Q!
Ezekiel hardly had time to comprehend the beautiful scene.
It blinded his eyes. He could hardly see anything in the first place, since his eyes had become accustomed to darkness.
In most cases, the talents who graduated from the hidden manor would leave blindfolded and would be slowly adjusted to the outside climate. Otherwise, it was difficult for them to function properly.
Obviously, Ezekiel couldn't really get the same treatment.
Because the explosion that filled his arms with shrapnel wasn't the first, nor was it the last.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
With the sound isolation that once protected the hidden manor gone, Ezekiel's sensitive ears were finally able to pick up everything that was happening outside.
Countless explosions, something completely unexpected.
And as if the sounds from the outside weren't bad enough, it seemed the hidden manor was being targeted purposefully, because after the first wall fell, the rest soon followed.
Wood and metal flew through the air, crashing into the internal structures of the manor and destroying its foundation.
Some pieces managed to perfectly locate living targets, slamming through the heads of some of the talents and directly killing them.
Blood began to fly through the air just as much as the shrapnel did.
The amount of sound became overwhelming.
No, the overabundance of stimuli itself was the problem.
For Ezekiel, who'd been in a controlled environment for the entirety of his life, it was maddening.
Maddeningly exciting.
'Is this…the outside world…?'
He hadn't moved yet.
His eyes were only starting to adjust, and while they did, he was ducking and picking out the metal that had gotten stuck in his arm.
Once he was certain there wasn't anything else flying wantonly through the air, he spread his awareness as he was taught and searched for any signs of nearby life.
'They're not here.'
The instructors weren't in the vicinity. There were a few other talents nearby, but they didn't concern him.
'I can actually…'
Ezekiel's eyes lit up.
'I can actually leave!'
He stood up and took one last look around, taking in the scenes of the hidden manor that were now more visible than ever.
And with not even a single drop of lingering emotion remaining in his body, he rushed out of the destroyed building, finally feeling the sun on his skin for the first time.
XIU!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"AAAARGH!"
There were a lot of sounds, and even more sights to accompany them.
As Ezekiel's eyes adjusted, he found himself in the middle of a true war zone.
Starships flew through the sky, dropping law-infused bombs across the Straea Manor territory.
On the ground, several tens of thousands of troops, if not more, fought head to head, engaging in a bloody battle that claimed countless lives.
This much was already surprising to Ezekiel.
BANG!
This much already made his heart beat like it had never beaten before.
But this was only the tip of the iceberg.
BANG!
Ezekiel jumped back, narrowly avoiding being caught in a crater that formed as an unidentified object fell from the sky.
"DAMMIT! YOU VOID PALACE BASTARDS!"
A voice came from the crater, followed by another bang as the figure who created it shot back into the sky.
"That was…"
Ezekiel only caught a slight glance of it, but he was sure of what he saw.
'The Straea Clan logo!'
A top fighter from the clan, one of the very people he didn't want to meet.
'Luckily he seems preoccupied.'
The situation finally sank in for Ezekiel.
'I should find a place to hide.'
He looked around, but there was nothing around but flat ground.
In the sky, that fighter he saw earlier was confronting a woman with emerald green hair, a member of the so-called "Void Palace."
'Is she strong…?'
In Ezekiel's memory, women were never very strong. The female members of the hidden manor were usually killed off first, and rarely any of them were able to survive long enough to graduate.
'I think she's going to–'
He didn't even have the chance to think it.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Three massive wooden tendrils thicker than anything Ezekiel had ever seen before burst out of the ground only a few feet in front of him and shot into the air faster than he could comprehend.
The tendrils slammed into the Straea Clan fighter, throwing him forward as he coughed up blood.
The emerald-haired woman watched as he flew towards her, her eyes calmer than an undisturbed lake.
Ezekiel's eyes opened wide.
'Now.'
He saw the opportunity.
As did she.
Her hand sliced forward, jutting through the Straea fighter's body and coming out the other side.
'He's done.'
Ezekiel raised his brow in admiration.
'The outside world…is really special.'
He didn't think there were other people capable of making an attack like that, but it seemed he was more ordinary than he expected.
As his gaze moved across the horizon, he saw many other scenes that wowed him in the same way.
He saw the strength of Straea.
Those fighters were not soft permissions. Their attacks made the sky shake and the earth tremble, striking genuine fear into Ezekiel's heart.
But fear translated to excitement for him, and that excitement only grew as he watched how those amazing fighters were killed one by one by their enemies.
He didn't know what was happening.
All he knew was that there was a lot of battle going on.
And Straea…
'Is the Straea Clan actually weak?'
…was obviously on the losing side.
The chaotic situation was no place for someone like Ezekiel, who had no practical experience. However, he was tempted beyond belief by the mayhem.
He wanted to join in.
His body involuntarily moved, taking him closer and closer to the warring masses.
'I want…to kill.'
His instincts roared. This was what he'd been trained for.
But rather than the enemy, the entire brunt of his bloodlust was directed at those who had the Straea Clan's insignia displayed on their bodies.
'The outside world…'
'...is it fun?'
His thoughts were inconsequential. They flowed for no purpose other than flowing. They voiced his inner desires in the form of questions that he already knew the answers to.
Was it fun?
Of course it was.
Would he enjoy it to its fullest?
Of course he would!
His walk turned into a run, and his run turned into a sprint.
His steps gained more and more weight, yet they became lighter, pushing him forward with extreme speed.
'I'm going to kill.'
'I can finally kill.'
'I will–!'
"...huh?"
"What's a boy like you doing in a place like this?'
Before Ezekiel knew what was happening, he'd been caught by the collar.
He looked back, only to see the emerald-haired woman from earlier standing behind him with a curious look on her face.
"I'm…"
"This is no good."
She interrupted him before he could explain himself.
"Reya, are you there?"
"I am here, Empress."
Another woman appeared from the shadows and kneeled to the emerald-haired woman.
"Take him back to the palace and get him some fresh clothes. If he wants it, let him join the armies or the staff. If not, let him leave to live his life freely."
"Yes, Empress."
Ezekiel was handed off just like that.
The environment became a blur as he was hastily transported according to the given instructions.
The whole while, he was trying to process what was happening to him.
'H-huh?!'
He stammered internally.
Before he could have any fun…
Before he could kill even a single person…
It was over just like that?!
It was.
At least, for now.
But Ezekiel had no way of really knowing, did he?
This interaction, this sudden "kidnapping" that took him away from the battlefield…
For him, this would turn out to be the opportunity of a lifetime.
