Sacrifices

The sky above was a suffocating shade of gray, an unnatural gloom lingering in the wake of the eclipse. Ash and dust swirled in the air, settling over the abandoned streets and shattered remnants of what once stood as a sanctuary for students. The air was thick with the acrid scent of smoke, and distant embers flickered like dying fireflies amidst the wreckage. The world outside the school was eerily silent, save for the quiet sobs and hushed whispers of survivors huddled together in the desolate clearing.

Scattered among them were students who had managed to escape, yet their faces bore the weight of the horrors they had witnessed. Some sat motionless, staring blankly ahead, their minds unable to comprehend the tragedy that had unfolded. Others clung to each other, trembling, whispering names of those they had lost, hoping—praying—that they might still be alive. Cries of grief echoed intermittently, gut-wrenching sobs from those who had watched their friends perish, unable to do anything but run. Despair wrapped itself around them like an unshakable shroud, and for the first time in their lives, they understood what it meant to be truly helpless.

Kazuma sat beside Hana, his hands resting on his knees as he tried to process everything that had happened. He glanced at Hana, who hugged her knees to her chest, her usually bright eyes clouded with worry. He reached over and patted her head lightly, offering her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I will not go anywhere," he said, his voice steady despite the turmoil within him. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not. I mean, where else am I gonna find someone to keep me in check?"

Hana managed a weak chuckle, but her eyes still reflected unease. She lowered her gaze, trying to mask her anxiety with a forced smile, yet Kazuma saw through it. He knew she was worried—not just about him, but about Shin and Emilia. Truth be told, he was, too.

(What the hell are you doing right now, Shin? You better be alive… both of you. If you die on me, I swear, I'll—)

Before he could sink deeper into his thoughts, a familiar voice broke through the uneasy atmosphere.

"Kazuma, Hana! Are you two alright?"

Ms. Sato approached them, her expression filled with concern. Kazuma straightened up and nodded. "Yeah, we're fine. Just a little shaken up, but… we're here."

Ms. Sato sighed in relief, then looked around. "Where are Shin and Emilia?"

At her words, both Kazuma and Hana visibly stiffened. Their gazes dropped to the ground, their expressions darkening with sorrow.

Ms. Sato's heart clenched at their reaction. "Where are Shin and Emilia? Where are they?!"

Feeling the weight of her desperate questioning, Kazuma inhaled deeply before speaking, his voice laced with guilt and frustration.

"We... we lost them during the escape. Gaku-sensei—he… he pulled students back, using them as bait for the Demonoid. Emilia also got caught in it. Shin jumped in to save her, and the blast from that monster… it threw them back into the school. We couldn't see what happened after that. The smoke was too thick. We—" His voice wavered, but he forced himself to continue. "We don't know if they're still alive."

Ms. Sato's hand flew to her mouth, her breath catching in her throat. A tremor ran through her body as shock and horror settled in. For a moment, she seemed paralyzed, her mind replaying Kazuma's words over and over. Then, as swiftly as despair struck, rage took its place.

Without hesitation, she turned on her heel, her fists clenched at her sides as she stormed toward the man responsible.

Gaku-sensei sat atop a pile of rubble, his face calm despite the destruction surrounding him. Ms. Sato didn't hesitate—she lifted her hand and delivered a sharp, resounding slap across his face.

"How dare you?!" she seethed, her voice shaking with fury.

"How dare you sacrifice your own students?! How dare you throw them to that monster like they were nothing?! They trusted you! We trusted you!"

Gaku-sensei slowly turned his face back toward her, the redness of her slap burning on his cheek. He exhaled softly before offering a small, knowing smile.

"Ms. Sato, you let your emotions cloud your judgment," he said smoothly, his voice calm and unwavering. "We are in an extraordinary situation—one where survival is paramount. If I had not taken decisive action, we all would have perished. The weak were already doomed. I simply ensured that their sacrifice meant something. If a few lives must be lost to save many, is that not a logical choice? Would you rather all of us die in futile resistance?"

