Eight minutes before Manseto's Prison catches fire...

The scorching hot coals overflowed, cascading through to the last passageway in Block D, as flames engulfed the corpses of cadets and Bloodguards, stripping them of their clothes and scalding their red armor and bones into gray-black dust. Fenrius had faced such a daunting challenge before, despite the odds against him. Now, he found himself surrounded by hundreds of Beastguards led by Barzan, leaving him no choice but to plunge into the fire with his enemies.

Barzan approached Fenrius and asked if he was the mad cadet they had been discussing, but Fenrius remained silent, waiting for the prison to be consumed by the fire. Sensing Fenrius's resolve and knowing the orders from Manseto and Baron, Barzan retrieved a tier A monster destruction weapon, a grenade launcher. From Fenrius' unflinching gaze, Barzan realized that the cadet was agile enough to dodge his attack. So he aimed his lethal weapon at Fenrius's footing and launched a Fragmentation Grenade. The grenade exploded and caused the prison floor to collapse, knocking Fenrius down as he tried to evade it.

The first explosion marked the start of the war, and the Beastguards cautioned Barzan against using the grenade launcher again as it could cause the fire to spread to other blocks. Despite knowing the risks, Barzan was determined to take down the monster without a monster-slaying weapon, a daunting challenge in itself. He ordered the Beastguards to guard the blast hole and prevent Fenrius from reaching this floor.

Fenrius had reached his destination on the bottom floor of the prison - an underground secret dungeon with walls on each side and no doors. The room was filled with countless skull bones, as many as the ocean, a gruesome reminder of the victims who had met their end there. The Hellhounds, who served as the executioners, emerged from their skull home with fiery red eyes revealing their instinct to kill. They could sense Fenrius' life force. Though buried under the rubble, Fenrius gathered his thoughts and rose with a newfound passion for murder. His mind was focused like the wind, his desire burning like fire. With a distance of more than twenty feet between the upper and lower floors, Fenrius couldn't jump to the top. Nevertheless, he was always prepared to fight for his life.

The pack of Hellhounds roared and lunged at Fenrius with their tongues outstretched, ready to consume their prey. But Fenrius fought back by hurling rocks and pebbles from the rubble, blinding the Hellhounds' eyes and injuring their bodies. He continued to throw until the sand turned to smoke, which devoured the fire and obscured their vision. The Hellhounds, repeatedly hit by the pebbles, cried out and fled like frightened chicks. After a minute of chaos, the Hellhounds sought refuge in the mountains of bones and lingered there. Fenrius rubbed his hands in satisfaction, there was no need to pursue the frightened beasts as it was natural for carnivores to fear the hunter. He had finished this mission and was ready to move on to the next one.

The Beastguards refused to use firearms and instead attacked Fenrius by throwing their spears, but he dodged all of them. As the Beastguards prepared for battle, Fenrius threw three spears at the walls and used them to climb to the top, parkouring up using the spears as a ladder to reach the top of the ruins. The Beastguards grumbled as they watched the coward flee without fighting, but Fenrius knew that those left in the basement would soon become the prey of the Hellhounds.

"Don't give him more ammunition, you idiots—he really likes spears!" exclaimed Barzan.

Fenrius encountered hundreds of Beastguards blocking his path after passing through the fire pit. Rather than trying to pass through the flames and crash into them, he entered one of the cells. Barzan and his troops laughed, believing that Fenrius had given up and was trapped. However, when Barzan arrived at the cell, he found the wall destroyed and realized that the cadet had tricked him once again. Fenrius had made his way from the end of Block D to Block C. Barzan ordered most of his troops to pursue the cadet, while the rest blocked the way to the main hall.

The Beastguards continued to roam Block C with their guns drawn and their senses heightened, but they couldn't find any trace of their target. Suddenly, a scream echoed from one of the cells, signaling the presence of the mad cadet. The guards rushed toward the cell, but Fenrius was ready. He had already donned his Bloodguard armor and used a nearby corpse as a shield to protect himself from their bullets. Concerned that their gunfire could start a big fire, the guards switched to machetes, but this proved to be a fatal mistake. Fenrius disarmed the dead guard and relentlessly fired at the charging guards, one by one, at the narrow cell entrance. But he had more tricks up his sleeve. He threw a grenade into the crowd and it exploded, causing the floor to collapse beneath them. From above, Fenrius watched coldly as his enemies fell into the 'dungeon' – an arena filled with Hellhounds.

Several Hellhounds managed to jump up, and Fenrius couldn't react quickly enough to the agile movements of these dogs. He immediately threw away his firearms. The Hellhounds' bites shattered the steel bars in Fenrius' hands, but he didn't care. There were still plenty of steel bars in every cell, so he broke a few bars and started hitting the ferocious dogs at close range. Fenrius then turned to Barzan, who was ready to launch his second grenade. He threw one of the Hellhounds at the Beastguard leader, who simultaneously fired his grenade.

