The large room they brought me to was perfect for the combat class it housed. Unlike the marble floors comprising the hallways, the floors here were nothing more than stone, no different than something I could have retrieved from outside. The main highlight of the room was undoubtedly the stage crafted of marble resting in the center. It was about a meter tall and ten times as wide. Opposite the stage was a set of windows that stretched to my left. Behind that stood the entrance we had come through, leaving the other side of the room wide open. Wide open enough for a bronze monument of Salem herself to be erected from a small base lovingly smashed into the ground. It was shorter than me, I noted as we passed it, and clearly the designer had gone for realism.

We approached the stage, joining in with the crowd already gathered around, my attention was drawn to the man standing atop of it. A Grimm that donned the uniform of an Atlas soldier stood next to him, and the pair was conversing quietly. Tyrian apparently found something the other man said funny, however, and broke into hysterics. He walked a few paces away from the soldier before flipping around to face him once more. The scorpion faunus bounced on his heels, a serial killer–or more appropriately, his usual–smile plastered on his face. And then it happened without warning. He closed the distance, his long, braided ponytail lashing out at the Atlas soldier in unison with his tail that was simply multiple misshapen bones fused together. While he mockingly missed the soldier for a while, eventually he grew bored and the stinger stuck true. The man unleashed a blood-curdling scream, and I had to look away before I lost whatever was left of my last meal. But when did I even have the opportunity to eat last? On cue, my stomach decided to loudly growl, despite my appetite being nonexistent at the moment.

Weiss cast me a sidelong glance. "We can grab lunch after this since there's a little break in between classes."

I nodded, hoping she didn't notice how green in the face I probably looked. "Sounds good."

It actually did sound good, regardless of how unappealing food seemed at the moment. I wouldn't be able to stave off this hunger forever. Although, it did occur to me that I might not have many, if any, options available in this particular cafeteria. What did Grimm eat, anyway? Somehow I knew it wasn't a well-balanced diet of carbs, fruits, vegetables, and cooked meat.

Nora cackled, leaning forward and appearing ready to jump onto the stage herself. "What did you think of that, newbie?"

"Gross," I answered honestly. "He wasn't even able to fight back."

"I know. Wasn't it wonderful?"

I desperately wanted to rebuke her, my hands clenched into fists at my side. Yet, I couldn't. I wasn't sure what I had expected from a bunch of monsters. And it wasn't even just Nora. All of them were enthralled with the fight, leaning forward and practically clamoring for more if their sharp grins were any indication.

How disgusting.

Ruby harshly tugged on my elbow, dragging me down to her height. "I know how you feel, but don't freak out or they're going to realize. Rejects get it the worst in this class."

I stored that piece of information away to ask about later and grunted in agreement. I'd take her advice for now, pretending to be ok with this senseless violence. It wouldn't be too hard to act. They were just Grimm, after all. Plus, it wasn't like I hadn't seen worse in my travels.

Despite all my protests, however, it didn't entirely sit right with me. The bile rising up to my throat proved that.

Oblivious to my thoughts, Ren scooted around Nora and closer to me. "I'll admit the violence may seem a little gratuitous at first, however, rest assured that our instructor has the best intentions for us. He wants combat class to closely resemble real world scenarios that we may encounter when clashing against the humans. Unfortunately, that means a few of us may be lost for the cause."

I hummed in acknowledgement, his attempt at comfort bringing me nothing but unease. All it made me realize was that Salem had a plan for these hybrids. She was going to point them at the nearest settlements, killing every child, woman, and man she could. Then, that bitch would rinse and repeat the process until Remnant was brought under her foot. This obviously meant I was on a timeline to thwart her plans.

A much too short timeline if you asked me.

"I think I'm gonna be sick…" I muttered to myself.

Of course, that was dumb considering how good Weiss' hearing was. "Sick? No, that can't be right."

A maniacal laugh rang out around the large arena, emanating from the crazed man standing atop the stage. He was alone now that the other man had succumbed to his injuries and his corpse had dissipated. "Unless you were a reject or a human. C'mere, boy, and let me figure out which one you are!"

Damn it. My pulse raced wildly in my ears, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to curse myself or Weiss more at this moment before deciding that my energy was spent more productively elsewhere. Like figuring a way out of this situation. I fixed a frantic look to Ruby and locked eyes. Thankfully, she nodded and jutted out in front of me. She was almost a foot shorter than me, so it wasn't like she could obstruct me from his view or anything. Strangely enough, however, I did feel more secure when she flung her arms backward around me. That was until she opened her mouth.

"Professor Tyrian, Jaune isn't a reject or a human." She laughed frantically, drawing her cape closer to her lithe body. "Especially not a human. No, that would be ridiculous."

Damn it again. I took a deep breath, dropping into a stance more appropriate for fighting. If I was going to go down here, I sure as hell wasn't going to make it easy for him. That was until a pale hand with long nails nearly crushed my shoulder blade under its sheer strength. "What I think my idiot partner meant to say was that Jaune is one of the newest creations. He's still adapting, and, with all due respect, it is clear that he is fit and healthy. If anything, he has been unable to procure a meal and is suffering because of that. Because despite being the perfect creations of Salem, we do still need to eat."

Tyrian seemed to ponder that, scratching his chin with his tail. "I see. I do believe you have a point. In that case, he will be allowed to sit out today. Do make sure it doesn't happen again in the future, boy."

I grit my teeth as I addressed him. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate it."

"Of course. I am nothing if not not understanding. Praise be upon Salem."

He refocused his attention back on the group, calling up another pair of students that were thankfully no one I knew. That didn't bring me as much comfort as I thought it would as they ran at one another, clawing and biting. Their cries were horrendous, and I tried to tune them out to little effect.

"Thanks, Weiss," I said, grateful but also attempting to distract myself from the vicious fight.

"You're welcome. Now do be sure to pay attention. Like the professor said, just because you are excused does not mean you are excused from learning."

Ignoring her advice, I patted Ruby on the head, who up until this point had been busy looking up at me with a content look on her face. I ran my fingers through her soft hair, careful to avoid brushing my fingers up against her horns. "And thank you too, Ruby. You sure did, um… try your best."

"I sure did, didn't I?"

I chuckled lightly. "You sure did."

I wasn't sure how long the class stretched on for since I busied myself with other things, mainly focusing my gaze on the back of Ruby. It helped drown out the horrid ripping of flesh and pained screams that refused to stop ringing in my ears. Not to mention she was plenty entertaining in her own right. She'd bob up and down, play with strands of her hair, and draw her lips into a thin line whenever dark blood flung across the stage and into the crowd. There was something relieving about knowing somebody else hated all this as much as I did, even if she was obviously more used to it than me.

When the bell did toll again to signal the end of class, Tyrian's horrid smile was back in place. "We'll see you all again next week. Enjoy the weekend, but don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

"Let's go. Gotta grab some seats before everyone else beats us!"

Ruby snatched mine and Weiss' hands in her own clammy ones, clearly having enough of this place. Of course, I agreed wholeheartedly, glad she decided to haul ass toward the exit. Anything to get out of this place. I glanced back to see if Ren and Nora were following and noticed Tyrian's eyes trailing me even as Ruby pulled us away. My attempt to shield myself from him by using the statue as cover was met with nothing more than a flick of his segmented tail. Weiss glanced at me curious, and I gave her a sheepish smile, hoping to hide how guarded I was.

His message was clear. He was watching me, and he knew something was up.