Torq stood alone at a corner of the Academy grounds, eyeing the Raid Group until they disappeared over the horizon. Only then did he turn around, intent to return to the Dorm, noticing a horde of students walking his way, determined to kill him.
'Again?' He promptly searched for Runthral and noticed the other party staying far away, only glaring his way, 'This doesn't seem like it has his involvement.'
'Then, have these students finally lost their marbles?' He eyed the students and spoke, "Is my survival that detestable?"
"It is," One of the students shouted, "Many of us that died today, weren't supposed to have fallen here. They should have become pillars supporting the Clan."
"Instead, we have you." He raged, "You should have taken the place of at least one student that had unfortunately died."
"Death is always unfortunate," Torq slowly reached to the floor and immersed his hand in the ankle-length water that was gradually flowing back to the sea, "If you feel it's unfortunate that I survived, then try to kill me as you please. But first, appreciate the fact that my actions have immensely contributed to your survival."
"What is this bastard spewing out now?" One of the students cursed.
"Ignore his nonsense," Another spurred the rest by churning out a stream of water with a pointy edge, "Just end the bastard here."
"I'll take the blame," One of the students shouted, "My Spirit Container crumbled recently. Even otherwise, I had no hope for survival, since my graduation is tomorrow."
A pause later, he bellowed, in sync with the students that unleashed a volley of attacks at Torq, "I'll take the BLAME!"
"Ensure Boiboi is dead!"
Dozens of streams of water surged at him, intent to rip him apart live. Torq eyed the spectacle with a smirk, "Ah, this takes me back."
'To my first life.' A tear drop slid down his cheek as Torq exclaimed in awe, "I cannot stress it enough. Truly,"
"Sumatra is wonderful!" Mist spread across the region, with him as the centre and rapidly expanded forward. And using the mist as a cover, rolled across the floor, accurately moving towards an impact spot with the least amount of attacks.
A blade of water punctured through his left ankle and was about to invade his bloodstream when Torq condensed a knife made of water and severed through the wounded region.
He rolled to the side once again, ignoring the knicks and tears that covered his body while continuing to increase the spread of the mist.
"He's trying to hide himself in the mist." A student huffed out and focused, grasping the mist covering the place and grunted. In a matter of seconds, the mist condensed into droplets of water that rained down, clearing out the place.
'Where's he?' The student swerved around and caught sight of Torq closer to the edge, "He's there!"
A whip of water lashed at Torq, targeting the neck. In response, Torq moved his index finger in line with the whip's path. And in the instant the two made contact, he poured five units of Prana into the whip to take control of a small portion. This portion enveloped the entirety of the whip's cross section, which broke it into two halves.
Once the stream of Prana fueling the psychokinesis was cut off, the severed section of the whip was unable to maintain its structure and splashed out. Torq used the force behind the splash to propel himself into the sea water, escaping the students' assault.
"Dammit! Where's he?" The students rushed to the edge of the Academy grounds and unleashed their Prana detection means, which couldn't penetrate deep into the sea water. Most of their detection means stopped a few metres underwater.
"I can't see or detect him anymore!" One after another, the students raged.
"Can't you do something about this?" A couple students requested Gilgil, who had remained silent the entire time, despite accompanying the crowd all along. "You're significantly more well-versed with the Clan's abilities than the rest of us."
"...Alright," A second's consideration later, Gilgil nodded as a wave brought him to the edge. He immersed his hand in the water and caused ripples to form, which spread far and wide. He closed his eyes and in a few seconds, sensed Torq swimming along the edge, 'It seems he intends to circle around the Academy underwater and reach the dorms.'
Once he enters his room, Torq would be safe from the rest of the students. The Instructors, bound by the Clan rules, wouldn't harm Torq. 'A sound plan.'
He was just about to tell the students when he recalled the moment when Torq had contacted him, 'He's the reason I made the effort to save the others. At least, this one time, consider this my repayment.'
'I'll pave a way for your survival, Senior.' Thinking as such, Gilgil purposefully delayed for a few more seconds. Only then, once Torq had swimmed farther away from their location, is when he pointed in the respective direction, "He's there, underwater."
"Move!" The students rushed in the respective direction without hesitation, fully trusting Gilgil's skills, "Judging based on his actions, he intends to return to his Dorm room. Spread along the border, so we can nab him the moment he makes an entry."
A group straight up proceeded to the Dorm, intending to camp before Boiboi's room. They were adamant about ensuring Boiboi's death today. As the students spread across the academy, Gilgil remained alone in his original spot, letting out a mild sigh.
A couple dozen seconds later, he watched Torq surface from the water right next to him and land on the edge of the Academy grounds. "Was it your plan, Senior?"
"Isn't it only natural to move where it's safer?" Torq smiled, "I noticed everyone dispersing and hence, swam back here."
"Are you…" Gilgil thought for a moment and asked, "Are you not terrified of death?"
"Why do you think I should be terrified?" Torq asked in return.
"Because you're weak?" Gilgil tilted his head in response, having never expected to be answered with a question.
"The fear of death is natural. The instinct to survive is natural." Torq waved his hand and ejected all the water covering him. A second later, he had dried himself, "And most of all, since I stole Runthral's talents, getting hunted by Cooter Clansmen is also natural."
"This is just our way of life." Torq paused for a moment to eye Gilgil, "Do you plan to kill me?"
"Not this time," Gilgil shook his head, "I couldn't witness it due to the mist, but the first wave of Troitails ended up dead once you took action."
"It's not my principle to stab someone in the back." Gilgil made a stabbing action with a smile, "I'm the type that openly goes for the front."
"You do you," Torq flashed a thumbs up and sprinted away, "Let's share some tea after graduation."
"Can you manage it, Senior?" Gilgil shouted upon seeing Torq burst into a sprint, 'He runs fast!'
"I'm trying!" Torq responded while maintaining his pace. And as he continued to run, his heart began to pump faster and faster, while the flow of blood in his blood accelerated. The entirety of Prana present in his Spirit Container was instantly dumped into the bloodstream, rapidly healing the muscle tears once he surpassed his top speed.
'Let me borrow your knowledge, old friend.' His body turned beet red as he funnelled his psychokinesis into the blood and used it to reinforce the muscle movement behind his running action.
And that caused his sprinting speed to reach as high as eighty kilometres per hour, surpassing the speeds attainable by the fastest of students riding their waves.
Mystic Mist Art–Prana Blood!