Angel With Broken Wings

44 - Mash Burnedead, Kat Ride and the Survival of the Fittest (3)

⚠️Minor Violence
[THIRD PERSON POV]

"My mother was generous and kind."

Abel's words were slow as he spoke, the boy bleeding heavily from his head as he managed to bring himself to a sitting position, eyeing the black haired boy, who was listening respectfully, in front of him as he continued,

"She was always compassionate toward others. Though born into nobility, she never spurned commoners...and treated everyone equally. My mother would say...it was only by chance that we were born privileged." He spoke softly, recalling the image of his mother with soft, barely noticable, smile, continuing as the smile fades quickly into a small frown,

"Then one day, my kind mother was taken from me. She was distributing food to the poor, as she always did. But when she tried to stop a man from hoarding it all for himself, he stabbed her. He said, “You all have it so lucky...” and claimed this was merely her comeuppance." He blinks slowly, pink eyes swimming with grief as he continues, "My mother believed in the goodness of humanity...my mother, the noble...my mother, the naif...my gentle mother, gone forever."

He slowly staggers up to his feet, dizziness making his head spin as he continues to speak, his words coming out confident as he watches the boy in front of him, "She was mistaken. They don't need our pity...the dregs of society are there for a reason, we can't live in harmony. I sought the best talent for my plan. Abyss and the others like him, those dissatisfied with this world...I dipped my hand into powers I never should have...all for my goals."

His words were strong in his convictions, his breathing slightly heavy as he raises his head to look the boy before him properly in the eyes. "You won't change my mind. The weak and the poor are but a resource, they deserve to be pillaged." Mash watches silently for a moment, his next words blunt as he responds to the older boy in front of him, "But there are bad guys at every level."

"The majority of them are at the bottom...which is why they should be cut off." Abel's response was quick to Mash's statement, his words making the black haired boy pause before speaking up once more, "That would be...a problem." The blunt words make Abel pause, the older boy remaining silent as he eyes the first-year with a sense of wonder. "That would be a problem."

The boy repeats, Abel letting out a sigh at the repetition, "I heard you." Mash hums slightly at the response, his words coming out blunter than before as he eyes his upperclassman, "That aside, could you let me have Kat back now and tell me where Lemon is? Since you lost." Love could only watch helplessly at her post, the pink haired girl's thoughts coming out shocked in her mind as she eyes the interaction, 'Wow, that attitude.'

Abel could only let out another sigh of realization, the boy relaxing the tension within his body as he spoke slowly once more, "You're right, I lost. I'll release the puppet students, and you can have Kat back now too. There's no way she...hah, nevermind." The trailing off of his sentence makes Mash look at him quizzically, the boy hesitating slightly before responding, "Cool. Oh," He was about to continue until a certain voice breaks through the air,

"You...make me sound like...some sort of prize." They both look to see the strawberry blonde slowly rising to her feet, the girl moving steadily towards the two boys, who can only watch as she winds up slipping slightly, landing safely into Mash's waiting hold. "You hate the weak for what they did to your mom...I hate the power hungry for what they did to me and my family, I may never be able to understand your pain completely, but I can finally understand your way of thinking.