Realizer of Death : The Reaper

Roooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

When the wyvern appeared and roared, the first-year students who heard it trembled in fear and couldn't move. They saw a giant winged lizard flying closer to their location. Fortunately, the monster was not targeting them, but the student council president, Setsuka Fuyushima.

Akina quickly looked at Tenku's location, but her face sank when she didn't find his figure.

"Huh!? Where is he going!?" Akina said frantically and looked around the area for Tenku. But she didn't check into Setsuka's location because there was no way Tenku would go to such a dangerous place. Before Akina could do any further searching, an explosion occurred, and the shockwave knocked her back several meters.

"Ugh!" Akina fell and rolled on the ground due to her unpreparedness for the impact.

"Where did Tenku go!? He's fine, isn't he? Did the explosion hit Tenku?" Akina said worriedly. She gritted her teeth in frustration as the entire area was covered in smoke and dust, making it harder to find Tenku. But when Akina tried to look for him again, a voice from behind the smoke called out to her.

"Karitoshi! Are you okay!?" Takaya and Noboru ran to Akina, who was lying on the ground.

"I am alright. Did you see Tenku?" Akina quickly stood up when she saw them. Fortunately, she only received minor injuries from the explosion, and nothing serious happened to her body.

Takaya and Noboru looked at each other and shook their heads with gloomy faces. The two of them had also tried to find Tenku before the fireball fell, but they couldn't find him anywhere.

Takaya was sure that he saw Tenku firing his gun not long before the wyvern appeared. But when the monster shot the fireball, Tenku suddenly disappeared from where he was standing, and Takaya didn't know where he had gone.

"Where is he going? Is he blown away by the impact of the explosion?" Akina muttered in a trembling voice.

"We should stay optimistic and not think like that. Let's join the others. We might be able to find Tenku among them." Takaya realized that not only the students were affected by the explosion but also the monsters surrounding them.

The goblins, orcs, and lone wolves were blown away, and many died from the fireball. Wyverns also had difficulty attacking them in that smoke and dust-filled area. Takaya didn't want to waste the chance to escape. He was sure that Tenku was fine somewhere and would come back looking for him once the situation became more conducive.

"But..." Akina hesitated to leave the place because she was worried that Tenku was still around.

"I'm sure he'll be fine since he's fighting at the back line. Maybe he was gone before the explosion happened. We can look for him again after joining the other students." Takaya tried to convince Akina.

The girl was silent and pondered on Takaya's words. After she thought for a while, Akina finally opened her mouth.

"Okay! Let's go!" Akina decided to leave the place with Takaya and Noboru. She hoped that Tenku had left with the students in the back line before the fireball fell.

On the other hand, Setsuka looked on in a daze after being pushed by Tenku and flew a dozen meters from where she was standing earlier. She was shocked by the rapid change in the situation. Setsuka was sure she should be the one who got hit by the fireball. But Tenku suddenly appeared and took her place. Setsuka clearly remembered the words that came out of his mouth.

"I think this is enough to pay off my debt to you, Miss Fuyushima."

Setsuka trembled as she remembered those words and Tenku's promise to her by the lake back then. She didn't think that the boy was serious about it. If she were asked which was more valuable, her naked body that Tenku had seen or her life, Setsuka would answer the latter without hesitation.

"I have to save him!" Setsuka gritted her teeth and intended to go to the center of the explosion to look for Tenku. But before she could take a step, she heard Kaede calling her.

"Setsuka!" Kaede ran over to Setsuka. She wasn't alone because Hijiri accompanied her.

"Kaede? Good thing you're safe." Setsuka let out a sigh of relief after seeing that her best friend was fine. But the anxiety still didn't leave her face because she was still thinking about Tenku's condition after the explosion.

"Are you okay, Setsuka?" Kaede asked worriedly.

"I'm fine. In that case, you should quickly get out of here before the monsters return. I still have things to do in this place." Setsuka said to Kaede in a very hasty tone. She wanted to return to that place and look for Tenku quickly. But Hijiri grabbed her wrist and stopped her.

"What are you doing, Hijiri? I'm in a hurry and don't have time to accompany you! Let go of your hands now, or I won't hesitate to attack you!" Setsuka said coldly, and the surrounding temperature dropped drastically. Kaede shivered when she heard Setsuka's words.

