POV: Aria Akari
There was a deafening silence reigning over the area as I held my breath anxiously, anticipating disaster until nearly a minute had passed as the two of them sheathed their swords, prompting Arthur to deactivate his Aspect and rubbed the back of his head with a sigh.
"I spoke out of place. It's your call." Arthur said as Rai glanced into the distance of the forest before directing his attention to us.
"No, that was my fault." Rai apologized as I sighed with relief.
Thank god.
"We're leaving. If we had any idea of where the children were being kept, it would be a different story, but with how expansive these mountains are, we don't have the luxury of time on our side to spend searching for them." Rai said as everyone nodded in agreement.
After checking on everyone's condition, we began following that trail that brought us into this nightmare of a forest as we walked cautiously, staying in a range where we were aware of everyone's presence as Arthur and Everett led the group with Sarah and myself trailing behind them while Rai watched our flank in the back.
It's a blessing that everyone survived.
If Arthur wasn't here with us, I'm not sure of what would have happened, although…
I still can't understand how Rai was able to defeat Sloth.
Even if I was distracted, I would have at least been aware of his aura due to my hypersensitivity when it comes to sensing an Aspector and yet, I was unable to see or sense his aura as well as his Aspectual Force, despite Arthur's intense Aspectual Force conqueror the area, which means that he was able to defeat Sloth, a borderline Level Two Threat who is on par with at least a B-Class hero without the use of his own Aspect.
Rai isn't of nobility, therefore, he doesn't have the natural blessing of a strong body, although, there is a chance that he could also be an anomaly like Arthur, but despite whatever his lineage may be, I'm ranked twentieth within the academy and even with the blood of a noble running through my veins, I doubt that I could come out with only minor injuries in a fight against Sloth, nonetheless win against him without even using my Aspect.
As my curiosity began to get the best of me, I turned around to check on him as I found him to be deep in thought, gazing into the palm of his hand in silence with a frown, but upon checking on him, I felt my blood freeze in trepidation as I noticed a rather tall man standing behind Rai with a spiteful glare, bringing forth a sense of panic as I stammered on my words until Rai noticed my gaze.
"Aria, what's wrong-"
"RAI, BEHIND YOU!" I screamed frightfully as Rai immediately turned around, retreating towards us as everyone among my team activated their Aspects out of pure instinct with the exception of Rai.
"Who would have thought that five teenagers would be able to utterly defeat my comrades?" The man asked rhetorically with a dry chuckle as I watched him flex his hand with extreme caution.
Although the man's carefree demeanor seemed to bear no ill will, we all could sense the overwhelming maliciousness hidden behind his grin as the tension within the air was nerve-wracking.
This is bad.
This is really, really bad!
The man standing before us was none other than Wrath, who stood several inches taller than Rai within a warm ivory complexion, long, disheveled black hair with sharp, hooded yellow eyes and prominent scars marred across his face as his appearance reminded me of a lone wolf who survived through the harshest conditions that life had to offer.
His attire was somewhat rugged, consisting of an unzipped black cargo jacket paired with a black undershirt, black cargo pants and beige military boots as he wore a bloodied cross necklace around his neck.
"You know that I can't let you kids get away with this, right?" Wrath warned with an enigmatic smile as he cracked his neck, but surprising him was none other than Arthur, who wasted no time in attempting to kill Wrath as within what felt like an instant, Arthur suddenly appeared behind Wrath and upon unsheathing his swords, Arthur tried to cut Wrath into three with a decisive, yet swift maneuver with his swords.
"I find it quite hard to believe that you're just a teenager with such an intense Aspectual Force, although…"
"You're an interesting one, aren't you?" Wrath questioned amidst evading Arthur's attack by appearing before Rai, who remained equanimous despite Wrath's attempt of intimidation as Wrath's grin widened in amusement.
"Is it arrogance or confidence?" There's not an ounce of fear within your eyes and yet, I can't seem to imagine myself losing to a mere child." Wrath continued to question as he rubbed his chin, intrigued by Rai's composure.
