Chapter Text
“Ah, Reiko! Have you seen Dwynnie around?”
Raelynn seemed exhausted. She had been running around the academy all morning in search of Dwyn. Before responding, Reiko took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.
“I have not seen her. It seems the girl is absent. In the gardens, maybe?”
“Oh, haiku again! How marvelous,” smiled Raelynn.
“But no, she is not in the gardens, either. Thanks anyway, my dear Reiko!”
“I apologize,” said Reiko, bowing.
“I wish I could have helped you. Good luck with your search.”
“Wowie, another one,” giggled Raelynn. She bowed back at her.
“Thank you! I’ll need it!”
With that, Raelynn turned around and left. There were only three people left that she hadn’t asked yet - the members of her own group. She knew their usual routine. Every Saturday morning, they’d go to the gym hall together, and work out for several hours. Lupe had gained quite a bit of muscle mass since the beginning of the semester, and it didn’t seem like he was going to stop anytime soon. He seemed insecure, Raelynn thought. As though he needed to prove himself somehow.
Thus, she made a beeline for Gymnasium 2, and swung the door open. As expected, the three boys were inside. Lupe and Beau were in the middle of a sparring match, and Aoi was doing handstand pushups. It didn’t take very long for them to notice her standing in the doorframe.
“Rae!” exclaimed Lupe, a wide smile on his face.
Beau took advantage of Lupe’s moment of distraction, and swept him off his feet. With an “oof”, he landed on the ground, softening his fall with a puddle of gelatinous water on the ground. Wet and moderately annoyed, he stood back up.
“Hey man, what was that for?” he said.
“You let down your guard,” shrugged Beau.
Raelynn giggled, and walked towards them. Aoi stopped his exercise, and planted himself back on his feet.
“Hey, boys,” she said.
“Finally decided to join us, Rae?” asked Beau.
“This guy here always misses you during our workout sessions. He gets distracted all the time.”
Playfully, he jabbed Lupe in the side.
“Ouch,” said Lupe, blushing.
“Is that so?” grinned Raelynn, looking over at Aoi.
Aoi nodded. “Yes. He is very, very clingy, I am afraid.”
Raelynn breathed a sigh of infatuation. “I know. Isn’t he just the cutest?”
Speechless and entirely overwhelmed by this sudden display of affection, Lupe could do nothing but stare at the ground. Aoi and Beau chuckled to themselves.
“Anyway, no, I’m afraid I’m not here to join you,” said Raelynn.
“Actually, I’m looking for someone. Have any of you seen Dwynnie or Lani around?”
Beau shook his head. “Nah, haven’t seen them.”
“Me neither,” said Aoi.
“Last time I saw either of them was Friday, during class. What do you want from them?”
“Ah, I just wanted to ask them how the family research project is going!” said Raelynn.
“Lani doesn’t know who her parents were, did you know that?”
“That’s news to me,” responded Beau.
Aoi nodded. “Don’t really know much about their group in general, honestly.”
“I just love making friends and getting to know people,” smiled Raelynn.
“Wouldn’t really know what to do with my free time otherwise, I think!”
“Dwynnie..?” asked Lupe.
“I didn’t know you were close like that.”
He almost sounded jealous. Raelynn swiftly walked over to him, and wrapped her arms around him.
“It’s just a nickname, my little wolfie! You know you’re the only one for me.”
She pecked him on the cheek. He seemed happier now, smiling and blushing. Raelynn put her hand under his chin, and looked him deep in the eyes as she smiled.
“I love you, Lupe,” she whispered.
The girl released him from her grip, and turned around to leave.
“I’ll keep looking! Thanks, guys!”
She waved, and left the gym. As soon as the door fell shut, Beau started laughing.
“Little wolfie? Oh heavens, you should see yourself! If you had a tail, it’d be wagging!”
Lupe was mildly embarrassed. “I-it’s cute, okay? I think it’s cute that she calls me that.”
Aoi grinned at Beau. “Are you sure you’re in a position to make fun of other couple’s pet names? You call me your ‘snugglebun’, dude.”
Beau’s face reddened. Lupe looked at him in disbelief.
He laughed. “What, really?”
“Yeah, really,” nodded Aoi.
“W-well, it’s a different thing if we do it, don’t you think?” reasoned Beau, blushing.
“Oh yeah? Different how?” asked Aoi. Still grinning, he crossed his arms.
They looked into each other’s eyes for a solid ten seconds or so. Beau found himself at a loss for words.
He sighed, and put his hand against his forehead. “Nevermind, snugglebun.”
-
“Think it’s about time for lunch,” said Mister Belmont.
He looked into the bag he was carrying, and dug around inside it, seeking food. Unfortunately, the search came up empty. Nothing was left, except empty sandwich wrappers. He groaned.
“What is it?” asked Miss Alister.
“All the food’s gone. Thought I’d packed enough for at least one whole trip. Guess nine people eat more than I realized, huh. Let alone ten.”
“No food?” Hae looked distressed.
“What do we do, then?”
“Such a foolish question,” said Umeko.
“We shall simply go to the nearest town and purchase some there. Perhaps they would have fries, too.”
She nearly began drooling at the thought of eating more fries. But she quickly snapped herself out of it - this was not a weakness she would succumb to, she told herself.
“Sorry, I’m afraid there won’t be any more fries for a while.” Mister Belmont shook his head.
