The five feet tall beast stands on its hind legs, doubling its height. Glaring at the mortals celebrating in the vicinity with its dark-brown eyes, it crosses its arms, mocking them for ignoring the horror that is yet to come.
Swaying its head to the side like a street thug, it takes one giant leap forward.
Whoosh!
The creature with army-green —gray spotted — skin appears behind a stout boy, pushing him to the ground, without any sound thanks to its arms. The act itself is beyond fast; what alerted everyone of the impeding danger is the boy's cry for help.
SOMEBODY! SOMEBODY RESCUE ME! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!
The crowd's exteriors pales, their faces twisting in horror. Coordinated, they move back, clearing a space for the boy to be eaten alive... there is nothing to do about it.
To the young man's anguish, the beast starts to chew the space in between his legs, making sounds of pleasure, pulling everything in slow, painful precise bites. Such delight, nonetheless, is nothing compared to the teen's scream of horrors.
AHHHHH!! SAVE ME YOU IDIOTS! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M DYING!! IDIOTS PLEASE SAVE ME!! YOU SONS OF B-!! WAHH!
They would have saved him if he wasn't calling people names. Ridiculous! They are too scared to do anything!
At that moment of despair, however, an enthusiastic voice rose:
"Bada Bang, chibaba-baba! Listen everyone, there is power in numbers. If we work together, we'll be able to take down this pumpkin head. Remember, one finger can never kill a bug on its own. Just like what we did with those wild cats, let's team up and take care of this horrible beast. At the end of the day, it's a mere cat that spends the rest of its life doing squats and press-ups."
Instantly, Tsukino scowls, her disdain palpable. This is the (bastard) scholar who was singing while people were dying. Nonetheless, she doesn't have time to say a thing, as the others react to his words.
"That's right! All we need to do is believe in ourselves, and everything is possible!" one of the teens exclaimed.
"You're correct! We believed in ourselves and chased those giraffe cats away! This is just a slightly bigger cat!" another teen said.
"Yeah! Let's go!" the group chimed in unison.
Before the crowd can move, the beige-haired scholar claps his hands to gather their attention, a smile curling up on his face.
'Wow! They have a lot of energy, but most of them are thinking of running away like that stick-man.'
—Where is he anyway?
Faking a cough, Shinji lies his thoughts aside.
"Before you go, I want to let you know that I'm an archer, and won't do much in close combat. When there's an opening, I'll take care of that cat in one shot."
Some of the teens look at Shinji in awe, inspired by his words — a leader to blame for any loses is needed. All they have to do is create an opening, and this great scholar will take care of the puma.
As they give him praises, the misprize in Tsukino's eyes increases — the boy sounds like trouble.
Soon, 3 extras, whose names we won't mention, rush toward the wood puma, their eyes shining in crystal clear resolve. Shinji's words have moved their fighting spirit; if Lucien can kill servals alone, what more about them when they are three against a bigger cat? Simple, right?
No! There is a big difference in each single stage.
Sitting cross-legged to enjoy it's meal, the profound beast effortlessly moves its left hand, twisting three heads at once...
In the interim, the living ones feel their throats dry up. With cadaverous visages, they look at Shinji for assistance; the scholar rolls his eyes in disdain, looking at the ground.
—This is the problem with (extras) people, they want to put everything on the (Main Character) person who steps up. When loses happen, they won't hesitate to blame that someone.
Sighing, Shinji puts a fake smile on his triangular shaped face, placing his hands behind his back like an old man. Taking a step forward, he frantically searches for a certain red-hair.
—Derniere-san is the one good at this kind of thing. I'm just a fifth-grade artist who is barely good at choreography, yet alone, battle strategizing. Where can he be?
'Wait! Akane-chan just died, what do I say to him?'
—I'm sorry for your loss? My condolences? Congratulations? Maybe, I should bring a gift?
Shinji bites on his thumb, his face taking a gloom shadow —he has strayed away from the situation at hand. Without realizing, a minute passes before he noticed Lucien.
Taking long strides, he thinks of the right words to say on his way to a tree. Bowing slightly, he says in a deplorable tone:
"Derniere-san..."
Lucien raises his brows at his friend's way of speaking. To stop the chit-chat, he coldly glares down at the pretty teen, answering the last thing he was going to ask last:
"I think: its weakness is the wooden part of its body; unfortunately for us, we don't have anything to start a fire, to give us an easy advantage. Any weak flame will extinguish since that's wet wood."
—He doesn't want to talk about it?
Shinji chases away his concern with a nod, understanding.
"What do you think is the best way of taking it down?"
"We split ourselves into groups of 10, and attack it over a count of 120. We sacrifice those who get injured as distractions for the other groups. Those with dead teammates will group each other, and continue. This will help us rest, and wear it down for a perfect kill."
—Most of them are going to hide like that stick-man, but it's a good plan.
Shinji bows down to Lucien in respect of such a wondrous plan.
Turning back, his gaze lands on Tsukino staring at him. A second passes; they scowl with clenched fist, walking to each other like reunited lovers.
Two seconds later, Shinji recites:
"Open your eyes to the pain in my heart,
Ruined and shambled like a forgotten pit,
Gaze upon the broken pieces of my heart you once lit;
You promised to always stand by me,
Yet, on that stormy day, you betrayed me,
Even demons have a heart, yet, yours destroyed me."
Shrugging whatever he made, Tsukino's scowl deepens.
"I don't like you."
The Main Character brings his head closer to hers, sneering.
"Well, I loathe you; I'll do anything to make you suffer."
Clicking their tongues in unison, the two separate.
***
Knowing with Lucien previous actions no one would listen to him, the beige-haired youth shifts the plan to make it his —he needs the attention.
As group formation begins, Shinji proudly states:
"Lucien Derniere Etoile is my partner. I promised him that as part of the contribution to the plan."
"I'll join your group."
Shinji scowls at Tsukino's declaration. He knows as a girl, no one would want to ask her to join them, but that will be different if she is another group.
However.
'Tsuki wants to monitor me and Derniere-san.'
—How can you still be acting kind after that?! Why do you still want to be a dreaded heroin?! Both you and I have the birthmark of the Second Villain Rehabilitator, but sometimes we don't have to act with others at heart!
Shinji massages his temples. In the past, someone manipulated him to have feelings for Tsukino, and he had to approach the girl as various figures to hide himself. Nonetheless, he is starting to fight those feelings, since he recently realized he was being made to look after Tsukino.
That story aside, Shinji doesn't like how Tsukino likes to play the heroine. After all, if she dies, the birthmark will kill everyone who has it.
Sighing, the scholar lets everything go, watching the mortals group each other. When they are done, something more terrible happens:
"Why don't you let your group take the lead Scholar-san?"
"It's only right since you made the plan."
"To show our respect, we can only do that much for a being of higher intelligence like you."
Shinji gnashes his teeth. Aren't they asking him to get himself killed? Also, the chances of them not keeping up their end of the deal are high!
Before he can say a thing, however, Lucien grabs his shoulder, signalling him to go. The red-hair wants to take advantage of the fact that the puma is still feeding on the stout boy —a part of him at least... the intestines are all out, as if, a mad scientist operated him; his upside down face with wide open eyes, together with the bleeding neck makes the sight even more mesmerizing.
Meanwhile, Shinji sighs, dejected. Looking at the tall teen taking the lead, he shakes his head.
—She might be gone, but you still have a life, you know? Also, don't forget I die, if you die. Then again, among us, the second Villain Rehabilitator(s), you're someone blessed with a battle-strategic mind that keeps you composed in any form of hardship.