The Great Demon System
chapter-361-30041322

"YES SIR!" They spoke as one, their voice firm and their gaze determined as though they were prepared to plunge head-first into hell itself.

"Excellent, now, do you have any questions about what your mission is? Now will be your only chance to ask…"

"… … "

"Nothing?" He raised his forehead, a hint of confusion sprung upon his masked visage before it turned into a smirk. "Very well then… This ship has all your essential needs to survive, we trust that you can manage yourself. There shall be no hand-holding from now on, you will be on your own. But! Remember well young recruits, we are always watching…" As he spoke, his distorted voice turned ghastly and sombre, and just as they arrived, they vanished in thin air, their bodies slowly turning transparent until they were no more.

"WHA! Where did they go? How did they just disappear?" Regrit rubbed his eyes to make sure he was not imagining things.

"They obviously have some advanced secret military item that allows them to do that. I thought it'd be pretty obvious, the only other explanation is that they all have the same ability, and god knows no way that's real," Elizabeth sighed and shook her head.

"You calling me an idiot or something!?"

"Perhaps…"

"I've always been taught to respect women, but maybe you're the exception my mother always talked about…"

"Do you think it's really a good idea to start trouble with your healer? What would happen if you were to be injured, and, I don't know I just couldn't be bothered to heal you?"

"Wh- you bitch! It's not like I needed your help-"

"Both of you calm yourselves! Had you not heard the examiners? Now is no time for fighting! Our exam had just started! Why are you two starting trouble already!?" Artorias's annoyed voice echoed in their ears, startling them both.

"Oh, leader Artorias, it was all playful banter, I would never really not heal him…" Elizabeth lightly chuckled.

"Those words should have never even been uttered out of your mouth! There is no place for such jokes. Learn the proper etiquette and respect needed to become a soldier! Now, you two apologize to one another and start anew, good teamwork is imperative for success."

As Moby watched the rather childish display of arrogance and idiocy ahead, he could not help but sigh and turn his back. He could not be bothered to listen to their drivel, especially due to his growing headache.

There seemed to be several couches scattered along the room's edges, and Moby decided to reserve one to himself to relax.

But, relaxing was something he could not do, especially with two instructors to his side, stood near the edges of the couch. One of them was leaning on the wall, simply on his phone, scrolling with a wide, almost devious smile on his unmasked face, while the other one was diligently taking notes with his mask still worn. It was almost as though they were taking turns on who was watching, which did make sense considering humans required both sleep and rest.

As for the leader, he was sat on another couch towards the corner of the room, his hands on his chin, his neck and back leaned forward as he watched like a hawk.

For some reason, ever since coming onto the ship, Moby had always been able to see the examiners as if they were always there, he had to keep an eye on his teammates to even know they were invisible and when to start pretending that he could no longer see them. He was not quite sure of the explanation nor did he know if he liked the fact he could do so. Being able to see them was rather awkward, they were all acting differently from how they presented themselves, the contrast in professionalism was striking. The fact that Moby could see all of this made them look far less intimidating.

His headache was even further multiplied by looking over the mess ahead and Kai's expression in the distance, so he stood up and walked away.

"Big br- Moby... where are you going?" He heard Hikari speak from his side.

"I'm gonna go exploring the area a bit,"

"Can-can I join you?"

"Sure,"

"R-really?"

"Well, yeah why not?" He casually turned around only to see her bright, nearly blinding face of light.

"Yay!" She followed him as they left through the back door.

There, they were met by a standard kitchen, it was of a rather modest size but no ingredients. Instead, there was a single ring on the metallic table, and when Moby looked inside he found there to be a wide array of food, not that he needed any since he always kept his own supply.

Beyond the kitchen was a single room, entirely white, vast, and notably empty. He looked around to see if there were buttons to activate anything yet, despite his best efforts there seemed to be nothing there. The room must have been used for training of some sort.

There were no rooms beyond this point, meaning there would be no bedrooms for sleep.

"Hey, big brother… Is… Is there something bothering you?"

"Hmm?" Moby was slightly taken aback by such an unexpected question.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well… Your… Your face seems a bit distressed… I don't know…"

"Oh, really?" Moby had always kept a tight grasp over his expression, had he been showing that face the entire time or had she seen through the cracks?

"Yeah… I just had a feeling…"

"Well, if that's the case then you might be right. Listen carefully to what I have to say." He looked around him slightly before refocusing his gaze on the confused girl below. "Artorias is not to be trusted. Don't let your guard down around Artorias,"

"Really? Are you sure? But he seems so nice… I thought you two got along pretty well…"

"He seems like a fair, nice, yet strict ruler but I'm sure he's hiding something. I think he has his eye on you in some way so try to stay natural. I am not here to give you orders or to force you to think a certain way, I just want to give you advice, it is up to you whether or not you will take it…" Moby shook his head and walked back towards the door, leaving the still-thinking Hikari behind.

"Don't worry big brother! You've never once let me down! I'll trust you!" She followed him, making him smile as he exited the door and headed back towards where he began.

When he entered the room, he witnessed a deadly silent sight he did not expect. The examiners were still exactly the same, Artorias was isolated, his hands behind his back as he stared out into the deep expanses of space, Regrit was in the corner with a clearly bothered expression he failed to suppress while Kai seemed to be discussing with Elizabeth, whispering in a voice that even Moby could not hear.

It seemed like he had missed something important, but he let his imagination fill in the blanks fairly accurately if he had to assume.

There were two days until they were scheduled to reach their destination, quite a long time to burn, so he decided to head to the couch to train and meditate, Hikari following him to do the same.

But, before he even had the chance to close his eyes, he heard a voice that kept him in reality.

"Hey, Kane… Can you believe this bitch?" Regrit whispered and leaned his hands on the wall aggressively.

"Pf…" Moby almost cracked up laughing.

"Huh? What is it?"

"Oh nothing… So, did you two apologize?" Moby calmed his nerves as he witnessed the examiner that was once there swerve Regrit's hand and walk to the other side of the room with pure relief on his face.

"Well, yes, we did, but I can tell it wasn't genuine from either side. Anyways, that Elizabeth chick is getting on my nerves, she's even flirting with Kai or something. I'm just doing this to get good grades. This team is a lot worse than I thought, it's hard to believe, but you two might actually be the best people here."

"That is all your opinion, I am in favour of everyone here. Liking one another is essential for teamwork,"

"You're sounding too much like Artorias... You can't be serious right?"

"Nope, I'm completely serious, you should try to do the same."

"Well, fuck that! If you're such an open and progressive guy, why don't you go make-up with Kai right now? I heard that you two had some pretty major beef right?"

"Sure! Why not! I'll take you up on that offer!" Moby boldly smiled and strode over towards Kai and Elizabeth with a single thought on his mind.

He felt his annoyance well up inside him like a volcano, only for it to be subsided with a few deep breaths.

'Whispering will do no good! What part of we're being watched and assessed at all times does this man not understand!?'