“We’re close to the Starlight Forest, now. Can’t go into any towns, especially not Glynthill. Too many tourists there, too many people that might recognize us. Best to avoid that if at all possible.”
Umeko frowned. “Oh. Okay.”
Her group patted her shoulders. “There, there,” they said in unison.
At the moment, they were walking through a particularly dense patch of forest. The path they were walking on could hardly be called a path at all. A wide river rushed past them to their left, unaffected by the cold. It seemed deep, and it sparked an idea in Mister Belmont’s head.
“We’re gonna get our food the old-fashioned way,” he grinned, pointing at the flowing water.
Miss Alister sighed. She knew exactly what he was getting at.
“Fishing?” asked Hae.
“Yeah, fishing.” Mister Belmont nodded enthusiastically.
The group groaned. They weren’t too fond of the idea of trying to catch enough fish to feed ten people in freezing cold water. They looked over at Miss Alister, hoping for an alternative solution.
She shrugged. “As much as I hate the thought, he’s right. Unless you wanna eat frozen berries, fishing is the only thing we can do to feed ourselves right now.”
The students groaned one more time. But their grumbling stomachs did a great job at convincing them that the teachers were probably right.
“But we have no fishing rods,” said Adair.
“How are we going to catch any fish if we lack the tools?”
Mister Belmont pointed at the spear on Adair’s back. “You’re carrying all the tools you’ll ever need in your lives with you, right now.”
Adair was upset at the suggestion. “Devilbanes are tools for combat; they weren’t made to be used so lightly.”
“No, no,” said Mister Belmont, wagging his index finger at them.
“Devilbanes are tools for survival . That’s what we’re doing right now. Surviving.”
They tried to come up with a counter, but ultimately understood that Mister Belmont was right. Adair sighed, and shrugged.
“Heavens, kids. You all need to learn how to improvise in a pinch,” lectured Mister Belmont.
“When push comes to shove during a mission, you gotta know a little more than just how to fight. You need to know your surroundings, your primary physical needs, and how to satisfy them even in a dire situation. If you can’t, everything will go to crap faster than you can say ‘Nightingale Peak’.”
The group stayed quiet, and nodded hesitantly.
“So, that’s why we’re gonna go fishing,” said Mister Belmont. He grinned.
“Maybe you’ll even enjoy it, who knows. The trouts are particularly tasty this time of year.”
And so, with no other alternatives in sight, it was decided. Mister Belmont split the group in two: Miss Alister would take Reese, Umeko, Jia and Catharine with her to look for firewood, and he would take Hae, Dwyn, Adair and Lani with him to catch the fish. He reasoned that their Devilbanes were the most appropriate ones for fishing. Originally, he was going to send Hae along with the others as well, but after Hae explained his Devilbane to him he quickly changed his mind.
“On the way back, we’re gonna switch,” said Mister Belmont to the group.
“Then you four are gonna catch some fish, and the others will go get the firewood.”
After designating a spot for the campfire, the groups went their separate ways. While Guinevere’s group went off the path to collect some firewood, Jia stayed behind to prepare the fireplace. With great enthusiasm, she flattened a circular section of the ground with her boots, and gathered up some rocks which she laid around the shallow pit. She seemed to enjoy the process.
In the woods, Guinevere observed as Catharine pruned some trees. Using her giant scissors, she clipped several branches to use as kindling, and even felled a small, dead tree. After chopping it up into segments, the teacher helped her carry them over to the fireplace. Reese and Umeko were left by themselves, collecting some more kindling for the fire.
Using one hand to make sure the rim of her skirt stayed above ground so it wouldn’t get dirty, Umeko carefully picked up thin individual branches and sticks with the other hand as she stood there leaning forward. Reese looked over at her, and laughed. This seemed familiar.
“How nostalgic. The princess is still just as afraid of a little dirt as she was a few months ago.”
Reese decided to help her with the gathering. She stayed close as she collected a thick bundle of dead branches, leaning and crouching as she needed to.
“Yes, ha, ha,” replied Umeko sarcastically.
“It would not do for my dress to get dirty. All of my other clothes are currently in the wash.”
“It’s gonna get dirty sooner or later, princess,” said Reese.
“We’re gonna go catch a bunny, remember? There’s bound to be more dirt in the Starlight Forest.”
Umeko shrugged. “We shall see.”
Reese chuckled. “You really haven’t changed. Still talk the same exact way, too.”
“W-what way?” asked Umeko.
“Well, all formal-like. Like you’re addressing a royal court, when really you’re just talking to some friends.”
“That is because I am afraid of unlearning it.” Umeko sighed.
“One day, as soon as next month, I will face my family again. If I spoke like a commoner before them, they would punish me for it.”
“Oh, what a load of bull,” groaned Reese.
“Your family needs to grow up. You should talk however you want to. It’s not gonna make you any less smart, or dignified, or classy, or whatever.”
Umeko blushed. She looked up at Reese, slightly tilting her head. “Classy? Am I classy?”
“W-well yeah, of course, my lady,” smiled Reese, rubbing the back of her head.
There it was again - that feeling! Umeko’s vibrant green eyes contrasted against the snow. As Reese looked into them, she felt some form of reaction in her heart once more. When Umeko looked up at her like that, something deep inside of Reese just wanted to squish her cheeks. She had no idea why.
