lookism: Apostle

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**The next day, at 2:50 AM, I woke up to find many kids around me already awake. I shook Mike to rouse him from his beautiful sleep.**

By around 3:00 AM, everyone was awake, and we all began walking out of the building toward the area where the test was scheduled to begin. As usual, Mike followed closely behind me.

In the center of the area, a man was standing, and as we approached him, he spoke. "Listen, kids, this test will decide your future today. Be ready to give it your all."

He then explained what would happen during the test: we had to reach the finish line while bypassing all the traps along the way. If we successfully reached the end, we would qualify to start our killer training.

The first trap involved crossing a canyon by walking on a rope. Hungry wolves awaited below for their prey. All we had to do was maintain our balance and be fearless to pass this test.

A boy stepped forward first to cross the rope. He appeared nervous but not afraid, perhaps due to his experience with survival tests. Although he started well, he lost his balance near the end and fell into the canyon.

All the kids watching were scared. I swallowed my fear and moved toward the rope. Mike was worried about me, but I ignored his concern and stepped onto the rope. I slowly made my way across; my balance was steady, and I had no fear of wolves. I had fought with a tiger; why should I be afraid of wolves? I had barely survived the tiger encounter, and maybe I wouldn't make it through this.

But I had to live for Mike. He couldn't survive alone in this world. With this motivation, I maintained my balance and crossed the canyon successfully.

Soon, some other kids passed the canyon as well, and Mike managed to get across too. We then ran to our second trap. This time, jackals would be chasing us, and we had to cross the finish line.

As we ran into the field for our lives, the jackals were released from their cage. They immediately ran in groups toward us, hovering around and gradually closing in. Soon, the kids around us were engulfed by the jackals. Some tried to fight them off, but it was one against three. The remaining kids made their way toward the finish line. The boy in front of us was the same bully I had encountered on the first day. He tried to sabotage us by attracting the jackals toward us. He was nearing the end, so he would be safe, but we were now in a tough situation. Two jackals blocked my path.

I looked at Mike and whispered in his ear. He nodded in response. I counted down: "One, two, three." We both ran in opposite directions. Both jackals chased after me. I knew they always moved in groups and were never alone. Mike was worried. Luke told him that if we ran differently, one jackal would follow each of us, but Luke lied to him to save himself.

Mike immediately ran toward the finish line without looking back, tears rolling down his face.

Seeing Mike cross the line, Luke smiled. But then he realized he was trapped from all sides. Six jackals surrounded him; he had nowhere to run. He knew he wouldn't survive this. Just as he accepted his fate, a boy with his face obscured by hair came up behind one of the jackals and struck it with a stick.

The jackal was thrown aside, crashing into two others. The remaining jackals turned their attention to the boy who had just arrived. He displayed no fear as he faced them. He stepped back, then charged at one of the jackals, swiftly dispatching each one with precise strikes from his stick.

Once the jackals were defeated, the boy reached me and said, "You have the potential to come with me. With your body, you can achieve everything." I stared at him, blinking in surprise, and replied, "Thank you for saving me, but I can't go with you; my brother is waiting for me. My name is Luke. What's yours?" He scoffed and said, "Raphael, you should not stay with the weak." Then he simply walked past me.

I made my way to the finish line. Upon seeing Mike there safe, I exhaled in relief. He then ran toward me, hugged me tightly, and said, "Were you thinking of putting yourself in danger?" I ruffled his hair and replied, "Don't worry; I'm safe now." I pointed to Raphael and said, "He was the one who saved me." Mike turned to look at the boy I was pointing at. He shivered and said, "Brother, be aware of that boy. He is not a good person." I looked at him in surprise. "Do you know him?"

"He was transferred to our orphanage a while ago. He beat ten kids without breaking a sweat. Those ten were the strongest in our orphanage." Luke nodded and turned to watch Raphael's back.

Soon, we passed all the traps. Only 15 kids were left now, and in the end, Mike and I made it out alive. A person then approached us and said, "You are the last ones to make your way here. Rest well. Tomorrow, your training will begin."

I headed toward the building with Mike, and we entered. We were given some dry bread to eat. I sighed and ate it before falling asleep.

**A few hours later.**

I felt something liquid touch me. I opened my eyes to see what it was. To my horror, it was blood. I checked myself for wounds, but there were none. The blood didn't belong to me. Then I looked toward the source of the blood: it was coming from Mike's stomach, where a knife had been stabbed.

Seeing this, I rushed to Mike's side, pulling him closer to check if he was alive. But I felt no pulse. I didn't believe it. I shook him, desperately hoping this was just a dream.

Something like this never happened. But nothing worked. I hugged Mike tightly, tears streaming down my face. I looked around to see who had killed him. Then, I saw the same bully standing there, a knife in one hand and blood on the other.

My eyes were engulfed with pure rage. They turned red, and heat began radiating from my body. I lost all control due to my anger and let it dictate my actions. My body ran toward the bully and reached him in seconds, grabbing him by the throat and lifting him off the ground.

I demanded, "Why?" The boy before me smiled in amusement. My anger further intensified. Just for fun, I quickly punched him in the stomach. He flew back and collided with the wall, his body embedding itself into it. I approached him, rage visible in my eyes. I didn't stop; I repeatedly struck his face with my fists, pouring all my strength into each blow for ten minutes. After a while, I stopped, and his body fell limply to the floor—without a head.

I was still angry; it only fueled my rage. I had become a demon, hungry for blood. I immediately looked around to see where the other kids were. I saw a group of children looking at me in fear. They were terrified. They had all witnessed what I had done to their leader. They knew they would not be spared today.

Mike made his way toward the first boy who dared to approach. He swung his leg back and struck the boy in the chest. A cracking sound echoed in the air. The boy flew back, colliding with two others. They hit the wall behind them and instantly blacked out. I then looked at the rest with a wide grin on my face.

And that night, the red demon was born.

**The next day:**

A person arrived in the morning to see why no one had shown up at the training ground. As he neared the room, he was hit by the smell of blood. His expression fell, and he rushed toward the door. When he opened it, a body fell in front of him. It was missing its eyes and limbs; it looked as if it had been trying to crawl its way out. He scanned the room and saw that one kid's head was missing, leaning back against the wall.

On the other side, three boys were embedded in the floor, their limbs twisted at odd angles.

Then he looked at the boy drenched in blood, the one responsible for this chaos. Luke was holding a kid with a knife in his stomach, also appearing lifeless.

Now, Luke was returning to his senses. As he surveyed the aftermath of his actions, he felt a growing fear within himself. *What have I done? Did I do this?* But then he spotted Mike's body in front of him. He grabbed Mike's lifeless form, tears rolling down his face once again. "Mike, I failed to protect you. I'm sorry. I was weak; I couldn't protect you. I couldn't be a good brother." Tears dripped down his face.

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**The end.**

I hope you liked this chapter