Revian's face strained, his hand reaching for the blade typically holstered to his waist but finding only air.
"Ah, you just tried to draw your blade, didn't you? Perhaps you aren't used to carrying no sword with you, especially since the university retrieves their weapons from trash who end up on the bottom of the ladder."
Malric was laughing, his hands half-curled in the air to emphasize how unserious he found the entire situation.
"Brother!"
Instantly, Garron darted from his hospital bed, breaking its exterior with the force of his propulsion with a loud thud.
Garron's hand locked around Malric's throat, crushing his trachea and forcing him to look on in wide-eyed shock as his breath was immediately stolen from him.
"Khhhhkkkuuhhh..." Malric retched, trying to extend his hand to where Garron stood.
Garron didn't have any patience for it, smacking his leg against Malric's to sweep him onto the floor. He looked up at the two behind Malric, both stepping back from fear.
"You bastards, rushing in here and talking about killing my--"
His mouth was slammed shut on the whim of another, Garron's fists loosening as his body slowly lifted into the air.
Crash!
Garron's lift hastened, thrashing his back against the ceiling, then again into the wall, then again. With each impact, webs of cracks and crushed stone were left behind.
There was an invisible force almost pulling him from where he stood, only letting go once Malric had clumsily returned to his feet.
"Cough--wretched fool... I released my gravity on accident. It's funny, you thinking you could fight me with that garbage magic of yours. This isn't year two anymore. You're not a monster anymore, Juggernaut--at least with that twist of yours, pathetic as it sounds. You should learn your place unless you wish for an untimely end along with that waste of space behind you." Malric said with his hands clutched on his throat. He looked down at Garron's bruised body, grinning for a moment before turning to the boy to his right. "And thank you, Elias. Your dominator's grip is incredibly useful for dealing with brutish folks like him."
The boy he was referring to had his hand stretched out, face profuse with sweat. He'd been gasping for air, his stance almost weak enough to tip over onto the floor.
"hah, yeah, hah, don't mention it." He nodded, backing up to maintain the dominance Malric held in the room.
"And you, Drayden," Malric added while turning to his left, "keep that brute restrained."
The boy with brown hair only bobbed his head, stepping forward to find Garron's laxed arms, extending both his hands to cause two long chains to jut out from the floor.
Their form weaving in response to his will, they wrapped around Garron's wrists, closing back down into the floor to forcefully prop Garron up where he could only look on at the scene.
"Now, you, Silent Knight. Won't you use that esteemed swordsmanship of yours to attack me, or perhaps float your way in escape. Come on, do something. Anything!"
Revian didn't care to fuel Malric's ego, turning his head to escape his gaze.
"You brat..." He spat, gnashing his teeth. After a couple seconds, he breathed in a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm his spirit. "What, words too good for you? Or maybe you've forgotten who I am?"
Malric waited for words--any--to exit Revian's mouth, but as the room's continued silence stabbed into his chest, he could only raise his voice.
"Well, come on, Silent Knight! Say something!"
He jumped over to Revian's bed, kicking it with enough force to slam into the wall and compelling Revian's flying body to slam into the floor.
Revian yelled out in pain, the hard floor pressing into his wounds and causing red to begin to dissipate into the white bandages covering most of his body.
"Oh, come on! Where's that hard iron grit of yours that took me out with one fell swoop during our class assessment duel? Don't tell me you don't remember!"
Revian's eyes widened with shock--not because he forgot Malric, he remembers every face he fights--staring back at Garron.
There was a sword floating in between the two, its sheath already slipping from the ascent. It spun, but from where was it thrown, and how?
Regardless, Revian didn't have the time or space to care for such questions.
Swiftly grabbing it with his right arm, Revian jumped up to somersault past Malric, softly landing and pointing its blade against Malric's neck.
The shape of the sword was different than any he'd ever felt, but fit just right into his hands. It was eerie how great the hilt rubbed against his skin, fastened as if Revian designed it himself.
"Wha--" Malric shuddered, his neck almost slit against its sharp from his own movements.
Understanding of the abilities the other two had, he grabbed onto Malric's collar, slowly tipping it closer and closer against his neck before, eventually, a thin trail of red trickled down.
"Don't try anything, otherwise I'll--"
Without even a warning, Revian's limbs clutched solid, his blade trembling against his attempts to move.
"Ah, you thought Elias needed to use his hands for dominator's touch, did you? A crude misunderstanding you have, and something you should've learned in the main curriculum." Malric said, using just his index and middle finger to push aside Revian's hand. "Hah, unless, of course, they don't teach that to you Class F students yet!"