Ms. Sato trembled with rage, but Gaku Sensei remained composed, his expression unreadable. His voice remained steady, like a professor lecturing a class rather than a man justifying his betrayal.

"Look at them, Ms. Sato," he gestured toward the huddled, broken students, their tear-streaked faces twisted with grief and fear. "Look at what remains of our group. Do you think we would still be standing here had we hesitated? Had we clung to sentimental notions of fairness and morality? We are facing an enemy that does not care for emotions, for ethics. If we had not acted with decisive ruthlessness, we would all be nothing more than corpses beneath the rubble."

Ms. Sato's fingers curled into tight fists. "So you think sacrificing your own students was the right call? That their lives meant nothing? You threw them to their deaths like they were expendable! How could you? They trusted you!"

Gaku Sensei let out a slow sigh, as if he were the one burdened with a difficult truth no one else could understand. "I did what needed to be done. Survival is not about kindness; it is about pragmatism. Sacrificing a few to ensure the majority lives is not cruelty, it is strategy. Every war, every disaster, every crisis in history has demanded such choices. If you are unwilling to make them, then you doom everyone."

"No," Ms. Sato spat, her voice shaking. "That's not survival—that's cowardice! You weren't saving anyone! You were buying your own escape at the cost of innocent lives!"

Gaku Sensei's expression remained impassive, but a flicker of something—annoyance?—flashed across his eyes. "You call it cowardice, but I call it understanding reality. Would you rather I let everyone die clinging to naive ideals? We were outmatched, outnumbered. Do you think standing our ground would have resulted in anything but a massacre?"

His words slithered through the crowd like a venomous whisper. Some students, exhausted and terrified, began to nod slowly. "He… he has a point…" one muttered. "If we all hesitated, we might have been wiped out."

"No!" another student snapped, tears streaming down her face. "He's a murderer! My best friend died because of him! How can you side with him?!"

The crowd started to murmur, voices rising in conflict. Some defended Gaku-sensei, claiming he did what was necessary. Others outright condemned him, calling him a monster. The division grew deeper as the arguments became shouts, and then shoves.

"He saved us!" one yelled.

"He sacrificed us!" another countered.

Anger and grief clashed, turning the once united group of survivors into a fracturing mass of discord. Fists flew, pushing and shoving escalating into violence. The sorrow of their losses, the rage of betrayal, and the desperation to find something—someone—to blame spiraled out of control.

Anger and grief clashed, turning the once united group of survivors into a fracturing mass of discord. Fists flew, pushing and shoving escalating into violence. The sorrow of their losses, the rage of betrayal, and the desperation to find something—someone—to blame spiraled out of control.

"You bastard! How can you defend him after what he did?!" one student shouted, shoving another back.

"He did what was necessary! If he didn't, more of us would have died!" another retorted, glaring furiously.

"Necessary?! My best friend is dead because of him! You think that's okay?!" A girl sobbed as she lunged at one of the supporters of Gaku-sensei, fists clenched. The impact sent both of them tumbling to the ground, struggling against each other.

More voices rose, students taking sides as the fight escalated. Punches were thrown, clothes were grabbed, and raw emotions exploded into violence. Cries of anguish, shouts of fury, and screams of despair blended together into a cacophony of chaos.

Then, suddenly—

BANG!

A gunshot echoed through the air, freezing every movement. The clamor of the fighting students came to an abrupt halt. Their heads turned in unison towards the source of the sound.

"Everyone, stop!!!" A hoarse voice bellowed.

A lone police officer stood nearby, his body barely holding itself up. His uniform was torn and bloodied, and deep gashes lined his arms and legs. A large wound on his side oozed crimson, staining his already darkened clothes. His face was pale, and one of his eyes was nearly swollen shut, but his grip on his pistol was firm, unwavering despite the tremors in his fingers.

He staggered forward, panting heavily. "This... this isn't the time for you to be fighting each other. Are you all blind to the reality around you?!" His voice, though hoarse, carried an undeniable strength. "We are all survivors. We barely escaped death, and yet here you are, tearing each other apart!"

