Back in the dormitories, in Damien and Jiwon's room, Soren sat on the bed meditating while Jiwon sat opposite him on his bed, also meditating. Renji scanned through more of the academy's documents.
A familiar chill ran down all their spines, prompting Renji to look upward and toward the window. Soren and Jiwon slowly opened their eyes before Jiwon asked, "Is that Damien?"
"For fuck's sake, what did he get himself into now?" Renji muttered as he pushed off the wall and tossed the documents onto the bed. He headed for the door, opened it, and began jogging down the hallway.
Outside, the fight had started. Damien's glowing deep crimson eyes tracked Damon's fist as it reached for Damien's jaw.
Damien raised his hand and caught the fist, his eyes meeting Damon's before pulling him closer. His other hand clamped over Damon's face, pushing him to the ground with a subtle crack.
Damien released Damon's fist and straightened up, extending his leg upward before bringing it down like a guillotine. Damon narrowly rolled away as Damien's ankle shattered the stone ground, creating a small crater with web-like cracks spreading outward.
Damon sprang to his feet, bouncing on the tips of his boots. "Is that all you go–" he was cut off as Damien suddenly appeared a few feet away, his face already contorting, eyes bulging as he knocked Damon into his lackey, who tried to catch him but was instead pushed back with overwhelming force, sending him flying into a brick wall.
Blood flowed from Damon's face onto the ground as Damien's fist dripped with blood. Damien glanced over his shoulder at the lackey holding Anna. The lackey trembled as they slowly removed their hands from Anna and took a step back.
Damien turned slowly, walking toward Anna with a sinister smile spreading across his lips. "Are you okay?" His deep voice, tinged with false concern, unsettled the silent area.
Y-yeah," was all that Anna could manage to say as she stared up at Damien, wide-eyed. Her breath was quick. Damien studied her expression and her clear fear.
"DAMIEN," a familiar voice to Damien, whose head whipped around to find the source. Renji slowed down as the lackeys parted ways, clearing the way for Renji to move into the inner circle. "What is going on?"
Renji's gaze fixed on Damien's bloodied fist, still slowly dripping with blood. He glanced over at Anna's horrified expression, then toward the lackeys, before finally his eyes landed on the unconscious Damon. "The hell did you do?" Renji asked.
"What do you mean?" Damien raised his eyebrow, then Renji slowly pointed a finger at Damon. "What. The. Hell. Did. You. Do?"
Damien's eyes drifted slowly toward Renji's finger. He exhaled, still smiling. "Oh, that? They were threatening Anna, so I had to knock him out."
"Knock him out?" Renji looked at Damien, narrowing his eyes, then back at Damon. "Does he look knocked out to you?"
Damien let out a soft sigh and took slow steps toward Damon's unconscious body, kneeling in front of him. He placed a hand on Damon's neck to check for a heartbeat. Nothing—his body was slowly growing colder.
Damien's eyes flickered as he stared at Damon, his chest beginning to rise and fall rapidly as he looked back at Renji. "T-t-this must be a," he paused, "tactic, right?"
Renji said nothing as Anna covered her mouth, muffling her breathing. Damon's lackeys rushed over, pushing Damien aside and shaking Damon.
Damien rose to his feet as a hand was placed on his shoulder. He jolted slightly, then looked to see Renji, who was focused on the body. His jaw clenched as Damien began to speak, "I did–"
"It's fine, it's just one of the side effects of Wi," Renji said, barely able to speak, his eyes narrowing. "Let's go back to the dorm."
"But will I no–" Damien started, but Renji cut him off. "This academy already has deaths under its name. You'll be fine."
They both slowly turned to leave. Damien looked at Anna, but she quickly diverted her gaze as Damien and Renji walked away.
They entered the dormitory, climbed to their floor, and headed toward Damien's room. Renji opened the door, letting Damien go in first, then followed behind, shutting the door behind them.
Soren opened his eyes and saw Damien's expression before he cleared his throat and spoke, "What happened?"
"You know that guy who called you a pretty boy?" Renji chimed in. "Yeah, Damien killed him."
"WHAT?!" Jiwon's eyes opened wide as his head snapped towards Damien, who sat on the floor, leaning his head against the bed. Soren looked down at Damien, eyebrows furrowed before he spoke, "Did you do it on purpose?"
Damien just sat there before he held his head. "Yes and no? I don't know, man." His gaze was focused on the floor between his feet.
"What do you mean, yes and no?" Jiwon leaned forward, eyebrow raised as Damien spoke.
"It's like when I activated Wi. The thought of killing him passed through my mind, but the thought of just protecting Anna also crossed my mind."