Spontaneously, Malric spun back to ram his foot into Revian's chest, shoving him back onto the wall.
Revian screamed in agony, the red in his white bandages spreading even further. He felt as if lava were drizzled from his collarbone down along his chest and upper back, drifting off into streams as they evaporated skin, burnt fat, and crisped muscle.
"Brother!" Garron yelled, straining the floor from his struggles, the chains strangulating his attempts to get off the ground.
He didn't care for this--no, not a single thought crossed his mind that said 'I can't break through this'. A deeper, unadulterated drive to save Revian flexed his muscles, his legs bursting through the white hospital clothes he wore.
"Drayden." Malric commanded, the fear that'd frozen Drayden's limbs being cleaved in two by his order, forcing him to shake his head in defiance. He was fearful to listen, but when Malric glared back at him, he only looked down in submission.
Facing his hands towards Garron, another set of chains shot out, blaring white with mana as they coldly clung to his skin.
Garron's shoulders were thrown back by the force of their pull, his body collapsing from overexhaustion.
"Damn you, I swear to the gods, I will kill every last one of you if you lay a hand on my brother!" He yelled, the chains clacking with each time he violently pulled his hands.
"Hm, chirps of the weak." Malric grinned, turning back to Revian. "Now, just sit and watch."
Revian looked up, his hands clutching his stomach. There was no resistance in his expression, no fight in his limbs, just the silent acceptance that he was outclassed.
"Grahhhhh!" He shouted, the pain intensifying three-fold.
Malric's stomp on Revian's most prominent blotch of violet caused the floor to splinter beneath him, his injury seated in the center of his sternum.
Revian could sense bone shattering from his stomps, already fractured from his fight against Garron. The pain was outrageous, flames shooting out from his sternum to melt his flesh and numb his mind.
"Grrhhgghh, gragghhhh!" He roared, his chest caving into a second force. Malric was stomping again, but instead, rubbing his foot every third or forth hit to accentuate the hurt.
Something dislodged inside Revian, cracking both it and his mind into splintering madness.
The world turned red--either from the blood, hatred, or both--his lips entrenched with crimsons from how hard he was biting down on them.
"Why?" He whimpered, struggling to raise his arms in defense from the onslaught of stomps.
Malric laughed, the smile on his face diabolically sharp.
"Why? Are you serious, asking 'why' when you're about to die?" He asked, releasing the foot on Revian's chest and raising it yet again as if he were going to attack him. However, after he looked down on the red dripping from his shoe, he opted for holding out for just a moment. "Fine, I'll tell you, but only for myself!"
Swatting Revian's hands away, he crouched just above him, resting his chin on his left palm.
"I've worked hard, clawing my way up the ladder to get to where I am. I started in Class D and had to deal with a group of nobodies dragging me down! Despite that, I networked, growing my skills and connections and making sure the gods would grant me just the magic I needed. Eventually, I earned just enough credits to make it into Class A into my own, that swordsmanship trial being the last push I needed."
"Then I went and defeated you?"
"Why, yes you did! And as you know, magic only accounts for half the credits for assessment, so even with a score of 46 out of 50 for magic, you tanked my swordsmanship grade and caused me to be placed in Class B."
Revian's expression was cold, his mind resolved on escaping.
Leaning on his elbow, he tried to turn over, but Malric didn't bother to even allow this, slamming his shoulder back onto the ground.
"Oh no-o-o, you're going to die, buddy. I told you all this just so I could watch the despair in your eyes just a little longer."
Revian's expression broke, tears glistening in the bright sun. He knew that there was no escape, the two behind Malric grinning along with him.
"I-I, can't we talk this through?" Revian asked, his composure shattering completely.
"Ah~ how I've longed to see that face. The answer to that one's no, considering you're still a blotch on my record."
Crrkrkk, Sttshhh!
Malric's heel was now digging into flesh, droplets of red flying out instead of oozing with each stomp.
"GRrrgghggh, kkkttthhhrrrr, grghhh..." Revian's voice gradually dimmed, his heart's pace slowing with each collision. He didn't have the energy or will to resist, the warm from his blood turning cold.
"--ther" he heard in the distance, likely the desperate calls of Garron. He wished to reach out, communicate to Garron that things were going to be fine, but as he felt even the burning pain leave him, he knew that was a lie.
Mother, I'm sorry...
"That's enough."
Revian's closed eyes hadn't caught wind of the person standing behind Malric, his figure towering and voice thundering.
It was Varek, hand on Malric's shoulder.