"Please… No more…"
"It hurts…."
"I am sorry….. I am sorry…. I won't do it again…."
The voices of pain echoed under the dimly lighted sky, blending with the silence surrounded by the trees.
Just a while ago, inside this space, five people ganged upon one, but now tables had turned.
Those confident bullies who tried to satisfy their ego by restricting others were lying on the ground, tattered, while a young girl was standing in the midst of them.
"Huff…. Huff..."
Her chest rose and fell with each heavy breath, her bloodstained hands still gripping the daggers that had delivered her own justice.
Vengeance.
Blood dripped from the tip of her daggers, showing the reason why they were used. The moon was illuminating the young girl like she was its own kin.
In fact, she was. Her grey eyes and the lingering silver-colored mana in the air was an example of that.
At that point, Lirienne had finished her vengeance, as she was tired of playing with those little bullies.
The fight went as expected. Even though the girls were five versus one, none of them had a good combat experience aside from only one of them.
And the last six months that Lirienne trained with Callius made her experienced enough to identify the most dangerous individual and take her down.
Therefore, the moment the most experienced one was taken out, the fight ended in an instant as she disabled the remaining ones.
Then, it was her playtime.
"Finished?" As she was looking at the bodies tattered with a satisfied smile, Lirienne heard a voice coming from behind.
Turning her head back, she saw Callius, whose face was still changed there.
"If so, then I am leaving." As Callius spoke nonchalantly, he waved his hand and turned back, not even hesitating any second.
/SWOOSH/
However, at that moment, the wind blew as someone traveled at a rapid speed.
But as he took a step forward, he felt a slight resistance—a gentle tug on his clothing, as though someone or something sought to detain him. "Hmm?" Humming slightly, he turned his head only to see Lirienne pulling him from his uniform. "What are you doing?" He asked, as his gaze wandered around the girl.
"…." However, Lirienne didn't say anything as she only looked into his eyes.
"What? If you are not going to say anything, then I will leave." As Callius responded with an attitude slightly annoyed, Lirienne trembled.
Especially when she heard the word 'Leave.'
"…on…. o….."
A small mumble escaped from her lips. It was such a small mumble that even Callius had a hard time catching it. The words were so faint….
"What?" Even though Callius knew what she was saying, he wanted to play with her for a bit to make her a little more honest.
Seeing the glint in his eyes, Lirienne knew he was playing with her since this was what he was doing all the time when they were together.
'Together…. ' She thought, as she remembered the life they had before coming to the academy. She wanted to live like that, stand beside him again. She knew; the only one understanding her was him, after all.
So, she gathered her courage.
"Don't go!" Her voice, louder than before, resonated through the environment, betraying the vulnerability she had kept hidden for so long.
Hearing this, an intrigued expression appeared on Callius' face. "Ho?" As the sound left his lips, he lowered his hands. "Why?" He asked, still looking at the girl.
"I-I…" She struggled to put her words together as she stuttered. For some reason, she was more sensitive to his gaze today, as she was not able to understand the change in herself.
However, she knew she needed to say something as those piercing eyes were pressuring her, making her feel the need to speak.
And at that point, a faint blush appeared on Lirienne's face as she opened her mouth.
"H-how did I do?" She asked, her face filled with both uncertainty and longing.
In a sense, she was longing for his confirmation, as she had always done.
Seeing this, the smile on Callius' face widened, looking into Lirienne while his hand moved on top of her head.
/PAT/
With a smooth pat, he gave her the confirmation she needed as he spoke. "You did well…. It seems you worked hard…."
As those words left his mouth and his hand touched Lirienne's head, her face brightened in response.
"Hmm….." And a small humming sound left her mouth as she made herself comfortable under his touch.
Though, of course, in this equation, there were others that were there.
The ringleader, who had witnessed the ferocious girl that had just attacked her, humiliated her and gave her so much pain, smiling in response. She was mad.
She was mad at the fact that she felt this world was unfair(?) since she was not in her right mind.
"You will pay!" In the midst of the pain she had been feeling, she spoke as she threatened. "I won't let you get away with this!" The anger in her heart, as she felt like she was being discarded like some sort of nobody, was overflowing, as her emotions were left one by one.
"Do you think I don't know anyone…. You don't know whom you are messing with…" The threats continued to pour as she spoke like she owned the world.
Of course, she was not some sort of nobody. She had backing; thus, she was able to get away with everything that she had done so far.
However, one thing was essentially different.
/SHIVER/
At that moment, a shiver fell down her spine. A pressure different than before descended upon her body. She thought it was Lirienne…..
But a cold voice entered her head as a pair of blue eyes came closer. "I really didn't want to meddle, but you really are annoying…."
As Callius approached the ringleader, he grabbed the sphere from his pockets.
"Do you really think I will just leave you here?" The moment he asked this, a scene started playing. "If you really value your reputation and your future in this academy, then you better close that mouth of yours. You don't want this to spread, do you?"
As those eyes kept closer and closer, the girl could no longer resist any further….
"O-Okay… I understand…" Amidst the pain she had and the pressure that descended upon her, she could only helplessly mutter as she was dragged…
-------------------A/N-----------------
The other chapter will be late; I need to bring my mother to the hospital.
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https://discord.gg/ufP7aaZu
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