Soul of a Human

The Ranbor-thing smiled into the stunned silence until, finally, some teachers encroached on the creature.

"Ah, ah, ah!" it cautioned, lifting its victim a bit and forcing the attention to the body it held.

"Stay back. Your precious headmaster is still alive, but if you intervene, he won't be for long," the entity said.

"Now! If you would be kind, I must discuss something with little Miss Sapphire." It continued.

The teachers stopped in indecision, trying to find a way out of this situation without risking anyone's life. Amber tried hard to read the headmaster's body. Trying to verify if this Ranbor thing was lying, and to her relief and horror, she had to recognize that the headmaster was indeed alive, if barely. She whispered her discovery to a nearby teacher, who nodded in turn.

"We must treat the headmaster fast, or he will die." She urged.

All the while, Mor, Orth, and Clare tried to make sense of the building situation.

"Is that Ranbor?" Mor asked.

"I don't know? Looks like it?" Clare added.

"What did that idiot get himself into now?" Orth asked.

This looks bad. He wants Saphine.° The human interrupted.

°Yes, but she's still out. Also, I won't hand her over. That asshole is entirely unhinged. We can't even begin to guess what he would do to her.° Mor answered.

The burning eyes of the Ranbor-thing snapped to Mor, and the smile grew unnaturally wider.

"There you are!~ Little Miss Saphine is unconscious? Too bad. But this makes it easier for me~ "It whispered into Mor's mind.

°Did it hear us?° The human asked.

°Impossible. No one can hear you. You are in my mind!° Mor said.

"Don't be such a bore. Of course, I can hear you. You are the same as little poor Ranbor here. Though I must wonder... Why do you let yourself be imprisoned?" The entity asked, and Mor took a surprised breath.

°Fuck off.° The human growled.

"Now, now. Don't be that abrasive." It answered.

"Mor, is everything all right?" Orth answered, at Mors suprised breath.

"This thing is dangerous. It isn't Ranbor anymore." Mor whispered.

"How do you know that?" Orth asked.

"Trust me. Not even Ranbor is that stupid and powerful." Mor continued, and Orth nodded.

The Ranbor-thing stood there, putting a finger on its chin and then snapping it as if it had a brilliant idea.

"I know!" It shouted happily. "If you give me the Peasant and my dear friend Saphine, I will give you what's left of your precious headmaster, AND you all get to live."

A scared murmuring went through the gathered students, but the teachers took a more aggressive stance.

"We won't negotiate with something like you. You can't have either!" one of them shouted, gathering his energy for a massive spell. The entity's gaze snapped to the teacher, its eyes brightening creepyly. And like the others before him, the offending teacher instantly combusted into a pillar of flame, dropping dead a heartbeat later.

"Seems I needed to make an example of one of you. Now, let's all be cordial, or I will end your precious headmaster for real." It chuckled.

A gasp went through the gathering hall as the horror of this sunk in. Some of the teachers clenched their fists in helpless despair, while some students tried to get as far away as possible.

Mor ground his teeth, slowly standing up, while Orth tried to hold him down.

"He wants me," Mor growled.

"No! Stay here. He will kill you!" Orth tried to reason.

"I can't endanger everyone. It's not my style. I just need to beat that thing down into the ground." Mor tried to encourage himself and calm Orth.

"Then I will help you!" said Orth, also getting up, but Mor shook his head.

"You need to keep Saphine safe." He disagreed.

°He's right, though. This one will kill us, ° the human said, and again, the Ranbor thing gave Mor an evil smile and nodded.

°Yes, probably. But what else can we do except fight? If we run, it will kill Saphine and rampage through the whole school until it gets us, same if we want to hide. I don't want to die, but if taking the slim chance at victory will stop further atrocities, I will take it. I won't cower while others die in front of me.° Mor said, trying to sound confident.

°Welp, no choice then. I'm in!° the human said, and a nervous smile crept over Mors' face.

The Ranbor-thing grinned and gave a mocking bow as Mor walked forward. Mor passed scared students and teachers who tried to dissuade him but could not stop him.

"Look at that. The peasant is no coward. Well, I wanted to keep you for last because my generous donor really wanted you to die last after you pissed yourself in fear." It tapped its chin again in thought. "But I guess you wouldn't allow me to finish off Saphine first, right?"

Mort shook his head, "Forget it. True, she always looked down on me, but at least she tried to be a friend. And I won't just hand over friends to their death, more so if she can't protect herself."

The entity laughed at this.

"Look at him, everyone! While the nobles cower in fear, and the teachers shake in their boots, the peasant stands against me!" It shouted.

"Then let's play~~." It purred.

Mor took out his baton, took a deep breath, and concentrated on the crystals, one after another. He looked at the Ranbor thing and pointed at the crisp body, still in its grasp.

"Hand over the headmaster first." He demanded, and the entity chuckled.

"So chivalrous. A true hero." It mocked while chucking the unconscious headmaster into the onlooking crowd.

"Now come!" It chuckled. "Show me how a poor, magicless peasant dies."

°It's on, motherfucker!° The human shouted, and with a burst of enhanced speed, they bridged the short distance to the entity, slamming their magically charged baton into the side of its head. Mor had moved faster than anyone else could react, and now he was damming the teachers to stand by in fear of hitting this stupid student.

At first, the Ranbor-thing laughed at their bravado, but then the baton connected. With a pained yelp, the entity was thrown to the ground, its face distorted with bone-crunching damage and pain, while flames started flickering to life around it.

"I'll kill you!!!" It raged.