"You’ve made a terrible mistake... I would suggest you stop struggling, but that wouldn’t be much like me, would it?" the cloaked man said with a sigh.

"How funny." Aldrus scoffed. "Indeed, after telling us to try as hard as we could, that wouldn’t be like you at all."

The man stiffened. "...I knew you were sharp, but sharp alone wouldn’t have gotten you out of the cell."

"Alright, shut up. If you’re curious, we’ll tell your corpse about it," Cedric said, stepping in. "You sure aren’t trying to stop mere students, are you? However, it’s four against one, and judging by your pitiful presence, I’m guessing you’re a first-rank. Get out of here before we kill you."

The cloaked man scratched his head. "I sure am, but still—I’m enough. Besides, look at your sorry states, we don’t have to fight, you know? The artifact is almost ready, we don’t need that boy anymore," he said, taking a step toward them.

"Stop right there!" Alice warned; the four students immediately adopted battle stances.

The jailer tilted his head in disappointment, then spoke again, "Come on, now. I’m sure I told you if you managed to escape we’d let you go freely, didn’t I?" He smiled. "It’s okay, why don’t you follow me? I’ll show you the way out."

As if. Aldrus examined the man, unwilling to let himself be tricked again.

The jailer seemed rather uncomfortable; his body was tense, his tone slightly fast, and his demands were far too simple. Aldrus had been studying his body language ever since he noticed how he usually worked. The way the tall man spoke had always been deliberately vague; thus the only way to really read him was through his actions and behavior.

That way, Aldrus had slowly begun to notice something. "Are you perhaps... Scared, Mister jailer?" he asked.

A heavy silence drowned the place. Upon those words, the man’s smile suddenly faded in a flash.

Of course, Aldrus knew there was no way he’d be scared of them. Even though Cedric was right about his power, he was most likely on the brink of becoming a second-rank Holder. Someone like him couldn’t hope to face someone like Leona, but whether he was capable of handling the four of them... That was yet to be seen.

He was sure the jailer had the confidence for a direct clash, but the fact that he seemed frightened by something else... That was even more disturbing.

Damn, please go away! Aldrus faced his classmates, intending to tell them to prepare for a fight.

However, before he could utter a word, the cloaked man spoke first. "Alright, then. You’ve fucked everything up anyway."

"...What?" Aldrus asked, shifting his gaze to him. "What are you sa—"

!!!

However, before his gaze could fully settle on him, a devastating blow sank into his stomach.

"Guuuggh!"

W-Wha...?

Repressing the sudden urge to puke, his body folded around the supersonic fist like a kite against a tree. And in the next second, he was sent flying backwards, soon disappearing into the maw of the darkness.

...

"A-Aldrus!" The blond girl shouted, caught by surprise.

Taking advantage of the situation, the jailer spun with momentum and swung a reverse strike straight at Cedric, who had been standing beside Aldrus mere moments ago.

"!!!"

Surprised by the sudden threat, Cedric froze in place for a second.

Fortunately, though, the blond boy was a noble; he’d been trained since he could remember to always be aware of his surroundings, so he managed to react in time.

His eyes widened like a madman’s and before the blow could reach his face, he quickly bent back, letting the cloaked man’s arm pass cleanly above his head. Then, without missing a beat, he shifted his gaze and aimed for the jailer’s liver, which had been left wide open.

[Motion].

A powerful kick shot through the air, following the movement of his body. At the same time, Alice, who had snapped out of her trance, threw a kick of her own towards the head of the tall cloaked man.

"Tch." The jailer grunted and immediately [Freezed] his body in time. The moment both kicks landed, the result would be uncertain.

In a situation where an unstoppable force clashed against an immovable object, the winner was none. However, when time was involved, and especially relied on the mastery of its user, the opponent with the greatest raw power had the edge.

And thus...

"Agh, shit!"

"Ugh!"

Both students squirmed in pain the moment their attack seemed to smash against a metal boulder.

N-No! Close to them, on the floor, Aiden struggled to stay on his feet, powerlessly watching his torturer overwhelm his friends. And in that moment, as if the monster had noticed his stare, he turned around in no time and dashed into range to attack.

H-He’s ignoring us?! Cedric thought as the man passed through them with murderous intent.

Beside him, Alice steadied herself and leaped a single second into the future, hoping it would be enough to stop the assault directed at her friend. The blond girl was on the verge of collapsing; the little Perspective she had left after destroying the artifact could only grant her so much.

Catching up to the opponent, she quickly lunged at him and grabbed his legs, tucking him to the ground.

"Huff... Haaah.." She gasped for air, holding the man tightly against the ground.

"Annoying bitch," the jailer spat before simply vanishing into thin air.

What?! She flinched, trying to process what had happened. Then, connecting the dots, she glanced back in a panic, only for her worries to be confirmed. The man was a few meters behind, running at full speed in her direction.

Since first-rank Holders couldn’t directly affect others, his leap into the past helped him get out of Alice’s grip while leaving her in the same exact spot, now completely vulnerable.

Quickening his pace, the tall man adjusted his stance, ready to run through her and the injured boy behind her back.

To their fortune, he didn’t count on the remaining annoying teen.

Right before his knee destroyed Alice’s nose, he suddenly staggered and plummeted into the ground. The little time the blonde girl had bought was enough for Cedric to see his rewind and push him down.

"Got you!" The blond boy yelled, gripping the man by the neck of his clothes. He took a deep breath as his punch became unbound and fell into the jaw of the tall cloaked man.

Yet, he was still too slow.

"AAAAhhhhghhgh!" A painful scream escaped his lips; his once mighty fist was now nothing but a mess of broken bones.

Just like earlier, the immovable object had taken the round.

"Y-You! Fucker!" Overwhelmed by a piercing pain and an uncontrollable rage, Cedric lost himself once more and began to strike repeatedly against the immutable face below.

Idiot, stop! On his end, Aldrus was still fighting to stand, the punch he had received was strong enough to make him dizzy and barely able to follow the scene before his eyes.

Hahhh... Hahhh... D-Damn it, no! "C-Cedr—Cough! Cough! Aghh! H-He’s almost a second-rank, you’ll never win like that, Cedric!" he shouted. "Calm down!"

But his words didn’t reach him.

It didn’t matter how much more experienced Cedric was. It didn’t matter how many times he had been told to keep a clear head in a fight. Every lesson anyone could learn would falter in real practice, without a doubt.

In a life or death situation, the deepest flaws always came to light. The blond boy was capable, strong, and dedicated—but he was also an easily irritable teenager. He couldn’t be expected to perform efficiently when faced with despair.

Against a stronger beast, a frightened kid could not succeed.

...At least not on their own, of course.

Behind the dry thuds and the echoes of pain, a silver-haired boy had finally managed to rise to his feet.

"Hahhh... Ghhghh... Hey," he called.

"Look here."