[Earlier that day, right after classes had dismissed]
Walking along a pathway between the classroom sector and the central sector of campus, a student followed an instructor.
The instructor was an elven man whose white hair was parted 1/4 of the way through, and he walked behind the student, keeping an eye on her at all times.
The student was an elven girl who wore the high class uniform of the prestigious Yulen Academy, although her own demeanor would go against everything which said Academy stood for.
Her hair was a mess.
Her eyes were baggy, with dark lines underneath them.
Her clothes were wrinkled and unkept, as if she had slept in a dumpster.
She did not appear to carry herself with even the slightest bit of diligence and preparedness- two principals which this Academy hammered into their students.
With her shoulders slumped, eyes half open, and her arms hanging effortlessly from her body, she didn't appear to have even the slightest amount of honor.
"Please carry yourself a bit better, Ally. You are by far the top student within this class, therefore it is crucial for you to act that way. The very fact that your behavior is so inverted when compared to your ability only further proves the need to reform you."
"Reform me?"
As the two approached an enormous gothic building, the instructor spoke with a harsh tone to the student.
"Yes, we will reform you. Your personality, that is. While I admit your skill, your personality will hold you back from your full capabilities as a soldier, therefore we will wash it out of you. By the time we are done with you, you will be a completely new person- one who carries herself with dignity worthy of the skill you have."
The girl merely thinned her eyes, giving him a wicked glare as the man made clear his lofty ambitions.
"See. That right there. You have a rotten personality. Rotten to the very core. The fact that you would scowl at an instructor like that, the fact that you continue to speak back, the fact that you hold no concern for those around you-"
"Will you be quiet already?"
"Exactly that. The fact that you continue to make such remarks continuously proves one simple thing, regardless of your skills."
The man stopped, speaking with a heavy amount of disgust in his voice.
"You are garbage."
As he said this, the girl merely turned around, looking at him with her lazy eyes.
And then, a light smile.
"Is that right?"
The instructor widened his eyes as he saw that slight smirk, a reaction which he never could have expected after referring to someone as garbage.
"Inside the building, up the stairs. We will be heading to the top floor."
"Eh?? No elevators?"
Ashley complained as soon as she found out that she would have to expend the effort to climb a set of stairs, to the confusion of the instructor.
"Ele-what? What are you even talking about?"
"Tch. Primitive monkeys."
"Primitive monkeys?? What on earth are you talking about!? I won't have you making such comments without even giving any context. Minus 3."
The number above the head of the girl decreased to [-35], to which she merely rolled her eyes.
The two entered the building and ascended the stairs, making their way through the hallway to the very end where a large room was located.
"This is the office of the principal. I would normally have you punished with a usual detention, however due to the abnormal nature of your skill level, I will have to consult him before performing any such measures. If you say anything out of line before the principal, then your punishment will be increased even further, and your own point status will be worsened. Do keep this in mind."
Ashley merely grinned lightly, not worried in the least.
'Ah..... haha.... first day back at school and I'm already being punished like this. You know, I never really got in trouble back when I was in school. I did all my work..... studied hard.... got good grades..... and yet.....'
A sour expression came across the face of Ashley as she recalled her own bitter memories.
'Everyone else ruined everything, didn't they?'
As she was brought before the man who sat at his desk, the instructor stood forward with a serious expression.
"Mr. Ronaldo. It is only the first day of classes, and yet you have requested this meeting with me. Just what could possibly be the matter so early on in the semester? I see that the child next to you has a score of [-35].... which is unprecedented on the first day.... even for you. Tell me, have her actions truly been deserving of such deduction? If so.... then it would suggest a complete and utter incapability of learning from her mistakes."
Thus spoke the man known as the Principal, Ingran Lerandi.
"Sir, you know me very well, and that I am highly against the awarding of points to those who do not deserve them. There have been no issues with my method in all my years, for the students- regardless of their own inclinations- have been quick to learn to shut their mouths rather than continue to argue and debate. As all soldiers should be."
"Indeed, Mr. Ronaldo. It is for this reason that I have hired you as an instructor. For what is a soldier if they speak their own opinion, going against the orders of their superior? Being able to think for one self is critical, however obedience is also just as critical. Until one becomes an officer themselves, they are to patiently follow the orders of those above them. Doing so, even when you disagree, is but one more part of acting as a mature adult, which all our students should strive to be."
The two appeared to be in synch with one another as they discussed their related philosophy when it came to teaching- one which had clearly been instilled throughout this Academy.
"It is for this reason that I have brought this student before you. First name Ally, no last name on record. No parents. As a matter of fact, our information on her is negligible. How did she even make it past the initial screening?"
