"I told Volg I wanted a bit of fun, but he puts a leash on me and I can't do anything."
"The boss brought you because you were being a nuisance at the base."
"Huh, what did you say, you little shit?"
"N-Nothing!"
As they walked, they reached a wide hallway.
"It's not much further; the boss said he'd let you have fun when—"
Like a blink, the man who was beside Silvers not only stopped talking but also disappeared.
A soft breeze was all that was left.
Silvers turned to see what happened.
"Is something wrong—"
At the same time, the one calling him disappeared, leaving only lifted tree leaves.
Silvers couldn't react in time.
Before he could shout something, another of his companions disappeared.
Now only five remained, including Silvers.
"Formation!" Shouted Silvers; his allies did it without understanding what was happening.
Silvers positioned himself in front of them, but it was useless.
"Hii!"
One of them screamed as he saw his companion next to him disappear.
Silvers looked around.
(Where?)
(What was that?)
Sweat ran down his forehead.
"Ah—"
It was the sound a man made.
(For a second, I saw something moving at great speed.)
(It happened again.)
(That's right! A shadow... a person is capable of moving that fast.)
"Wh—!"
Before he could finish what he was going to say, the man disappeared.
(I'm sure it's a person! But it's too fast!)
"Captain, we need to get out of here!"
Silvers's mind was occupied with how great it was to feel fear once more.
He had been addicted to fighting since childhood.
He was recruited by the Black Crows because he didn't respect the rules.
His whole childhood, he believed that by fighting others, he would prove that his existence was genuine, that he wasn't a parasite as others believed.
"Aaah!"
The man behind him ran off.
In less than a blink, both his presence and his voice left the area.
Only a small amount of tree leaves remained.
(I saw it! I definitely figured out your movement pattern!)
Silvers smiled as he used his sword as a shield; at that moment, a strong clash occurred.
"Guh!"
A mysterious black-hooded figure collided with Silvers, pushing him backward.
"Oh? You blocked it, and I wanted to do it in one blow."
"Aaaaaah!"
Using all his strength, Silvers repelled Licht's attack.
Licht spun a few times in the air before landing like an acrobat on the ground.
His hood waved, hiding his face.
Silvers's sword was pointed at his opponent.
"Hahahaha! Damn, you're amazing."
He said while spitting saliva.
"I was really bored of not fighting anyone in that place! No matter how many subordinates I killed, it was never enough."
An expression of madness showed on his face.
"I am Silvers the Redhead! Part of the six strongest fighters of the Black Crows. Since the other three were weak, I killed them and kept the third place. I aspire to defeat the other two who remain—"
"Absurd."
Licht interrupted Silvers's self-introductory monologue.
"Why should I care that a background character like you tells me his story? I always hated that guys like you, who shouldn't have a voice, talk to me as if I gave a shit about your lives."
A smile appeared on Silvers's face.
"That's fine with me! Only blood should flow from your mouth!"
With quick steps, Silvers's sword approached Licht's neck.
Silvers was a master swordsman despite not being certified.
He was known by many as a monster with the sword.
But that didn't matter to Licht.
He just stepped back as if watching a car approach.
The sword cut the air.
Silvers didn't understand what happened, but he didn't care and, without returning his sword, directed it straight at his enemy's body.
Once more, Licht put one foot back and made an elegant half-turn.
Silvers watched again as he dodged his attack as if he could see it.
But that's not how he did it. Licht had his eyes closed and arms crossed.
"Is that all?"
His face showed anger at those words that only he should be saying.
"Alright, you piece of shit!"
Savagely, Silvers moved his sword while shouting his special attack.
"Sixty-eight slashes of the black sky!"
Quick and precise sword movements danced in the air, creating silhouettes of the blade.
But Licht dodged them all without even looking, much less trying to.
Upon reaching the last cut, Silvers stopped to catch his breath.
"I'm bored already."
He kicked Silvers in the stomach. He flew several meters until he reached the end of the hallway.
Blood spewed out in torrents like a squeezed watermelon.
Licht's slow footsteps echoed at the other end of the hallway.
Silvers didn't know how, but he was escaping.
Something like this had never happened to him, not even when he faced the two strongest fighters of the Black Crows.
Without even realizing it, he reached a door; upon opening it, his eyes widened like plates at what he saw.
"Wh—"
Just like in a horror movie, he found over 50 comrades sitting watching a blackboard and a man hanging from some wires like a professor teaching.
Their skulls or hearts were pierced.
Blood was still flowing in that room that stank of iron.
"That's why I said I wanted to do it in one blow."
Silvers got scared. It was the first time in his life he experienced this.
Turning around very slowly, he found Licht with a sword.
"The guys left around are less than ten; they're not a threat. By the way, I heard everything."
Silvers wanted to say words he heard from his victims.
"I beg you, don't do it."
"Please no."
"I'll be your faithful slave if you spare me."
"The hostage situation isn't a problem; I'd just have to deal with your boss."
Without even looking at the man in front of him.
The sword moved in a zigzag, making multiple and quick cuts.
His nerves were severed; he couldn't see how from the ankles, his body was dismembered, falling like pieces of meat one by one.
Before his head bled, Silvers had his last thought.
(I see. This world is full of guys who are stronger than me.)
And that being the last thing he thought, pieces of meat fell to the floor, and Licht closed the door, muttering.
"Let's end this annoying event."