(---)
— I went ahead and made an enemy on the first day.
Julian sighed, walking through the school's hallways. It was his second day at school. His first class was swordsmanship. Julian was ecstatic about this. It was his first chance to get stronger.
He opened the door to the classroom. Duels were happening everywhere. In the corner, Ian caught his eye.
"Ian! Good thing we have the same classes, huh?" Julian smiled.
"Indeed."
"You talk like an old man."
"Smart people tend to do that. That's why you talk like a-"
"Don't even finish it!" Julian pulled out a wooden sword, pointing it at Ian. Ian laughed.
"The teacher said we should all be practicing our slices, not our thrusts. Why are you pointing the sword at me like that?" asked Ian.
"I was late, alright?!" Julian replied, as he furiously swung his sword.
"J-Julian?"
Julian turned around. Cera stood there in front of him.
"Ah, Cera. This is my friend Ian."
"It's nice to meet you, Cera."
"I-It's nice to meet you too!" she said, smiling.
"How do you even see, when your hair is like that? You can only see with one eye like that." Ian asked. He reached over to move her hair out of the way, revealing her eyes. Her right eye was brown and pretty bland, but her eye that was covered by hair was purple.
It looked... majestic. Heavenly, almost. Staring at the night sky could surely match such a sight. They simply couldn't stop looking at it.
She quickly covered her eyes with her hair. Was she hiding something?
"Ah, sorry. I shouldn't have done something like that!" Ian quickly apologized.
"It's... it's alright, don't worry t-to much about it."
Ian and Julian went back to sparring. Ian had the upper hand, winning each and every spar. Cera couldn't help but giggle, watching Julian whine about losing.
"Cute..."
"Huh? What'd you say, Cera? Are you mocking me too? Gaah!"
"N-No, it's nothing! F-focus on your training, so you can get stronger!" she quickly replied, turning her head away.
"Shouldn't you be sparring too, Cera?" Ian asked.
"Well... if you insist."
Cera stood up, kicking her wooden sword up. "I'll warn you now, I'm pretty strong, Ian."
"Yeah, I'll make sure to try-"
Cera had already appeared in front of him. He raised his guard just in time, blocking the strike that would've cut his head off if it was a real sword.
"Haa..."
"No way you're tired already?" Cera smirked, with a cheeky expression on her face. Ian prepared his guard again. Cera nodded and sprinted towards Ian.
— She's coming from... behind?!
Ian barely managed to block the strike. They clashed several times, trading blows occasionally. Julian watched in awe.
— Wow! I really didn't need to help her at all back then!
Cera won, landing the final strike, and sending Ian into the ground.
"You're strong, Cera."
"You too, Ian."
Julian ran up to Cera, surprised. "What was that, Cera? That was so cool, how come you didn't use that on the bullies before?!"
"Th-those bullies are stronger than you think, J-Julian."
"Ah. I see."
Ian and Cera looked pretty happy, giggling and laughing while seated. Julian watched. A strange feeling brewed deep down inside. It was that same feeling he felt when Ian saved him before.
— What is this... feeling?
. . . . .
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Lyrei woke up frantically, in a nervous sweat. She panted, scanning her room.
"It was just... it was just a nightmare!" she convinced herself, trying to calm down.
— That bastard... he still haunts me even in my nightmares.
She sighed and got up. Currently, she was in Saint's Castle. Everyone else had already left to go back home, and she was staying there to become a disciple.
Despite her short time there, she was quite famous around the capital, as her good deeds continued to spread around town.
"Are you ready, Lyrei?" Saint Meri asked. Lyrei nodded. Meri grabbed her hand, taking her to a cellar. Lyrei sat there, cross-legged.
Meri placed her hand on Lyrei's back. A glowing light started to come out of her hands. Lyrei flinched, but her expression lightened as the procedure went on.
Meri was transferring holy mana into Lyrei's system day by day so that she would soon be able to inherit the Divinely Arts. Her body would need to have enough holy mana to the point where she could cycle it herself.
"Alright. It's done, Lyrei."
Meri patted Lyrei's back, standing up. She stretched her hand out to Lyrei, pulling her up.
Lyrei walked back upstairs. She put on her uniform and practiced her smile in the mirror. Finally, she walked outside.
— I'll... bear with this.
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Julian walked down the hallway with Ian and Cera. The three of them had become acquainted very fast. It wasn't until everyone reached their classes and Julian was alone in the hallway that something happened.
"Why is history class so far? I'm gonna be late!" Julian whined, with his hands in his pocket. He walked quite irregularly, swaying from side to side.
"Tall and tan~ and young and lovely-"
"Oi. You're the one who hurt Ivy, aren't you?" A tall man stood in front of Julian. His hair was quite short, green in color. He had dark black eyes and his sleeves were rolled up.
"Ivy? No idea who that is. Who are you?"
"I'm Xavier, the one who will paint these hallways with your blood-"
Julian pushed him to the side. "I've got somewhere to be."
"You...!" Xavier said, sprinting at Julian.
— I seriously don't want to be late! I'll finish him up as fast as possible, then. But I must not overdo it.
Julian sent a back kick without looking at Xavier. A quick grunt was heard, followed by the sound of a body dropping.
"Keuk!-"
Julian didn't turn around. Instead, he kept on walking. He seriously didn't want to go to detention yet again.