F-Rank Soul Eater-Chapter 48: Respect Is The Lesson

Chapter 48: Respect Is The Lesson
Soren’s left arm stretched.
Clap.
The sound echoed. Unfortunately, the technique—capable of shattering bones—was unable to defend against the attack, but by some stroke of luck, the ’Clap’ had been just enough to slightly change the trajectory of the attack.
It missed the direct strike to his chest but brushed against his right shoulder instead.
Crack.
That brush dislocated his shoulder and burnt some flesh in the process.
Sausage Neck hadn’t expected to miss. His momentum carried him forward, overcommitted.
Pain shot like a jolt through Soren’s arm, but this was not his first fight. After thousands, he had learned.
Opportunities were rare.
He hooked a leg behind Sausage Neck’s ankle and twisted.
The big man staggered forward—once, twice.
Too much momentum. Poor balance.
But the attack didn’t lose its force.
Boom
It smashedinto a person.
More precisely—it smashed into the metal helmet of the one man every prisoner avoided.
The one man whose size resembled a small mountain.
~Silence.
Everyone froze.
Sausage neck realized what had just happened. His eyes widened as the helmet clicked.
—Thud.
It fell to the ground, revealing an angular dark head of scales, with a mouth having teeth as sharp as daggers.
One word came to Soren’s mind.
"Dragon...?"
It did look like the one he’s seen in books.
The mountain of a man stood, towering over Sausage Neck.
"RUN!" The purple-skinned woman screamed.
~Roar
Dragon waved a hand, smacking Sausage neck like a fly.
The huge man smashed into a wall in the corner.
All hell broke loose.
People scattered in different directions, running for their lives.
Dragon leaped forward, grabbing a man. It was the Smaller one that came with Soren.
How unfortunate his fate.
Dragon lifted him into the air, jaws biting down for the man’s neck.
SCCHHLLL
He ripped it out in a bite only sharks should make.
Dragon roared again.
After which he dove for another person. An unfortunate woman that could not run away in time—ripping out her arm.
~
Code
Red
Alarms blazed as Guards rushed into the room.
Soren like many attempted to get to safety. But a wounded body, with a none functioning right arm made movement hard.
He slid behind an overturned table, forcing himself underneath.
What the hell is that? Why will they allow a literal wild animal with people?
Unfortunately, he was too slow. The table was raised.
Dragon loomed.
He stepped closer.
Paused.
Sniffed.
Soren met his eyes.
Truly met them.
"Got you, big guy!" a guard shouted.
A metal net crackling with electricity was thrown, tangling Dragon mid-motion.
The moment broke.
Soren was close; he kicked himself backward, scrambling for safety.
Dragon thrashed, flinging guards aside with raw strength.
"Set guns to stun mode," a guard ordered, and the others obeyed.
Soon, they were blasting him with their aether guns.
"What the heck are you doing there?"
Soren turned. The purple-skinned woman. She motioned for him to follow.
She sprinted down a corridor. Soren followed, teeth clenched through the pain.
Behind them, chaos erupted. Some smart-ass had thought it a good idea to attack the guards.
Guards responded without mercy.
Naturally, it was not going to end well for the prisoners.
Shots were fired in different directions, instantly stunning bodies mid-motion.
Soren followed behind the purple-skinned woman. She seemed to know the layout of the prison well.
She pried open a vent and dove inside.
It was cramped—but Soren had no choice.
They squeezed in, lying pressed together in the narrow shaft.
Stuffy.
Uncomfortable.
But alive.
A thousand times better than whatever was happening out there.
Soren looked through the slits of the vent; it was chaos outside.
The guards had even introduced dogs.
She smiled, a victory-induced smile.
"You caused this!" Soren frowned, obviously regretting the fact that he could not punch that smug look off her face.
"Yeah, that kind of happens a lot around here." She gave a light giggle. "Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. If you survive long enough, of course."
She looked out again—bending at an angle that allowed her hair to brush his face.
It smelled... fresh.