The massive explosion flattened all the steel cells and walls, and Block C was on fire! Barzan lay motionless with burns all over his body. The impact of the explosion was so severe that the grenade detonated right before his eyes. Fenrius removed his shattered Bloodguard armor, then picked up Barzan's grenade launcher and walked up the stairs to the main hall. He checked the advanced weapon, which only had two grenade rounds left. Fenrius looked back and saw that the Beastguards and Hellhounds were still chasing him amidst the flames. So, he blew up the ceiling of the prison and jumped up the stairs. His back was barely crushed by the rubble, only a few inches away. The debris blocked the path of the stairs, and the fire had completely engulfed Blocks C and D. The second mission was complete, and it was time to move on to stage three.

In the main hall, there are six pillars supporting the room and hundreds of Boneguards troops blocking the gate. The leader of the Boneguards, Krueger, wields claws as long as a small sword, capable of cutting through animal bones like bread. The Boneguards braced themselves with their crossbows and gauntlet claws. However, Fenrius cared little for the troops and was willing to sacrifice them all by destroying the room. He was eager to set fire to the room, and with flames coming from behind, Fenrius launched a final grenade that knocked down a pillar on the left.

The second explosion signaled the start of the second round of battle. Fenrius dashed to the right and took cover behind an upright pillar, which protected him from the hundreds of arrows. Krueger, not wanting to disrupt his troops' formation, ordered a Boneguard to recklessly attack behind the pillar. When he got there, Fenrius hit him in the head until he passed out. To make matters worse, Fenrius banged the victim's head repeatedly against the pillar until the room shook and the second pillar finally collapsed, leaving shattered stones strewn across the floor. But what made the Boneguards gape was the fact that Fenrius was no longer behind the pillar, leaving behind a victim with a swollen and leaking head.

Fenrius jumped onto a concrete block near the roof and managed to climb up the pillar using his new claws. From above, he threw a new grenade without the Boneguards noticing. The loud explosion disrupted their formation and caused them to stumble. As smoke filled the room and flames from behind burned the walls, it was time for Fenrius to jump into the battlefield and go on a rampage. The Boneguards were scorched by the flames and torn apart by their own claws. Krueger was thrown unconscious out of the prison. Fenrius shattered the entire room with his steel claws, leaving only three pillars barely able to support the building and causing rubble to fall on dozens of Boneguards.

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***

As Vandam, leader of the Bloodguards, stood outside the prison with his giant shield of honor, he ordered his subordinates to prepare their arrows and spears. From behind the smoke inside the main hall, they could only hear the screams of their comrades.

"Get out, all of you! Don't fight in the fire!!!" Vandam yelled, urging his troops to move away from the dangerous inferno.

Following his orders, the Boneguard troops moved toward the outer field where the battle was less intense. Meanwhile, Fenrius approached one of the Boneguards who was aiming a crossbow at him. In a panic, the Boneguard shot an arrow that struck Fenrius' shoulder, unaware that Fenrius was aiming for the pillar behind him.

This was the first time Fenrius had tasted his own blood, and he knew that he could no longer be perfect in breaking records that had become fairy tales, such as ‘coming out of Manseto's Prison unharmed.’

The mad cadet yanked the arrow from his own shoulder and plunged it into the Boneguard's shoulder. As the Boneguard now became the victim, he understood the pain he had caused the mad cadet. Then, Fenrius forcibly took the crossbow from the Boneguard's hands, loaded it with arrows while his victim groaned and leaned against the pillar, and then fired five consecutive shots into the victim's forehead. After that, he struck the victim's body with the crossbow and threw the weapon away. ("That's the retribution you deserve for getting in my way,") thought Fenrius as he recited the number "217."

Fenrius dropped the fourth pillar; there was no longer a need to aim for the remaining two pillars because the prison would surely collapse and burn by itself. The main hall was already filled with ruins and a sea of fire. The third mission had been completed, and it was time for the last mission outside the prison. The Bloodguards had already provoked Fenrius because they felt at a disadvantage in the fire arena. He complied with their wishes and ran out of the prison, challenging the troops that surrounded him. Fenrius looked around as if counting the number of his enemies, not to mention the corpses of the cadets scattered on the shore. He gazed out at the ocean where the cadet escape ship was still not far from the island.

One of the Bloodguards attacking him was thrown flying until it crashed into Vandam's shield. Fenrius leaped wildly and beat the giant shield until it bore the marks of his blows. The Bloodguards attacked side by side, and Fenrius kicked the sand in circles until the dust clouded their vision. Then, he dashed closer to the ocean and looked up at the sky, and at that moment, he knew he had won. The scorching sun was not covered by clouds, a bright light shone on his enemies, dazzling their eyes and making their armor hot. The longer the fight went on at the edge of the island, the more superior Fenrius became. Not only did he change the position of their gaze, but he also continued to run around the coast until the wind came from his back. His throwing abilities were multiplied by the speed of the wind, and the sandstorms held them back. The armored troops also looked exhausted on this battlefield, and Fenrius clenched his fists and had a brilliant idea - he would dye this ocean red!

