Chapter 525 Reality Nightmare

It was a sunny day with blue skies as far as anyone could see. The breeze blew through the schoolyard as Lee Seng rested against the tree. Spring had come and the warm temperatures had coaxed him outside. He wore the Academy student outfit, ears plugged by ear pods playing music as his foot tapped along to the beat. His phone lit up next to him as he continued to go listen to his music.

A out of breath Ritsuka runs out of the school doors, looking around frantically for someone. He jogs a bit out of the area, spotting Lee Seng against a tree. He mutters something under his breath as he runs towards Lee Seng.

"Hey!" Ritsuka calls out to Lee Seng. He notices his friend is rocking to music with his eyes closed. "I know you can at the very least feel I was coming towards you." Ritsuka bends down and plucks an earbud out.

"What?" Lee Seng asked, looking at Ritsuka. Ritsuka took a moment to catch his breath, occasionally looking behind him. "What's wrong?"

"Guess who's stirring up trouble, again?" Ritsuka finally asked. Lee Seng frowned and let out a sigh.

"Don't tell me those idiots are up to it, again?" Lee Seng plucked the other ear bud out and grabbed the case and placed it back inside. Ritsuka handed the other one as their attention went to the door. Manny flew out the doors, bouncing on the concrete ground as six young men and women flew out of the door.

"Hey! C'mon! I get beat up for saying the truth?" Manny groaned. Lee Seng rolled his eyes and stuffed the earbuds into his pocket as he stood up. Ritsuka stood next to him as they both watched.

"What's so great about your useless teammate?" A girl snarled. "The way I see it, he can't even do anything for you guys. Why would you want him around?"

"Maybe its because of daddy's money." A boy answered. The group began to laugh as a bolt of purple electricity flew out, hitting one of the boys in the back. The boy went flying past Manny as he bounced.

"Idiots never have anything smart to say." Liz shook her head as Evan and Olivia stood in the doorway. There was a crowd of people watching.

"We should do something before it gets bad." Ritsuka tapped Lee Seng.

"Let it play out." Lee Seng waved, dismissively. "We're not supposed to do anything."

"Well, Liz shot one of them. It's on us at this point." Ritsuka pointed out.

"Ugh, book nerd committee is here." A blonde girl turned to look at Liz with disgust.

"Watch what you say or you're next blondie." Liz retorted. The blonde growled as she raised her hands. Spectral images of swords grew in her hand as she started off at Liz.

"H-hey!" One of the male teammates shouted at her. It was too late. The blonde bolted up the stairs for Liz as Evan summoned his shield, blocking it.

"There they go…" Ritsuka sighed. "Are you sure you don't want to break it up?"

"If I do anything, I'll get blamed." Lee Seng looked at Ritsuka.

"If you do nothing, you get blamed. It's a lose-lose situation for you, my friend." Ritsuka looked at him and the image of Ritsuka's bloody and mauled face appeared. Lee Seng let out a scream as he jumped away from Ritsuka. "W-what's wrong?" The world around him flashed turning dark and brimstone. Bodies littered all around him as blood spilled from his lips.

Something warm slowly beat in his hand as he looked down.

"No!" Lee Seng screamed throwing the heart away from him. He gulped and tasted sweet iron. His stomach growled as his tails wrapped around Ritsuka. Ritsuka's mauled face had the look of betrayal on it as Lee Seng pulled him closer, bitting his throat.

"No!" Lee Seng shot up in a cold sweat. He sporadically looked around as the dead night spread across his left. It took him a moment to realize where he was. He was till in Limbo and it looked like not a lot of time had passed. He took deep breaths as the nightmare lingered in his mind. It was too fresh. It was too real.

'C'mon…' Lee Seng yawned. He lowered himself back onto the ground and tried to settle in for some more sleep. 'Just a couple more hours and then the search can continue.' His mind immediately jumped to his teammates. He wondered how they were and tried to shake off his thoughts. How could he go from thinking about a nightmare to thinking about his teammates? He rolled to the side and readjusted himself.

"Sleep." Lee Seng whispered to himself. He shut his eyes and tried to fall asleep. The ground became too hard for him to sleep and he was secretly scared he would see that horribly nightmare, again. He rolled onto his back and kept his eyes closed. The sounds of beasts running around and howling quietly went off in the background as Lee Seng tried to settle himself back into sleep.

Hours went by with little sleep. He could only put himself into a half-sleep state. He technically got some sleep, but his mind would react to anything that came above a certain decibel. Lee Seng lifted himself up and noticed the early signs of sunrise. He let out a yawn as he felt his bladder was full.

Lee Seng slowly made his way down, finding a not working bathroom and reliving himself in it. After he was done, Lee Seng found his way to the first floor and noticed a blood trail leading the opposite direction of the entrance. Lee Seng listened for a while and heard nothing. He slowly crept out of the stairwell and went left as he kept his eyes down the hallway. The blood trail seemed to be hours old.

'Nope.' Lee Seng shook his head. He began to turn when a noise erupted. He was tackled and pinned against the ground as a bird-like creature threw its head back, readying for its beak to dig right into its next meal.

"NOOOOPE!" Lee Seng shouted as his hands flew up, wrapping around the large beak as it barely pierced his chest. "FUCK THIS!" Lee Seng struggled to fight against the large bird as its talons dug into his thighs. "Get off!" The bird went flying off of Lee Seng as he jumped up, adrenaline coursing through his body.

The bird was large and resembled a flamingo and an ostrich. Its feathers were covered in dried blood as it flapped its wings. The talons scrapped along the ground, making a deafening noise that made Lee Seng covered his ears as the bird screeched at him. It launched itself forward, closing the distance in mere seconds as Lee Seng launched himself to the right. The bird slammed into the wall, spinning its head around like it was an enemy dazed in a game.

"You don't have to tell me to kill you." Lee Seng lifted his hand and blasted the bird with a blast of gravity. The bird slammed into the wall as Lee Seng kept up the gravity hold. "DIE!" The bird began to squeeze as it turned its head to face Lee Seng. A set of talons kicked Lee Seng away, snapping his concentration as more of the birds' moved inside to protect its friend.

"Ugh… Why'd this have to happen the first thing in the morning?" Lee Seng groaned. The gold and silver katana appeared in his hand. He pulled it out, looking at the other birds as they scrapped their talons across the floor. The birds and Lee Seng flew at each other. Lee Seng slashed horizontally, forcing the birds to throw their feet up and block the attack as Lee Seng stabbed the original bird that had ambushed him, missing its large body completely as it flew forward.

The bird slammed into Lee Seng, pushing him backwards as its allies went in for piercing beak strikes. Lee Seng threw up a shield, strengthening it for piercing hits as the birds hit it. The shield pinged against him as he scooted closer to the wall. Lee Seng flexed his wrist, pushing the birds away as he went in for the kill. The sword sank into the first bird, exploding it with wisps and cosmic energy as he pulled it out and went for the next bird.

Lee Seng dashed past the second bird, slashing at it as he turned on his feet and flew at the next one. The cosmic energy glittered across the room as he made quick work of the next three birds. A screech came from one of the remaining birds, dashing straight for Lee Seng as its two allies dashed in to cover. The two birds barraged Lee Seng with attacks as the third bird flew past, catching Lee Seng off guard as it released its kick, grabbing Lee Seng and shoving him straight into the ground.