Ashley merely stood there without a care as the two glared over to her, however the principal merely shook his head.
"The fact that she is here means that she is now ours. The rest should not matter."
"Ah, I just heard you say something that I disagree with. Could you run that by me one more time? Did you just say that I am yours?"
Speaking up to the two, Ashley glared over with thinned eyes.
"Watch your words when speaking to the principal!", Ronaldo shouted before turning apologetically to the man. "As you can see, principal, she seems to have the flame of rebellion within her look. She fails to understand the fact that we hold authority above her-"
"Because you don't hold authority above me."
The girl continued to interrupt her instructor as he spoke, to which he turned back to her with irritation, and he was about to say something else before the principal held up a hand.
"What makes you think something like that, child?", the principal asked.
"Well it's simple. I'm not something that anyone can own."
The principal closed his eyes, taking a deep breath in as the girl made this statement, to which he looked back to the instructor.
"She is not needed among our rankings. You should already understand the procedures for incapable students, and I am certain you understand what needs to be done with students like this. Therefore why did you come to me for my permission to perform such procedures?"
"Principal, it is because of her potential. When she performed the examination today, she was assigned to become a member of the first division.", Mr. Ronaldo begun to explain.
"So? How many talented students attend our school who could become members of the first division? Is there anything special in that?", the principal asked.
"To put is simply Sir, her talent is one in a million. No, perhaps even further. Unfortunately, the tier measurement scale seemed to be unusable today, so I instead had to use a weight test regarding her magical capabilities....."
"And?"
"The results were undetermined. She was able to carry every single weight using magical energy alone, with ease."
As soon as the instructor stated this, the eyes of the principal widened with surprise.
"It took me 20 years to get to such a level..... even Velphis Gersta took a week to reach that proficiency, and that is the fastest any student has ever progressed..... are you telling me that she has already surpassed Velphis in progress?"
"That is correct, Sir."
As Ronaldo said this, a smile came across the face of the principal, one crooked with a bitter distaste.
"Begin mental reconfiguration procedures. If she is rebellious in her current state, then we will instead rewire her mind to conform with our goals and make her into the ultimate soldier."
Ashley merely glanced over as the principal said this, though she could tell that he was completely ignoring her existence.
'Ah. He doesn't even look at me as he orders something like that? Turn her into a robot that we can control? Make her into the ultimate soldier?'
"Heh...."
Letting out a single laugh, Ashley smiled before the two, causing both of them to direct their attention her way.
"What are you laughing about? The moment you enter this school, you become our property to reform as we wish. Do you believe we can't reform you as we please?", the principal asked.
"You can't.", Ashley replied quickly. "Maybe if it was another student, you could. I've seen people become brainwashed before, so it's not like I don't think it's possible. But you can't do that to me."
At this cheeky statement, Ronaldo grabbed Ashley by the hair.
"You insolent little.... I'll show you just what we can and cannot do with you!"
Ashley fell limp as the man grabbed her hair and begun to drag her out of the room.
She didn't bother to exert even a single bit of effort, and merely allowed the man to drag her as she looked back at the principal with a crooked smile.
And then, she waved.
"Goodbye, Mr. Principal. It wasn't great to meet you, but at least I now understand what kind of person you are. It looks like the next time we meet, I'll either be brainwashed, or I won't be. Ah, but what if I pretended to be? I wonder if you'd be able to tell the difference?"
As she was dragged out of the room, sliding across the floor, the girl said this, to which the principal merely sat back with his breath held.
The door soon shut, and he looked down at his hands while wondering to himself what he had just seen.
'Just what on earth..... she has seen someone become brainwashed before? Her reaction..... it was not normal. No normal child would react to that in such a manner. If she was a normal child, then she would likely have either resigned to her fate or begged in protest- yet she did neither.'
Recalling the green eyes of the girl as she was dragged out of the room, a realization overcame the principal.
'Those eyes..... they were not the eyes of a sane person.'
It was then that his own hands begun to quiver.
'They were the eyes of a madwoman.'
----
Ashley was taken to the basement of the structure, dragged by the instructor who looked down at her with complete indignance.
"You cannot even walk on your own anymore? Would you get up already? Treating the principal with such blatant disrespect, and now you refuse to even go anywhere?"
"Hm? I thought you were the one who dragged me out. Ah, it would normally hurt if you pulled someone by their hair like this. Do you do this to every bad kid?"
"Silence. The fact that you are not being hurt by this is all the more strange. Are you even an elf?"
Ashley didn't bother responding, not moving a muscle as she allowed the man to continue pulling her along by her hair.
