Chapter 356: Dire Consequences

The morning that day was unusually bright, and Moby slept like an infant all the way through. It was to the point that he had not woken up early to fully take advantage of his time in the training room. Yet, as he opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling, he felt absolutely no regret, in fact, he had not felt so refreshed all year. 

The time was 8:00, but he decided to do as he always did, doing his daily routine and preparing himself to leave while Regrit was still fast asleep. 

But, as soon as he was ready to depart, he received a notification on his watch. 

[ Attention all students! You are to report to the auditorium before class for a very important assembly, this is not optional. Absence will be severely punished. ]

He would be lying if he said he was surprised to see it or that he didn't know what this was all about, but, what he did not know was what the fate of those people caught was… 

Before he left the room, he decided to wake Regrit up, leaving before he got the chance to complain or even speak a word. 

On the outside, the chatter amongst the students were clear, it was far more than usual considering the previous well-reserved nature of these rich noble kids.

As they all entered the school, they were immediately redirected by staff and further informed on what to do.

Moby followed the crowd and was not too long after presented a glimpse of the vast auditorium that caved in towards the bottom.

The ceiling felt dwarfing, and the blackened walls fit in perfectly with the dark room that seemed to possess scarce light sources. The red, couched seats were placed in many semi-circles getting more in radius as they went back.

As he entered, he found it to be deafly silent, an atmosphere of frightful anxiety filling the air unlike any other Moby has sensed in a very long time. With his enhanced hearing, the heavy breaths of the students were more than clear, and he could even feel the throbs of some of their heartbeats.

Following the crowds, Moby went down the stairs towards the bottom.

It did not take him too long to spot his class, the confident yet irritated figure of professor Zave tapping his foot stood out even amongst some of the other teachers.

"Nice to have you with us Kane, is Oswald coming?"

"Yes, he should be here very shortly," Moby whispered back and bowed to show proper respect. 

"Good to hear, your seat is right over there, please be silent and wait for the assembly to commence,"

"Yes, sir, thank you very much," He lifted his head and directed it over towards the seat at the end of the row. 

It seemed like most of his class was present, even Hikari was there, although her seat was one over from his, with their classmate Kalvin separating them. 

He spoke no words to her, only a slight look of acknowledgement before he took his seat. 

There was chatter from behind the curtains of the auditorium, but other than that, everything stood still, people had stopped coming in long ago. However, before the door closed, that silence was broken by the sound of loud footsteps that Moby identified from a mile away. 

"I'm, I'm sorry professor, I overslept… I won't do it again!"

*Sigh* "Never mind that, just go take your seat and wait. Just don't let it happen next time okay?" Professor Zave looked like he wanted to lecture him, but in the end he decided to wave him off like nothing happened.

"Will do…" He lowered his voice, looking around to see all eyes on him before their vision was suddenly snatched away by creaking sounds coming from the stage ahead, and the realization that the curtains had finally begun to move after so long. So, Regrit rushed to his seat and found it to be right next to Moby's. 

"Did I miss something?"

"No, it's about to start, just shut up and watch…"

As the curtains fully revealed themselves, it was odd to see the stage was still completely dark. It made the students wonder more, and their stress intensified even further. But, one person who did not have to guess was Moby, and his eyes shot wide and awake as soon as he layed eyes on the stage. 

"Greetings students! I am your principal! Rayna Davis! I didn't think I would have to come up here and do this today, but here I am! I have never seen anything like this in all my years… I feel embarrassed that all of this happened under my nose... I'm certain most of you know why you were called here today… If not, then allow me to explain to you…" Her cold, sombre voice came from the darkness, and rang in not only the auditorium but the heart as well.

That was when a blinding flash of light engulfed their vision, and after they readjusted their blurry gaze, they too bore witness to what was up ahead.

Lined up in one single row were students, standing frozen, nervously sweating with the principal a few steps ahead with her sword hitting the metal underneath, her face stone cold unlike the playful introduction of the first day of school. 

"These low lives behind me are your fellow students. They were part of a gambling ring in the city just yesterday… Apparently, this has been going on for many years now… It went under the notice of every single principal to me prior, but, it will all come to an end with me! As you all know, obtaining points by any means other than from an instructor or a duel is completely prohibited. We here reward the brightest soldiers of the next generation! Not the best and luckiest gamblers and business men!! The school rules has been embedded in your mind! There is a reason we explain it to you more than once! There is no excuse you can possibly give to justify it! You are making illegal organizations that are public enemy number 1 to the city and the school funding! All of this just for you to test your might in gambling?! UNACCEPTABLE!! WHAT KIND OF SOLDIERS IS THAT!?" She slammed her sword on the floor below, sending shockwaves throughout the entire room, making the previously nervous faces behind her turn pale, as if their souls were sucked out of their now ghost-like corpses. 

"I will take an absolutely zero-tolerance stance on this! You are now soldiers! Act like one! No amount of family power will save you from me! All of these students lined up behind me… Sorry, FORMER STUDENTS! Shall be stripped of their position quite literally, and be sent off in shame!"

A small glint was seen in her dangerous eyes, and she lifted her right hand that was previously grasping the hilt of her sword. Time felt frozen as the crowd watched the principal move, unsure of what to expect of their fellow students. And, with one snapping motion, all of the people standing on the stage were stripped naked down to their underwear, their student uniform ripping off of their body and turning to shreds, that along with their watches. 

The fear and panic was more than clear in their eyes, but they dared not say a word. Some even fainted and pissed their underwear as everyone watched when the realization of what had just occurred fully sunk in.

"These uniforms are not fit to be worn by such filth! You were placed here through power alone, but your character is just as important for those who want to proceed! Soldiers, take them away from here! Send them back on the next trip home, and ensure everyone knows of what has happened! I want this to haunt them for the rest of their lives!"

"I wish I can do more to these scum! But, by law, I am pushing the boundaries of my authority already... I am here to send a message! Don't think your smart trying to take advantage of the system! I can guarantee you it will not be worth it! New measures will be put in place to ensure that! I could just conduct a lie detector test right now to every single student here to get the runaway students… But, they know who they are… Out of everyone here, I hope they feel the relief and take this as a lesson to change… I might seem nice and fluffy on the outside, but I can guarantee you I can be really scary when it comes to it! Don't even test me! I will find you… And I will end you…"

The entire auditorium was shivering uncontrollably, their pupils dilated to the size of pees as the haunting aura of the all-mighty principle consumed them, it was unlike anything they have ever sensed in their entire lives. Even Regrit was left sweating, taking several gulps of saliva thanking god that he was spared from such a fate. 

But, hidden under the darkness of the room was one smirking man. He sat there confidently seemingly unaffected by her words and presence. 

"End me you say? We'll see about that…"