Chapter 57: Internal dialogue

Once the immediate threat of Gabriel being overtaken by plants was taken care of, Nero had a decision to make. The way he saw it, he could barricade his room and wait here till help came. That would most likely be the safest and most logical option. After all, he was a student, not a teacher. His priority should be to take care of himself and survive the sudden crisis, not try to face it.

Although the window in their room could only open partially, and the jump from the first floor to the ground floor was not exactly small, it still served as a decent escape option in case of an emergency.

But the most logical option was not necessarily the best option. Nero looked down at Gabriel, still laying on the floor, completely disoriented. Killing the vine had been especially taxing on him. Who knew what measures the vine had taken to try to protect itself? Excruciating pain would only be a part of what he felt.

Since Nero had met him, he had never seen Gabriel in such a devastated state. Although he never showed it, Nero knew how prideful he really was. He managed to hide it well, but from time to time his actions would let his deep and prominent background slip.

But now, despite all his own hard work and dedication in growing stronger, how low had he been brought by a single plant, though he had managed to resist it better than others, somehow.

That was the issue - the moral conundrum if it were: the others. Could he really just ignore them and let them be till help came? Especially now that he became aware that help wouldn't be arriving as quickly as he imagined.

"Is that even a question? Of course you have to help them," said a voice, deep in Nero's mind - or maybe it was in his heart.

He visualised a scene. A young boy stood in a children's room, holding a toy spear. The white bunk bed brought back many memories, as did the toy replica of the Heralds spear, as did the room. The window revealed a mountainous scenery in the distance, and a suburban Aetherpeak between them.

Other prominent memorabilia were scattered around the room. Nero caught sight of a toy truck he had lost at some point as a child, and his fathers old wallet that Nero had borrowed as a kid to use as his own. He saw a badge in the corner belonging to the Demon corp fifth battalion. He had cut it off one of his mothers uniform back when she was still serving.

The scene was a perfect recollection of Nero's youth when he was nine years old. There were a few things missing, obviously, but all his key memories from his childhood seemed to be in this room.

This was not real. It was just his imagination. But he looked at his young self nevertheless.

"This is not a joke, it's dangerous out there," Nero said, his voice cold and stern. But his younger self was not intimidated.

"Since when have I been afraid of getting hurt?"

If your training just happens to help some people, then there's no need to really pay any mind to it."

Was his younger self... trying to trick him into helping others? Somehow, that fit in perfectly with his personality from back then.

The image in his mind faded, and Nero returned to his room. It seemed like he had spent quite a while in introspection, but it had taken just a moment. He did not have the luxury of time.

However, he took a moment to prepare himself. He took a deep breath and held it in, breathing out slowly when he could hold his breath no longer. It seemed like a mental switch had been flipped.

He gave one last look to Gabriel, or rather his vines to ensure they weren't moving, before stepping outside.

It had been maybe four or five minutes since the chaos started, and only a couple of minutes since he dragged Gabriel back to their room, but the change that happened in this time was drastic.

The cacophony of noise from countless students fighting and screaming these plant abominations had disappeared, leaving an eerie silence. The emergency lights were beginning to dim already, despite the fact that they should have lasted a few hours, diminishing colours and turning everything into varying shades of black and grey.

But the one dark outline he expected to see was missing. The vine-covered student, whose muscles Nero had cut through, should have been laying at the entrance to their apartment, but he wasn't there.

Nero narrowed his eyes as he tried to deduce what had happened. Since he decided to face the creatures, and save as many students as he could in the meantime, he needed to thoroughly understand the capabilities of the vines.

It would have been best if he had some kind of armour before going into battle, but unfortunately, he had to make do with fighting barefoot, wearing only his pyjamas. He also didn't have any weapon cards more potent than Air push, as offensive cards were hard to come by in 0 star.

With Muted self still active, Nero moved silently to the entrance and peaked into the hallway. It was completely empty, save for blood as well as bits and pieces of broken items. He saw a few dropped weapons as well, but he did not consider changing the one he was familiar with for others, even if a dagger's reach was limited.

Nero strained his ears, but could not hear anything at all. Cautiously, he made his way through the macabre canvas of horror that was this hallway, peering into each of the open rooms for any signs of the other students, but they were all absent. He didn't have time for a thorough search, but he looked through all the apartments as he passed them by. Fortunately, none of them were closed.

Despite the absence of results, Nero did not become impatient, and maintained his pace, despite the growing silent tension. At last, in one of the rooms near the end of the hall, he heard the sound of something breathing.