-Third Person P.O.V.-
Thick darkness blanketed the sky, and a large moon hung overhead, its piercing light shining down upon a tall and imposing castle. Built with bricks that seemed to absorb light, it was surrounded by an impossibly high gate, which hung wide open.
Looking closer, several figures clad in white robes rushed through the gate in a hurry, an elderly man leading them into the castle.
"The young lord is not going to like this…" the elderly man spoke with a grimace, a sense of foreboding on his face.
The others remained silent, eventually filling the large halls of the manor.
The place was decorated with the heads of large beasts never seen on Earth, expensive drapes, and crystal chandeliers hanging in the air, light filling the center of the room.
Candles lined the walls, producing faint amounts of smoke that smelled of lavender. Near the opposite end of the room stood a figure dressed in jewelry and expensive robes lined with black and gold.
His back faced the men in white robes, and the elderly man leading them bowed in reverence.
"My Lord, she has entered the Newbie Scenario." the elderly man said, and the figure reached out his hand to grab a chalice of wine from a passing servant.
"This is good news." he spoke, swirling the red liquid in his cup.
"So why were you fools practically tripping over yourselves to deliver such a simple message?" he asked, still swirling his drink.
The elderly man gulped in response, beads of sweat quickly forming on his forehead.
"My Lord…" he started carefully, "she has entered the Scenario without our men. The items did not work." he revealed, his head bowed low.
Silence filled the hall. The drink in the man's hand stopped its centripetal motion. After a moment, the tense silence broke.
"You had one job…" he whispered, turning sharply and tossing the drink, worth more than houses, at the elderly man.
"ONE JOB!" he shouted, veins popping from his neck.
The elderly man and the rest of the white-robed servants prostrated themselves immediately.
"My Lord, please! The chance of her finding some inheritance is still very low! After all, luck has never favored your cousin!" the elderly man begged. Silence once again filled the room.
The elderly man seemed to realize what he had said and covered his mouth with both hands.
The figure stepped out of the shadows, the sound of his footsteps breaking the silence. Once he reached the servant, his hands shot forth, gripping the servant by his robe and hauling the man up.
The servant's feet dangled helplessly in the air, and he was forced to make eye contact with his master.
His master had soft features contorted in anger, making him closely resemble a wild animal. His hair was white, stopping just above his eyebrows, and his eyes were a deep blue, with faint lines resembling a circuit board.
"You just called her my cousin, didn't you?" he asked dangerously. The elderly man shook his head in a "no" motion as fast as possible, exhibiting great fear.
Seeing this, the white-haired man smiled and released a chuckle.
"Heh… so my ears are failing me? Or is it that you can't obey simple orders, not even something as simple as NEVER MENTIONING THAT TRASH THIS WAY?!" he screamed, spit flying everywhere.
At that very moment, the elderly man's head exploded like a watermelon. Seeing this, the man tossed aside the body like garbage.
"Put this fool in the healing chambers, and when he gets up, remind him that I control both his life and his death." he commanded.
Hearing this, the prostrated servants rose from their positions and ran over to the headless body, stumbling over themselves.
The man sighed, pinching his forehead. Shaking his head, he looked at the large moon hanging in the sky through a window, and an image of a particular silver-haired girl participating in her first Scenario came to mind.
"Trash."
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-Scene Change-
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-Thorn's P.O.V.-
Boom
A strong force traveled through my body, and I went flying through the tree my back had been against.
Landing on the grass, I ignored the pain and rolled over, struggling to get to my feet. After a few seconds, I succeeded, and looking ahead, I saw the blue-haired musician walking calmly toward me, sunlight bathing his figure as he stepped through the grass.
"Kid, you really are too arrogant. Despite these beatings your eyes still completely lack respect." He said condescendingly, completely looking down on me after sending me through a tree.
Gritting my teeth, I responded
"Wait! Music man, I acknowledge that I was a bit arrogant before, but don't you think this is too excessive? After all, I only landed one hit!" I pointed out, trying to reason with the flute lover.
Despite hearing this, he completely ignored my words, walking forward at a casual pace.
Seeing his actions, I still didn't give up. "My subordinate and I simply want to know how we can locate Heavens Staircase. We are from a distant land and have heard great tales about it! Someone as strong as you surely knows something about it!" I revealed.
For some reason, that caused the blue-haired man to stop, and he looked at me with a strange expression.
"You want to locate Heavens Staircase?" he asked in what appeared to be disbelief. Seeing his reaction, my greed instantly soared.
'Heh, he must think we are not capable… if that's the case, this is likely a treasure beyond imagination. It could be something like that grail from an anime, capable of great power. I must have it.' I thought hungrily, though my face remained perfectly composed.
"How about this…" I started, "you limit yourself to my power, and we engage in pure physical combat. If I can get your back to touch the floor one time, you tell us what we need to know." I requested, scanning his face for a reaction.
His face was completely blank. Then something in his expression broke, and the corner of his lip twitched upward.
'Is he… holding back laughter?' I asked myself mentally in disbelief, only for this thought to soon be confirmed.
A huge grin broke across his face, and he tilted his head back in loud laughter.
"HAHAHAHAHA! MY GOSH, YOU JUST GOT KICKED THROUGH A TREE AND YOU STILL WANT TO FIGHT?! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" He continued laughing, tears forming in his eyes as he gripped his stomach.
After a few seconds, he took a deep breath.
"Fine, I'll agree." Hearing this, I got excited.
"But…" he spoke again, "if I knock you out before then, just know you're going to be my new flute." he said with a grin, and shivers ran down my spine.
"Well, I'll let you get one free hit in before I ragdoll you. Let's go, kid." the musician spoke arrogantly. I smiled.
"We'll see about that..." I muttered.
Jogging forward at a light pace, I let the cool air hit my skin. After a few seconds, I was a foot away from him. Instantly, I sat on my butt and gripped the back of his legs with my hands. My legs shot forth and together, tightened around his core as my knees bent inward.
In complete bewilderment, the fake musician looked down as if he had never seen this before, and a maniacal grin stretched across my face.
I pulled his legs forward and pushed his upper body using my leg lock. Leveraging his body's motion, I pushed forward with more strength.
The false musician tried resisting, however at this point it was too late for him. I activated my muscles and started channeling more strength from my bones, applying way more pressure for the take down.
"SHIT!" He yelled, falling backwards beautifully. The expression on his face was something I would remember for a long time.
Thud