After a brief moment on the ground, Armis struggled to his feet, flashing Aurelia a reassuring smile. The arrow had struck his armor, which he summoned just in time to absorb the impact. Joining Aurelia, Armis's voice was urgent. "What's going on?!"
"I don't know!" Aurelia replied, her eyes scanning the chaotic crowd above them. As she rose to her feet, she suddenly found herself face to face with the large student wielding a hammer.
Before Aurelia could summon her whip, the student hurled the hammer at her. In a split-second reaction, Armis saw a rock-formed rabbit leap toward the attacker, causing him to recoil in pain and halting his assault.
Aurelia and Armis turned to see Lyco sneaking up behind them, triumphantly exclaiming, "See!!! They are cool!!"
"Thanks a lot, Lyco," Armis said, giving him a high five. Meanwhile, Aurelia's gaze remained fixed on the chaos unfolding in the arena. All four of the students were now attacking others with their weapons, causing panic among the crowd. Some attempted to fight back, while others fled.
"What is going on?!!" Aurelia exclaimed, her voice rising in concern. "Why are they attacking us?!! Are they bandits?!! But they look like students."
Lyco leaped down from the arena wall and pointed at the student with the hammer, who was slowly regaining consciousness on the ground. "Look at their eyes," he urged.
Armis and Aurelia turned their attention to the boy as he rose to his feet, his eyes devoid of any pupils, emitting white smoke. His expression showed nothing but rage, disappearent of even the slightest hint of pain.
Suddenly, the student hurled his hammer again at the group, but this time they dodged it expertly. Armis backed off and charged at him, while Lyco swiftly created a stone platform in mid-air for Armis to land on. Meanwhile, Aurelia used her whip to grab the hammer, forcefully yanking it out of his hands. Armis delivered a powerful punch to his face, followed by Aurelia hurling his own hammer back at him, sending him flying.
As the dust settled, Armis, Aurelia, and Lyco landed in the arena. Armis looked around and remembered Alan. "Hey, Alan!!! He still hasn't come here yet."
"What? Where is he?!!" Aurelia asked urgently.
"I don't know. I left him back at his room, so he could change in private and then join us later," Armis replied.
"What?!!" Lyco exclaimed with a look of concern and surprise. "He could be in danger. Come on, we have to help him."
Armis commanded as he made his way toward the entrance of the arena, dodging the chaos around them. However, as they reached the entrance, they were suddenly blocked by a giant man with frizzy hair and a mustache, holding an axe, staring at them with the same pupil-less, smoking gaze.
Back in Alan's room, Alan slowly gestured for Relecta to hide behind him, his voice dripping with anger as he faced Venatus, "What do you want, Venatus?!!!"
Venatus wasted no time, whistling loudly as four bulky students in black uniforms crashed through Alan's roof. Alan swiftly twirled, pulling Relecta close to him on the bed.
Each student wielded a weapon, likely their marked weapon: one held a spear, another aimed a mace at Alan, a third readied a giant hammer, and the fourth, standing near Venatus, extended his giant claws. All of them assumed aggressive fighting stances, their eyes devoid of pupils, emanating a smoking gaze fixed on Alan.
Venatus advanced, a sneer playing on his lips, "I just told you, grovel at my feet and tell me who you are!!" With a commanding gesture, Venatus signaled the four students to attack Alan, and they lunged forward with ferocity.
Alan sprang into action, pushing the trembling Relecta to the corner of the bed, her eyes brimming with tears.
With lightning speed, he closed the gap between him and the attacker wielding the mace. With agile precision, Alan delivered an axe kick to the attacker's hand, shattering it and causing him to cry out in agony as he dropped the mace, staggering back.
Alan vaulted into the air, landing squarely on the spear wielded by one of the attackers. With a swift stomp, he snapped the spear in two, kicking him away, then Alan unleashed a rapid spin, propelling himself forward with formidable force. Channeling the momentum, Alan delivered a devastating kick to the face of the assailant wielding the hammer, sending them hurtling backward with such intensity that they nearly crashed through the wall into the adjoining room.
Meanwhile, the student with claws attempted to pounce on Alan, but he met their advance with a ferocious shove, driving their face into the floor with brutal force, causing blood to splatter in all directions.
Amidst the chaos, Venatus seized the opportunity and hurled a vial filled with a transparent liquid at Alan. Alan, still alert, managed to evade the vial containing transparent liquid, but before he could react, another vial struck him, unleashing a powerful blast that sent him hurtling into the wall.
Almost instantly, a substance resembling foam began to envelop Alan's body, encasing him entirely except for his head. The foam quickly solidified into a steel-like substance, trapping Alan in place. Despite his shock and surprise, Alan struggled in vain to break free.
Observing Alan's futile efforts, Venatus strode over the unconscious students strewn across the ground, his expression contorted with anger. With clenched teeth, Venatus delivered a punishing blow to Alan's immobilized form.
"That's what you get for wasting my precious Tractator Liquid," Venatus sneered.
