Modern Monster

"Kaiyo? You alright? You seem a bit dazed. We’re about to do the thing.”

Sen’s question snapped her back to reality.

Kaiyo blinked. "Ah, yes, sorry. I was just... thinking. I'm ready whenever you guys are." Kaiyo put on a fake smile and nodded eagerly, but behind her reluctant smile was distant grief.

Her grandmother had passed away years ago, but the memories always seemed to replay in her head over and over. All she remembered was crying her eyes out. She had long forgotten how or where her grandmother had passed. Everything was a blur; only the parched feeling of her throat and the sting in her eyes remained.

"A sword means nothing if the person behind it doesn't have a heart," Kaiyo promised herself to never forget those words. Looking up and wiping away a few tears, Kaiyo stared upwards confidently. Though it was the ceiling she saw, her gaze was set far beyond that.

I hope you're watching me, Grandma. She nodded to herself with assurance and stood up.

Getting back into reality, contestants passed by Kaiyo, completely oblivious to what was behind her. They didn’t even realize the colors were a hint to begin with. Or did I get lucky? Kaiyo wasn’t sure. It was perfectly possible she had just gotten lucky and the colors weren't indicative of the door being accessible. Although, at this point, it was better than being stuck in the room with thousands of people.

"Kaiyo... are you ready?" Sen whispered to her.

Kaiyo focused on Hana, who was supposed to carry out the diversion, and nodded confidently back to Sen.

"I'm ready..."

I hope this works. Kaiyo anxiously waited.

"HEY, EVERYONE!" Hana’s voice echoed in the massive room.

The diversion had begun.

Contestants eyed Hana with suspicion as she screamed at the top of her lungs. "I KNOW WHICH DOOR IT IS! SEE THAT UP THERE!?" Hana pointed to the highest door on the opposite side of the room. "RIGHT THERE! THE GOLDEN KNOB!"

Excitement swept through the air as the crowd turned toward the door Hana pointed at. Some contestants immediately started climbing over each other to reach the top.

"Huh… gullible," Hana smirked quietly.

With a swift motion, Sen opened the door and slipped through. It was so dark it looked as though he disappeared. Their whole team entered the door one by one, followed by Genkai and Ayame.

Kaiyo, being the last, took one final look around. A bad feeling nagged at her, but without allowing herself another moment to hesitate, she walked through the door and shut it behind her.

Inside, everything was pitch black and eerily silent, though she could still hear the commotion outside the door. I really hope no one saw us come in here.

"I don’t like this…" Hana shivered. "Let’s all hold hands just in case we get lost or anything."

"Not a chance. As if I would hold hands with you people," Ayame remarked smugly in the darkness.

"I mean, I don’t mind holding your hand, Hana," Baru interjected. Kaiyo could bet money he was grinning while saying that.

"Yeah, no, you’re the last person I want to hold hands with, Baru..." Hana retorted, then paused with a gulp. "Baru… did you just touch my leg?”

"Huh? Why would I do that?" Baru dismissed the question, then realized what it meant. "S-Sen, it was you then, right? Hahaha," Baru laughed nervously.

"Why would you think that’s me? I came in first, so I don’t kn—" Sen cut himself off with a groan. "I just felt something slither between my legs..."

Suddenly, bright yellow lights turned on in the mysterious room, momentarily blinding them.

"Oh good god!" Baru cried out in fear.

Kaiyo rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the abrupt light. But once she could see, she wished she hadn’t.

"WHY THE FRICK ARE THERE SNAKES AT OUR FEET?!" Baru jumped, dodging the snakes lunging at his feet with razor-sharp fangs.

"Stay calm. There are only like three snakes," Sen said, picking one up and tossing it aside. "I think we should worry about that, though." His gaze was fixated ahead.

The mysterious room was a long brick hallway with electric torches placed on each side, giving it an eerie vibe. The floor gave way into a pit a few meters ahead. At the bottom of the ten-foot drop, thousands of snakes slithered and hissed on the ground. Some attempted to climb the walls, but their efforts were futile.

"If we’d walked a little more, we would’ve fallen into that pit of snakes!" Baru gulped.

"Hmm, it looks like the hallway continues past the hole; we’ll have to figure out how to cross it," Sen pondered.

