Imagine a high school, but not the one you're thinking of.
Picture towering spires, darkened halls, and gothic archways.
Welcome to Darkspire High School, a place where villainy isn't just encouraged; it's the syllabus.
The buildings are fortified with Nefarium, a near-indestructible metallic material abundant in Antagonia.
It's tough, resilient, and capable of withstanding extreme amounts of dark magic and brute force.
Nefarium is so valuable that humans from the other realm have made daring and often deadly attempts to pillage it.
Now, why would a school need walls made from something that sounds like it could withstand a siege?
Simple.
Here, fights break out as often as lectures, and casualties are not uncommon—they're expected.
As Daseos and Devian strode down the hallway, their boots clicking against cold, dark stones, a body catapulted through the air.
It sailed right over their heads, trailing a gust of wind that ruffled Daseos's hair.
Daseos, always aware, casually lowered his head to dodge.
Devian, taller by a full head, had to sidestep to avoid the flying human missile.
"Hey, watch it!" Devian chided.
Hot on the heels of the airborne kid was a pale, petite goth chick with a single horn protruding from her forehead. Without missing a beat, she sprinted past the duo.
"My bad," she muttered, her arm flicking out as she sent three small knives whizzing toward her target, who'd just crash-landed against a locker.
"Ready for the Trials?" Devian brought the conversation back to their impending challenge.
"As ready as I can be, considering we're only four days away," Daseos replied.
Lilith calmly stepped over a dead body a distance away from the duo, this one with a sword jutting out from its chest.
In a matter of seconds, a swarm of black crows descended on the corpse, their feathers shimmered like black oil.
The Nightmare Crows were already at work, their dark feathers fluttering as they picked at the remains.
With a couple of swift pecks and caws, the life force, along with the entire body was absorbed, ready to be distilled into those coveted Dark Essence Potions.
Quick pause, dear reader.
Those Nightmare Crows? They're not just scavengers; they're government-sanctioned life essence harvesters from The Order of the Midnight Crows.
They are the clean-up crew of Antagonia, a society can't function with rotting bodies all over can it?
In Antagonia, this is just how they roll—nothing goes to waste, especially not the life force of the deceased.
And as you can imagine there are A LOT of dead bodies.
Back to the story.
Lilith, joining the duo, chimed in,
"Daseos! Devian! Are you two going to the Gym as well?"
Devian shot her a teasing glance.
"What, are you one of Fizsure's fangirls?"
With an indignant "Hmph," Lilith swung her long maroon hair over her shoulder.
"He's not worthy!"
Seizing the moment, Daseos moved close, his hand finding Lilith's waist.
He leaned in, whispering huskily into her ear,
"Am I?"
But Lilith was quick to respond.
With a swift motion, she shoved Daseos's hand away and rolled her eyes. Though a blush tinted her cheeks.
"Keep dreaming."
Devian let out a playful mocking chuckle,
"Hehe we all know the two of you fancy each other, get a room already!"
Lilith spun towards Devian, pointing a finger. "You—!"
Before she could finish her sentence, Devian smirked and teased,
"You know, it's Daseos's 16th birthday this Sunday… The day every Antagonian boy becomes a man…"
Lilith's face went from furious to uncertain in a heartbeat, and she turned away.
See in Antagonia, turning sixteen wasn't just about birthday cake and presents.
It was a rite of passage for males—a very specific one involving the loss of their virginity.
Families would either send their sons to establishments like the L.U.S.T Inn or find someone, a professional or otherwise, to help them transition to manhood.
Of course, if a guy had a girlfriend, or anyone he was romantically involved with, well, that duty fell to her.
It was no secret that Daseos grew up in a high-end brothel, that means… on Sunday…
That thought put Lilith in a real bind.
She knew she felt something for Daseos but was the feeling tugging at her heart really love?
More importantly, she was from an infamous villain clan, where alliances and relationships were anything but straightforward.
Could she, should she, step into that role for Daseos?
The complexities of feelings and family honor tugged at her, leaving her more conflicted than she'd like to admit.
*VROOOOSSSHHH!*
While Lilith was still lost in her whirlpool of thoughts, a blade—deflected by another battling pair ahead—whizzed through the air straight toward her.
She was oblivious, her mind elsewhere.
But Daseos wasn't.
His eyes narrowed, instincts honed by years of combat in the Darkspire Underground Fight Club and endless practice from his Demon Codex kicking in.
Daseos's eyes narrowed, time stretching like a rubber band.
His hand shot out, faster than a striking snake, seizing the blade just inches from Lilith's face.
For a heartbeat, everyone in the hall seemed to freeze.
As Daseos flicked the blade into the shadowy corridor, it clanged against the wall, leaving not even a scratch on the Nefarium surface
*CLANG!*
Tossing the blade aside, Daseos winked at Lilith.
"There's no need to put too much pressure on yourself, you're mine anyway, it's only a matter of time—I can wait,"
As Daseos tossed the blade aside, Lilith's gaze lingered on him.
It was more than just gratitude, but could it really be love?
Her chest tightened, tangled in a knot of emotions she wasn't sure how to unravel.
Lilith snapped out of her thoughts, her eyes widening as she registered how close she had come to serious injury—or worse.
Seeing Daseos's bleeding hand, she reached out quickly.
"Are you okay?"
She blurted out, her voice tinged with genuine concern.
Without waiting for an answer, Lilith reached into her skirt and pulled out a small pill, shoving it into Daseos's mouth.
The wound on his hand visibly tightened, the skin knitting itself back together in mere seconds.
From the side, Devian couldn't help but chuckle.
"Heh, I knew you came from money, but dammmm girl~ was that a Dark Essence Pill? Daseos isn't worth THAT much!"
Daseos shot Devian an annoyed glare.
'Whatchu mean I'm not worth it!'
Catching his error, Devian rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Uhh, yeah. We should get going. We're probably late already..."