The roars of men and beasts intertwined, dissolving into a harsh, chaotic din of clashing metal.
These uninvited intruders and the once-docile magical beasts blindly vented their fury upon one another in indiscriminate combat. Blades and claws glinted under the lights, each slash carrying cold, resolute bloodlust, as if bent on cleaving through any life that stood in their way.
The eyes of the magical beasts were consumed by raging fire. Their massive frames bounded across the battlefield, shaking the entire classroom each time they landed.
They tore at any foe daring to draw near with sharp fangs and claws. Mighty tails lashed out, hurling students into the air one after another, only for them to crash violently onto the floor with heavy thuds.
Yet as more and more students joined the fray, the line held by the beasts—which had initially held the upper hand—gradually began to show signs of collapse.
"Students..."
Staggering to his feet, the old man reached out as if trying to grasp onto something, pleading softly.
But the students swarming in paid him no heed whatsoever.
Their eyes were consumed by greed and desire, having completely surrendered to their inner demons.
Still dazed, the old man clutched his aching forehead from the previous impact, exerting the greatest effort of his entire life to hold back from scolding these students.
Though the urge to butcher every last one of them had flashed through his mind just moments before, he fought desperately to suppress it.
*Patience, be patient. These children bear no ill will.*
*They're merely using the wrong approach to get acquainted with the magical beasts.*
Coughing forcefully, the old man did his best to raise his voice:
"Students, don't mistakenly hurt those children! They might look ferocious, but as long as you're willing to communicate with them—"
Yet the situation spiraled far beyond his expectations.
Footsteps in the corridor grew louder and clearer. As though they had discovered rare heavenly treasures, an uncontrollable flood of students poured in, drowning out his voice once again.
Tumbling in like a tidal wave, these examinees asked no questions before throwing themselves into battle against the beasts.
What had seemed to him like mere squabbling was now rapidly turning into a one-sided slaughter; even the magical beasts were struggling to withstand the onslaught.
"Students, please don't harm these children! The evaluation isn't about subjugating them!"
His slanted brows knitted tightly together as he shouted in distress.
It was useless.
Not only did his cries fail to stop them,
they only spurred them to wield force with greater cruelty and excitement!
"Watch me butcher and carve up every last bit of these damn ingredients for you! No need to thank me, old man!"
"Want me to stop? Keep dreaming!"
With twisted, ferocious sneers, the students struck with savage brutality, like butchers eager to dismember the beasts.
He was just an instructor in a Tier 1 difficulty room—what could he do if they trampled the rules?
Streaks of blood spread across the pristine white floor tiles, like shattered glass strewn across the ground, never to be restored to how they once were.
"Why... why have you all become so cruel...?"
Gazing at the rampant chaos, the old man's eyes filled with horror and sorrow, his hands trembling.
"Heh, quite feisty, aren't they? Gonna take a bit of effort to slaughter this one."
"Hey old man, how many credits do we get for killing one?"
Surveying the rapidly wrecked culinary classroom, the students tossed out arrogant, mocking remarks without pause.
A chaotic brawl between humans, and humans against beasts, had flared up their tempers as well.
Amidst their voices,
within the classroom steeped in madness and malice,
fresh blood sprayed and the shrieks of beasts rose and fell.
The expression on the old man's face finally froze.
Watching the children he had painstakingly raised—creatures he never permitted anyone to harm—being subjected to such cruelty, he finally understood.
*Ah.*
*Times truly have changed.*
*Kids these days have all gone bad.*
The old man turned around in silence. Hunching his back with hands clasped behind him, he walked to the side of the classroom, as if he had come to an epiphany.
Opening a metal cabinet, he drew out an enormous scythe.
"Heheheheheh... So the youth of today are this energetic. That's truly wonderful..."
With a faint smile, the old man spun the heavy scythe twice as effortlessly as if it were a twig, slicing through the air with a low, whistling drone.
Instantly, everyone froze.
A chill crept down their spines.
When they turned around,
they found the old man's eyes wide open, gleaming with a dark-crimson light. The dormant beast within him had awakened.
This instructor... was at least Tier 6.
And an extraordinarily terrifying one at that.
With such a chilling, murderous aura practically suffocating them, there was no telling how many lives had been reaped by his hands!
But wasn't a culinary classroom meant to use these brute beasts as ingredients?
Though they admitted they had been somewhat disrespectful to the instructor just now, why in the world was he showing signs of berserk fury?!
Amid the rising sound of gulps and the soft scuffle of feet instinctively shuffling half a step back, the entire classroom suddenly erupted into chaotic panic once more.
"Rather than let the likes of you inherit the future of Protos, I might as well rid the Empire of vermin and cook you all clean!"
His facial muscles twisted as if possessed by an evil spirit. Gripping the handle with both hands, he swung the scythe amid cold, maniacal laughter, his phantom-like figure unleashing brutal slaughter upon these thugs who showed no respect for life.
In an instant, blossoms of blood sprayed across the room as multiple figures collapsed to the floor.
Those overtaken by him saw checkerboard patterns of bloody lacerations carve across their bodies, instantly triggering the barrier's life-locking protection. Although their lives were spared, wounds that nearly cleaved their bodies in two would keep them bedridden in a hospital for months before they could ever hope to recover.
"The teacher's killing people!!"
"No—stop!!"
Dozens of seconds later.
*Boom!*
*Boom!!*
A succession of tremendous blasts.
The once orderly, neatly arranged utensil racks now lay toppled and skewed. Exquisite glassware and amber jars had shattered into a sea of fragments scattered across the floor. The walls and ceiling were in absolute ruin, with steel and marble alike cleanly cleaved open.
Mana-circuit conduits and water pipes severed by the scythe's edge continued to spit crackling cocoons of lightning and jets of water.
Off in the distance, only a single untouched patch of classroom sanctuary remained.
"See, I told you the curriculum needed reforming like this. If teachers don't kill students, how could academic discipline ever be rectified?"
Turning his head to look at Zestira, Lanqi remarked with relaxed satisfaction, "Now they'll probably spend the rest of their lives remembering to respect their teachers and cherish animals."
He felt deeply gratified by the growth and transformation of both teacher and students.
"...!?"
Zestira had no idea what to even say to that, only hugging the great fox a fraction tighter.
*Just what kind of academy did you come from?!*
Chapter 289