"Hello, knights. Cross the pit of snakes to continue to the next obstacle," Kaiyo’s techno watch announced.

"Well, we’re screwed..." Baru smiled wryly. "Guess it’s time for me to get out of here and quit." With that, he walked back to the door they had entered through and tried to open it. Baru turned paler with every twist of the knob. "Hahaha, Ahhhh... Why isn’t the door opening? This is a funny joke you’re playing on me!" He twisted it more aggressively.

"Okay, for real, open the door. I said, open the goddamn door!" Baru wailed, banging on the door. "Why won’t my Super Sense work?!"

"You can’t escape once you’ve entered one of the doors. This academy is built to cancel out all Super Senses, so don’t waste your time." the techno watch answered.

"Alright, well, I guess I’ll just jump into the pit of snakes and kill myself. Better than trying to figure out how to cross it and slowly starving to death."

"No one is going to starve, well, at least not yet," Sen said, a hint of irritation in his voice.

"Oh wow, thanks for the motivational speech there," Baru remarked sarcastically.

"We’re going to DIEEEE!" Hono cried out. "But also, being all alone with a bunch of guys isn’t so bad after all," she grinned.

Baru narrowed his eyes at Hono. "Whoa whoa! Hold your horses, lady! How dumb can you be?" Baru rolled his eyes. "Obviously, there are cameras, so it would be a bad place to do it."

Hana lightly punched Baru on the head. "You screwed it up again somehow! I almost agreed with you for once! You’re the dumbest person I have ever seen in my life!"

As the arguments escalated, Kaiyo looked around for possible ways to cross the pit. One might try jumping, but clearly, that wouldn’t work—it was too far. But what else could they do?

We could use Hana’s Super Sense to throw people across, but that would be difficult for her to control. And she would be left behind unless Baru helped her with his Sense.

Both scenarios meant someone would be left behind. As much as she wanted to be selfish, Kaiyo couldn’t bring herself to abandon the team, even if some of them were strangers to her.

This was harder than she thought. The academy’s challenges were very dangerous... a little too dangerous, if you asked her. Kaiyo frowned.

She glanced at Sen, who was attentively observing the pit. His finger rested on his chin, eyes closed, deep in thought. Walking over to him, she crouched down and whispered.

"What are you thinking, Sen?" Kaiyo asked, tilting her head. Sen didn’t answer her question. Instead, he opened his eyes, focusing on the pit.

She took in his white hair, his serious expression, and his blue eyes. He looked so—No, no, no. Not the time or place to think about that! Kaiyo blushed and covered her face. Why am I like this?! She hid her cheeks to conceal her embarrassment.

"God, damn it!" she accidentally exclaimed aloud, resenting how she always reacted whenever she saw him.

"Whoa, are you okay, Kaiyo? Why did you scream?" Baru called out to her.

"Oh yeah! I’m fine, I’m fine!" Kaiyo stammered. "Just a little scared of the snakes."

"Don’t worry, I’ll protect you!" Baru puffed out his chest.

Uhhh, yeah, I’m just so frightened of the snakes. Kaiyo grimaced inwardly.

"Uh, yeah, thanks, I guess." Sighing, Kaiyo glanced at Sen, who was still crouched down.

"Sen? What are you thinking?" she tried again. But yet again, he ignored her. Kaiyo tried to hide her hurt expression. He’s never ignored me this much. Did I do something wrong?

Whatever the reason, Sen clearly wasn’t in the mood to reply. As he sat at the pit’s edge, the others lounged around, trying to come up with ideas for how to cross the pit.

"Okay, what if we create a human bridge?" Baru suggested.

"And how do you suggest we do that? By the time we all link together, there wouldn’t be a way to cross without touching the snakes," Hana reasoned.

"Shoot, you’re right. I forgot about that," Baru murmured, deflated. "Hey, new guys, blue-haired chick and the creepy blue-haired guy, any ideas?" He pointed at Ayame and Genkai.

"I won’t respond to anyone who calls me a ‘blue-haired chick,’" Ayame muttered scornfully.

"Well, sorry. I just thought you’d be useful since you’ve got a katana. More importantly, how do you even have a katana?"