One time, in the attic of her home, a stray cat had given birth to a litter of kittens. She took care of them with her mother and her brother, and they raised them into adult cats. Whenever she looked at one of the kittens, and it looked back up at her, she felt a very similar thing to what she was feeling right now. Only Umeko was not a cat, she was a witch, and a girl just like herself. Reese was fully aware of this, which only made the feeling more inexplicable to her.
The image of the kitten overlapped with the image of Umeko before her eyes. Undeniably, they were similar, she thought. Suddenly, she realized that her mind was wandering. Flustered, she continued.
“And you still would be, e-even if you used some contractions or swear words every now and then.”
Umeko smiled. “Well, if you insist, maybe I will.. uhm, I’ll try it out.”
It sounded like she genuinely had to try. The “I’ll” alone required a lot of effort, it seemed.
Reese grinned. “Hey, that’s the spirit.”
She bundled up all the branches and sticks she had gathered, and put them under one arm. With the other hand, she lifted up Umeko’s beret and playfully ruffled her hair.
“H-hey!” Umeko’s face turned bright red.
Reese put the beret down on Umeko’s forehead, effectively blindfolding her, and began walking towards the fireplace. She chuckled.
“Last one to camp is a stinky baby!”
“No fair!” said Umeko.
She adjusted her headwear, and giggled. Through the snow and trees, she raced Reese to the firepit, suddenly completely unafraid of the dirt. Laughing, they both arrived a short while later.
“Looks like you’re the stinky baby, fiend!” panted Umeko.
Reese nodded, grinning. “Didn’t expect you to run so fast. Figured you’d just stumble over your skirt.”
Both of them were exhausted, breathing heavily as they stood bent over, holding onto their knees.
“Heavens, were you attacked?” asked Jia with genuine concern.
She was sitting on a make-shift bench next to the fireplace - a tree log split down the middle, likely by Catharine’s Devilbane. She sat next to her, and Guinevere sat on another halved log across from them, on the other side of the pit that Jia had prepared.
“No, not unless you count hair ruffling as an attack,” laughed Reese.
Umeko gently elbowed her side. “You ruffian. I didn’t even bring a mirror.”
Guinevere smiled. She loved seeing them together, happy in each other’s presence. Of course, she didn’t know them as well as they knew each other, but even she could tell that they were beginning to adapt parts of the other’s personality as their own. She could tell that they had changed a lot over the past few months.
“Reese, would you do the honors?” she asked, pointing at the fireplace.
“Oh yeah, of course.”
Reese walked over to the pit, and shaped a bonfire with the kindling and the wood their group had gathered. Then, with a simple snap of her fingers, she ignited the wood with a spark. Rainbow flames soon engulfed the entire pile, calmly crackling away.
As they sat around the fire, they looked over to the river. Thirty meters or so away from them, Mister Belmont was trying to teach the other group how to fish with their Devilbanes. Lani stood next to the river, aiming her crossbow at the water; a bolt was already loaded. Adair and Dwyn stood in the water. Adair’s pants were rolled up to their knees, but Dwyn had kept hers down at her ankles. They were freezing, and clinging to their Devilbanes, though Adair certainly seemed to be having a much worse time than Dwyn. Hae stood on the other side of the river across from Lani, next to Mister Belmont. Both of his arms were pointed at the river.
“Look between rocks and in spots where the current is a little slower,” said Mister Belmont.
“They love to hide in little crevices. Also, make sure you check under low-hanging tree branches. And stay downstream, or the fish will know you’re there.”
“W-w-w-why aren’t you helping us catch the f-f-f-fish?” bibbered Adair.
Mister Belmont crossed his arms and grinned. “Wouldn’t be much of a lesson if I did all the work, right?”
Adair angrily clicked their tongue. “Y-y-y-you miserable old–”
“Shh. You’re going to spook all the fish,” said Dwyn, her voice steady.
“Try to focus, Adair. It’s just water, after all. That’s our specialty, isn’t it?”
For a moment, Adair felt insulted, perceiving Dwyn’s tone as condescending. But then they realized that she was actually trying to give them helpful advice. Adair took a deep breath, and focused on their legs, below the knees. With water magic, they diverted the flow of the river around their legs, essentially forming holes in the current. The cold was far less unbearable now, and their legs were dry. Dwyn looked over at them and smiled.
“Better?” she asked.
Adair nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
Lani fondly observed this interaction. She wondered if Dwyn would’ve helped her out with her own water magic if she had been the one in the water. After all, Lani couldn’t control water yet.
She had tried, of course, keenly observing Dwyn’s moves and body language during practice, attempting to copy her somehow. But the most she could bring forth without the proper education were a few tiny droplets, akin to perspiration. The elements were too different from each other to simply improvise and be efficient. Though there were certain similarities between water and air that did not go unnoticed by her.
“Eyes on the prize, Miss Valo,” said Mister Belmont.
Lani was caught off-guard. “Y-yeah. Sorry, sir.”
She pried her eyes off Dwyn, and focused on the stream again. Mister Belmont continued.
“I want all of you to find one fish each. Once you’re in a position where you’re sure you can kill it in one hit, give me a signal and I’ll tell you all to strike once everyone’s ready. Got it?”
The students nodded, and did as they were told. Lani aimed her crossbow at a resting trout underneath a tree branch by the shore, Adair hoisted their spear into position above one hiding between some rocks. Dwyn found one between some rocks as well, and Hae took aim at two swimming side by side, pointing his arms at the water. All of them gave Mister Belmont a nod as a signal.