*

After eight minutes in the dark, burning room, Instructor Manseto, the Warden, picked up his demon mask from the table and put it on. The instructor walked calmly, even though the fire burned everything around him. It had been more than a day, and it was time for Manseto to step in. No matter if the prison was destroyed, he had promised himself that he would not intervene until one full day had passed. However, Manseto admitted that this was the first time his prison had suffered this kind of damage. He walked out while investigating.

If any cadets were still outside, Manseto would be forced to kill them all. The worst generation of professional assassins did not deserve to live if they had not made it out for a day. Manseto's thoughts stopped when he saw dozens of Bloodguards killed with shattered armor, burned skin for the Beastguards, the corpses of Hellhounds that had been crushed by the rubble, and the rest burned with pools of turbulent blood dotting the prison.

(“All of this must be the work of that crazy cadet...”)

In the midst of the hot smoke of the fire, Manseto caught the scent of fresh blood that made his own blood boil, and his cursed sword trembled with hunger. He always believed that if his enemy was a cadet who could defeat his entire army, then they deserved to die by his sword. The Swordmaster Theodin had agreed that this final test would be meaningless if it continued without casualties. Manseto's mistake was the same as the previous two instructors; they were too lenient from the start until their expectations were shattered by the mad cadet. He should have intervened earlier, instead of waiting more than a day. As Manseto passed the corners of the prison, every footstep revealed charred corpses. He flinched when a Beastguard he had passed earlier moved slightly.

Manseto approached him, and said, "You're still alive, aren't you... Barzan?"

It seemed that Barzan's burns were quite severe. His body felt as if it was broken, as if he had hit something hard, along with his torn skin. Manseto put his arm around Barzan's body to help him out. It slowed his movement, but he had promised Baron to bring his brother out alive. Barzan, who had almost lost consciousness, uttered a single word, “...Fen...rius...” and coughed as the scorching hot smoke made his breathing heavier.

(“Fenrius? I see,”) The Warden smiled as he thought of the fight. (“I'll show that boy that there's always a level to this game.”)

Manseto unsheathed his sword, which crackled with black lightning and was enveloped in an amethyst aura emanating from his body. He sliced through the rubble on the stairs until it disintegrated into dust. He was in a killing mood now as he entered the main hall, but he found it filled with ruins and engulfed in flames. He leaped through the open main gate, the bright sunlight beaming on him. He was surprised to find no cadets on the coastal field except for the corpses of the Bloodguards, Beastguards, and Boneguards. Manseto laid Barzan's body on the sand beside Krueger and looked out at the sea where the cadet escape ship was still out of reach.

(“They managed to escape huh? How lucky...”)

The leader of the Bloodguards emerged from the sand, his armor removed and his injured stomach in his grasp. Vandam coughed up blood, then slumped in front of Manseto and spoke in a hoarse voice, "Chief Warden... I was forced to hide in the sand. That cadet—"

"I already know," Manseto interrupted quickly. "The cadet in the last cell did all this, right? Fenrius Nightfang..."

Vandam laughed weakly, despite the pain in his stomach. "Yes, that's the one. He fought here just five minutes ago."

Manseto's eyes widened in shock. "Five minutes ago?! No way. The escape ship was barely visible. If I estimate, it will take twenty minutes by swimming to get there."

"Swim?" Vandam muttered, leaving Manseto speechless.

Vandam pointed toward the ocean. "Chief Warden, take a good look at the ocean. Please look carefully..."

After a moment of observation, Manseto was at a loss for words. The sea was red, filled with the corpses of guards and cadets floating among the waves.

"He didn't swim but ran over the bodies until he got to the escape ship. A bridge of corpses in a sea of blood. He truly is a terrifying cadet," Vandam revealed.

Manseto felt a shiver run down his spine. This was not the kind of cadet he wanted to face, but the escape ship was already out of sight, and the fourth test awaited them. Manseto couldn't help but feel a sense of admiration for the cadet who had caused so much destruction. The Warden knew that Fenrius Nightfang was a force to be reckoned with, but he had never expected him to be capable of such devastation.

As Manseto stood there, the watchtower suddenly cracked open, and the prison building began to collapse in slow motion. Hot air rushed past them, threatening to set the entire island ablaze. The instructor sheathed his sword and spoke, "I'm glad I didn't kill them in this exam. I didn't think there was a savage cadet who could do something like this to my prison. The island of fire, the bridge of corpses, the sea of blood...how poetic."

"That means they are ready for the next test," Vandam replied weakly.

Manseto nodded in agreement. "Yes, and I can't wait for it."

On an island surrounded by a vast ocean, in the large prison where the third test was held, the cadets managed to board the escape ship to a new location where the fourth test would be held. The Warden flew over and surveyed the burning prison. From above the sky, he soared amidst a sea of blood and crossed the open. For hundreds of years, no one had been able to damage Manseto's prison like this, not even the fire dragons or the Chthonians. This third test ended with Manseto laughing heartily.