The ringleader's voice dripped with sadistic pleasure as she continued her taunts. "Oh, what's the matter, little worm? Scared now?" Her words were meant to instill fear, to break Lirienne's spirit.
The blade approached the face of Lirienne, ignited with the fire mana all around.
In her bloody vision, Lirienne saw a glimpse of fire as her the heat emanating from the blade was evident, scorching her skin.
But instead of fear, she glared more ferociously. Even if she was getting killed here, she refused to bow down.
It started from the beginning of the academy.
She wanted to improve herself at the beginning as the fire was ignited in her heart, seeing that hypocritical sister of hers residing in the academy, getting respected by everyone. She wanted to try her best, make her eat the dirt she was shoved into. And she did, immediately giving herself to training. She knew she couldn't contact Callius, as he had already warned her beforehand.
However, the reality was different from what she had expected.
From the moment she was separated from Callius, she needed to live on her own, and it was hard. Her dorm friend was not someone bad, so it was at least comfortable on that part.
However, she was socially awkward, as she didn't know how to talk with others or how to initiate a conversation.
That resulted in her not being able to talk with her dorm friend, even if she was a smiley girl.
And, as she stepped up into the class, she ostracized herself on her own, not talking with others, which was fine by her. Days went, and the scandal of Callius echoed.
Though, she didn't mind any of the things she had heard about him since she knew he was not someone like that. If he was, she would also be his prey.
However, after some time passed, a bot in the class tried to talk to her, initiating a conversation. Even if she refused to talk, the boy kept pressing and pressing.
She didn't care about how he thought or what he said. She did not even respond most of the time, but the boy didn't care at all.
From this point on, her daily life slightly changed as she was constantly getting glares from the girls in her class. Though, that also didn't bother her as she was already accustomed to such gazes from her childhood.
However, everything changed on this chilly night when she had just left her training room. As usual, she dedicated herself to honing her skills in magic and dagger-wielding. Even though she felt a sense of unease in Callius' absence, she persisted with her training. 'I will prove him.' Was her thoughts.
Though, as she left the room, she was approached by her classmates. The girls that didn't talk to her and always glared at her.
They came to her, offering her to have a meal after the training, and she didn't know how to say no. It was the first time someone approached her aside from Callius, and she didn't know the ways to refuse.
So, she was dragged by their momentum as they went to have a meal.
They talked to her as they didn't show any signs of bad things while they ate the meal they had ordered from the academy cafeteria. Even though she felt something was weird, she couldn't put up the front.
But after she finished her meal, she felt a weird sensation. A weird sensation of not being able to use her mana, not being able to access it.
It was weird, but she thought it was because she was tired after all her training.
They started walking together to their rooms under the night, and that's when everything happened. They suddenly grabbed her from her back, dragging her into the midst of trees.
They started attacking her out of nowhere, throwing insults and giving her pain she had forgotten.
It was from that point she was able to see their real intentions. The reason why she was called….
She felt furious both at herself and at the world.
The anger she tried hard to suppress in her heart… The feeling of vengeance she tried to forget by training was ignited once again. Hate filled her heart as she glared at the girls.
'I will kill you. I will kill you. I will kill you. I will kill you. I will kill you. I will kill you.' she repeated like a mantra in her mind, her thoughts consumed by a burning desire to annihilate those before her.
Yet, despite her fierce resolve, she found herself utterly powerless, unable to harness her mana and fight back. Helplessly, she endured the one-sided assault, the blows raining down upon her relentlessly.
Even so, the fire of her anger continued to rage within her.
As the blade approached her face, in the midst of the pain surrounding her, it was the only thing on her mind. The feeling of wanting to kill the person in front of herself. Even though she knew this might be her last day, she stood still.
/SWOOSH/
But at that moment, with a swift rush of air, an unexpected turn of events unfolded.
The oncoming blade halted abruptly as a gust of wind brushed across her face.
"What?" The ringleader's astonishment reverberated through the surrounding trees, her eyes fixed upon the silhouette of a young man materializing before her.
"Who are you?" She asked, as she was not able to see the face of the silhouette and identify him. But from the posture alone, it was evident that he was a man.
However, Lirienne knew. This familiar posture, this familiar mana signature. She knew who this person was.
'Callius.' She thought as she looked upon the boy.
"Does it matter?" A cold voice echoed around the trees as the young boy gazed through the group.
"What?" Not understanding what he was saying, the ringleader asked. "Leave my arm while I am still calm." She threatened as she glared at him.
"Heh…." A mocking laughter was the response. "What are you going to do?" The young man asked, his voice containing a tinge of mocking tone. "What can you do?"
"YO-"
And just as she was about to scream, suddenly she was pulled towards the silhouette as she couldn't even resist the attack.
/SMASH/
Only for her face to get smashed to the ground….
"Let's see…. Time to reap what you saw, was it?"
That was the only beginning….
------------------A/N-------------------
With this chapter, we also caught up with Lirienne since I don't want her to be forgotten.
In any case, I will return to my old style and won't add much descriptions. It feels like I am using the same way of writing with others. Instead, I will go with the old one. It is also easier.
You can check my discord if you want. You will be able to see the illustrations here and engage in a conversation with me if I am available.
https://discord.gg/ufP7aaZu
Updated from fr𝒆ewebnov𝒆l.(c)om