Chapter 212: Voluntary Murder

"Charge!" Dalna Doppler bellowed, raining down punches on the sides of the One-horned Rhino's head. It was in a vulnerable state after falling on the ground, she didn't want to miss such a chance.

George stomped its head, crouching using the momentum as he held its horn, preventing it from getting up or mount any attack. Ashen pressed his body on the muscle part of the One-horned Rhino connecting its right foreleg, pressuring it, preventing it from getting up for the time being.

Jyorta seeped his psychic arm through the left eye while Laila did so through its right, seeping it to its depths, soon reaching the brain. Jyorta pulled without restrain, uncaring about the consequences. He pulled out specific parts in the brain, causing a haemorrhage. He then punctured a hole through the eye, creating a larger outlet for the blood to leak from.

Once he was done, he didn't try anything else, making a retreat. Laila too repeated the same actions as him, quickly making a retreat upon noticing the blood leaking out its right eye. In the meantime, Laekha went to help Esina and Haesha, bringing them to the end of the stage.

Once they approached the end, Esina helped the two of them climb up, watching Jyorta and Laila sprint towards her. Esina held her arms forward, holding each other, connected through an interlocking of the fingers.

The palms faced upwards, Laila approached her and made a light jump. One of her legs landed on the exposed palm; Esina pushed her arms up, giving Laila a boost, allowing her to climb up the wall. Her actions were graceful, her lower weight making the task easier.

Jyorta followed suit, mimicking her actions, his eyes trained to Esina's palms, calculating the change in distance each instant. He made a jump, noticing it be slightly off. Esina corrected her posture, adjusting her position in accordance, allowing one of Jyorta's legs to perfectly land on her palm.

Like jumping from a spring, he was boosted up. His arms grabbed hold of the edge of the wall; his body still had enough momentum to lift more than half his body above the wall. Jyorta then slid his legs over and managed to climb up with ease.

Esina then jumped over the height with ease, watching the figures of Dalna Doppler, George, and Ashten trail after her, climbing the height in ease with a jump. The One-horned Rhino growled, its shouts ear-piercing, prompting most of the students to clutch their ears.

It rolled on the ground, having become insane, its state of frenzy further being amplified. Blood gushed out of its three wounds—the two eyes and the region of its tail.

"…George…" Dalna Doppler looked at him, her eyes widened, looking at the individual with a new light.

"I thought it would hurt it even more." George gave an awkward laugh. Inserted into the left eye of the One-horned Rhino was its tail, partially hanging out as it moved its head around in madness.

"Now, we have to wait until it weakens itself," Jyorta commented, feeling zero sense of joy or achievement. His gaze was pensive, looking at his dirt-free hands, and glancing at the bloody state of the One-horned Rhino.

It wasn't a feeling he liked, the rest too felt the same. Taking the life of another living thing, when one's life wasn't threatened, it was a feeling they didn't want to get accustomed to. Killing out of self defence could be understood to a certain extent.

But in this case, they had dealt damage to a living being in the name of training, now planning to deliver the final blow, like hyenas watching their prey becoming weak, waiting for the chance to spring forth for the kill.

The One-horned Rhino cried out in pain, struggling to move around. It was blind; its other senses too had failed it, thanks to suffering damage to its brain. The haemorrhage also caused it to begin losing its consciousness, the process steady, signalling the arrival of the death reaper.

The One-horned Rhino lost its balance, falling down. One of its legs failed to respond, twitching in vain, no longer able to exert strength in it. It frothed in its mouth, letting out whimpers, the shouts echoing in the ears of the surrounding students.

Many averted their eyes, no longer able to watch the scene. Some had pale faces, some on the verge of puking; some began to retreat, unwilling to bear to witness the scene.

Madam Rizenne's voice echoed, "The Frenzy Beasts are the enemies of humanity, but that doesn't mean we can torture them for no reason whatsoever. Even they are a life, a living being. The least we can do is to swiftly put them out of their misery."

