It was the sort of tears that one would shed when they wanted to brood about the unfairness of the world.
They had all been happy that they had a fair leader like Atticus. It wasn't like Atticus was nice to them, far from that.
But he had done one better, he had given each of them a comfortable place to live even though they had been suddenly thrust into the middle of a forest.
And most importantly, he had given each of them the ability to fight for themselves, to hunt beasts and gain experience. For the first time in their lives, they didn't feel useless and weak.
He was completely fair to everyone and didn't actively seek to exploit them, even though it was very easy for him to.
Even though each of them they were scared of Atticus, there was not a single person in the division that wasn't happy that Atticus was their leader.
If they had known that Atticus had been their target from the beginning, perhaps the current situation would have been different. They might have not have accepted so easily.
The Alverians had made it seem as though it was just random bullying. The fact that each divisions were divided across the academy made it all easier.
Which was why it was so painful.
They were starting to enjoy their time in the academy, they were starting to believe they weren't so useless in life anymore. And all of that was abruptly taken away from them by these black clothed bastards.
The students who had earlier been sobbing suddenly wiped away their tears in unison, and as though they each reached a mutual understanding without even needing to speak, they each suddenly turned their gazes towards the youth who had asked them to kneel earlier, their gazes becoming bloodshot.
They each had nothing to lose anymore. They would at least revel in the fact that they had taken one of them down.
But reality had always been a big bitch.
With bloodshot eyes, just as they all wanted to scatter and attack, the same usual bright glow occurred and each of them ended up getting the living daylights shocked out of them.
The 5'7" youth who had been addressing them earlier gazed at them coldly without any hint of remorse in his gaze. And after a few moments, the artifact stopped electrocuting them.
With each of the youth twitching on the floor, the youth continued addressing them,
"After I'm done talking to you, you will each be given multiple explosives. With these explosives, you all have two options: Wear them on you and sneak to the mansion where Atticus Ravenstein is sleeping in the division tonight and detonate it, or simply plant them around the mansion and wait for him to enter it before detonating. You all are to choose the best method depending on the situation, and most importantly, do it simultaneously," the youth explained in a happy tone.
To everyone listening, it was very obvious that he was happy about the order he was giving out.
And as the students on the floor all heard his order, a cold shiver ran down each of their spines. He wanted them to bomb the mansion where that white haired devil would be sleeping?
What!!?
Why not just kill them here and now!?
At the very least they wouldn't have to go through the frightening possibility of earning his ire.
Despite the number of times they had each seen Atticus's brutality, they had never once gotten used to it. There was not a single one of them who didn't pray every day to not be on the receiving end of Atticus's wrath.
And this was exactly where this bastard was sending them. None of their lives were in danger.
Even if they were to wear the bombs on themselves, their artifact would still protect them.
But it was quite unfortunate that the same thing applied to Atticus. Even if they bombed the mansion, they would still have to face Atticus afterward.
And the thought of doing that terrified every single one of them to the core.
The youth could see the way each of the students sprawled across the floor was trembling, but he didn't seem to care about it at all, and he turned and gave the youth behind him another nod.
The youth's shoulders slumped once more; it was clear that he was being forced to control the enslaved students. But he had no choice but to obey.
"I command you all to obey everything he had just asked you to do to the last detail. You are all dismissed," the youth commanded.
And although reluctant at first, each of the youths started standing up one by one, many of their muscles still having occasional spasms, and they each started walking away from the area.
After a few seconds, they had all left the area, leaving behind the black clothed youths.
One of the youths suddenly approached the 5'7" youth and spoke, "The higher years are already set, we're going to be late, Lark."
Lark turned his gaze towards the youth and rubbed his hands together in mild anticipation, "Hehehe, I can't wait to put those white haired bastards in their place! Let's go! We don't want to be late!"
Lark declared and immediately started walking briskly away from the area with the rest of the youths in tow.
It was still morning, and the expansive grassland of the academy campus in the non-leaders section was basically devoid of other students, as each of them was already settled in their respective classes.
All except the Alverian youths and the 100 they had summoned.
And just like that, the area which was initially filled with people suddenly became empty, each of the students that had left completely oblivious to the piercing blue eyes that had watched the whole scene.
'I see,' those two words reverberated in Atticus's mind like the striking of a bell, resonating deeply as he tried to comprehend what he had just witnessed.
