When morning came, Lovell managed to slip away from the group and exited the cave. He placed his hand on the cold stone entrance and was shaken by what he saw.

In front of him was a crowd that had gathered around the appalling sight. On the ground in front of them were four mutilated bodies. The bodies now only had at most two limbs remaining.

The bloody marks on the corpses indicated they must have been shredded by something with sharp, razor-like claws, long fangs that were strong enough to crush bone, and a sadistic tendency to play with its food.

Lovell's face soured when he remembered what Sir Anthony had mentioned to him before.

"You can leave anytime..."

The memory was surfacing with a wave of nausea. His head turned to the side in avoidance of the grim sight.

He had already lived through a fair amount of death and had even left a man to meet his end, but he had never been around to witness the damage done, the aftermath of his actions.

His face crunched with the smell of iron in the air. Worse was the fact that their bodies had been retrieved and put on display.

Those guards were sick. Is this their way of telling us that even if we want to run, we ourselves will not dare to? That we will cage ourselves if we want to live lest we end up like these maimed bodies?

He tried to refute it out of spite, but the bodies in front of him weakened his ability to spout empty words.

He turned around and left the crowd to feed on the fear that was being fed to them.

....

After returning to the house, Lovell called for all the remaining followers.

"I'm sure by now some of you have noticed that four of our guys are missing."

They didn't respond in any way as they already knew this. They just assumed that they had gone into town or went to do some other affair.

"I've just come from outside the cave... those four... are dead."

"What?!!"

They were shocked by the revelation. It wasn't unusual for someone to die, but to see someone you know be there then not be there the next moment would naturally garner different responses.

"What happened, Lovell?... How did they die?"

Derek was not as friendly with this group as he was with Sleight of Hand, but a few days of living together had naturally fostered a sort of bond between them.

Vick was among the dead as well, and he was rather memorable.

"I think it was around 3 a.m. in the morning. I slept early and was rather rested, so I was easily woken by the sounds of them moving."

Everyone listened with tense expressions. All kinds of cruel scenarios were playing out in their heads.

"They left."

Everyone was confused as to how that led to death. Only Derek knew what Lovell meant, seeing as how they learned of this rumor together.

Lovell noticed their confusion and clarified.

"Before we came to the academy, I heard a certain rumor. Well, I guess it's not a rumor right now."

Weasel and the rest perked up. "I was told that in this academy, you can leave any day you want."

Their eyes widened, and they stood with their disbelief evidently written on their faces.

"You are allowed to leave only under one condition, that you leave in the dark."

The small hope that had risen at the mention of freedom was extinguished immediately.

"Those fools were fed up with life here, as are we all. Last night, they decided to leave, and we can all safely assume the rumors are true. No one stopped them, and they left. Ignorant to the dangers of freedom, they learned firsthand why humans learned to fear the night."

They understood clearly why such an exception was put in place. It was a false hope. They were being raised to be House Riverr's swords.

Any deserters would be left to their fate, and only those who swore allegiance would be allowed to leave during the day.

Their lives as free individuals were over. They saw that clearly now, and the despair slowly settled in their hearts.

Lovell noticed the change in their moods and knew now was the best time to solidify his position.

"We have been dragged to this place by our supposed betters. Forced to shed our blood for the very people we despise. We would not be here now if we didn't offend that Dreadborn in some way. But does that give her the right to enslave us? Does that mean we are to be disposed of at another person's whim? I have decided. I will survive this hell, become a Dreadborn, and return this humiliation tenfold."

The spirits he had shot down were now looking at him with a glint of hope in their eyes. By declaring his ambition, he had unconsciously made them look to him as their hope.

Lovell's lips curled upwards when he saw the change in how they looked at him. He had succeeded in making himself their hope. Derek's gaze hovered for a moment then sighed in resignation.

"I don't really care where you go, but I will always follow my friend."

He wrapped his hand around Lovell and continued, "Don't leave me behind and have fun on your own."

Lovell managed to make his smile look like it was because of Derek and went with it.

...

A dozen people walked into the colosseum. Each went their own way and joined a crowd that had formed around five individuals.

Although superior in numbers, the delusion of victory in a fight never even occurred to them. They listened to all their explanations and asked no questions.

Lovell made sure to listen carefully and integrate as much of her knowledge as best he could.

His group was made up of random individuals who didn't seem to follow any specific similarities like the other groups did.

He found himself at the very front of the inner circle surrounding Cynthia. Her eyes were mostly focused on the boy who had managed to attract the attention of the eccentric leader of the base.

She noticed him listening very attentively and was engrossed in her words.

"We will be doing combat training, and if you know what's good for you, I would recommend exercising your bodies to build a good amount of stamina."

Lovell noticed the others looking a little hesitant at the proposal and felt rather smug because he was slowly growing accustomed to having sore muscles.

I can't wait to see what sort of faces they will make during the next class. It's nice to not be the only one having an aching body.

His smug expression was erased when he heard Cynthia's next words.

"What will probably be the most important aspect of your stay here will be the topic of Dreadborns."

Everyone was woken by those words and listened to her more carefully.

Are we finally going to learn to become as strong as that monster?