RE : OVER

6 || Traits

Perhaps it had been a long time for Mayu to exercise caution to low level monsters, or perhaps it was even longer since the last time she saw such bloody scene. The trait users of the future always did their battle somewhat cleanly because monsters' corpses were valuable materials that could be utilized for various uses. Apart from the rare monsters that either hunt on their own accord or be hunted, the trait users almost treated regular monsters like livestock.

Yet at the moment, the only corpses lying around were the third year students and some teachers who had fallen victims to numerous Woms, one Lesser Wraith, and two Hellhounds. 

In her first life, Mayu had managed to escape purely on luck. At that time, the monsters on the upper levels must have left the building under the assumption that there were no more human survivors inside the school. She practically had a free pass to the rooftop. Therefore, when she woke up this morning and headed toward the lower floors for Eito Sawada, she was a bit taken aback that there were actually quite a number of monsters for such early time being in the [Forsaken World].

This time, she was not sure if she could face all the monsters. Woms did not faze her, but the Lesser Wraith and the agile Hellhounds would pose trouble to her current state. She pushed her thought to the back of her mind as she focused on clearing the path littered with Woms still in the midst of eating leftover bodies. The only silver lining was that the Lesser Wraith was focused on patrolling the stairs at the end of the corridor - the one leading to the rooftop.

Soon, she realized what Yumiko Suzuki had been flustered about, that the girl bolted as soon as she reached the third floor. It was already very commendable for Yumiko to not immediately scream, although her face was getting pale by the second when she saw what everyone could also now see.

There were still two living people on this third floor. One of them seemed to be badly hurt, lying in her own blood as her companion tried to hold the various Woms and the two Hellhounds from them. They had been pushed against a door of a classroom, yet they were also unable to seek protection inside the classroom. Woms were banging their bodies against the closed door, attracting attention of other Woms outside due to the noisy sound.

The teenage boy, whose uniform had been dyed red, was courageously swinging a shinai against his opponents, every stroke precise and hard. From his speed, his strength, and how the bamboo shinai did not break despite being used with such fervor, Mayu realized that the third-year student had awakened his first trait. And she was certain that it was the same trait as hers, [Caritas]. 

With 'will', any weapon a [Caritan] wield would be strengthened tenfolds. With 'will' and 'benevolence', a [Caritan] would gain strength when they wanted to protect.

Yumiko's gaze though, was focused on the female student, whose face was pasty white, in contrast to the blood splattered on her cheeks. Yumiko stopped in her track while Mayu cleared more Woms out of their way. Then, Yumiko drew her bow and started shooting. Her arrows were fast and deadly, cutting through the air and hit the Woms on their acid glands. Yumiko had certainly learnt about the Woms' weakness from seeing Mayu fought before. 

Yet, arrows were a finite supply. Soon, there were only three arrows left. Despite trying to reach where the two survivors were, there seemed to be no end of Woms pouring out of the other classrooms. Glancing towards Yumiko's desperate expression, Mayu understood that the third-year student who would probably not survive, was Yumiko's older sister.

"Neesan... ." Yumiko's voice was soft and anguished.

She must have heard Yumiko, or perhaps it was the bond only siblings could understand, that the bloodied female student suddenly turned her head slowly towards them. Upon seeing Yumiko, there was a slight astonishment in her eyes, then relief. The older sister was clearly delighted that Yumiko was safe.