Strongest Demigod System

The terrain was rocky, and the air was unbearably dry.

The five students moved across the path leading up to the castle with their senses spread wide for any signs of danger.

The sun was starting to set, and before long, it would be nightfall. The group decided that it would be best to find a place to rest for the night and then brave the danger in the castle when there was more light to guide their way.

Tiana used her summons to scout the region for any daemons and a place to stay, and after a while, one of them came back to her and led them to a safe area.

A small distance away from the castle, an outcrop of rocks was arranged in a way that formed a covering with an entrance like a cave. It was slightly open, and it would be dangerous for anyone to stay the night there alone since daemons could easily make their way in.

But they didn't have much of a choice.

"We'll take turns standing guard. If we split it into five turns, each of us can get at least four hours of sleep."

Azrael gave his orders after they all made their way into the outcrop of rocks.

Henry set Gerald down against the wall, and Azrael heard Gerald grumble something under his breath.

Azrael asked:

"How bad is the injury?"

Gerald clicked his tongue and turned away, but Henry answered in his stead.

"It's not too bad. He just sprained it when we were running from the daemons. If he rests it tonight, he should be able to walk by tomorrow."

Azrael nodded.

Demihumans all had high recovery rates, but serious injuries like broken bones still took a long time to heal. He was just glad that it wasn't too serious.

"You did a good job today."

Azrael turned to give Henry a look when he heard this, and Henry sat down against the wall on the other side of the small space and continued.

"I was skeptical when they gave you the position of captain, but I'm glad to see I was wrong. You have a good head on your shoulders."

Azrael shrugged.

Henry's words were flattering, but he didn't really feel anything after hearing them. Azrael just did what he had to do to survive.

Saving Tiana and making sure they all got out alive was all to protect the persona he had created.

Tiana shuffled nervously and spoke in a quiet voice.

"Does anyone have anything to eat?"

"For fuck's sake, can't you control yourself for a fucking second!?"

Everyone suddenly turned to Jane in shock! Jane stormed her way over to the stunned girl, and Azrael watched on in surprise as Jane grabbed Tiana's shirt and shouted in her face.

"You want something to eat!? Really!? Do you even understand how close we came to dying because of how useless you are!?"

"Jane…"

"No, Azrael! She needs to hear this! You've been nothing but a burden since this exercise began, and if not for Azrael putting his neck on the line over and over again, then you would've died ten times over! We came here to learn how to grow stronger! Not to fucking babysit your useless ass!"

"Jane!"

Jane shot her head towards Azrael when he shouted her name, and Azrael glared at her.

"That's enough."

Jane growled something foul from the back of her throat before she pushed Tiana away from her. Tiana curled in on herself as tears gathered in her eyes, and Azrael sighed while running his hand through his hair.

Azrael really didn't have anything against Jane letting loose on Tiana, but he couldn't have her alerting any daemons around them with her loud voice.

Tiana didn't say anything anymore. She simply moved to the side of the cave, away from everyone else, and sat against the wall.

Henry was silent as well as he looked to Azrael for what he would do.

Gerald laughed loudly.

"I always knew you were a fucking leech, Tiana. But I didn't think you'd ever stoop low enough to leech off the reject! It's like you can't live without depending on someone else! First, it was that fucker Francis, and now it's Azrael!"

Henry punched Gerald on the shoulder, and Gerald screamed.

"Ow! What the fuck was that for!?"

"Shut up. You're only making her feel worse."

Gerald grumbled in annoyance at Henry, but he didn't bother saying anything else.

For some reason, Henry seemed to be the only person Gerald felt any respect for.

Azrael just sighed and spoke.

"Alright, that's enough madness for tonight. We're all tired, and we can't think right. I'll take the first watch, then Gerald, Henry, Jane, and Tiana. Let's try to get some rest."

The rest of the team all moved toward different parts of the cave to get into semi-comfortable positions, and Azrael walked out to look up at the setting sun.

At the rate things were going, Azrael knew that their group would eventually implode on itself. They were all too different.

Jane's ego prevented her from allowing anything but the best from the others, Gerald's attitude made it impossible for anyone to like him as a person, and Tiana's uselessness was starting to grate on all their nerves.

The only person who seemed tolerable in the group was Henry, and that was saying a lot, considering Henry and Azrael always did their best to avoid each other.

But even though it would implode, Azrael just hoped that it would last for the rest of the exercise.

Azrael found a rock that looked comfortable and took a seat with his sword lying across his lap.

Then, he waited.

…

"Azrael! Azrael, wake up! She's gone!"

Azrael's eyes shot open, and he jolted off the ground while grabbing his katana tightly. He glanced around for any sign of danger, and when he didn't see anything, his eyes finally settled on Jane.

He frowned.

"What?"

"Tiana's gone. She's not in the cave!"

Azrael quickly looked around again and noted that Jane was right. The others were standing around silently, but Tiana was gone.

Azrael had gone to sleep after handing over the night watch to Gerald yesterday, and Tiana was meant to be the last to keep watch.

Did something happen while she was keeping watch?

Azrael quickly got off the floor and moved toward his bag. He looked inside and noticed that some of his food was missing.

"Jane, what happened when you switched places with Tiana yesterday?"

Jane shook her head.

"Nothing, she just took my place, and I went to bed."

"I think she went to the castle."

Azrael turned to Henry with narrowed eyes.

"What? Why would she go there?"

Henry's hands were folded across his chest while he leaned back on the cave wall, and he spoke in a knowing manner.

"After what happened yesterday, I'm sure her ego is bruised. This test—Scar never said we had to complete it as a group. He just told us to get to the end of the test and find what's at the final destination. She might have gone ahead of us to prove a point that she isn't useless."

Jane scoffed in complete disappointment, and Gerald laughed from his place on the other side of the cave.

"That stupid bitch is gonna get herself killed. It's like having a kid that wants to show mummy and daddy that they're all grown up. Hey Azrael, Jane, I had no idea you two were such great nurturers."

Jane's scowl deepened as she glared at Gerald.

"You never have anything sensible to say, do you, Jerry?"

"That does it, let's go right now. You and me!"

Gerald shot to his feet and raised his hand, and Azrael came forward and pushed him back.

"That's enough from both of you. Jane, what time did you change over with her?"

Jane shrugged.

"I don't know, about two hours ago?"

Azrael went to his bag and pulled out the water bottle and map before returning back to the others.

"Take only the things that are important. We're going to move fast, so travel light."

Gerald scoffed.

"Are you actually trying to save her? It's not our fault she decided to do something stupid. Why should we struggle to find her?"

Azrael nodded.

Gerald was right about Tiana's action being stupid, and honestly, Azrael didn't care about her.

Tiana chose to run away on her own, and whatever happened to her in that castle was her own problem to deal with.

But they had already slept for the whole night, so it was time for them to start moving again.

"We need to finish the exercise anyway, so we're heading out. I don't know if Scar is giving extra points for how quickly we finish the test, but it's better to finish it as quickly as possible so we don't fall behind."

Everyone suddenly remembered the previous test that they had and how Scar always had some hidden score given after the test, and they saw the sense in Azrael's reasoning.

They each moved to grab their things from their backpacks, and then they walked out into the desert sun.