The students remained silent, some looking away in shame, others still clenching their fists but hesitating.

"We lost so much already." His voice softened, filled with sorrow. "Your friends, your classmates... my comrades... they gave their lives. And you're throwing away that sacrifice by fighting amongst yourselves?"

A heavy silence fell over the group as guilt washed over them. The fight had drained out of their bodies, replaced by the painful realization of what they were doing.

Ms. Sato, seeing the officer's grievous state, rushed to his side. "Are you really okay? Your injuries seem very bad," she said, her voice laced with concern.

The officer gave a weak chuckle. "I've been better. But I'm still standing."

"Let me treat your wounds. I used to be a medic. I can help," Ms. Sato insisted, already pulling out whatever supplies she could find.

As Ms. Sato tended to the officer, Kazuma and Hana approached with urgency.

"Officer, you are from the police squad before, right? Do you happen to see our friends, Shin and Emilia?" Kazuma asked, desperation evident in his tone.

The police officer's face darkened. His lips pressed into a thin line before he shook his head. "I... I don't know," he admitted, his voice heavy with regret.

Kazuma's heart sank. "Then... how did you escape that monster?"

The officer hesitated, his gaze dropping to the bloodied ground. A shadow of torment crossed his face. "I escaped... because my comrades didn't."

The air grew thick with sorrow as he recounted his harrowing tale.

"We tried to fight it. We had no choice. We knew we couldn't win, but we had to buy time for the civilians to escape. The moment we engaged it... it was hell."

His voice trembled as he continued. "Bullets did nothing. Its hide was like steel. We threw grenades, fired everything we had, but it just kept coming. One by one... I watched my team get slaughtered."

His hands clenched into fists. "My partner... he pushed me out of the way when the beast swung at me. It... it tore him in half."

Hana covered her mouth, tears welling in her eyes.

"I ran. I ran like a coward while my team held the line. They screamed at me to go, to warn the others... I didn't want to leave them, but I had no choice. If I stayed, we all would've died for nothing." His voice broke, his shoulders shaking. "I should have died with them. But I ran."

Ms. Sato placed a comforting hand on his arm, her eyes filled with empathy. "You lived so that their sacrifice wouldn't be in vain. They gave you a chance, and you're honoring them by staying strong. That's not cowardice. That's courage."

The officer's eyes shimmered with unshed tears, but he nodded, as if clinging onto her words. He let out a trembling sigh. "I just… I don't know if I deserve to be the one standing here while they… while they were—" He swallowed hard, his voice breaking. "I should've done more. But I was too weak."

Kazuma, who had been listening quietly, furrowed his brows. "Too weak…?" he murmured, deep in thought.

The officer let out a bitter chuckle. "I barely made it out alive. When the Demonoid turned its attention elsewhere, I took the chance and ran. My body just moved on its own. I heard them screaming behind me, but I knew if I hesitated, I'd be next." His fingers curled into a tight fist. "The only reason I got this far is because it was too focused on the others to chase me."

Kazuma's breath hitched. His eyes slowly widened in alarm.

Focused on something else…

It didn't chase him because it was distracted…

Distractions don't last forever.

And they just made a hell of a lot of noise.

"The gunshot… the shouting…" Kazuma's expression shifted as the realization hit him like a punch to the gut. "Oh no… what if it attracted the Demonoid?!"

Everyone froze.

A low, guttural growl rumbled through the air, making their blood run cold.

From the direction of the school, an eerie silence followed—thick, suffocating, and pregnant with dread. Then—

A monstrous, earth-shaking roar tore through the air.

The force of it sent chills down their spines, their bodies frozen in place as the last remnants of smoke from the explosion began to dissipate. And there it was—standing tall amid the rubble, its monstrous form finally emerging from the haze. The Demonoid.

Its crimson eyes gleamed with terrifying malice, scanning the area, its grotesque body pulsating as if hungering for destruction. The sight of it sent a fresh wave of terror through the students, their breath hitching in unison.

Kazuma clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay calm. His eyes darted toward the creature, studying it. Then, he whispered urgently, "It hasn't noticed us yet."

