"Tress stabs Grace, Witness is an accomplice."

"What's taking them so long?" Rudra asked with his head on the floor and legs waving up in the air.

"Yeah, how long are we going to be stuck in here?" Milin added.

"I wish they had a clock in here, I am getting bored."

As if on cue, the lights in the room dimmed and a dense green gas clinging to the floor appeared from the corners of the room and started coalescing in the center.

Everyone's attention was now trained towards it. The mass writhed and rippled changing its shape constantly like an amoeba as more and more of the gas gathered. Once the supply stopped, it began dispersing into the air.

A humanoid figure appeared as the gas finally vanished. He was levitating in the air a few inches above the ground, hands behind his back. Strands of gas were still sticking to his white three-piece suit, moving like fishes swimming against the current. No one could see his face as it was hidden behind a black plague mask.

"My, I haven't seen such a good batch in decades. I can't wait for graduation."

By now everyone was on their feet. After all, his appearance was not exactly reassuring. But his voice was smooth and baritone. Even though the mask hid his expressions he was certainly pleased.

"Now that everyone has arrived, I would like to introduce myself," taking a bow he continued, " my name is Felix Weldora. Also known as the Director of the Academy."

Collective gasps rose through the room. The Director was no ordinary man, even foreigners knew about his legends. From tutoring the current Emperor personally to being the fifth strongest person in the nation, the number of achievements in his kitty was immeasurable. For a person of that caliber to present himself in front of mere students was unimaginable. Although few including Eren were surprised for another reason. The Director's clothing and accent were similar to that of the Commonwealth. If he was not a foreigner by nationality, he was by ethnicity.

Loud laughter boomed from Felix as he was quite aware of the effect he was having on the students. From a normal person, it might have sounded endearing but coming from Felix it sounded downright scary.

"Don't you think its a little disorganized?" Felix asked nobody in particular and snapped his fingers.

Eren's stomach lurched and his vision blurred for a second. When he came to his senses, he realized everyone in the room was arranged in evenly spaced rows.

Felix's feet made contact with the ground noiselessly and everyone lowered their heads. They were not teleported to their current locations, it was done by pure force, like a man handling the pieces of a board game.

Felix started walking and the sound of his footsteps grew louder and louder for Eren as he gradually made his way down Eren's row.

Eren took in a sharp breath as the sound of the footsteps stopped right beside him. "What is the name of your clan boy?"

"Al...Alariel, sir." A boy replied nervously. He was none other than Eren's Highborn bully, who was standing beside him.

"Alariel. Wonderful folks," Felix spoke in a nostalgic tone, "sad they got a bad apple."

Blood splattered on Eren's face from his right, accompanied by a grotesque sound of bone and flesh getting mashed together. Even though everyone heard it, no one dared to give a look, after all, he was crushed into oblivion.

"I hope this serves as a nice example of what happens to the delinquents. So behave okay. Your teachers are like your parents you know, we don't exactly like punishing." Unfortunately, the statement had the opposite effect than that of intended. Felix didn't exactly sound like someone who hated killing people.

Eren felt a soft fabric brush against his cheek. He looked at his side and found Felix holding his aunt's handkerchief with the dead kid's blood on it. "Take care of it, will ya?"

Eren nodded and snatched the kerchief and placed it back where it belonged.

"Now then," Felix made his way towards the center, "lets began the final test of your entrance exam."

This time the surprise outweighed the dread and a commotion arose. "What?" "I thought that was over," "is this the wrong venue?" "Mom didn't tell me about this."

"Silence!" Felix shouted curtly, clearly displeased this time. "Didn't your parents tell you to not interrupt an adult when he is speaking?" The noise died as immediately as it had started.

"Don't worry, it's just a little game, but do what you would do in a test. I am looking forward to meeting the winner."

Felix clapped twice and everyone present, except him, disappeared.