CHAPTER 57: PLAYTIME’S OVER

"Ahh!!" Sean screamed as the ground sealed back closed, just as he was about a foot deep, squeezing his legs tight that he felt real pain raced up his nerves.

Just the pain alone made him regret not just dealing with them earlier, but now she mentioned something that piqued his interest, and he wanted to find out.

That saying, he would really make them regret this.

"Fuck!" He cursed loudly, both from pain, and still staying in character.

His eyes blazed with genuine anger from the pain, but his words couldn’t have been anymore deceptive.

"What did you do?!" He bellowed, his eyes locked on the girl, whose expression had now shifted into a wide grin.

The young woman erupted into laughter at his question.

"You really are stupid." She said after a while.

Then her gaze shifted into one that was part disdainful, and angry but also with hints of self depreciation, and fear.

"Did you really think I’d let you go after what you said?" She snarled.

Sean groaned. "But I said I was sorry."

"And I intend for you to choke on that!" She sneered. Disdain coloring her features from how stupid she felt he was.

Sean had to admit to himself that the way she switch expressions was impressive and quite alarming.

’Her natural talent as an actor, or even an assassin is quite high.’ He thought, his mind already drafting scenarios were she’d be of good use, in the right hands. She was even better than Seraphina by leagues.

Those hands were she would be useful, would of course, be his hands.

"Hah! I thought we would have had to either leave this one, or ambush him later."

A thick voice echoed from behind, as a group of three boys made their way over, the one who had just spoken, a boy who was really big for his age, already standing past 6’5 tall and with a matching build, taking the lead.

Sean’s face darkened at their presence, and his eyes immediately went wide the next second.

"You...!" He turned to Anya, his eyes panicked, and yet full of anger and hate.

Anya in return, just sneered.

The boy walked over in large strides, his arm crossing over Anya’s shoulders possessively as they gang stood before the now immobilized Sean.

"Your acting is as amazing as ever," the boy praised, causing Anya to smile, and Sean’s expression to darken even further.

He almost let a trace of the genuine disgust he was feeling from their corny drama surface, but reined it in.

"What do want?" He asked.

"Is this guy brain dead?" The boy asked too, looking at the two other boys, as though he was looking at a strange specimen.

"He really is." One of them chimed in affirmation, while the other just sneered in Sean’s direction.

"While I would want to really beat you up for calling my girlfriend ugly, that would have to wait till we get to the academy." The boy said, his eyes sizing up Sean’s smaller frame with disdain.

"For now... Press that red button, and get going. Before I do something bad."

"You... You’re trying to eliminate me!" Sean exclaimed.

Anya almost lost her cool, at how stupid he really was. Wasn’t that already obvious?! And the fact that he actually had the gall to call her ugly... She Anya Hemlock...

DING! DING! DING! DING! DING!

All five of them, had their watches ringing with notification bells.

"Another announcement?" One of the boys questioned in surprise.

"Finally!" Sean sighed, feeling like he had been forced to wait since forever.

[ANNOUNCEMENT: Congratulations to participant, Seraphina Hemlock for being the first to eliminate 20 other participants]

[Rewards: +50% to all current points]

[LEADERBOARDS]

[1. Seraphina Hemlock — 72 points]

[2. Thorne Hiddleston — 49 points]

[3. Sean Storme — 48 points]

[4. Emma Croft — 46 points]

[5. Blaze Hilton — 42 points]

[6. Andrew Cane — 40 points]

[7. Noah Hilton — 35 points]

[8. Agnes Harts — 32 points]

[9. Xavier Blackwood — 29 points]

"Twenty participants? I thought..." Anya muttered to herself, quite lost.

When she focused, on the figure in the announcements, a hint of envy flashed in her eyes before disappearing just as quickly.

Sean of course caught it but said nothing.

Jealousy amongst siblings was normal, talk more in a family as large as the Hemlocks. The disparity between Seraphina’s status, and Anya’s was glaring, despite the latter being just as talented, or even better in being an assassin.

Seraphina’s edge, was that she was that she had three affinities. Asides the poison of the Hemlocks, and her shadow which she had displayed, there was also another, which wasn’t known to the public, and was one of the reasons why she was proud.

In the assassin tenets of the Hemlocks however, Anya was far more talented as an assassin. But that didn’t mean she was incapable of real emotions, she just knew how to suppress them if they didn’t help her. Like her flash of envy just now.

In fact, she had even gone all the way as to separate herself from the Hemlocks in public appearances, like the morning before the test... Determined to make a name for her own self.

If she had been with them, she’d have recognized him, due to the ruckus he caused with the Crofts. But with almost two thousand students participating, she could have been anywhere in the crowd.

"Dammit, we should have started hunting people earlier." The overgrown boy cursed.

"You..." He voiced distastefully. "You better hand over all your.... Ahhhhh!"

His last sentence was interrupted by his own scream, as his body trembled from electric shock.

The earth holding Sean’s foot shattered, and he calmly stepped out, instilling shock in them all. Anya particularly, was stupefied, her eyes narrowing into pinpricks.

Before Sean could even say anything, she pressed the red button on her watch, and disappeared the next instant.

This time, it was Sean’s turn to be stunned surprise. He was just about to ask her about who the mist demon was.

Now that what he was waiting for finally happened, there was no use for him, playing around anymore. The real show was about to start.

Looking at the three remaining boys, his gaze shifted into a cold one.

"Give up if you know what is good for you."

Without even wasting time, not willing to go through the same shock, the two other boys immediately followed order, vanishing from the spot.

The overgrown boy wanted to say something, but finding none of his allies with him anymore, he made the "smart" choice and dipped, while Sean walked away, his expression still dark.