He slowly raised his hand up into the air, and counted down from three with his fingers. When he reached zero, he swung his arm down, and the four students made their moves.
The bolt of Lani’s crossbow cleanly pierced through the fish she had aimed at, and pinned it to the riverbed. Adair and Dwyn each impaled a fish on their weapons - Dwyn seemed almost sorry for the fish when she raised it out of the water. Only Hae remained.
With a bang, two explosions went off inside the cuffs on his arms, visible through an exhaust slit near the back. A sleek, thin sword attached to a steel rope shot out of each of them at an incredible speed. The recoil forced Hae to flinch slightly. Both swords ripped through the surface of the water and cleanly through both fish. By pressing a button in his palm, the top halves of both swords bent ninety degrees with a click, effectively turning them into hooks. Another button press reeled the ropes in, back onto their spools.
Everyone watched with some degree of shock and surprise as Hae removed the fish from their hooks. He looked over at Reese on the shore, and proudly raised both fish into the air. But his attempt at bragging fell flat when the slippery animals fell out of his hands and flopped back into the water. In a panic, he jumped after them to retrieve them before they could float away.
The entire group laughed, including the teachers. Catharine shook her head, her face red with second-hand embarrassment. This little idiot, she thought, endearingly.
“Well, that was quite the show, Mister Iona,” chuckled Mister Belmont.
“The fish are definitely spooked now, but what can you do, hm? We’re still gonna need some more if we wanna feed everyone and save some for later. Just keep doing what you’re doing.”
Sopping wet and shivering, Hae crawled back to shore, a fish in each hand. He held onto them like his life depended on it. His face was redder than it had ever been before, and certainly not just due to the cold.
Lani swiftly retrieved her fish and bolt from the riverbed, and the group of four continued fishing until they thought they had enough.
Around forty minutes later everyone was sitting around the fireplace. Though it was mid-day, it was quite dark and gloomy thanks to the overcast sky and the treetops above them. The flames shone their light of many colors on every member of the group and even the trees around them. Everything was gently illuminated, as though a rainbow had lowered itself to the ground like a veil. The colors danced around them as they roasted the fish they caught on sticks.
Reese and Umeko sat closely side by side, warming each other. Both of them had their eyes locked on to their fish, and they seemed lost in thought. As a subdued smile rested on both their faces, emotions flared up inside their hearts, and thoughts and daydreams bounced around inside their heads.
The only difference between them was their level of understanding for these thoughts and feelings. It was as though a candle had been lit inside of Reese, and the wax was slowly melting away to reveal something within, something that she didn’t know was there. Umeko’s candle on the other hand had burned away in a blazing inferno the day they had first laid eyes on each other.
Dwyn and Adair were closer to the fire than the others, their legs stretched out towards the flames to recover from the biting cold of the river. Though they had stayed dry for the most part, it was difficult to keep their magic focused so precisely for such a long period of time. Inevitably, their legs had gotten wet regardless. And so, both of them sat shivering before the fire.
Lani knew Dwyn wasn’t the type to ask for help when she needed it. She was likely to act in a somewhat selfless manner to help someone else, but if she was the one in need of help she usually just felt like she would inconvenience everyone by asking for it. Therefore, Lani decided to take matters into her own hands.
She got up, walked over to her, took off her own jacket, and laid it across her legs like a blanket. Surprised, Dwyn looked up at her. After the surprise had worn off, she looked concerned.
“K-keep your jacket, Lani. I don’t want you to freeze,” she said.
Lani shook her head and smiled. “No can do. I’ve decided that’s yours now.”
Their breath was visible in the cold air. Little puffs floated between them as they spoke.
“R-really, I’m f-fine. Don’t w-worry about me,” countered Dwyn, still shivering.
“Dwyn, I can hear your teeth chattering.” Lani wiped some snow off a rock, and placed it next to Dwyn.
“In fact, I’ve got an even better idea. Benefits us both, I promise.”
She took off her scarf, and sat down on the rock. Carefully, she laid it around Dwyn’s neck, who was looking at her with her soft, purplish eyes full of immense curiosity all the while.
“W-what are you doing, L-lani? Not y-your scarf, too!”
Lani giggled. “Hey, remember the ice labyrinth from the entrance exam?”
“Y-yes, I do,” nodded Dwyn.
“What ab-b-bout it?”
Lani pulled one end of the scarf around her own neck, and then slowly brought the ends together, pulling her head and Dwyn’s closer to one another. Suddenly, Dwyn realized what Lani was hinting at.
In the labyrinth, they had held each other closely for several minutes to stay warm as they waited for Reese to arrive. Dwyn remembered how she had felt in that moment. Awkward, certainly, but warm. Her heartbeat had quickened, and the warmth of Lani’s embrace had felt pleasant. It had been the first time she was ever held that way. An echo of these feelings, of that same sensation, rushed through her body, and within seconds she was enveloped by warmth.
She looked into Lani’s eyes, and realized she was feeling that very same warmth. But now, after spending several months together as close friends, the initial awkwardness was gone. Dwyn felt safe and comfortable. A smile came upon her face as her cheeks reddened. She pulled the jacket-blanket further up, and leaned into Lani. In return, Lani leaned into her as well. Their heads touched.
