Chapter 28: Punishment Served

After exiting Raze's room, Gren immediately ran across the large hall and took a left. He passed several of the other sliding doors that belonged to those staying at the temple. Finding his own door, he slid it open and closed it behind him.

Standing behind the door, Gren took quick deep breaths.

'What was that?' Gren thought. 'Why is it every time I see that guy, he gives me the creeps? He's not even a person I want to kick his arse... crap, but now I have to figure out what to do.'

Bringing out the crystals from his pocket, Gren checked to see that they were still there; as he did so, he dropped the crystals frantically on the ground. His palms were covered in sweat.

Quickly, he bent down to pick them up and placed them back in his pocket.

'Everything is okay, everything is fine.' Gren thought. 'I already made the decision to leave this place. She's not dead, so they can't punish me for anything. The worst thing they'll do is kick me out... and I can just use the crystals to join another clan anyway.'

These thoughts continued to repeat in his head as a way to calm him down. But before he knew it, he had already grabbed a bag and was packing his belongings into it. He didn't have much; most of the temple kids didn't have much.

Just a few personal items and clothing that they had bought with pocket change they would get from Kron now and again.

'Screw it!' Gren thought. 'The best thing to do is to leave now. I know they're going to kick me out anyway. So what's the point in staying and getting an earful from Mr. Kron? It's just not worth it.'

Slinging the leather bag over his back, he pulled on the string that would close the top and slid the door open. He took a peek to the right and left, seeing no one, he decided to make a break for it, leaving through the main entrance door.

Hearing a bunch of noise outside, Simyon slid his door slightly, managing to catch the tail end of Gren leaving.

'I wonder where he's going at this time?'

Gren's feet shuffled down the stairs of the main building and onto the courtyard. Taking a few steps, he soon stopped dead in his tracks as he looked up ahead. A white-haired figure stood in the center of the courtyard, all on his own.

The sun behind him was starting to set as it went behind the town, and darkness was starting to fill the sky.

"You!" Gren shouted, swinging his arm. "What are you doing? Trying to stop me?"

The right side of Raze's mouth curled upwards. "I believe you have something that belongs to me?"

"I don't have a clue what you're talking about, and if you don't move out of my way, I'll beat you!" Gren said, starting to walk forward, heading towards Raze.

"You know, I was hoping you would say that, because I really didn't want a reason to hold back!"

Rushing forward, Gren placed Qi into each of his steps. It was something only he could do compared to other students, not just utilizing Qi when doing a skill like the two-step shift. He then channeled it from his stomach into his fist, ready to close the distance and pound Raze.

For Raze, however, he didn't move. Instead, he placed his hand out by his side, and dark magic started to swirl around his hand, looking like a visible liquid moving about. n-).-/-.-.()-1.)n

'What... what is that?' Gren had never seen anything like it; this wasn't Qi. It wasn't any type of fighting technique he had seen or heard of. Still, he chose to go forward. 'I saw the score he got on that pillar, he can't best me!'

"Dark pulse!" Raze announced, moving his hand out. The magic pulsated out an inch away from his palm and shot out, hitting Gren in the stomach. The attack was heavy, causing spit and all the air to shoot out of his mouth. He was lifted off his feet and fell on his back.

"Oh, a hole didn't appear through your body?" Raze mused, taking a few steps forward. "Maybe it's all that training Kron made you do, or perhaps this is what it means to have Qi? Anyway, it looks like between martial arts vs magic, magic is the winner at the moment," Raze remarked, stopping about three meters from Gren. Gren managed to rise, one hand on his stomach, his face contorted in pain.

"What did you do?" Gren shouted, charging in again, this time performing the two-step shift. But Raze already had dark magic swirling from his hand.

"Dark pulse!" The attack hit Gren again, feeling harder than before. His body wasn't able to handle the impact as well, and a bit of blood spat out before he fell once more.

"You see, to use your martial arts and this Qi of yours, you have to get close to your opponent. If you can't get close, it's useless," Raze commented.

No longer was Gren trying to stand and fight back; instead, he used his hands to try and crawl away, to get off the ground.

'What is this? Who is this person? I knew there was something off with this freak. He's a monster! What the heck is he using?' Gren eventually managed to half-rise and turned away, his back towards Raze.

"But recently, I discovered something quite fascinating," Raze commented, assuming a fighting stance with his fist out in front of him. His feet moved, performing the two-step shift, and he threw out his hand. "Dark strike!"

The pulse unleashed was stronger than before and was aimed right at Gren's leg. The energy was condensed and hit Gren right in the foot. Not only did it hit him, but the attack also pierced through his leg and struck the ground, breaking it.

"ARGHHHH!" Gren screamed, as he fell to the floor and looked at his leg. There was a hole through the side of his calf, and even part of his bone could be seen. "Arghh!" Gren continued to scream.

Raze walked over, kicking Gren in the chest. Even in his weakened state, he was able to do something like this after wearing his opponent down. Gren was no longer in any state to fight. Tears were rolling down his face, and he was focused on one thing; he just wanted to live.

Bending down, Raze began to search Gren and eventually found the crystals. Taking them, he placed them in his own pocket.

"Stealing from me was a bad decision, kid. Did you even use your brain for a moment? How do you think I was able to obtain these crystals? Did you think you could take them from someone capable of acquiring them?"

Taking his foot off Gren's chest, Raze pressed down hard on Gren's left wrist.

"However, the worst thing you did was touch a Cromwell," Raze said, his hand swelling with magic. "Is this one of the hands, the mighty hands, that did all of that to her?"

Gren stared into Raze's eyes, trying to plead with him in some way. But he saw the same look he had caught in Raze's eyes a few times before: they felt dark, lifeless, as if there was no humanity in them to begin with.

As Raze continued, there seemed to be no emotion in him. No matter what Gren said, he wouldn't have been able to escape this situation.

"Dark pulse!"

The attack left Raze's hand and hit the palm of Gren's, creating a hole that could be seen through. "Dark pulse," Raze declared again, destroying another large chunk of Gren's hand.

"ARGHHH!" Gren screamed, kicking his legs.

"Dark pulse!"

The attack was used once more, leaving no hand in sight. Just a bloody small wrist; his hand had completely vanished. There was almost no blood on the ground, as it looked scorched black by the magic, having evaporated the blood entirely.

Lifting his leg, Raze waited. Immediately, he saw Gren trying desperately to rise. It was a dire situation, and it was finally time. Raze had done enough.

"Let's finish this," Raze declared.