POV: Rai Shinsei
As we traveled towards our destination, we briefly discussed the mission among each other as Aria and Everett sat beside me while Arthur and Sarah sat across from me.
"Rai, have you perhaps been on a mission before?" Aria asked curiously as I nodded.
"Only once." I answered as Sarah rolled her eyes from my response.
"I'm surprised that they even let somebody as weak as yourself on a mission in junior high." Sarah snickered, but despite her obvious attempt to provoke me, I ignored her mockery and remained calm.
I don't know what I did to receive this kind of treatment from her, but her attitude is beginning to annoy me.
"There were several B-Class heroes supervising us and the mission was only a Level Two Threat." I replied as I noticed the mountainous environment outside of our window, which informed me that we were about to arrive at our destination soon.
"It seems we're about to arrive at our destination soon. I think it will be best if we have a leader of our team as if there comes a time where the five of us are alone, we need someone to make the final decision if necessary. Personally, I recommend either Aria or Arthur since they are the most level headed among all of us." I suggested as Sarah scowled at me in bewilderment.
"Huh? You enrolled into this academy not even a month ago and you act like you know me better than anyone else. Who is to say that I wouldn't be a proper leader and who gave you the right-"
"Your judgement is poor and you're too self-centered. Our lives are on the line against a villainous group that even A-Class heroes struggle to capture. If all goes wrong and we're forced to fight them, the chances of us living are slim to none. Instead of having a temper tantrum about a title, I'd advise you to take this mission more seriously as there is a chance you could lose your life today." I explained as Sarah clicked her tongue in frustration, prompting her to lean forward as she grasped the collar of my jacket.
"Who are you to judge me?! You're just an arrogant weakling who is overly paranoid when we have Arthur here with us-"
"Arthur won't be able to protect us, let alone himself if the leaders of the Cardinal Sins show up. Did you even take a moment to think about why we were tasked to solely rescue the children instead of engaging in combat? It's because none of us are capable of surviving with the sole exception of Arthur, whose survival isn't even guaranteed if the worst possible scenario arises. This isn't a game, Sarah, so I'd advise you to end this nonsense and…"
"Get your shit together." I reproached harshly as Sarah broke out a cold sweat, hesitating momentarily before releasing her grasp from the collar of my jacket as she sat back down into her seat in silence.
I can't lose my composure over such childishness.
There was an awkward moment of silence until I broke it with a deep sigh.
"I'm sorry for my tone, Sarah, but I'd be at ease if we chose between Aria or Arthur to lead our team and Everett, I'm sure you don't mind allowing one of them to lead, right?" I asked amidst regaining my composure.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine with that. I never once thought that somebody like myself would even be qualified to lead this team." Everett answered with a sheepish chuckle as I shifted my eyes towards Arthur, who looked at me with a wry smile.
"I'm not sure why you're looking at me when you should already know who our leader is going to be." Arthur said with a grin as I sighed with relief from everyone finally coming to an agreement.
So Aria's going to be the leader-
"I also agree with Arthur. We may be level headed, but you were able to understand the gravity of our situation immediately, so I think having you as our leader would benefit us the most, Rai." Aria suggested with a smile as her statement left me bewildered.
What?
"I'm sorry, but I can't be the leader. Even if I'm able to grasp the situation faster than others, I'm nowhere near as strong as the two of you. If something were to go wrong, I won't be able to protect any of you." I replied quickly, unable to think properly as their unexpected decision threw me in a loop.
"Well, I wouldn't consider you to be weak, but if all goes wrong, none of us will blame you." Arthur asserted as Aria and Everett nodded in agreement.
These guys…
"Alright, it's settled." I said with a sigh of defeat as I felt a smile creep upon myself amidst watching them converse among each other.
It's nice to have people who trust you.
~
"We've arrived." The driver announced as the five of us exited the vehicle, grabbing our equipment as I began stretching my body, but as I stretched, I couldn't help but gaze at the expansive, cavernous mountains in the distant as the sunrise peeked over the summit, creating a magnificent view across the landscape as I took a deep breath to regain my focus.
Amidst everyone preparing themselves, I observed our surroundings as we dropped off on a rocky, yet steep hill, preventing our driver from going any further into the boreal forest that extended across the Exterel Mountains.
What a shame.
If there wasn't a dangerous group of villains roaming within the mountains, I wouldn't mind taking my time to enjoy this view.
"I apologize for not being able to assist you all any further. I wish you all the best of luck." The driver said with a bow before entering inside his vehicle and heading off into the distance as I noticed a faint trail leading inside the forest.
"That's weird. I wonder where the heroes are? Are we perhaps too early?" Aria questioned rhetorically as she began to scan the area for any clues.
She's right.
Although it's only seven in the morning, the heroes on standby should have already arrived before us.
There's no way that we're early, so where are the heroes?
"What if they're waiting for us inside the forest? They probably followed that path into the forest." Everett voiced as he pointed towards the trail.
"You're probably right, Everett." Aria affirmed as Arthur and I glanced at each other.
"Let's go." I ordered as we began to follow the trail into the forest with Arthur walking beside me while the remaining three followed a few feet behind.
"Remember what the teacher said. We are only here to rescue the children and if anything goes wrong, we are to abandon the mission immediately and leave everything in the hands of the heroes." I said sternly as everyone nodded.
~
Roughly ten minutes had passed as we continued to follow the faint trail through the forest, but I soon became aware of the deafening silence that took place within the forest as I found it unusual, considering that there should be wildlife around us, despite humans traversing through their territory.
Something isn't right.
It's far too quiet and we should have already met up with the heroes by now.
Could Aria have been right about us arriving early?
As paranoia loomed upon me, I pulled out my phone from my pocket with the intention of contacting Ryan for an answer, but to my dismay, my phone was turned off.
I don't remember turning off my phone.
Confused, I attempted to turn on my phone several times, but it was to no avail as anxiety began to cloud my mind.
"Everett, can you access your phone?" I asked, swallowing dryly in apprehension as he pulled out his phone from his pocket, however, my worst fears became a reality as I watched him attempt to turn on his phone several times with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"That's weird. Is my phone broken? It was just working-"
"No. There's a jamming device somewhere within this forest, but what is even worse is that we haven't even come across a single hero yet." I replied as I noticed the amount of trees ahead of us began to lessen.
"Rai's right, not to mention, I've also had this feeling of uneasiness ever since we stepped into this forest-"
Arthur's sentence ended abruptly as we were petrified by the disturbing sight that stood before us.
There's no way…
The sight was a nightmare spoken into existence as in front of us were the lifeless bodies of several heroes that were hanging from different branches within the surrounding area.
Their bodies were hung by blood-rusted steel chains, which allowed them to dangle within the air as they were drenched in their own blood with their limbs mangled beyond imagination while crude slashes were carved into their bodies as if it was the canvas for a psychotic sculptor.
This can't be real.
The heroes that were originally supposed to be supervising us…
Are dead.