“Thank you,” said Dwyn.
“Maybe this is okay after all.”
Lani grinned. “I told you.”
Adair observed this beautiful display of affection. Seeking something similar, perhaps, they looked over at Catharine with big, round puppy eyes. She was wearing a large, warm jacket as well. It took a few moments, but eventually Catharine noticed their stare. She furled her brows and shook her head.
“Oh, n-no way, Adair,” she said bluntly.
“I’m f-freezing to death o-over here. Sorry, but I need this jacket. Just get even c-closer to the f-f-fireplace or something, m-maybe.”
Adair sighed, and silently moved closer to the fire, their back turned to Catharine.
Hae took a big bite out of his fish. Though he was cold as well and still quite wet, he didn’t really feel like cuddling around the fireplace with the others. On top of that, he was still embarrassed about dropping the fish and jumping after them, so he was doing his best to pretend it never happened.
“Mmm, you were right Mister Belmont,” he said with his mouth full of fish.
“These really are delicious!”
Mister Belmont grinned. “Right? I said it would pay off, didn’t I?”
“I do agree that they taste good,” said Dwyn.
“But I feel sort of guilty about this. Buying some fish from the market is quite different from catching and killing them yourself.”
“Eh.” Mister Belmont shrugged, and bit another chunk out of his fish.
“That just means you’ve learned how to lie to yourself. They’re just killed for you before you eat them. It’s the same thing, really.”
“But I could never kill one myself,” said Jia.
“I would feel far too bad about it! I couldn’t live with the guilt.”
“Well, but you’re gonna have to,” replied Mister Belmont.
“Listen, if you can’t even kill a fish, you won’t be able to kill a demon, either. Especially not if they pretend to be a friend, or someone else that’s dear to you.”
Jia frowned, and lowered her head. Catharine laid one arm around her, and rubbed her shoulder to comfort her. She angrily looked at Mister Belmont. He raised his hands.
“Hey, be happy I’m doing the dirty work of actually cleaning them for you at least. That’s where the real mess is at, I assure you. Killing them is way less awful in comparison.”
Guinevere scoffed. “Yes, how very heroic and brave of you.”
The group chuckled, and Mister Belmont scratched the stubble on his chin. He continued eating his fish in silence.
Peacefully, the group ate their fish as they chatted around the fireplace. Reese’s ears suddenly perked up when she heard a cracking noise somewhere in the woods. She raised a hand, and looked around. The group fell silent.
“Did any of you hear that?” she asked.
Lani nodded. “Yeah, I heard it too. Sounded like a pretty thick branch getting snapped.”
“That is not too unusual, right?” remarked Umeko.
“We are in a forest, after all. I am sure there are many animals around us that we are unaware of.”
Everyone was ready to agree with her and just ignore the sound altogether, until they spotted a silhouette in the underbrush. Its shape resembled Hae. Nervously, the group looked back and forth between the Hae that was sitting with them by the fireplace, and the Hae standing in the woods.
“It’s a demon,” said Dwyn, almost whispering.
“Hae has been with us the whole time. The one over there can’t be real.”
Silently, the group stared at the figure in the gloom. They felt too afraid to take their eyes off it, their hearts beat faster and their minds were forced to decide between fight and flight. This was the first demon they had ever encountered in the wild. Before anyone could do anything, Guinevere spoke up.
“Stay calm, and remain where you are,” she said.
“Me and Mister Belmont are going to handle this. Alright?”
The entire group nodded. Everyone, except Hae. This is the chance for me to prove myself, he thought.
He got to his feet, and laughed. “Oh, come on! This is such an obvious trap.”
Everyone looked at him in surprise. “You there! In the woods! We know what you are! Show yourself!”
“Sit down, Mister Iona,” said Guinevere angrily. She stood up.
Hae shrugged. “What? It’s just a shapeshifter. You taught us they’re no big deal once you figure out their disguise, and this one’s really as obvious as it gets.”
“It doesn’t matter, you’ve never fought a demon before!” hissed Guinevere.
“Oh, I’m sure I’ll manage just fine,” scoffed Hae.
He pointed his arm at the image of himself, and before Guinevere could physically stop him, he fired his sword at it. Upon impact, the creature let out a loud cry of pain - louder and deeper than Hae had expected it to be. But it was too late to turn back now; his spool was already rapidly pulling him towards the creature.
Hae gulped. With his second sword in his other hand, he darted towards the demon. As he got closer, he realized that his doppelganger was entirely flat. In fact, the entire area surrounding it appeared like a painting now that he was near it. As the image faded away, he realized his mistake.
Before him stood a large demon with elongated, outstretched arms. Skin flaps hung underneath them like sails, serving as a screen for the projection that had drawn him in. A small wound was left behind where Hae had struck it with his Devilbane, dripping dark purple blood. Six claw-like fingers extended from each of its hands. It was vaguely humanoid, completely devoid of hair, and it had a long neck paired with a huge, gaping mouth. Its eyes glimmered in the light of the campfire, almost completely black but outlined by a light blue ring. And it was angry.
The entire group sprung up to their feet, but none of them could act fast enough to stop what was happening. Before they could even react, the creature had grabbed Hae with its spindly arms, and shoved him down its enormous mouth, along with his weapons.
“Hae!” exclaimed Catharine, panicked.
The group was shocked, and terrified. Only the teachers remained calm as the beast wrapped its skin flaps around itself, and vanished seemingly into thin air.
