The three teacher's faces were red. Although Silvana had turned the projection off as soon as Lacey sat on Lia's lap, it was blatantly obvious what was going to happen. How shameless does one have to be to have sex during a tournament?!
Silvana cleared her throat. *Ahem* "Well, let's check on our other interesting students, shall we?"
She wanted to move past this by any means necessary. It was truly embarrassing for everyone.
.....
Lia and Lacey sat ten feet apart. They were completely red-faced and entirely embarrassed. Lacey's mind swam with worries and concerns. 'Oh, I just threw myself at her like I was some kind of perverted girl! What does she think of me now? Oh gods I hope no one heard us. I would die of embarrassment.'
Lia shook her head, wiping away her thoughts. She wasn't super worried about having sex with Lacey. She was more worried that someone might have heard them. Closing her eyes, she expanded her mana domain, searching for anyone that might be nearby.
After a few moments, she let out a breathy sigh. She spoke to Lacey who was still in the middle of a panic-induced spiral. "As far as I can tell, no one heard us, which is lucky. We should be more careful."
Lacey's face turned bright red. 'She said we. She said "we". Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!' Lacey's mind was running rampant, and Lia placed her hand atop Lacey's head, calming her.
There was a warm smile on her face as Lia spoke to Lacey. "You're okay, stop panicking so much."
Lacey instantly relaxed. Having Lia's hand atop her head felt exceedingly comforting. She wasn't entirely sure why. "Okay, what now?"
Lia's face darkened. "You tell me who did that to you, and then we hunt them down."
Lacey nodded. "She was wearing a long black coat and held two swords. I think her name was Rune. She was ruthless and efficient. She has to be decently ranked based on how she moved and how strong she was.
Lia nodded. "That might make it easy to identify her, but finding her is a separate issue. We need to move fast if she's moving through each territory. Do you know if she is setting herself up somewhere?"
Lacey shook her head.
Lia cursed. "Then we need to get moving. Let's go."
.....
Lia and Lacey stood over two guys who were badly injured. Of course, Lia had been the one to do most of the injuring. She looked down at them and spoke, her voice oozing annoyance. "A woman in a long black cloak. Have you seen or heard of her?"
Both guys waved their hands. "Nah, no way. We haven't seen her."
Lia cursed and looked at Lacey. "Kill them, they're already injured. It shouldn't be an issue."
Lacey stuttered. "I-I ca-"
"If you can't kill them, then you're not going to make it into the Academy, and you'll have to return to your village empty-handed. Is that what you want, Lacey? To return home, having lost?" Lia was attempting to shatter Lacey's hesitation. They had already found and killed three other people, and Lacey was still incapable of doing it herself.
Lacey's eyes were downcast. Lia placed her hand on her chin and made their eyes meet. "Are you going to do it, or am I going to add two more to my collection?"
Lia held her sword out to Lacey, and she reluctantly grabbed it. They had been through this a few times, and Lia was thinking of a few ways to potentially get her to kill.
Saro's voice resonated throughout Lia's mind. 'Make her. Physically make her do it. She might resent you, even hate you, but she NEEDS to do this.'
Lia hesitated to respond as she watched Lacey standing over them with a sword. 'I, Saro, that's too cruel. Even for me. To force someone into killing a person. Killing comes naturally to me, but I'm sure it's a hurdle everyone has to get over on their own.'
Saro scoffed. 'I've trained assassins, I've killed countless amounts of people, and it gets easier each time. She'll resent you, but if you're there for her to lean on regardless, then she'll cling to you. Her only salvation and release from her actions. Besides, these people aren't getting killed, they're being transported out. The girl will be fine.'
Lia's hesitation eased up, but she was still reluctant. How cruel would one have to be to force someone into killing? She bit her lip as she wrestled with her thoughts. 'Still..it's too cruel. I can't'
Saro spoke up with a hint of annoyance. 'I can, and I will.'
.....
Lacey stood over a boy, sword held high. She couldn't do it. She knew that they weren't dying, but the blood and their agonized shrieks were...they were unsettling. She knew that Lia thought her weak, unmotivated, but she just...she couldn't do it. Lacey wasn't cut out for this. She wasn't fit to be in a world like this.
Lia's body shook slightly as she spoke, her voice suddenly as cold as ice. "Kill him." It was Saro now.
Lacey spoke as she began to tear up. "I..I can't."
Saro spoke, her voice even more solid. "I wasn't asking. Do it, or I'll make him suffer even more. Do you want him to suffer? Because I will make that happen."
Lacey trembled. Her resolve was fighting against her morals, and she was losing.
Saro's voice resounded in her ears once again. "In ten seconds I will begin breaking his bones."
The boy on the ground shook, terrified of what the vampire was capable of. He began pleading. "Do it. Do it, she's going to torture me. You have to. Please!" He was crying now, as his former opponent watched with shock evident on his face.
Saro began to count down as she felt Darkova struggling against her. "Ten."
Lacey's face began to stream tears. She screamed in protest. "I can't! I can't! I can't! I can't do it! Don't make me!"
Saro continued to count. "Nine"
The boy pleaded more. His voice grew hoarse from his pleading yells.
Saro counted. "Eight"
Lacey's inner monologue suffered. She was having a panic attack. Her tears began to stain her face. "Please. Please. Please. Goddess. Help. me."
Saro spoke. "Your Goddess isn't coming. Seven."
The boy closed his eyes, relinquishing himself to his fate.
Saro continued to count, her voice growing deeper and colder with each number. "Six"
Lacey closed her eyes and swung her sword down, decapitating the man. She dropped the sword, staring at the blood on it as her eyes stopped pouring tears.
Lacey fell to her knees. Her hands shaking violently. Saro rushed forward and pulled her kneeling form into a hug. Lacey didn't reciprocate. She continued staring at the bloodied sword, her hands beginning to shake more and more.
Saro's voice was soft and comforting as she whispered to Lacey. "I'm sorry. I needed you to be strong. I needed you to be more than you were. I had no choice but to change you. Don't worry. You can walk beside us proudly now. You can be so much more than you already were. You'll live a much better life now. I did this for you. Even if you hate me, even if you resent me, I'll be here. No matter how many you kill, I will be here for you. You did good, Lacey."