"I was stopping you from acting stupid! What do you want to do in this place? Don't you know that the situation here has been very dangerous since the wyvern's appearance? Nor do we know what other monsters that black-robed person is hiding from us. If he suddenly released a fifth-level monster, wouldn't you be looking to die!?" Hijiri didn't flinch when she heard those words and instead tightened her grip on Setsuka. A layer of fire enveloped her body to withstand the cold that Setsuka released.

"Didn't you see I could survive the wyvern's attack because someone saved me? So how could I leave him like that!? I'm not someone who doesn't know how to return the favor!" Setsuka raised her voice and forcibly pulled her arm away from Hijiri. After that, she dashed to where the fireball had fallen.

Hijiri and Kaede looked at each other, confused by those words. But they quickly came back to their senses after hearing Setsuka's footsteps.

"Wait, Setsuka!" Kaede screamed to stop her, but Setsuka didn't listen and continued running toward the center of the explosion. It was the first time she'd seen her best friend act so stubborn.

"Damn! Let's follow her and bring her back!" Hijiri clicked her tongue and went after Setsuka. Kaede nodded and followed closely behind.

After Setsuka arrived at her destination, she was dumbfounded when she saw a large, unknown deep hole. She could only conclude one thing when she saw the scene. Tenku had fallen into the hole due to the attack from the wyvern.

Setsuka was about to dive into the hole to look for Tenku, but Kaede and Hijiri grabbed his left and right hands to stop her.

"Stop it, Setsuka! That is dangerous! Do you know how deep this hole is!?" Kaede shouted at Setsuka.

"But I have to save him!" Setsuka struggled to get away from the two people.

"You've been saying that someone has saved you. But who is that person? We only saw that you were suddenly blown away from where you were standing and survived the wyvern's attack!" Kaede didn't know who the person Setsuka kept talking about was. But one thing was for sure. She didn't see anyone near Setsuka when the wyvern shot the fireball.

"Huh!? Are you seriously saying that? If you want to joke about this matter, I will be very angry with you, Kaede." Setsuka narrowed her eyes and said in a low voice.

"I'm serious. You can ask Hijiri about that." Kaede shook her head and threw the question at Hijiri.

"Yes. I also didn't see anyone around you at that time. What I see is you suddenly blown away from that place. I think it was because your reflexes were too fast, so you were able to dodge the fireball." Hijiri nodded and explained. Those words made Setsuka confused.

(I'm sure it's him. His face, voice, and even... his scent are the same. So how could I mistake a person at such close range? But why did Hijiri and Kaede say that they didn't see him? Are they too far from my location or for some other reason?)

Setsuka was sure that the person she saw was Tenku. But she didn't know how Tenku could instantly appear in front of her from such a distance. Besides, she found it strange that Hijiri and Kaede didn't see him. But then Setsuka shook her head because right now wasn't the time for her to think about that.

"I don't care if you can see it or not. The fact is he saved me by sacrificing himself. So let me go now. I must quickly check into this big hole and look for him." Setsuka had to get into the hole and look for Tenku quickly. But after she managed to free herself from Kaede and Hijiri, a roar echoed in the area.

Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The wyvern flapped its wings to dispel the smoke and dust in the area.

"We have to get out of this place immediately, Setsuka! It would be best if you remembered that you are the student council president and you still have a responsibility to protect the first-year students. Please don't be stubborn like that. Those students were probably being hunted by the monsters right now! You can imagine their next situation if you don't help them quickly." Hijiri raised her voice and hoped that Setsuka would listen.

Setsuka's body trembled when she heard those words. She felt uneasy if she didn't confirm Tenku's condition with her own eyes. But Setsuka realized that she still had responsibilities as student council president and couldn't be selfish. Otherwise, more students will become victims.

Setsuka felt pain in her heart when she thought that she had to leave Tenku. She looked at the center of the hole and clenched her fists so tightly that her nails pierced her skin and bled.

"Alright. Let's get out of here and find the others." Setsuka said heavily, and tears flowed from her eyes. She didn't wait for their answer and immediately left the place.

Kaede and Hijiri were shocked when they saw that. As long as they had known her, this was the first time they had seen Setsuka cry. But they didn't have time to think about that and quickly ran after Setsuka, who had left them far away.