"They allow you to carry weapons if you have a permit. Not that you could ever wield a sword with that chunky body of yours," Ayame retorted.

"CHUNKY? That’s body-shaming! It’s all muscle down here."

"Well, disregarding her rude remark, there isn’t much we can do with our weapons in this situation. It’s not like we can jump down there and start killing the snakes. That would be suicide," Genkai chimed in.

"Womp, womp…" Baru slumped to the ground, rolling his eyes. "Why do you two even have katanas? Are you ninjas or something?"

Ayame and Genkai exchanged a glance, seeming to communicate with just their eyes. They appeared reluctant to answer, which stirred some suspicion in Kaiyo. But to her surprise, they gave a brief response.

"Something like that, I guess. We come from a samurai family."

"OI, so you guys are wannabe Knights, I see now," Baru jested. Ayame’s eyes blazed with cold fury at the comment.

"For your information, samurai have existed far longer than knights. The concept of knights was introduced after the meteor crash in the early 1800s, while samurai have existed since the 10th-century Heian period."

"Blah blah blah, don’t care, didn’t ask for a history lesson. Just wondered why you had a sword." Baru shrugged. "I don’t need a lecture from a woman."

"You little shit. Women make up eighty percent of the education system!"

"Exactly why I’m not part of it," Baru shrugged again.

"Baru, I suggest you choose your next words very carefully," Hana warned. Her voice was gentle, but her grip on his shoulder was firm. Baru stiffened, feeling the weight of her warning.

"I love women. Women work hard. Women deserve higher pay…" he rambled quickly.

"Good, Baru... very good." Hana smiled innocently.

"I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that," Hyo said, adjusting his glasses with a sigh. "Sen, you seem to know what to do. Got any ideas?" Hyo called out.

Sen remained motionless, before and after Hyo’s question, not moving an inch. Hyo exchanged a confused glance with Kaiyo. She sighed and gave a reluctant shake of her head.

"I don’t know. He hasn’t responded to anything I’ve said either."

"Maybe he’s just really focusing on a plan to get across," Baru suggested.

Ayame wasn’t as confident. "I don’t want to be rude, but he doesn’t seem like the type to be a Knight. If I can’t get across, it’ll be impossible for him."

"Huh?!" Hana took offense to that, major offense. "Listen here, you little ice queen tsundere—"

"I’m not a tsu—" Ayame began to protest but was cut off.

"Oh yes, you are, but I don’t care. Don’t you ever disrespect my brother like that again! Or else..." Hana clenched her fists threateningly.

Ayame sighed, raising her hands. "Look, I’m not trying to be mean just for the sake of it. I’m stating a fact. We’re simply out of your league, meaning if you’re struggling, it’ll be even harder for him."

"I highly doubt that," Hana challenged, her tone icy.

Ayame maintained a composed expression. "I think I know what I’m capable of—"

Kaiyo held her breath as she watched Hana lunge her fist toward Ayame before she could finish her sentence.

Ayame’s eyes widened for a moment, surprised by the sudden attack, but then she grinned. From the sharpness of Hana’s attack, it was safe to assume she had unlocked her Sense. However, despite Hana’s boost in power, Ayame deftly dodged to the side, avoiding the strike without any trouble.

Ayame’s eyes glowed a light blue, indicating she had unlocked her own Sense in response to Hana’s attack.

Grunting in frustration from her miss, Hana swung her leg toward Ayame’s head. Anticipating the move, Ayame braced herself to block with her arms. But at the last second, Hana switched her target, sweeping her leg beneath Ayame to throw her off balance. Hana grinned, thinking she had caught her.

"I got you—"

Hana was wrong. Her foot hit nothing but air as Ayame leaped to avoid the attack. Puzzled at how Ayame had predicted her move, Hana was thrown off balance herself.

As Hana stumbled from her own attack, Ayame seized the opportunity and kicked her in the gut. Hana groaned but quickly grabbed hold of Ayame’s foot.

"Huh?" Ayame yelped as Hana’s Super Sense launched her into the air. Ayame had made a critical mistake in assuming her kick would incapacitate Hana.

Because of her Sense, Hana’s body was far more durable than that of an ordinary person. Therefore, she had been able to withstand the blow without much trouble.