"Anna?" Renji repeated, a flash of annoyance crossing his gaze. "I told you I don't trust her, and now you hang out with her once and you're already killing someone?"
"Look, I only wanted to go on a walk. I would've gotten into that fight whether or not I went," Damien shot back, meeting Renji's eyes. "So leave her alone."
"I'm just saying," Renji replied, slowly crossing his arms over his chest. "Are you sure you didn't go on that walk hoping to meet her?"
Damien narrowed his eyes as Renji continued, "Since when are you the type to go on walks?"
"Maybe I wanted to live a healthier life," Damien answered.
Renji's eye twitched. "A healthier life? You're six-foot-three, around two hundred and twenty pounds of mostly muscle, with low body fat. What the hell do you mean 'healthier life'?"
Damien opened his mouth to respond, but Renji cut him off again.
"Besides, ever since we got Wi, our bodies are better than even the top athletes on Earth. We heal faster and everything. So who are you trying to bullshit?"
"Maybe he means mentally," Jiwon chimed in, earning a glare from Renji.
Renji turned back to Damien. "Mentally? You're one of the laziest guys I know, and suddenly you want to go on a walk?"
He scoffed. "Look what happened. Now you've killed a guy."
"Like you haven't?" Damien snapped, rising to his feet. "What about those dark elves back in that world? What about them?"
Renji's expression hardened. "Do you think I feel good about killing them? At least back then, we killed because they were a threat to where we lived. But you? You killed one guy over some woman?"
"I DIDN'T WANT TO KILL HIM!" Damien shouted.
Renji rolled his eyes. "Didn't you just admit a few seconds ago that you wanted to?"
"ANNA NEEDED PROTECTION FROM HIM!"
"PROTECTION?! ARE YOU HER FUCKING BOYFRIEND OR HER SAVIOR?!" Renji snapped, stepping forward.
Soren moved instantly, jumping off the bed and planting himself between them. "Guys, relax."
"THE HELL DO YOU MEAN RELAX?!" Renji barked, pointing at Damien. "He's out here talking about some woman needing protection!"
"Because it's true," Damien shot back without hesitation.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Renji took another step forward, only to be stopped as Soren raised a hand and pressed it firmly against his chest. "Don't you know what this academy is? You think a woman like her needs protection when she lives here?!"
"Renji… relax," Soren repeated, voice lower this time, steadier—but strained.
Damien clicked his tongue, eyes narrowing. "You don't know anything about her."
"AND YOU DO?!" Renji tried to push forward again, tension snapping in his voice. "What kind of spell did that bitch put on you, for you to start acting like her dog?"
"Don't call her a bitch."
Damien's expression hardened, something darker surfacing beneath the calm. His irises began to glow a deep, burning crimson red, like twin suns bleeding through his gaze.
"Or what?" Renji tilted his head slightly, unfazed. His own eyes flared to life, glowing white, sharp and blinding like collapsing stars ready to explode.
"For crying out loud…" Soren muttered under his breath.
Before he could react again, Renji grabbed the collar of Soren's vest and shoved him aside with ease, sending him stumbling back.
"Well… shit," Jiwon muttered from the side.
"I'll make you regret it," Damien said, voice dropping cold and absolute.
Renji scoffed, stepping closer. "Look at that. Now that bitch has you saying the corniest shit I've ever heard."
Damien's fist clenched. In a flash, he drove it upward into Renji's jaw. The impact snapped Renji's head back but his body didn't move an inch.
"GUYS!" Soren shouted, stepping forward again, but it was too late.
Renji's counter came instantly. His fist slammed into Damien's jaw, whipping his head to the side. For a moment, Damien stayed like that, then slowly brought his head back into place, eyes still burning.
And then they began to collide
Fists flew, brutal and relentless. Each hit cracked through the air like gunfire, each impact sending shockwaves through the room. Blood sprayed across the walls, the floor and their clothes violently and chaotically.
But neither of them stepped back.
Not even an inch.
The ground beneath them trembled, the force of their blows rippling outward through the academy itself. Walls shuddered. Distant voices rose in confusion as the structure groaned under the strain.
And in the center of it all, two forces refused to yield.
In a barely functioning library, dust clung to warped shelves and broken spines, the air thick with neglect. A group of humans in well-tailored attire sat in quiet composure, their posture refined despite the decay around them. Before them, one stood apart, gazing out the cracked window.
The glass trembled.
A faint vibration passed through the room, subtle at first then sharper.
In the gymnasium, the echo of a bouncing basketball cut through the hollow space. A group of demons moved with casual energy, their laughter low, their movements relaxed. One sat on the metal bleachers, a soft, knowing smile resting on their lips.
Then the floor beneath them shuddered.