A sigh resounded, causing the minds of everyone to shudder in response, "But, our safety is the top priority. If we are unable to swiftly dispatch them to the afterlife, we can only use methods similar to the current one to weaken them, and deliver the killing blow when their death throes can no longer harm us."

"Just because the method is cruel doesn't mean you can avert your eyes," Madam Rizenne's voice was tinged with anger; a faint aura surrounded each student, alarming them. Their bodies shuddered, sweat covered their bodies, fear was etched in them, "Whether it is cruel, kind, an act of mercy, etc. never avert your eyes from the enemy. When you take up a mission, see to it that you execute it to the end. Marble City doesn't need soldiers who half-ass their missions. Take your pity and feed it to the Frenzy Beasts."

Madam Rizenne glanced around, looking at the faces of each student, "Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!" Everyone shouted, their posture straight, their gazes firm. Thanks to the tinge of aura she released, the students no longer looked at the One-horned Rhino with gazes of pity or averse to the notion of killing it.

Their collective shout made the One-horned Rhino tremble in fear; its humongous body slumped on the floor, unmoving. It seemed to have lost function in its legs. A small pool of blood had formed on the floor, surrounding it. It was a shade of crimson, with splotches of black. The blackness spread around, affecting the blood, changing it black.

"The Essence of Frenzy," Jyorta muttered, "It possesses a significant amount of it."

"Indeed," Dalna Doppler nodded; faint sweat covered her forehead as she looked at the pool of black forming on the floor, "It was wise of us to retreat. If we had been injured by it, and had the Essence of Frenzy invade our bodies, the situation wouldn't have bided well for us."

They watched the One-horned Rhino struggle. Despite bleeding a significant amount of blood, it was still alive, showcasing its abundant vitality. Five minutes later, it became weak, unable to even lift its head.

Dalna Doppler jumped into the stage, making quick steps, and stopping before the pool of black blood. She crouched low, exerting strength in her legs, causing them to mildly bulge. With a shout, she crossed a distance of four metres and landed on the One-horned Rhino's back.

"Guooohhh…" A weak whimper leaked out of the One-horned Rhino, its effort to raise its head turning futile. Dalna Doppler placed her hand on its horn, inching the other around its neck, grabbing hold of the edge of its lower jaw.

"Please don't blame me; it is the survival of the fittest out here." She whispered; her arms bulged, displaying the protruding nerves as she exerted strength in them, storing her power.

"Hah," With a shout, she moved her hands clockwise, twisting the head of the One-horned Rhino, rending its life. In response to the constriction in the muscles, a stream of blood gushed out of its eyes like a fountain.

Dalna Doppler swiftly kicked on the One-horned Rhino's body and made a long jump, landing just past the pool of blood. She retreated by a couple of steps, watching the unmoving body of the One-horned Rhino, having not relaxed even once.

"It's dead." An Observer—his eyes green—shouted from within the crowd. The students cheered, despite feeling complex emotions.

'It's over.' Jyorta sighed, clenching his hands into a fist, unable to make sense of the emotion he was feeling. He was one of the people who took part in the fight, now having claimed a life. This was different from the disaster six years ago.

Back then, he was under a lot of pressure, not to mention being just the blue soul, having no attachments, and not feeling any emotions. He had to connect to the brain of the previous Jyorta to execute even the basic of emotional behaviours.

Now, given a choice, he had been the one to step forward, even concocting up a plan to eventually reap a life. He didn't know what to think about his behaviour, and whether his choice was a good or a bad one.

'Kill for a reason, and live for an ambition.' He thought, mentally sighing. 'I would probably reap a lot of lives in the future. It is high time I adapt to this. I should never become a bloodthirsty murder, but at the same time, not be a sage that can never decisively kill someone. A balance of the two; that should be optimal.'

"Selfless at all times but, selfish when necessary; desperate for knowledge and strength but, never cross your mental blocks to achieve them; cherish your bonds but, never despair when they are severed."

"The optimal mentality for the world, huh," Jyorta let out a self-deprecating laugh.