"Would you get up already!?!?", he shouted after pulling her to the stairway.
"Ah, fine fine. Jeez."
Standing up and walking down the stairs herself, the man continued to keep an eye on her, ensuring that she wouldn't try anything like escaping.
'Of course, the orbs we gave the students are now linked with their bodies. If they tried to escape, then they would have to endure a fatal electric shock. Trying to remove the link with magic would do the same thing.'
Because of this, the instructor was not worried in the least about scaring her off campus, or about runaways.
"This way. Into this room."
Ashley was led to a room which had no windows. It was dark, with only a single magical light abovehead, and a single metal chair was in the middle of the room.
This metal chair had chains connected to it, and Ronaldo pointed to the chair.
"This is where you will endure your detention punishment. You will spend all hours of the day outside of classtime in this room, and this will be your new permanent seat. You will sit here all day, doing nothing. Soon enough you will go mad with boredom, to the point where you will do anything to get out of this hell. Once I determine that your behavior has been significantly reformed, I will allow you to return to a somewhat normal life outside of school. But never forget...."
With a grin, the man grabbed Ashley by the hair once more, sitting her on the chair and wrapping the chains around her as she watched with blank expression.
"You are our property now. We own you, and we will mold you into something excellent. You will become a soldier who will give your all for the sake of our nation, the Alliance."
As he tightened the chains, the clanking sound could be heard throughout the room.
The man begun to grin to himself as if he was a businessman counting his profits, and Ashley merely watched as this man started to devolve into insanity.
"Yes, for our country..... you will be the ultimate soldier..... hahaha..... you will rise through the rankings, perhaps you will even surpass Velphis as the Commander of the 1st Division, and then I will be accredited with the production of such a soldier!!! And then, with power that is on par with that of a hero, you will fight for our nation, and you will continue to protect us from the outside threats-"
"Let me get one thing straight, dumbass. If I was ever going to become a weapon for a nation, then it would be for MY nation."
Turning to the girl who was now wrapped in chains, the man's expression soon twisted into a frown as his flow was interrupted.
"Your nation!? What could you ever mean by that? Without a doubt, you are an elf- despite your strange capabilities and the tolerance you seem to have for pain. Your nation is of course the Allia-"
"Ah, don't get me wrong. When I said 'my nation', I didn't mean my nation as in 'the country I am from' or 'the country that I am a citizen of'. I meant it as in 'The nation that I own, as my property.'"
It was then that the man looked down at the chained girl to witness something which made every hair on his head stand up in terror.
The girl before him was chained, yet she was grinning with such crooked evil that the elven man's heart felt as if it were about to burst.
There was not a drop of magical pressure which was being exerted on him.
Rather, he was overtaken by the thinned, mocking eyes and the wicked smile which the girl adorned on her face.
There was such blatant bloodlust in her expression, such overwhelming sadistic evil, that it was enough to make the man tremble in fear.
She was chained by restraints which reduced magical power by a thousand times, and Ronaldo knew and understood this well.
Yet even so, even knowing this, he could not control his own fear.
He told himself over and over that there was nothing for him to be afraid of.
'She is just a student....'
'She is tied up and restrained....'
'She cannot be more powerful than me....'
'She is merely a beginner....'
'She was able to carry all those weights, but all that implies is that she is at least of the 4th tier....'
'Even I can do that much....'
Ronaldo told himself all these things, reassuring himself that there was nothing to be afraid of, but it was then that the girl tilted her head, ever so slightly.
As she did so, her white hair fell in a different direction, covering half of her madness filled face just enough so that her demented eye peeked through a gap.
"Making me go mad through boredom..... locking me up and placing me in these restraints during all the hours of my day..... I can only assume that you wouldn't feed me or allow me to drink anything outside of school hours, and if you did there would be no way to go to the bathroom like this. I guess this is quite the contraption to throw people into madness. However....."
The white hair of the elven girl then turned black.
Her long ears were shortened, and her skin became pale and transparent.
The bags under her eyes grew, and the madness within them grew even more.
The girl seemed to spark with energy, and with the slight movement of a single finger, the chains which bound her were shattered to pieces.
"Compared to what we do to people in MY nation, this is nothing more than a joke."
Ronaldo stumbled backwards, falling to the ground with widened eyes.
His breathing was chaotic. His pupils were dilated, and his eyes were wide with horror. His mouth fell agape, and he relieved himself on the spot.
Before him was a being of terror.
'A witch. No... she is something far.... far more terrifying.....'
Barely even able to retain his thoughts, the man could not even tremble anymore.
'She is a demon.'