Shadow Being System

70  Chapter 70

As William and the boy approached the beast's massive body on the stage, the world seemed to slow down. William felt an odd calm, surprised that his legs weren't shaking like it was back in the tunnel. He took the knife and felt the weight of the knife in his hand—a finely balanced blade that seemed to promise effortless precision. When he examined the knife's edge, it gleamed with a sharpness that could slice through steel. It felt deadly, a perfect instrument for the job.

Mrs. Chambers glanced between them, her eyes narrowing. "Remember," she warned, "be careful. Damaging the beast's body too much lowers its quality and value, your only job is to carve out the scales."

William nodded, barely registering her words, as he and the boy stepped closer to the beast's corpse. The smell hit him immediately, a sickly, putrid odor that turned his stomach. The stench of rot and decay clung to the beast's scales, mixing with a sickening musk that threatened to overwhelm his senses. It was a smell so horrifying that it felt alive, twisting in his nose and clawing at his throat. He fought to keep the bile down, clenching his jaw as his body protested, every nerve screaming at him to back away. But he ignored it, steeling himself as he positioned the knife.

Beside him, the boy also held firm, his expression unreadable, though his eyes gleamed with a mix of anger and determination. Their breaths synchronized as they raised their knives, hands steady, and without a second thought, they plunged the blades into the beast's hide.

"Shhhkk!" The blades slipped through the beast's tough scales effortlessly, slicing through as if they were made of butter. Black blood burst from the beast's body, splattering onto the boy's and William's face and soaking his clothes. He blinked, feeling the warm, thick liquid coat his skin, but he didn't stop. Instead, a dark satisfaction surged through him as he drove the knife in deeper, a strange release of all the pent-up fear and anger that had haunted him since the tunnel incident.

In the rows of seats, students gasped collectively, a hushed "ah!" filling the room as they watched in stunned silence. Some students from the Western territories gritted their teeth, their hands clenched tightly in their laps. They had known people, friends and even family, who'd been lost to this particular creature. Watching William and the boy stab the beast gave them an odd satisfaction, a voice to their own anger and pain, an act they wished they had the courage to perform themselves.

William struck again, the knife slicing through muscle with a wet, guttural "squelch". More of the foul-smelling, black blood sprayed onto him and the boy. He caught a glimpse of the boy's face, equally drenched, but still focused, almost driven. Each stab was a release, a purging of terror turned into anger. His heart pounded in rhythm with the thrusts, and his breath came in heavy, rapid gasps.

They went for a third lunge, the knives raised high when—

"Thwap! Thwap!"

With a single fluid motion, Mrs. Chambers swiped both knives from their grips with her own knife, knocking them away as if they were toys. Her movements were so fast, so precise, that they didn't have time to react. Both boys looked up at her in shock, blinking as she stepped between them and the beast, fury sparking in her eyes.

"What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, her voice a low growl. She crossed her arms, a scowl darkening her face. "This is not some butcher's shop! I told you to handle the beast with care, not hack it to pieces like deranged amateurs!" Her eyes glared down at them, her disappointment and anger so palpable it silenced the entire room.

The boy retorted that "That beast took friends and families away from some of us, and you're saying that we should treat it with care."

Without another word, she pointed to the door. "Out. Both of you. Now."

The boy opened his mouth to protest, but closed it when he saw the steely look in her eyes. Head bowed, he turned and walked toward the exit, William also following close behind, both dripping with thick, black blood.

Once the door clicked shut behind them, they slumped onto a bench just outside the classroom, a silence settling between them. The foul smell clung to their clothes and skin, a constant reminder of their reckless actions. William glanced down at his hands, the dark blood sticky against his fingers. He felt hollow, as though something inside him had been drained. Why had he done that? The beast was dead; it couldn't feel his anger. And yet, when he'd seen its body, something inside him snapped. He'd felt this deep, boiling rage he couldn't contain.

He turned to look at the boy beside him, wondering if he felt the same.

Breaking the silence, he asked, "You're from the West, right?"

The boy nodded slowly, his expression guarded. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

William shrugged, glancing at the blood-stained floor beneath their feet. "I just figured… no one apart from someone from the West would hate that beast that much."

There was a brief silence between them, both lost in their thoughts, until the boy spoke again, his voice low and raw. "You know, I… I lost someone that day. In the tunnels. Layla. She was my… well, she was supposed to be here with me. We'd planned it for months." His voice trembled slightly as he continued, each word weighed down by memory. "I still remember her face when she… when she died. She looked at me, and there was nothing I could do. I wasn't strong enough to protect her." He shook his head, a bitterness lining his words. "For a while, I felt like there was no point in any of this. But then I remembered what General Zhao told us… If we don't want things like that to happen again, we have to get stronger. We need to be able to control our own lives, protect the people we care about." He looked down, exhaling heavily. "Sorry for dumping all that on you."

William shook his head. "Nah, you're right." He lifted his gaze, his voice steely with newfound resolve. "If we don't want bad things to happen to us, we just have to get strong enough to crush anything in our way."

With that, he rose to his feet, wiping his blood-streaked hands on his pants. After taking a few steps, he paused, turning back toward the boy who still sat on the bench, gazing at the ground in silent reflection. "I'm William," he said, voice steady.

The boy looked up, a faint smile breaking through his haunted expression. "Malik." n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

William nodded, taking a few steps toward the exit when Malik's voice called after him with a hint of humor. "Hey, William… maybe grab a shower first?"

He waved in response, smirking as he left the building. William's walk back to his dorm was a spectacle. The stench of beast blood hung around him like a cloud, thick and offensive, turning heads and causing people to wrinkle their noses and step aside. Eyes trailed him wherever he went, some filled with disgust, others with curiosity. He could hear whispers following him, students murmuring questions, wondering what he'd been through to end up in such a state. By the time he reached his dorm, the blood on his face and hands had dried, turning a flaky, dark crust that resisted the initial rinse. He scrubbed harder, the water in the sink running black as he fought to remove the clinging scent and stain. Even after a lengthy shower, the smell lingered faintly, a reminder of his actions on that stage.

Finally, he donned a clean uniform and stepped outside, his body feeling lighter but his mind still weighed down. The sun was beginning its slow descent, casting the campus in a warm, golden glow. Wanting to clear his head, he made his way to the lake. The glowing surface of the lake looked inviting.

He dipped a foot in, then slid fully into the cool water, letting it envelop him. He closed his eyes, ready to draw in Soul Essence, but something strange caught his attention. The lake's surface shifted, reacting faintly to his presence. He opened his eyes, noting the water almost seemed to recoil, the ripples dancing around him as if disturbed. It was as if it could sense the lingering traces of beast blood on him.

He shook his head, dismissing it as a trick of the mind, and focused, letting his breath slow as he began to pull in Soul Essence. The world faded, his awareness narrowing to the energy that pulsed around him, filling him with a steady strength that pushed away his doubts, fears, and rage.

He felt a sense of urgency settle over him, "I have to form my Shadow crystal this week," he thought.