Schiltach [4]

[Zero's Pov]

'It's been three days already...'

At this point, I couldn't even lie to myself about not being worried about what was happening over there. Forget about the thought that the teachers would go out and quench the surge of monsters, now it was clear that they weren't going out to the field more than necessary.

The good thing about this was that I could also deduce that if the teachers didn't go out to the front, the students wouldn't either. The bad thing was that my control issues were running amok, ruining whatever semblance of relaxation I had.

This was amongst the most frustrating situations I could ever imagine, to know something is happening but not what. To know about the things going down but not being able to do anything about them.

Adding on to that, I couldn't even hide my feelings from my current teacher.

"Although I sympathize with your feelings, you won't get anywhere if you don't focus."

Sitting in the completely white room, I was currently practicing my healing by trying different variations, or rather that was what I was supposed to be doing.

I wasn't making much progress because of my faltering attention, and I wasn't the only one getting frustrated because of it. Standing up from his chair, Dr. Smith didn't seem to see a reason to forcefully continue our lesson with the way things were going, making his lab coat float for a second due to the sudden rise.

"Let's stop here for today,"

As I wasn't about to go for the cliché 'I can still go on!' line, I also rose to my feet, knowing it wouldn't be productive to keep going until I had sorted out my thoughts. Or at least managed to calm them down to a reasonable level.

"Haaa... You know that they will be fine, right? The teachers are strong, strong enough that even large guilds and the royal military respect them. There is no way they will let your friends get hurt."

This wasn't information that I didn't know, in fact, this was where the core problem lay. Because if they stayed at the border for this long, even though the teachers were so strong, it could only mean that they didn't actually go to the battlefield.

And that bothered me. A lot.

If there was one thing James and Zero had in common, it was our complete despising of politics and the acolytes that blindly followed its imaginary laws. Did I believe the principal to be one of those people? No, but I also didn't think he was someone who would stick his head out unless he needed to.

'Shit... I want to go there...'

Disregarding my promise to Jessica, there was still another reason that I didn't want to venture out there as Zero. If we get to see, what I assumed, the dire sights of people getting hurt, maybe even dying, I didn't think I would stand a chance of controlling ourselves.

The other option was to go as James, and though I could just send sub-me, I had a feeling it might make things a lot more complicated than needed. It could even make it so the priority was no longer on stopping the monsters, instead opting to take down the demon who hurt their king.

In the end, I couldn't find a good answer for myself.

****

[Sophie's Pov]

"Huff...huff..."

These days had been... less than relaxing, one could say.

It wasn't that we were getting overrun by monsters every hour of the day, but the fact that we had to always keep our minds on edge took quite a toll on us.

Now sitting on the ground, once again watching the wastelands, none of us wanted this to keep going for any longer than necessary.

What was even worse was that we had to see unit after unit come back from there, sometimes in one piece, but every so often also carrying their fallen brothers and sisters. Although it still wasn't a pleasant sight, I had at least learned to accept it.

Something I couldn't accept, however, was the fact that everyone seemed fine with letting this kind of situation continue.

It was mind-boggling, the fact that even though our teachers were all here, none of them would go out to the field. Even worse than that, when asking Mr. Brown about it, all he had to say was 'It can't be helped, it's not under our jurisdiction'.

As if saving people would have to fall under someone's jurisdiction!

*Crrshht!*

"Sophie, calm down."

A hand quickly landed on my shoulder, a result of me crushing the bottle of water in anger when thinking of the insanity of this world. Still, I knew that this wasn't something for me to stick my head into.

Turning my head to the golden-haired hero, I also knew that he probably felt the same way. Just as I was about to reinsure him that I was fine, another signal rang out.

*BEEEEE!*

Quickly rising to our unsteady feet, all four of us readied ourselves to take care of yet another monster, just one of the many that had been able to penetrate through. However, before we got on our way, a red blur made its way to us.

"Stop. I will take care of it."

Now clad in a completely black, leathery outfit, Ms. Turner had arrived, stopping us from engaging with whatever monster was on his way here. As a slight feeling of relief washed over us, relief from being able to relax for a bit, I also couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated.

Unsure how to respond, it didn't take long until Sebastian stepped forward instead, "Alright, we will stay behind. But what kind of monster is it that we aren't allowed to take it on?"

"It's a..."

*Kyyyaaaa!*

A high-pitched screech echoed through the air, the source of it now fully visible on the horizon.

With huge wings and gray, scaly skin, it suddenly made sense that they wouldn't allow us to fight against it. "Haaa... Yes, it's a wyvern. Anyway, stay here and don't move. I'll be back soon."

Wyverns, most often [A] or [B]-rank monsters that ruled the air. With their sharp claws and teeth, as well as their expert mobility, they were not a monster that most people could go up against. No, in fact, only a select few could challenge a wyvern one on one and get out alive.

"BOM!*

And yet, our teacher quickly dashed forward, red electricity now once again circulating her body, empowering it to the max, leaving behind a strong gust of wind in her wake.

*Kyyyaa!*

In what felt like a second, she had already made her way to the monster, who quickly changed its trajectory to intercept its challenger. With a barrel roll, it didn't waste any time in wanting to squash the woman beneath it.

Even with that, Ms. Turner just stood her ground, with her only action being to raise her arm toward the monster.

Although it was impossible to hear what she was saying, it was also impossible to not see the wyvern stopping in mid-air, now confused as to why it wasn't continuing its attack. No matter how it struggled it still couldn't move, as if two invisible hands had gotten hold of it, with the intention of never letting go.

*KYAAA!*

Another loud screech echoed through the lands, the wyvern incredibly frustrated with its current situation. Luckily for it, or maybe unfortunately, it suddenly started its dive toward the ground again, now with even greater speed than before.

It was just that...

*BOOOM!*

A cloud of dust and dirt flew through the air as the monster crashed into the ground, unable to do a single thing about it. Yes, sadly for it, it hadn't fallen to the ground through its own means. Instead, a certain teacher seemed to have slammed it down through the use of a skill.

As the dust settled, we could all see a big crater where the wyvern fell, a crater big enough to fit at least five of it.

'That's...'

If I were to compare it with the attack I had done against both Brad and Sebastian during the first tournament, it wouldn't be a lie to say that Ms. Turner's attack must have been at least 10 times stronger, if not more.

*K-kyaaa....*

Somehow, the wyvern was still alive, and although it was hard, I could still see the outline of the gray bird from a distance, complemented by the woman on the side of the crater.

A woman who now put her hands together as red energy was collected between them. The next second, her hands flew apart, and with them, a cloud of red blood sprayed into the air as the wyvern was ripped apart.

Patting her clothes after the very anticlimactic fight, she started making her way back to us, content with the work that she had done.