"EEEEEEEMMMIILLLLYYY!"
Ares' voice tore through the air, raw and unfiltered, laced with pure, seething rage. His feet pounded against the floor as he lunged forward, his vision tunneled, his body acting before his mind could even catch up.
But before he could reach her—
A firm grip seized his shoulders.
"Calm down, Ares!"
Jones' voice rang out, steady but strained, his fingers digging into Ares' skin in a desperate attempt to restrain him.
"How the hell am I supposed to calm down?!" Ares snarled, muscles tensed like coiled steel as he fought against the hold. His breath came in ragged bursts. "She—she threw him away like garbage! Like he was nothing!"
Jones gritted his teeth, his own frustration boiling over. "I know, dammit! I'm just as angry as you are!" His fists trembled at his sides. "He tried to save her, and she—"
A faint, trembling voice cut through his words.
"Shut up…"
Jones turned sharply.
Emily stood motionless, her lips barely parted, her shoulders taut as if bracing for impact.
"What?"
"I SAID SHUT THE HELL UP!"
The room fell into a suffocating silence.
Emily's breath came in shallow, rapid gasps, her eyes darting between the faces around her.
"I didn't come here to be saved," she spat, her voice laced with defiance. "I came here for the same reason as all of you—to become an S-Rank! And I'm not going to let some scrawny, useless kid's sacrifice weigh me down."
She straightened, lifting her chin, lips curling into a smirk as she waited.
For approval.
For agreement.
Surely, someone would take her side.
Surely, someone understood that this was about survival.
Surely—
She strained her ears, desperate to hear murmurs of support.
But instead—
She flinched.
Her smirk wavered.
Her pupils trembled as the whispers slithered through the air, each word sinking into her like a blade.
"She really just said that…"
"That boy tried to save her, and she just threw him away?"
"She's a monster."
"If she dies next, I'll actually be relieved."
Emily's hands clenched at her sides. No. No, this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
The murmurs swelled, thick with disgust and contempt, curling around her like suffocating smoke.
Jones frowned. Even he had expected some level of support for her, no matter how misguided. But instead—nothing.
And then—
A sharp crack rang through the air.
Emily's head snapped to the side, her cheek stinging, a deep red imprint forming against her pale skin.
Sylvia stood before her, arm still raised, eyes smoldering with fury.
"You're full of shit," she said, her voice razor-sharp.
Emily staggered back, her breath hitching.
"A teenager risked his life for you," Sylvia continued, stepping forward. "He didn't hesitate. He carried you when you couldn't even stand. And you—you threw him to his death like he was trash."
Her lips curled in disgust.
"You're not just selfish. You're not even human. You're a murderer."
The whispers turned to laughter.
Mockery.
Emily's vision blurred. Her legs trembled beneath her, her body shrinking under the weight of their disdain.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
This wasn't—
Ares exhaled, his anger simmering but still alive, burning beneath his skin.
He stepped forward.
Jones instinctively reached out, but Ares lifted a hand.
Stop.
He wasn't going to strike her.
No—he would do something worse.
He would bury her in words sharper than any blade.
Emily forced herself to look up, her lower lip quivering.
Then—she smirked.
Yes, this was her way out.
Ares was logical. He wasn't a brute who acted on impulse. If she showed remorse—if she apologized—he'd have to accept it.
She lowered her head, let her voice turn small.
"I… I'm sorry," she whispered. "Please. Forgive me."
Silence.
She hesitated, then peeked up through her lashes, expecting—hoping—to see doubt in his eyes.
But she found none.
Just cold, unwavering judgment.
And in that instant, she knew.
He saw through her.
Emily's breath hitched.
Ares' voice was steady, emotionless.
"If it had been your parents," he said.
A sharp inhale.
"Or your siblings."
A tremor in her fingers.
"Or even your closest friend."
He took a slow step forward.
"Would you have done the same thing?"
The room tightened.
The air thickened.
Emily opened her mouth, but her throat closed around the words.
"N… N-No…"
It was barely a whisper.
But Ares heard it.
He nodded, just once.
"That's what I thought."
And then, his next words dug into her like talons.
"Jonathan also had parents."
Emily's stomach twisted.
"He probably had siblings."
Her knees felt weak.
"Maybe even a best friend."
She could barely breathe.
"But you took that away from him."
The room vanished.
The sounds—the whispers, the laughter—they all faded into nothing.
And in that moment, as she stared into Ares' eyes—
She felt it.
The weight of death itself.
He wasn't shouting.
He wasn't lashing out.
But somehow, somehow
She had never been more afraid in her entire life.
Then
A loud alarm blared.
And over the speakers
Kendrick's voice echoed through the room.