Second Genesis

Grey’s figure flashed, his feet appearing on either side of Alvin’s torso as he reached a hand down and yanked him up.

"What did you think was going to happen, exactly? You piss me off, prove to everyone that I’m a loose cannon, and then what? You gang up together to defeat me? Do you think I couldn’t put every single one of your heads on a pike if I wanted to?

"Are any one of you fuckers fast enough to keep up with me? Are any one of you strong enough to stop me?"

Alvin couldn’t even respond. Blood gurgled out of his mouth, his eyes trying to focus on Grey, and yet failing to focus properly as though even his involuntary muscles had ceased to work as they should.

Even more blood fell from his chest and he was quickly bleeding out in real time. If there was going to be any chance to save his life, it would have to be done now. But not a single soul dared to get close to Grey, and Grey himself certainly wasn’t going to save him.

"Fucking worthless."

Grey dropped him, his fury clearly painted on his face.

Raising his foot up, he slammed his heel into Alvin’s head. The man only had the chance to look up in horror before what was left of his face was smashed into the ground. His eyeballs popped from their sockets, his tongue swelling up and blocking his mouth, his brain matter spilling out and seeping into the grass.

All that was left behind as proof of his life was a deadly sort of silence.

Alvin was one of the strongest of them, a man that the majority feared for good reason. He didn’t have one of the top three odds of becoming the First Ranker that led them all, but he was only just outside of that number.

And yet, to say he had only lasted a single exchange would have somehow still been an underestimation of the gap between Grey and him.

The only reason it took a single exchange at all was because Grey had to have the intent to attack in the first place. Otherwise, their battle was hardly even worth that much.

Spotted blood and small tidbits of flesh dotted Grey’s face. It wasn’t much, but it still added a level of menace that very few seemed willing to meet head on.

Mauve’s heart sank. Did she understand Grey? Of course she did.

This wasn’t a child’s game. This was life and death.

Humans were terribly stupid creatures. They found it easier to understand a bullet through the head than they would a sinister scheme in the background even if both effectively ended a life.

What was Alvin’s goal if not to kill Grey?

Did Alvin believe that he could truly force Grey to fight over and over again until the latter tired out? Maybe. But to himself, it didn’t matter whether he succeeded in this endeavor or not.

If Grey continued to fight, then good. They would tire him out until he couldn’t lift a finger against the real competition. In their minds, everyone had pitifully low Stamina and couldn’t possibly fight continuously.

If Grey lost his temper and crashed out, then it would display to everyone that no matter how powerful he was, he couldn’t possibly be their leader. It would also give them ample reason to deal with and get rid of him.

These rules had already been agreed upon by everyone. The cube had passed the hands of every First Ranker available at the time of the agreement.

Who was Grey to go against it alone? There were thousands of them.

Ironically enough, those had been Grey’s thoughts too... until he saw just how pitifully weak they all were. He realized that he had overestimated them.

And in a situation where there was the Fog of Chaos in every which direction, even if he had to escape this place, how could a single one of them ever hope to catch him?

Even had Grey not known all of these things, his patience—or lack thereof—would have never let him swallow such an insult.

Given the fact that he did know...

Who the hell were these people to stop him?

The short of it was... just because Alvin didn’t point a gun at his head and threaten to shoot, didn’t mean that he wasn’t effectively doing the same thing with his actions.

And whoever wanted him dead deserved to die. Grey wasn’t about to consider any sort of moral or greater good. He didn’t have the patience nor the care for it.

He scanned every one of their eyes one by one, almost daring someone to do something, anything.

Somehow, the fact no one dared to even say a single thing only pissed Grey off more.

"Fucking cowards." Grey spat at the ground and started to walk away.

Not a single one of them dared to stand behind what they did.

"What the hell would I gain from leading a bunch of spineless pussies? Just go die beneath some alien’s asshole. Remember to pucker up and really get in there, maybe you’ll live a little longer."

Some faces went red with anger and embarrassment, but that was all.

Grey was sure that some of these people had decent strength for those of the Proving Class, but even they didn’t say a single thing.

At this point, he didn’t even care about the promises Mauve had made. With the way he improved, in another week or two, he would probably be making so much money that these worthless sacks of shit wouldn’t be able to make a dent even with their sheer numbers.

Grey’s steps suddenly stopped.

Everyone’s gazes shifted as a flickering figure appeared in the middle of the grassy plains where the cube had once hovered. It pulled out a rapier, but even it only lasted for a short while before it was likewise swallowed by the shadows.

"Let’s fight, then." The voice said softly.

Grey’s eyes flashed with murder.