“It’s a Nightcloak,” exclaimed Guinevere.
“Form a circle, everyone!” commanded Mister Belmont, with one hand on his Devilbane.
“Stay closely together, and keep your eyes peeled for movement!”
Still disoriented from the shock, the group clumsily followed his orders. They were so stressed that they barely even remembered what a circle looked like, but they eventually managed to get into formation next to the fireplace.
“A Nightcloak, an orange level demon?” asked Dwyn anxiously.
“Yes, but fortunately one without teeth,” nodded Jia to her left.
“If Hae gets out of there fast enough he should be totally unharmed!”
“That’s right, but we’ll have to help him.” Guinevere drew her revolver.
“The insides of their digestive organs are so rubbery that it’s basically impossible to penetrate them with weapons, even Devilbanes. Blades like Hae’s would just bounce right back.”
“So we have to cut the sucker open from the outside,” said Mister Belmont.
“Got it.”
He retrieved his Devilbane from behind his back. It was a long pole with a blade at its side near the top. But its true form was hidden: at the press of a button, the blade sprung out of the pole, transforming into a scythe. Mister Belmont loosened two locks at the bottom of the lower handle, letting the pommel dangle from a cord. He gripped the scythe’s two handles, and held down the trigger-shaped object that resembled a handguard. Guinevere stopped him before he could pull the cord.
“Not yet, Belmont. We have to hear it moving around,” she said.
Mister Belmont nodded. The group only wondered about the cord’s function for a brief moment, as the situation at hand required their full attention. Fearfully and with their weapons drawn, they stood there in a circle, their eyes darting around the forest. But the beast was nowhere to be seen.
Just like Guinevere had said, they could hear it moving around them. Aside from the rustling of leaves and their own breathing, the woods were dead silent. All of a sudden, the fire went out. The Nightcloak had likely thrown dirt on it and suffocated the flame, the group assumed.
“Reese, make a fireball, and hold it,” said Guinevere decisively.
Reese did as she was told. In her right hand, she formed a ball of rainbow fire. Guinevere made one with her free hand, her concentrated blue flames rolled tightly into a sphere.
“When this thing rears its ugly head, I want you to throw the fire right at its eyes immediately. Okay?”
“Alright,” agreed Reese.
For a moment, everything was quiet. The rustling noises had ceased altogether. Their breathing was the only sound left. Something was wrong. The sky above them darkened even further. Another moment later, they realized that it wasn’t the sky, but the demon descending onto them.
“Split up!” yelled Guinevere.
The group scattered, and turned to face the inside of the circle instead. Snow and leaves flew into the air as the creature landed between them in the center of the circle, still invisible to the eye. Mister Belmont took a swing at it by approximating its location, but missed its head, hitting its fleshy back instead. More dark purple blood splattered onto the snow as it cried out in agony.
The pain forced it to uncloak. With its beady eyes it hastily looked around as it sat there on all fours, assessing the situation. Even crouched down like this, it was still as tall as Reese. Its arm span was easily double its height. The group stared at the beast in disgust and terror.
Just when Reese was about to throw her fireball at it, it briefly locked eyes with her. Her heart sunk down to her feet - for some reason she felt exposed, as though her mind was being read. Without any hesitation, the creature turned around, and leapt directly onto Umeko.
She screamed, horrified. It pinned down her arms, and she was completely unable to move. Saliva dripped from its wide open mouth directly down onto her face as it slowly leaned in to devour her whole. Umeko feared for her life.
“Throw it, Reese! Right now!” shouted Guinevere.
But Reese couldn’t move. She was locked into place, paralyzed. The thought of losing Umeko crossed her mind. Fear took hold of her entire body, and everything around her turned into a blur. Fireball in hand she simply stood there, dazed and confused.
Umeko looked up at her. She realized what was happening. Desperately, she yelled.
“Reese! Do something! Please!”
Her voice managed to pierce the fog inside Reese’s head. Her name rang out clear as day. She snapped out of it, and hurled the ball of rainbow flames directly at the creature’s right eye with all her strength.
At the same time, Guinevere threw hers at its left. Both fireballs impacted at the same time, burning the Nightcloak’s eyes and blinding it. It screamed horribly, and stumbled away as its skin rapidly changed colors. It had lost all sense of balance.
Quickly, Reese rushed over to Umeko, and helped her up from the ground.
“I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” she asked, overcome by guilt and concern.
Umeko looked up at her. She grabbed Reese’s jacket, and rubbed her face against it, wiping off the drool.
“That’s for hesitating, fiend,” she said.
Though she was shaking, she grinned at Reese. In spite of the fact that it had been her on the ground and underneath the beast’s drooling maw, she just wanted to calm Reese’s nerves.
“I’m okay. Please, don’t worry.”
Reese smiled awkwardly, and rubbed the back of her head.
“Still, I’m sorry. I got cold feet for a moment, there. Won’t happen again, I promise.”
Umeko nodded. “Yes, it better not! That was awful. But thank you.”
Meanwhile, the demon was still aimlessly staggering around, screaming. Its exclamations sounded almost human, but they were warped and twisted into something horribly uncanny and disquieting. Mister Belmont looked over at Guinevere, his hand still holding down the trigger. His other hand was wrapped around the pommel hanging from the cord below the bottom handle.
“May I?” he asked.