The ball slipped from someone's hand, bouncing unevenly as the tremor spread. But the smile of the one demon didn't fade.
In a brown, open park within the academy grounds, demi-humans chased one another in fleeting bursts of joy. Laughter filled the air until it didn't. As one by one, they slowed and stopped before turning.
All eyes shifted toward the same direction. The direction of the origin.
In the cemetery, pale figures drifted among the graves, their voices overlapping in quiet, endless conversation. The ground shook faintly beneath them, but most barely noticed as they were detached and distant from the physical world.
One ghost, however, paused and spotted a nearby gravestone trembling as it rattled against the earth.
"…What's going on?" it murmured.
Beneath that same cemetery, deep underground, bones stirred.
Skeletons lay scattered in restless stillness until the tremors reached them. Their frames rattled violently, hollow echoes clattering through the chamber. One clawed its way upward, dirt shifting as it emerged partially from the ground.
It turned its empty gaze toward a ghost above, jaw creaking open.
"What are you guys doing?" it asked. Its voice dry and unnatural.
"Not us," a ghost muttered flatly.
In the headmaster's office, polished obsidian gleamed beneath dim light. Mr. Paton sat behind the large table, flipping through documents with measured precision. Across from him, Victoria leaned casually, her posture relaxed despite the authority in the room.
"Quick question," she began, tilting her head slightly. "Who's sponsoring the new students?"
The building jolted violently.
"AAAAAAA—!" Victoria shrieked, her composure shattering instantly.
Mr. Paton closed his eyes, fingers pressing against the bridge of his nose as the tremor passed.
"Can not one day of peace exist in this place?" he muttered.
Back in the room, chaos reigned.
Renji and Damien stood locked in place, fists flying, blood staining the air between them. Their lips were split, faces bruised, yet neither yielded.
Another clash as both fists collided with each other's jaws.
Neither moved as silence followed.
Their arms dropped slowly.
"Why are you holding back so much?" Renji asked, voice low but sharp.
Damien's gaze didn't waver. "Why are you doing the same thing?"
A long, quiet pause.
Renji exhaled. "Fine. Do what you want with that girl."
"I don't need your permission."
Renji scoffed faintly. "But you wanted it."
"Are we forgetting something?" Jiwon cut in, eyes narrowed as he gestured between them. "The whole reason this started is because Damien killed a guy. Or am I remembering wrong?"
Soren, seated on the bed, had been watching everything in silence.
"I think," he said slowly, voice calm but firm, "it's best we put limits on your abilities. Use them only when necessary."
The glow in both Damien and Renji's eyes flickered out instantly.
Their bodies faltered as they then both collapsed backward, landing on the ground with dull thuds.
"Also," Soren added, glancing around the room, "we need to clean this place. You two idiots sprayed blood everywhere."
"Yeah, yeah…" Renji muttered, already lying flat on his back. "After I sleep." His eyes closed.
Damien followed the same motion, silence overtaking him just as quickly.
Within seconds they were both asleep.
Jiwon stared at them, then shifted his gaze toward Soren, something uneasy settling in his expression.
"I find it weird," he said slowly. "How we're just… brushing past the fact that Damien killed someone. And on top of that, Renji was more focused on him being around that girl."
Soren opened his mouth then stopped. before his eyes drifted slightly, the weight of the question settling deeper than expected.
"…Now that I think about it," he said quietly, "we are calm about it."
A pause.
"I can understand them. Their power system… it probably numbs things like that." His gaze lowered slightly. "But what about us?"
Jiwon placed a hand on his chin, rubbing it slowly, brows drawn together. "Maybe it's because of our own power system. We haven't really explored it that much." He paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "Besides… doesn't it make us numb to certain emotions when we use it?"
Soren gave a small nod, his gaze distant.
Jiwon followed his line of sight, looking over at Damien who was now asleep on the floor, blood dried along his jaw, his expression oddly peaceful for someone who had just torn a room apart.
"What have we been dragged into?" Jiwon muttered.
Soren didn't answer immediately. His eyes lingered on both Damien and Renji before shifting slightly.
"I don't know," he said at last, voice quieter now. "But if we're not careful… we might reach a point we can't come back from."
The room fell into a brief silence.
Jiwon exhaled and gave a small nod. "Yeah…"
Then, almost as if the weight of the moment became too much to hold onto, he glanced back at Soren and added, "Don't we have a class tomorrow?"
Soren slowly turned his head toward him.
There was a long pause. A very long one.
"…Why," Soren said flatly, "did you remind me?"
Jiwon simply smiled as Soren sighed.
(What are the dark psychology classes? What is going to happen in the academy after such a phenomenon occurred?)
(Find out in the next chapter....)