Ms. Sato, Hana, and the officer all exchanged tense glances. Hana swallowed hard, gripping Kazuma's arm. "What do we do? If it finds us now—"

"Stay quiet. Don't move," Kazuma murmured, his mind racing. His heart pounded in his chest like a war drum, but amidst the fear, a different kind of anxiety clawed at his mind.

Where are they?

Where are Shin and Emilia?

The Demonoid had emerged, but there was no sign of them. Kazuma's breath hitched as his eyes darted across the battlefield, searching desperately for any trace of them.

A terrible thought gripped his chest. No. They can't be—

Suddenly—

A flicker.

The sound of crumbling debris.

And then—a blur of movement.

Something shot out from the thinning smoke, cutting through the dust and chaos like a streak of lightning, dashing forward at an inhuman speed.

Kazuma's eyes widened. His breath caught in his throat.

And then, the figure became clear.

Shin's figure emerged from the thinning smoke, his uniform torn and bloodied, his face smeared with dirt and sweat. His chest heaved with every breath, but his eyes—those sharp, unwavering eyes—burned with an intensity that sent a chill down Kazuma's spine.

For a moment, an overwhelming relief flooded through them. He was alive. He had made it.

But the relief was fleeting—shattered in an instant.

Because then, another figure burst from the smoke.

Kazuma barely had time to process it before Hana gasped beside him, her voice a broken whisper. "Emilia...?"

Emilia was running. Sprinting toward the school gates. But something was wrong—terribly wrong.

Her arms pumped furiously, her legs moving with desperation, yet her face—her face was twisted in anguish. Grief. Tears streamed freely down her cheeks, glistening in the dim light. Her lips were parted, as if choking back sobs, and though she ran forward, her entire being seemed to scream in resistance.

She wasn't just running. She was running away.

Away from Shin.

Kazuma's stomach twisted into knots. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong.

His breath quickened, his hands clenching into fists. His mind raced, struggling to piece it all together. Why was Shin running toward the battlefield? Why was Emilia running in the opposite direction? Why was she crying like that?

Then, it hit him.

Like ice-cold water poured over his soul.

His body stiffened, the weight of the truth slamming into him like a collapsing wall.

"You idiot..." The words slipped from his lips, barely a whisper.

Hana flinched at his tone, her panic deepening. "Kazuma...? What do you mean? What's going on?!"

Kazuma couldn't tear his eyes away from Shin. His best friend—his brother in all but blood—wasn't running away. He wasn't escaping with Emilia.

He was running toward the Demonoid.

Kazuma's fists clenched, his heart pounding painfully in his chest. "He's..." His voice broke. "He's staying behind."

Hana's face contorted in confusion. "What...? What are you saying—?"

"He's buying time for her." Kazuma swallowed, his throat tight. His whole body trembled as he forced the words out. "Shin's going to distract it... so Emilia can get away."

Silence crashed over them.

Hana's eyes darted between Shin and Emilia, her breath quickening. "No way... That's insane!" she cried, shaking her head furiously. "Why would he—?! There's no way Emilia would let him—!"

"Look at her." Kazuma's voice was hollow.

Hana did.

And then, she saw it.

The way Emilia's shoulders shook as she ran. The way she clutched her arms, as if holding herself together. The silent sobs wracking her body, even as she refused to slow down.

She knew.

She had already accepted it.

Hana's hands shot up to her mouth, a strangled sob escaping her throat. "No... No, no, no..." Tears blurred her vision. "Shin... You idiot!"

Kazuma clenched his jaw, his vision burning. He wanted to scream. To run after Shin. To punch some damn sense into him.

But Shin had already made his choice.

"RAAARRGGGHH!!"

The monstrous Demonoid let out another ear-splitting roar, shaking the ground beneath them. Its predatory gaze locked onto the lone figure charging straight toward it. 

Shin.

He tightened his fists while his legs pushed off the ground with explosive force. He sprinted straight toward the towering beast.

His voice cut through the air.

"COME AND GET ME, YOU BASTARD!"