Guinevere sighed. “Sure, go ahead.”
Mister Belmont grinned and pulled the cord. Suddenly, his Devilbane sprung to life, roaring like a wild animal. Everyone turned towards him, their eyes drawn to the weapon’s blade. It was shimmering - it appeared to be in several places at once. Upon closer inspection the students noticed a barbed chain outlining the silhouette of the blade, circling it at over ten thousand rounds per minute. The scythe had become a chainsaw.
Squeezing the trigger, Mister Belmont sprinted towards the beast as his Devilbane breathed black fumes into the air through hidden exhaust vents behind the scythe’s saw blade. He leapt into the air, and spun around his own axis. In that rotation, the weapon made contact with the Nightcloak’s skin, and immediately tore it to shreds. The screaming stopped instantaneously, and the head of the demon was severed at the neck. With a thud it fell to the ground as dark-purple blood sprayed up into the air.
Mister Belmont landed next to the creature, and disengaged his Devilbane’s mechanism. He folded the scythe back into the staff and swung it over his shoulder, returning it to its holster. Aside from a few splatters here and there, he had barely gotten any blood on himself.
The students watched in disgust as the beheaded body of the creature continued stumbling around for a few more seconds until it finally collapsed. Blood gurgled out of the gaping wound, and after a few more muscle twitches the Nightcloak eventually stopped moving completely.
It was no longer a creature, now. It had been reduced to nothing but a pile of flesh. The color drained from its skin, leaving behind a motionless gray husk. The burnt eyes of the severed head seemed to stare into something far off in the distance, but they could no longer see. The Nightcloak was dead.
A deafening silence tightly wrapped itself around the group. Some of them felt nauseous, accompanied by a weakness in their knees. Though they understood that the creature had wanted them dead, and that it was neither witch nor human, this excessive display of violence had evoked unpleasant feelings in all of them. They silently stared on as Mister Belmont crouched down next to the lifeless body.
He produced three clear glass vials from his coat pocket. They each had a needle at the bottom, and just above it was a small turning knob. He thrust the needles into the exposed blood vessels in the Nightcloak’s neck, and gave each knob a little clockwise turn. Swiftly, the vials filled up with demon blood. When they were full, he turned the knobs counter-clockwise, and removed the needles. Mister Belmont placed the vials back into his pocket.
When he stood up and turned around, he saw seven disgusted faces. Guinevere stood next to them with her arms crossed, shaking her head in disapproval. Mister Belmont furled his brows.
“What? Why are you all looking at me like that? Did I do something wrong, huh?”
The group remained silent.
“I killed the damn thing while you were all standing around. None of you would’ve done it, let’s be real. And Guinevere, don’t give me any of that judgmental crap. Just cause you’re too proud to sap some demon blood doesn’t mean you’re above me.”
He held out one of the vials between his fingers.
“This right here is liquid gold. Sell one of these in the right place and you’re set for two to three months. This is the world you’re living in now, kids. Most of you came to the academy for the money, right? Well you’re not gonna make any if you’re not willing to spill some blood.”
“But you didn’t need to be so brutal about it,” said Jia, eyes pointed at the floor.
“Right? I mean, I could have put it to sleep with one of my melodies..”
Mister Belmont laughed. “Then why didn’t you? Why didn’t you do anything?”
Jia stayed quiet. She knew the answer, but she didn’t want to admit it.
“Because you were scared,” said Mister Belmont. He put the vial away.
“You’re all scared. Bunch of first-years, sent out on a mission that’s this crucial to the academy’s safety. I’ve no idea what Alaynah was thinking, honestly. You’re all nobodies. Weaklings. Maybe she’s trying to harden you for what’s to come.”
The students had no words in response. They knew that they were weak, that they were still at the very beginning of their training. And they, too, did not fully understand why Miss Adagnitio had sent them on this mission. Mister Belmont walked up to the creature, and grabbed its open throat. He reached into it with one arm.
“You know nothing of this world, and nothing about the group we’re trying to stop. Honestly, if we had to face them right now you’d all be nothing but cannon fodder. The blinders are off, now. You’re either gonna survive what’s next, or you won’t.”
After fumbling around inside the Nightcloak’s body for a while, he pulled out his arm again. Hae was on the other end of it, desperately clinging onto the teacher’s hand with both of his own. He was quivering uncontrollably, his eyes were wide open. Viscera, blood and stomach contents were smeared all over him.
He fell to the ground, and crawled away on all fours behind a tree, where he promptly threw up into the snow. Mister Belmont pointed at him, and looked at the group.
“Keep an eye on this one, or he’s gonna get himself killed eventually.”
Catharine ran to his side, Adair and Jia followed along. Dwyn, Lani, Umeko and Reese joined them, too.
“Hae!” exclaimed Catharine.
Crying, she fell to her knees in front of him. She took his face in both of her hands. When their eyes met, Hae came back to his senses. His eyes returned to normal, and he felt slightly less shaky.
“C-cat?”
“You idiot!” she yelled, smiling through the tears.
“Never do something like that ever again!”
In spite of the blood and guts, she hugged him tightly.
“I second this,” said Adair, nodding.
“You shouldn’t endanger yourself like that. For your own sake, and for ours.”
“Are you okay, Hae?” asked Jia.
“That must have been terrifying..”
Hae smiled weakly. “I’m fine. I think. It didn’t hurt me.”
