He honestly wasn't sure what he was doing there. All he felt was an overwhelming lack of purpose and sense of detachment. Like he was a mere audience. That none of this concerned him when all acts of aggression told him that it wouldn't be long before he became the target of the demon's unadulterated wrath.
He didn't even feel a trace of emotion as he watched the massacre unfold in front of him, neither did he blink an eye as another one of his comrades' body soared through the darkened skies and plummeted into the dilapidated streets.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
Zero.
The sound of counter dropping down to zero had almost become music to him. The frantic tics that lead up to an absolute bleep. None of them held for him the meaning of danger. Even as the crowds thinned with each passing second. He couldn't shake the feeling that everything "just was".
The boy continued to stand there as his comrades got swept away by currents of the ocean. Ripped to shreds by the jaws of sharks.
Why am I watching my friends get eaten alive? He thought as he shook in his boots. He then chastised himself for being overdramatic.
As a soldier of Academia, he was expected to offer up his heart for the sake of the greater good. To risk his life in a battle of life and death. But neither of these sentiments were ones that he really cared about. Often times he thought he could put himself into better use elsewhere. He considered himself to be fairly good looking so modeling was always an option. But instead, he was a red jacket in a crowd of blue, sticking out like a sore thumb.
His opponent was a thug with a hairdo shaped like an octopus. Not as good looking as him but evidently more hot-headed and motivated.
A few more seconds later, he was the only one that the thug had not victimize. Without even thinking, he ran for his life. An army of hungry sharks chased after him promptly.
As he ran, turning corners after corners, passing by the broken Heartland Tower along the way, a million thoughts sped through his head.
Firstly, it annoyed him that after all the struggles that he overcame in life, he would die at the hands of a man uglier than he. It was quite an ironic fate. After making a life out of tormenting ugly people, he would in turn be on the receiving end of a beat down by the most hideous of them all.
Secondly, the tragic play of Dante and Tom was even more stupid upon second viewing. Just one edgy unsympathetic character after another, all created by a fool of a man with no awareness.
Ah, he could feel the furiously pounds of his heart. It felt like it was about to burst.
Even with his mind jumbled and scrambled, he reminded himself of the oath that he had taken. Of the ideologies that he had been lead to believe.
Soon, he found himself cornered at the end of a dead-end, narrow alleyway with nowhere else to go. The ominous shadows of his pursuers loomed over him, each of them, beasts and summoner, bore a predatory grin on their face. Eyes of dark blue fury shone violently as the ruler of the sharks pointed forth a commanding finger.
"Attack."
He crouched in horror as the beasts surged towards him, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably.
To create an utopia, they needed to unite the world.
For this cause, he would give up his life.
…
Nah.
...That didn't sound like him at all.
The world around them seemed to twist and contort and his enemy's monsters exploded into a shower of scattered codes simultaneously.
Slowly, he stood up, a shit-eating grin spread wide on his face. His body shook with uncontrollable laughter. The anger and fury on his opponent's face had given way slightly to the expression of confusion. The facade of bravado was crackling under the power of the unknown.
Games where both contestants had to put their lives on the line were never fun. He found better joy in ones rigged in his favor.
"I will mess you up, Shark."