The freshest smell he had caught all day. Instinctively, he leaned in but caught himself and pulled away.
"So," she said casually. "What’s your name?"
"You tricked me into a fight, got my arm broken, almost got me eaten—and now you want my name?"
"Well, unless you prefer
whitey
." She shrugged. "Besides, it’s not like you didn’t get anything out of this."
She wiggled underneath and grabbed something.
"Hey!" Soren’s eyes widened.
"Oops. Wrong item." She wriggled again, and then she brought it out.
A pendant. His own.
Soren reached for it; she pulled back. "Name."
"Soren," he replied, grabbing it.
"That was not so hard now, was it?"
Soren’s frown got tighter. But he was indeed grateful.
"Thank you." He muttered, looking away.
"What was that you said?" She leaned in, smirking.
Soren raised his head slightly. "I said..." His nose twitched, and hair fell, covering one side of her face.
This close, he could see her clearly. An oval face and sharp, clear, focused eyes—beautiful in a way that was not innocent. But not naive of the outside world.
She was young. At most a year or two older than him.
She had a scar trailing from her right cheek down her neck.
It did not look good. She noticed his eyes, quickly covering it with her hair.
"What happened to you...?"
"It’s none of your business." She dismissed the question.
Woof! Woof!
A dog barked at the vent.
"Well, it seems we have been caught." As she spoke, the vent was opened, and she was pulled out, and so was he.
The guards placed their backs against the walls, cuffing them roughly.
’Urhhh,’ his shoulder hurt.
"Wait! The captain wants to see this one." A guard spoke up.
He pulled Soren aside, taking him away. As he did, she called.
"Vinegar! That’s my name. Meet me in the mines." She grinned.
Vinegar.
Soren muttered to himself.
....
The room he was brought to was dimly lit. Soren sat on a metal chair, hands cuffed together behind.
Before him was a man frowning so hard his beard quivered.
It was Captain Scarvguard. A holographic projection played before them—security footage of the incident in the cafeteria.
It showed Soren throwing the first punch.
"Boy," Captain Scarvguard growled, slamming the table, "you’re already walking toward a death sentence for crimes against nobles, and on your first afternoon, you start a riot and get three Soulbound warriors killed."
Soren did not react. It was not like he could say anything about his pendant.
It was contraband in this place.
~Silence
"What? You have nothing to say for your behavior? Is this how cadets at the academy behave nowadays?"
The academy? I have not even seen the place. And yet everyone is squeezing my neck for it.
"When I’m talking to you, you better answer, boy." Captain Scarvguard’s soul energy leaked in annoyance.
Soren felt the pressure. But to say he was not pissed would be a lie. It was not as if the captain did not see the huge man spit into his food.
So what now? They just expect him to take that?
It was ironically the same thing with the now dead instructor Ivory.
That woman had intentions of killing him and his friends—she even succeeded in some loops. And he was not supposed to defend himself?
What was it with these people and thinking it was okay for him to be bullied and just accept it?
The more he thought about it, the more pissed off he got.
If they could not even respect him as a human being, then he would not either.
Finally, he spoke.
"If he respected my food," Soren said quietly, "I would’ve respected his face."
Scarvguard froze.
That unwavering look in the boy’s eyes. Those words.
It reminded him of someone. For a slight second, he could see the image of Commander Jared.
He leaned back. Now he understood why a person like Grave Marshal, who had those high nobles shaking in their boots, would be interested in a kid he met in barely a week.
An F-rank, for that matter.
The boy did not have access to soul energy right now, and yet, the captain felt the pressure.
Such a presence could only be acquired through the taste of blood or multiple brushes with death.
It was encompassing.
If Soren were a Soulbound knight, that would have been a good attitude to have. But right now, he was a criminal.
And Commander Jared had tasked him to look after the boy. But then he remembered.
"I see you need to be disciplined. But don’t worry," the captain leaned back with a smirk. "The Mine will teach you."
"Mine?" Soren asked.
"Oh, you have not been told," he chuckled, "You are going into the Glass."