Killing An Animal

"Sabertooth team members cut off the chains of the kids." Hearing Isshin's order, the team members opened the chains binding the legs of the kids.

"Good. Now you kids will make a line and receive the medicine one by one." Isshin ordered and the kids started making a line slowly walking towards the raised platform and then Isshin.

"You come last Ivar." Isshin looked at Ivar.

As the line slowly moved, the sabertooth team leader injected the "medicine" one by one into each of the kids. Naturally, seeing the state of the two people before them, there was little to no resistance.

Isshin sent the kids who received the medicine below the platform and instructed them to stand there. Finally, It was Ivar's turn.

'There is no other choice. If I resist, I will suffer the same fate as those two.' Ivar confidently walked to the sabertooth leader and extended his hand.

The sabertooth team leader swiftly applied the injection to one of Ivar's blood vessels.

As the medicine was injected, Isshin put his hands on Ivar's shoulder and pulled Ivar to stand beside him.

"As you might have already guessed, the syringe didn't contain just medicine. Let me show you what it had." Isshin smirked.

"Everyone on the ground, Sit down." As soon as Isshin voiced his command, the team members below the raised platform sat down. Seeing the team members sit down, some of the kids including Aira and Cohen followed as for the kids who couldn't process the command on time, A series of screams like metals scraping against each other followed. The kids' bodies twisted and convoluted, writhing in agony.

As the kids, who were standing fell to the ground, the screams slowly reduced until they turned to silence.

"So you see, Our robes each have an eye, which is the logo of the sect, That determines our hierarchy. The smaller the number the stronger person who has it. And if you don't obey their commands, then that will happen to you. Of course, Only team leaders, who are rank 6, and above can give you orders."

Isshin paused for a while, letting the kids absorb the information, and continued, "Also. That works no matter where you are, Even if you are on the other side of our world, Primis. Don't even think of removing the serum before you become rank 4 and have enough loyalty. This serum was made by Lord First Elder himself!"

"Now you see, Ivar here has already become rank 8, skipping rank 9. As he has reached the circulation stage of Path of Aura." Isshin patted Ivar's back and continued, "All of you on the other hand are in the initiate stage, all humans on Primis technically are, so you lot will be rank 9."

"Now then, now that this has been completed, let's continue the ceremony." Isshin then gave Ivar a sword, which Ivar received, "Kill one of them."

Ivar knew this was coming. Although he had never killed a human before, he had killed a lot of animals. He didn't know how he would react to killing a human.

'Think of them as animals, Like the ones you killed before.' Ivar mentally consoled himself, but he kept walking.

Shing-

Standing in front of an unconscious man, Ivar unsheathed his sword, 'He is just an animal. After all, what is the difference? What all humans and animals want to do is live and survive. At their essence, all humans are animals.'

Ivar readied his sword for a stab, "I am not killing a Human. The being unconscious before me is nothing different from an animal or an insect for that matter. Yes. In the face of death, All lives are equal."

The figure of the man overlapped with that of an injured deer, ready to be slaughtered.

Ivar plunged his sword at the man's chest, "Hickkkkk-" The man screamed for a split second as he opened his eyes for one last time.

Ivar could feel the sensation of the jelly-like flesh through the sword, the blood in the heart moving against the sword as it spewed out of the wound. He felt slightly shaky. His heart felt heavy like he had put a huge stone over it.

He slowly took deep breaths. The heaviness in his heart disappeared replaced by a question.

'Would I react the same way, If it was someone I loved who died? No. For me all lives might be equal before death but not the lives of the ones I love. Does that make me a hypocrite?'

Ivar slowly walked back to the raised platform, handing the sword back to Isshin.

"Good. Now you can go back to the ground. Sit there for a while." Ivar complied as he went down and found a spot and sat down, cross-legged.

"Alright Now. Everyone will be given a sword and they will kill one of the people either awake or unconscious just like Ivar did." Isshin commanded the kids.

The saber tooth team members gave each of them a sword. And that is when a race started, a race to kill the unconscious ones first. The teens knew that if they weren't able to kill the conscious people. So the teens sprinted towards the unconscious ones.

Ivar looked at the kids running towards the unconscious people. Aira and Cohen were in the group too.

Aira managed to quickly reach one of the unconscious people and slashed her sword at their neck. Unfortunately, she missed a little bit and couldn't finish her in one slash.

"Please…" Before sound could escape the mouth of the unconscious woman, Aira slashed again, finishing the woman off for good. Aira didn't look shaken, she still had her brows furrowed as she glanced at Isshin. The thoughts of murder and revenge living rent-free on her mind.

Cohen, on the other hand, was a distance away from the unconscious people. With shaky hands, before anyone else could reach an unconscious man, Cohen threw his sword like an arrow and controlled it to stab the man in the heart.

Immediately after, Cohen started vomiting whatever food he had left in his stomach. Sweat riddled his handsome face as it became full of anxiety and guilt.

'He was an innocent man…' Cohen thought sitting down on the ground with the support of his hand, 'It will take a lot of time for me to get used to it. No, I hope I never get used to this. My mission is to protect these people. Not to brutally murder them.'