While Ayame was airborne, Hana jumped up to continue her assault. However, Ayame wasn’t backing down either. As she fell, Ayame unsheathed her katana, ready to block Hana’s next attack, until—

"STOP!" Kaiyo screamed in distress, closing her eyes.

Both Ayame and Hana halted their attacks at the sound of Kaiyo’s shout.

Landing gracefully on her feet, Ayame pointed her katana with a grim expression while Hana faced her with clenched fists.

"We can’t be fighting each other!" Kaiyo pleaded. At least no one had been seriously hurt.

"Hmph, tell that to Ms. Snowhead. She started it," Ayame muttered smugly.

"Don’t even try to pin this on me, you shithead! You insulted my brother first—"

"Enough!" Kaiyo rarely got angry, but this time, she was fed up with their childish behavior. "We need to work together to pass this challenge. What you two were doing is just a waste of time. If you were really as skilled as you think, you’d know when to fight and when to save your strength."

After a few moments of silence, the blue glow in Ayame’s eyes flickered out as she deactivated her Sense. Reluctantly, Hana followed suit, unclenching her fists with a sigh. A small wisp of smoke escaped her hands.

Ayame sheathed her sword and crossed her arms. "Maybe she has a point…"

"Fine."

Both of them seemed too embarrassed to say anything else. At least they weren’t fighting anymore—Kaiyo sighed in relief.

"Women, hahaha!" Baru laughed, almost tearing up.

"I know, right!" Genkai joined in, slapping Baru’s shoulder playfully.

Ayame and Hana’s death stares immediately silenced the boys.

"Anyway, let’s get back on track." Hyo shook his head, then turned to Sen again. "Sen, we really need to know what you have in mind. You’re never this silent for no reason—"

But as if responding to Hyo’s words, Sen suddenly stood up from the edge of the pit, the first movement he had made in minutes.

Something doesn’t feel right. Why do I have a bad feeling he’s going to—

Before Kaiyo could finish her thought, Sen leaped into the pit of snakes!

"Sen!" Kaiyo reached out, but it was too late.

"Guys, quickly, help!" Kaiyo’s voice was urgent. Everyone rushed to the edge of the pit, staring down in shock.

"No way he just jumped into the pit!" Baru gasped. "He’s going to die for sure!"

"Sen..." Kaiyo’s heart raced. No, no, why did he do that? There has to be a reason...

She closed her eyes, unable to bear the thought of seeing Sen surrounded by snakes.

"Will you all calm down already?" Sen’s calm voice echoed from the pit, to everyone’s astonishment. They leaned over to see him unharmed, with the snakes around him—

"These aren’t real snakes," Sen explained. "Look there." He walked over to a device on the wall. "This is a projector." He pointed at a circular object near the bottom of the wall. "These snakes are just projections. That’s why I was looking so closely. The ones at our feet earlier were real, but they were just large garden snakes. Not poisonous."

"Wow, I have to admit, I’m impressed," Ayame said, amused. "How did you tell the difference? I couldn’t even see."

"Well, I wasn’t sure, so that’s why I jumped," Sen said bluntly.

"Wait, what?! You mean you didn’t know for certain? What if you were wrong?" Baru’s eyes narrowed.

"Simple. I wasn’t going to be wrong. The academy wouldn’t put thousands of real snakes in here, especially in the dark. Like you said, if we had walked a little further, we would’ve fallen in, and we’d be screwed if the snakes were real. The school can’t afford to make challenges this dangerous, even with the waivers we signed."

Kaiyo looked down, her thoughts racing. I can’t believe he realized all that. If it weren’t for him, we never would’ve had the guts to cross the pit.

"It’s not impressive. You just can’t blindly follow the challenge at face value; that won’t achieve anything. It’ll only trap you in the box they put you in," Sen explained. "Anyway, let’s not waste any more time. We have 37 minutes left. Follow me." His voice was commanding.

Stunned by his quick thinking, the others remained speechless. They simply followed his order and jumped into the pit. Ayame agilely leaped from the wall and made her way to the other side. They all crossed the pit individually, continuing down the dimly lit hallway.

Kaiyo couldn’t help but feel a wave of anxiety. Just how hard is this going to get?