Alan glared at Venatus with seething rage as Venatus regained his composure, adjusting his cummerbund with a smug air. Climbing onto Alan's bed, Venatus observed Alan's futile struggle with a mixture of amusement and pride.
"Struggle all you want," Venatus taunted, his voice tinged with pride, "you can't break it."
With deliberate steps, Venatus approached the corner of the bed where Relicta sought refuge under a blanket with her kittens. As he spoke, he revealed the nature of the substance encasing Alan.
"This is Caecitas Potion," Venatus explained, his tone dripping with superiority, "made from the ink of the squid found in the seas of level 25. The foam hardens the more you struggle."
Venatus then removed the blanket from Relecta, revealing her trembling form clutching a spoon in defense of herself and her kittens. Amused by her feeble attempt at defiance, Venatus's smile turned cruel as he turned his attention back to Alan, who watched in agony and fury.
With a callous disregard, Venatus delivered a swift kick to Relecta, causing her to cry out in pain and drop the spoon in her hand.
"HEY!!!!" Alan's rage echoed through the room, but Venatus remained unfazed as he yanked Relecta by her neck, her cheek swollen with blood from his earlier kick. Alan continued to growl and grit his teeth, struggling against his restraints as Venatus tightened his grip on Relecta's neck.
"P..ple…please…d..don't hurt my…ehh!!…kittens," Relecta pleaded in a broken voice, her words barely audible as she struggled to breathe.
Her desperate plea momentarily diverted Venatus's attention to the kittens, clawing at his legs. He shot them a menacing glare before turning back to Alan, who was still growling with rage.
"Venatus NO!!! I will kill you!!!" Alan's voice boomed with fury, but Venatus remained unmoved, tightening his grip on Relecta's neck as tears streamed down her face, she transformed into a feral rage, attempting to claw and bite at Venatus, but he extended his arm, keeping her at bay. With a grimace of anger, Venatus raised his leg, his gaze fixed on Alan, who watched in shock and horror.
Alan's eyes widened in shock as he realized Venatus's next move, yelling louder and more desperately, "No!!! No!! Venatus, I am the one you want!!! Leave them alone!!! I said, Get back from them!!!!"
But his cries fell on deaf ears as Venatus, with a powerful stomp, mercilessly crushed the skull of the first kitten beneath his leg. Shocked by the brutality, Relecta's shock turned to increased ferocity as she tried to reach Venatus's face, but her efforts were futile. Venatus didn't stop there; he continued his onslaught, stomping on the other kittens, crushing their bodies beneath his feet. Blood splattered across the bed, and the cries and yells of Alan and Relect grew louder with each stomp.
Amidst the chaos, Venatus started his own banter, each word punctuated by a stomp.
"WHAT YOU!!!" - Stomp -
"JUST WASTED!!!" - Stomp -
"WAS TRACTATOR POTION" - Stomp, stomp -
"I ONLY HAD 3 AFTER I USED REST TO" - Stomp, stomp, stomp -
"CONTROL HALF OF THE ACADEMY" - STOMP!!!
"YOU FOOL!!!"
With a final massive stomp that seemed to drain the last of his strength, Venatus paused, panting heavily. Blood splattered all over the walls and bed, mingling with the mangled corpses of the kittens beneath his feet. Relecta hung lifeless in his arm, her breaths shallow and weak.
Alan, exhausted from his cries, now took heavy breaths, his bloodshot eyes glaring at Venatus with sheer fury. Blood dripped from his lips, his neck bore scratches from struggling against the foam. Venatus descended from the bed, approaching Alan with heavy panting. He grabbed Alan by the hair, his frustration evident in his voice.
"Look at what you made me do!!" Venatus spat in frustration, panting heavily. "If only you had confessed when I asked you nicely, none of this would have happened!"
With a swift motion, Venatus smashed Alan's head against the wall, continuing his tirade after taking a breath. "You are just like them! I thought you were an outsider, that you would understand. But no!"
"Well, force didn't work on you, but..." Venatus raised Relecta near Alan's eyes, as he gazed helplessly at her almost lifeless form gazing distantly at her kittens.
"Let's try a hostage," Venatus declared, releasing Alan's hair and making his exit. He shot a final glare at Alan, announcing, "If you don't want her to end up like them, I suggest you come groveling at my feet and confess your true identity."
With that, Venatus dashed away into the chaos ensuing in the corridors.
Alan, with bloodshot eyes filled with rage, watched Venatus with an intense desire for revenge. He felt the urge to lash out, to unleash his fury upon Venatus, but he knew that anger wouldn't serve him now. With a deep breath, he closed his eyes and focused on calming his racing heart.
His trembling body gradually stilled, and suddenly, he slipped out of his overalls, landing naked on the floor. Alan's eyes, now brimming with silent fury, remained emotionless, stark white with red lines cracked across them. Without hesitation, he swiftly retrieved his gear and dressed himself in the same attire he had worn upon arriving in Pompeii.
Donning the cowl over his eyes, Alan gazed out into the corridor with determination. With movements so swift they appeared as a blur, Alan dashed out into the chaos of the corridors, ready to confront Venatus and put an end to the madness.