I AM A GOD

Chapter 7

Divia’s face remained pale. His gaze moved across the beasts lying around the clearing before returning to Henry, who stood just ahead of him with only a little sweat beading his skin.

 His chest rose and fell, but there was not even the slightest sign of an injury on his body.

Confusion and shock ran through every student gathered in the clearing as they struggled to understand the sight before them.

Defeating even one of those beasts would have required some of the academy’s strongest students. Defeating that many should have required several tutors or even a Grandmaster.

Yet Henry stood among their bodies as though he had merely taken a walk through the forest.

“You expect us to believe you did all this?” Divia asked.

Henry looked at the beasts surrounding them. “Did you see anyone else when you arrived?”

“That does not answer my question.”

“I never intended to answer it.” Henry replied flatly. 

One of the students behind Divia stepped forward and examined the nearest Razor-Boar.

“There are no fresh footprints around the body,” he said. “Maybe an advanced team passed through earlier and killed them from a distance.”

“An advanced team would have collected the credit,” another replied.

“Then perhaps a tutor did it.”

“A tutor would not leave this many bodies scattered around.”

The students fell silent again.

A strange fear began creeping down Divia’s back.

What if Henry was truly powerful? What if he had been hiding his strength from them all this time? What if every failed spell and every public humiliation had been nothing more than an act?

The questions streamed through his mind as he stared at Henry. For a moment, his body trembled.

Then his spine straightened, and a burst of laughter tore from his lips.

His teammates looked at one another before joining him. Their laughter quickly filled the clearing.

There was no way any of them would believe that Henry had defeated every beast lying around the clearing.

They had known him as powerless and useless for almost a year. He was the scum of the academy, a failure who had lived in his brother’s shadow for as long as anyone could remember. There was no possible way someone like him could have suddenly acquired enough power to kill all those beasts.

“You think you can fool us, don’t you?” Divia asked, mockery slipping through his laughter. “If you believe anyone here is going to accept that you killed these beasts, then you will have to try again.”

“It is really stupid if he thinks anyone will believe a single word of that story,” another student muttered.

“The fool has been trying to light a flame since he entered the academy,” a third added. “Now he wants us to believe he cleared an entire sector alone.”

“Perhaps the beasts saw his face and died from pity.”

The students burst into another round of laughter.

Divia wiped a tear from the corner of his eye. “Tell us what actually happened, Henry. Did you find the bodies like this?”

Henry said nothing.

“Or did your precious brother follow you into the forest?” Divia continued. “That would make more sense. Alistair killed the beasts, then left them here so his useless twin could pretend to be powerful.”

“He probably begged Alistair to do it,” one of the others said.

“Please, brother, help me look useful for once,” another student mimicked in a weak voice.

Their laughter rose again. This time, it was filled with even more mockery than before.

Henry watched them without responding because there was nothing that needed to be said. They did not understand the power that now lived inside him, and he had no reason to explain himself to a group of idiots who had looked down on him all his life.

“Are you finished?” he finally asked.

Divia’s laughter weakened. Henry held his gaze for a moment before looking away.

“If you are finished, move.”

The flatness of his voice drew a frown across Divia’s face.

Henry reached into his hunting satchel and removed the academy’s credit device. The dark crystal at its centre remained blank as he approached the nearest carcass.

He intended to scan the beasts one after another, register the kills under his name and receive the credit points he had earned.

Before he could begin the count, Divia stepped directly into his path.

Divia spread his arms. “Where do you think you are going?”

“To register my kills.”

“Your kills?” Divia repeated, turning towards his teammates. “Did everyone hear that? He is still calling them his kills.”

“We heard him,” one student replied. “Perhaps being boiled alive damaged his brain.”

Henry raised his head and stared straight into Divia’s eyes.

A strange chill ran down Divia’s spine almost immediately. Fear gripped him without warning, and the colour drained from his face. For that brief moment, it did not feel as though he was looking at the useless Henry he had always known.

It felt as though he were staring into the eyes of a dark god who could destroy him with the flick of a finger.

“What are you trying to do?” Henry asked.

Divia stepped backwards before he could stop himself.

Confusion entered the eyes of his teammates. They could not understand his reaction, especially when the person standing before him was Henry.

“Why are you moving away from him?” one asked.

“I am not moving away,” Divia snapped.

“You stepped backwards.”

“I was giving him space to explain himself.”

Henry glanced at the empty ground between them. “I have nothing to explain.”

Coming back to his senses, Divia straightened himself and shook away the unease creeping beneath his skin. There was no reason to fear someone like Henry.

Henry attempted to walk around him, but Divia blocked him again.

“The question should be, what do you think you are doing?”

“If you are not blind, you can see that I am trying to register the kills.” Henry glared.

“Do you think I am going to allow you to do that?” Divia asked.

“Why do you want to stop me?”

“We all know you had nothing to do with killing these beasts. Why should you suddenly receive all the credit points when you did none of the work?”

“Then who should receive them?”

Divia placed one hand against his chest. “We should.”

Henry looked at their torn robes, the scratches covering their faces and the exhaustion in their eyes.

“You could barely survive whatever chased you into this clearing.”

The smiles on their faces disappeared.

“At least we fought!” one student shouted.

“We earned our place in this expedition,” another added. “You only wandered around until you found someone else’s kills.”

Divia pointed towards the bodies surrounding them.

“Those points do not belong to a useless person who discovered these carcasses through sheer luck. They should go to powerful students who can actually make use of them.”

“Powerful students?” Henry asked. “Is that what you call yourselves?”

Divia’s jaw tightened.

“You should be grateful we are willing to help you,” he said. “Step away and allow us to register the beasts. When we return to the academy, I may tell Tutor Vaughn that you helped us find them.”

“Helped you find them?”

“Yes. If I am feeling generous, I might even allow you to keep one credit point.”

“Yeah.” Divas's teammates echoed behind him. 

“One point is more than someone like him deserves.”

“He should kneel and thank Divia before the offer disappears.”

Henry looked down at the credit device in his hand and then back at Divia.

“No.”

The single word brought every single one of them to an immediate halt.

Divia blinked. “What did you say?”

“I said no.”

Anger coursed through every part of Divia’s body. His teammates shifted behind him, looking ready to tear Henry apart for daring to refuse them.

“Do you realize who you are speaking to?” one student demanded angrily. “Such audacity!”

“It seems you have suddenly grown some courage,” another added. “Do you think finding these beasts makes you anything other than what you are? You are still useless.”

Henry’s fingers tightened around the credit device.

“I killed these beasts. The points belong to me. If any of you believe otherwise, use your own strength to stop me from registering them.”

The challenge struck the clearing into silence.

Divia stared at Henry, wondering whether the calmness in his voice came from confidence or stupidity. His fear returned for a brief moment, but the eyes of his teammates were fixed on him.

He could not retreat in front of them.

If he allowed Henry to disobey him without consequence, everyone would remember it when they returned to the academy.

Divia moved closer until only a small distance remained between them.

“I am going to say this for the last time, Henry. Put down the credit device and step away from the carcasses.”

“And if I don’t, what are you going to do?” Henry shot back.

Divia reached inside his robe and pulled out a pocket knife.

“Then I will have to make you step away.”

He stretched the blade towards Henry until its sharpened edge hovered only a few inches from his neck.

“Since you have decided to be rebellious, you cannot blame me for whatever comes next.”

A broad, cruel smile spread across Divia’s face as he waited for Henry to surrender.