"Well, I suppose it doesn't matter since this is the end for you all anyways." Wrath added with a content smile as he activated his Aspect, releasing his Aspectual Force as upon his aura surging around his body, his Aspectual Force intensified, forcing Everett to collapse onto his knees as he clutched his chest in a panic, struggling to even breathe as Sarah stood in terror, trembling with cold sweat erupting across her skin as Arthur and myself were able to endure.
Eventually, Arthur's Aspectual Force was conquered by Wrath's as the air itself began to prick my skin, but despite the frightening sensation Wrath's Aspectual Force exuded, Rai seemed to be unaffected as his lack of emotion left me bewildered, unable to comprehend what was running through his mind at the moment.
I don't understand.
The worst case scenario is unfolding right before us, so why…
Why isn't he activating his Aspect?!
"I don't know what you're hiding from us for you to be this confident in your capabilities, but you're sharper than this, Rai!
Rai…
"Aria, help Everett and Sarah regain their composure and escape from this forest. Find the closest city nearby and contact the Headmaster." Rai ordered sternly as his eyes remained focused on Wrath, who stood a foot across from Rai as Wrath matched his glare with a wry smile.
"What are you talking about?! I'm not leaving-"
"Aria!" Sarah cried out as I turned around to find her crying as he grabbed my wrist.
"I don't want to die today. Let's run away while we still have the chance!" Sarah implored as many different emotions flooded my mind, impairing my judgement as I was unable to utter a proper response, prompting Sarah to let go of my wrist as she turned away from me.
"Do what you want, Aria, but I'M NOT DYING HERE TODAY!" Sarah screamed, her spirit shattering from fear as she sprinted away from the group, following the trail that led to the exit of the forest as Wrath began laughing hysterically at her desperation for survival.
"Her actions are to be expected, but unfortunately, she won't make it very far." Wrath said, wiping tears of joy from his eyes as a man who shared a similar frame to Wrath emerged from within the distant forest behind us, but as I laid my eyes onto the man, I felt my insides curl with disgust as I watched the man drag Sarah's unconscious body across the ground by grasping her hair.
"SARAH!" I cried out, anxious and enraged as the man tossed Sarah's body aside as if she was a bag of trash, flicking Sarah's blood from off of his hand as his provocation nearly made me lose my rationality until I remembered Rai's words.
The man was none other than Pride, the last remaining member of the Seven Sins who bore a honey complexion with mid-length twisted black hair that was braided into a ponytail, leaving two single twists resting across the right side of his forehead and as for his facial features, he had a short and subtle goatee along with a light mustache as there was a small scar on the left side of his mouth while the color of his almond-shaped eyes were black.
His outfit was similar to Wrath's as he wore beige cargo shorts instead with his sleeves rolled just below his elbows in order to properly wear his metal framed gloves that resembled makeshift-gauntlets, which seemed to be a family heirloom as there were several names engraved into the metal frame.
"It's a shame how stupid this girl is. You all may have had the slightest chance of survival if she didn't abandon the group." Pride mocked with a chuckle as tears of frustration began to well within my eyes from being unable to avenge my best friend.
I want to save you Sarah, but…
I'm just too afraid to do so!
"Not only are you mocking a terrified teenage girl, but you also find amusement in doing so. How pathetic can you be?" Rai asked with a hint of anger laced in his tone as he turned to face Pride, whose once gleeful grin was replaced with a frown as his eyes sharpened towards Rai.
"What did you say?" Pride questioned as Rai began walking towards Pride, ignoring Wrath, who surprisingly allowed Rai to do as he pleased since he seemed to enjoy the sight unfolding before him.
"Starting now, I'm going to strip away the pride that you had the audacity to name yourself after." Rai declared as Pride fell victim to his provocation, clenching his jaw in anger as a large grin stretched across his face.
"I'd like to see you try!" Pride replied, seething with rage through his gritted teeth as Rai's eyes grew cold, bearing no emotion as I felt my heart race with apprehension.
Rai…
What are you planning to do?