"I… I never thought it would go this far. He… he should have died after I stabbed him, but somehow, he…" Sensei Josh''s voice trailed off, his sentence unfinished as his horrified eyes widened. The rock he had been hiding behind was lifted effortlessly into the air, tossed aside like it weighed nothing.


    "Found you," Ss''s voice was cold and unfeeling, each syble carrying the weight of finality. He stood over Josh, his eyes glowing with a malevolent light, his expression twisted into something dark and menacing.


    The aura surrounding him was almost suffocating, a mixture of bloodlust and eerie calm that made Josh''s heart hammer against his ribs. A shiver raced down Josh''s spine, an instinctive reaction to the predator standing over him.


    Sensei Josh''s throat felt tight as he swallowed, instinctively trying to scramble backward, his hands pressing into the dirt as he attempted to crawl away. But Ss matched his every move, taking slow, calcted steps forward. With a sudden motion, Ss reached down, grabbing a fistful of Josh''s hair and yanking him to his feet.


    "AHH!" Josh cried out, his scalp burning as Ss''s iron grip forced him upright. He struggled weakly, but his body felt drained, the illusionary energy he had expended leaving him on the verge of copse. Ss''s strength was overwhelming.


    "You brought me out here to kill me, didn''t you?" Ss''s voice was low, filled with cold contempt. He tightened his grip on Josh''s hair, the pain making Josh''s vision blur.


    "Then why are you crawling away like a scared dog instead of fighting back?"


    Josh''s breath hitched, his face paling as he tried to break free, but it was hopeless. Ss''s grip was unrelenting. The sinister grin on Ss''s face only deepened as he spoke, "Seems you''re out of stamina. You''ve got nothing left. But me? I could do this all day."


    With that, Ss released Josh''s hair, allowing him to fall to the ground. Just as Josh was about to catch his breath, Ss''s fist came swinging towards him with deadly precision.


    *BAM!*


    The punch connected with brutal force, sending a shockwave through the air. Josh''s nose shattered instantly, a sickening crunch filling the silence as his face twisted from the impact. The force behind Ss''s punch sent Josh flying backward, his body skidding across the sandy ground until he crashed into a nearby rock. Blood poured from his broken nose, staining the ground beneath him.


    Gasping, Sensei Josh tried to push himself up, his hands slipping on the blood-slicked sand. But before he could gather himself, Ss was already there, looming over him, grabbing him by the hair once more.


    "You really thought this would end differently, didn''t you?" Ss hissed, his voice dripping with disdain. "Your son… that pathetic excuse for a human being was nothing but a waste of space. I did the world a favor by getting rid of him. And now, I''ll do the world another favor by taking you out too!"


    Ss released Josh''s hair only to deliver another powerful punch, this one aimed squarely at his face.


    *BAM!*


    The impact sent a shockwave that rippled through the ground, causing nearby stones to tremble and dust to rise. Josh was flung through the air again, mming against a second rock before crumpling to the ground, his body battered and broken. Hey there, barely able to breathe, his vision swimming with darkness. Yet even in his pain-ridden haze, he felt the cold hand of fear grip him as Ss approached once more, his footsteps slow and deliberate.


    "Just… do it already!" Josh spat, blood dribbling down his chin. His voice was thick with pain and anger. "Kill me if you have to! Just know… the academy will hunt you down. You''ll end up joining me soon enough!"


    Ss chuckled, an unsettling sound that sent another wave of dread through Josh. "Funny," he said, tilting his head. "If I remember correctly, you said something about ''what happens in a realm, stays in a realm,'' right? Especially when there are no witnesses. And right now… there are no witnesses."


    Josh''s eyes widened in horror as the full meaning of Ss''s words sank in. He had used the realm''s istion as a pretext to kill Ss without consequence, but now, it was he who faced the brutal reality of that istion.


    "You nned this whole ambush thinking you''d get away with murder," Ss continued, his tone mocking. "But looks like you miscalcted. Now I''ll be the one getting away with it." A wicked grin spread across Ss''s face as he tightened his fist, a faint blue aura beginning to glow around it.


    Before Josh could even process what was happening, Ss''s glowing fist came crashing down against his face once more, sending him stumbling backward. But Ss didn''t let up. He pressed forward, his fists a relentless storm of fury.


    *BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!*


    BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM!


    Each punchnded with bone-crushing force, the impacts echoing through the deste training ground.


    Josh''s face became a bloody mess, his nose and cheekbones shattered, his skin bruised and swollen, each hit pushing him closer to the edge of consciousness. Ss''s punches didn''t slow, didn''t weaken. He was unrelenting, a force of nature. Blood sttered across the ground, staining the sand beneath them.


    With a final, brutal uppercut, Ss lifted Josh off his feet, sending him sprawling across the ground. Josh''s battered body hit the sand, and hey there, his breaths shallow, his body trembling. Ss''s eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he stretched out his hand, beckoning Josh''s lifeless form toward him.


    [Active Skill: Soul Control Activated]


    A force, invisible but overwhelming, gripped Josh''s limp body and began to drag him across the ground, pulling him towards Ss. He was helpless, his body drained of any will to resist, his consciousness slipping as Ss stood over him, staring down with cold, merciless eyes.


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    "This is the end." Ss''s voice was barely above a whisper, but the weight of his words was crushing. "You hear me? This is the end for you."


    He grabbed Josh''s head, his fingers digging into his scalp, pulling him closer. ck ws extended from Ss''s fingertips, sharp and deadly. With a final, ruthless movement, he plunged the ws into Josh''s skull, feeling the resistance give way as he began to drain the very essence of his soul.


    A glowing, ethereal aura began to pour from Josh''s body, drawn into Ss like a river of energy.


    *[Soul Points: 150/200]*N?v(el)B\\jnn


    *[Soul Points: 190/200]*


    *[Soul Points: 200/200]*


    The system notifications kept popping up as his soul points replenished, his strength returning with each passing second. But the drain continued, the extra soul energy beginning to fill his reserve.


    *[Soul Reserve: 50/100]*


    *[Soul Reserve: 70/100]*


    *[Soul Reserve: 100/100]*


    Once his reserves were full, Ss pressed his ws deeper into Josh''s skull, a sickening pop echoing through the silence as Josh''s head split open. There was no blood, no sign of life left in the husk that had once been Sensei Josh. His body was nothing more than a petrified shell, his soul fully absorbed.


    *DING!*


    The system notification shed in front of Ss''s eyes.


    *[Congrattions, host haspleted thepulsory quest. Rewards: +10 attribute points]*


    Ss read the message, a faint scowl forming on his face. "Really? That''s it? After all of that… just ten points?" he muttered, feeling a bitter edge of disappointment.


    Before he could dwell on it further, a loud rumbling from behind caught his attention. The realm began to shake, rocks tumbling as the ground began to copse. Dust filled the air, obscuring his vision as thendcape crumbled.


    "Ah, that''s right..the realm is copsing. Time to get out of here," Ss mused, a slight smirk on his face as he turned away, his steps quickening as he dashed through the copsing realm, leaving the remains of Sensei Josh behind in the dust.


    """


    A/N: Vote with your Golden Tickets and Power Stones!