"You have to choose your weapons," the Captain said. "So you have accepted that you will be participating in today's test. The rule is simple. Kill each other until I tell you to stop."
Suffocating silence descended, and a heavy chill spread through the room. The children shot fearful gazes at the dais and at each other.
Azaroth watched all, already backing away slowly, giving himself the advantage of not getting surrounded. He could already see the dark looks they were giving each other. This place was about to get bloody.
A boy with dirty hair raised his hand, and the big Captain nodded for him to ask his question. "But I haven't said I want to be a Hound! I am not accepting this test!"
Then he promptly threw his sword down and glared at the dais.
Azaroth's eyes flickered to the dais. Commander Apex looked bored, and the dark-robed man was just standing there like a statue.
It struck Azaroth then. It was a common sight. What was happening here in this blood-soaked room wasn't special at all, and all the Captain Hounds were probably familiar with how everything would go.
Azaroth hated it. This chapter in his life was nothing but a tedious chore for these people.
"So you don't want to be a Hound?" the big Captain asked.
The boy nodded, feeling brave that the Captain was now talking to him. "Yes! Of course, what I want to become is a powerful Awakener..."
Fire, thick like heated metal, flew from the Captain and warped around the boy's throat. The boy opened his mouth, but no sound came out as his neck melted and dropped to the floor.
The smell of burnt flesh mixed with blood carried in the air.
"You will start now. Hounds are obedient. All we do is obey," the big Captain continued. "If you decide not to fight, I will kill you myself. Now begin."
His voice ended harshly, and the children reacted. The first one turned around fearfully, raised her sword, and charged the tall boy with the chains.
Fool, Azaroth thought. You should have picked another target.
The tall boy unwound the chain in his right hand, tangling it with the girl's sword before he struck with the spiked ball in his left hand. Metal met flesh with a dull popping sound, and the girl's head caved in.
There was silence then. The only sound was that of the tall boy quickly untangling his chain. Tension hung thick in the air. This was reality.
Then chaos erupted.
The girl Azaroth had pushed roughly away charged at him, and he darted to the left, dodging a clumsy longsword. Azaroth closed in and planted his dagger in her throat.
Azaroth removed it quickly, barely noticing the blood, and parried a sword meant for his heart. He drew back a little and merely flicked his hand, sending his dagger into his attacker's heart.
Azaroth didn't know how, but he was stronger and faster. Maybe he did know how. He had eaten a technique book, and his body had changed.
Azaroth moved in a blur of white and red. His dagger was quick to find a throat or a heart. Sometimes he would send it deep into a head.
Azaroth took a few seconds and looked at the others.
Alex had taken a single position instead of moving and running as Azaroth was doing. He spun his sword with an expert hand, cutting those foolish enough to come close.
As Azaroth watched, an attacker came too close, and Alex's sword turned the heavy axe away and expertly cut off the owner's hand right at the elbow. The head soon followed.
The twins were more dramatic. They worked together seamlessly. The one with the spear mostly attacked, and the one with the sword blocked. Azaroth didn't understand how they could fight with their right and left hands clasped together.
A blur of pink was running around. The girl with the pink hair was fast, and she used it to her advantage. The short sword gave her the necessary reach without getting close to her target.
The tall boy whirled his spiked chain at high speed, keeping attackers away, and then sent it out suddenly. Heads burst and hands shattered as the spiked ball connected with attackers.
The blue-eyed girl used her saber well. She must have had some kind of training. Sometimes she would put the saber at her side and then pretend to draw it from a scabbard. The effect was so fast that Azaroth couldn't see the saber until it pierced her attacker.
That must be a type of saber technique, Azaroth thought, returning to the fight.
Before long, the seven of them had made quick work of the other children. In unspoken words, they had all spread out where they could keep their eyes on each other.
They were all breathing hard and covered in blood.
Azaroth's hair was dyed red with blood, and his hand gripping the dagger was slippery with the red substance.
Azaroth glanced at the others. He couldn't tell who would be left alive if they all clashed.
"Enough!" The voice rang clear and commanding. It was Apex.
Azaroth released a breath and relaxed his muscles. So this was how a real fight was, and this was only a fight without Awakening power.
Then Azaroth glanced at the bodies on the floor. No, this wasn't a fight. It was a slaughter. The other children could never have overpowered the seven of them.
"I must say this set of Hound aspirants was entertaining. To see seven promising Hounds," Apex's eyes glinted. "I cannot wait to see you with Awakened powers."
Apex looked at the cloaked man, who nodded, and then they both walked out of the building, Azaroth watching them go.
Kael Hound spoke. "Congratulations. You are all now Hound aspirants and will dedicate your time and energy to training to become proper Hounds. Your life belongs to the Inferno Legion and your superiors now."
Kael continued, "Whatever life you had before is gone now. Look towards the future and dedicate your life to the Legion!"
Azaroth looked at his bloody hands and the bodies on the floor, then back at the dais. Yes, he was looking towards the future.