He looked at Jia and Adair. “A-are you not gonna hug me, too?”
The two looked at each other, and then back at Hae.
“Absolutely not,” said Adair.
“You stink. Really, really bad. And you have blood all over,” added Jia, nodding.
Hae chuckled. “Great, thanks. I love you guys, too.”
“It’s good to see you’re safe, Hae,” said Lani.
“We were all pretty worried for a while there.”
Umeko, Reese and Dwyn silently agreed. Hae nodded back at them.
Guinevere walked up to Mister Belmont, and stared into his eyes with her arms crossed.
“Spit it out,” said Mister Belmont.
“Whatever it is that you need to say to me, go ahead.”
“Don’t speak to my students like that ever again, Belmont,” said Guinevere.
“The violence is one thing, but shoving all this bitter stuff about reality and whatnot down their throats like that? And don’t you make enough money by being a teacher already? What’s with the vials?”
Mister Belmont shrugged. “They needed to hear it. Yeah, truth’s a bitter pill to swallow sometimes, but it’s better to understand how serious the situation is. Better than being naive, and dying because of it.”
He crossed his arms as well, and looked over at the group of students. Hae had gotten back to his feet by now, and everyone except Catharine was keeping their distance because of the smell.
“And about the vials,” continued Mister Belmont.
“How’s a guy supposed to afford a whiskey collection without a side hustle? I can survive well enough just by being a teacher and an Executioner Guard, but that stuff’s expensive, believe me.”
Guinevere groaned. He really hadn’t changed one bit in all this time, she realized.
“Look, Aaron. My point is that right now, they’re still kids. I think we should allow them to be. They’ll grow on their own, they’ll harden and they’ll mature. But right now, they deserve to continue living in the world that they grew up in, without having to worry so much about the future.”
Mister Belmont scoffed. “Yeah, yeah. However long that world might still exist. Wouldn’t get my hopes up.”
Guinevere rolled her eyes, and walked over to Hae.
“You okay there, Mister Iona?” she asked.
Hae was caught off-guard. “Y-yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, ma’am.”
“Learnt any lessons today?” A sharp hint of sarcasm snuck into Guinevere’s voice.
“Yes.” Hae nodded, and stared at the ground.
“Being reckless can get you killed. I understand that now.”
Of course, he also understood that it hadn’t just been an attempt at proving himself worthy. This thoughtless display of what he had first thought of as bravery had also been yet another attempt at impressing Reese. He realized now that he had done himself no favors. He’d only made himself look like even more of an idiot than before.
Slowly, he raised his head. He looked over at Reese, who had one arm tightly wrapped around Umeko. The shorter girl was clinging to her side, still shaking. He hadn’t seen what had happened, of course, but he knew that he had caused both of them trouble with his actions. It was likely, he realized, that neither of them thought very highly of him. And not just them, but everyone else, too. Hae felt devastatingly guilty.
“I’m sorry, everyone,” he said, choking back tears. He couldn’t allow himself to cry.
“I did something really stupid and I put you all in danger. I’m sorry.”
Guinevere laid her iron hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes.
“Just make sure it never happens again, understood? This time we managed to get off the hook without a scratch, but we might not be so lucky the next time.”
Hae nodded and pressed his lips together. “Understood.”
“Alright everyone,” exclaimed Mister Belmont.
“That’s enough of that. Let’s wash up and get moving. We shouldn’t stick around here.”
The students nodded, and walked over to the firepit to get their things together. Mister Belmont stopped Hae in his tracks, firmly grabbing him by the shoulder.
“You’re with me, Iona. Gotta get that blood off you, or you’ll get sick. Besides, you smell bad.”
Hae wordlessly complied, and followed Mister Belmont to the river’s shore. Mister Belmont dipped his hand in the water, and used magic to form a bubble of water around his hand. He rubbed it over the bloody spots on his cloak like a sponge, dyeing the water purple. When he was done, he dropped the water back into the river. Steam rose up from his cloak - he used fire magic to increase the surface temperature of the cloak just enough to dry off the water.
Hae was crouched down next to him, amazedly observing Mister Belmont using two elements that were not his native one as though it was as simple as breathing.
“What’re you waiting for, hm? Clean yourself. I’m not gonna do it for you,” said Mister Belmont bluntly.
“But I can’t do what you just did,” responded Hae.
Mister Belmont laughed. “I know.”
Hae scratched his head. “So what do you want me to do then?”
“Jump,” said Mister Belmont. He pointed at the flowing water.
The young witch looked at where he was pointing, then back at the teacher. He scoffed.
“You’re kidding, right? I mean, I’ll freeze to death if I do that, or die of shock or something. Right?”
Mister Belmont looked at him with a deadpan expression.
“You’re the idiot who got himself covered in blood, not me. Your responsibility, not mine.”
Hae stammered. “B-but I.. I can’t just–”
“I said jump,” repeated Mister Belmont.
“Or would you prefer being pushed? Didn’t need anyone to push you when you threw yourself at that demon, that’s for sure. Unlike that thing, at least this river won’t digest you alive. So, what’s the holdup, hero?”
Hae looked at the ground once more, clenching his teeth.
“I’m sorry, okay? I’m sorry I was so stupid and so reckless. I’m never gonna do it again.”
“Look, kid.” Mister Belmont shook his head.
“Sorry’s not gonna cut it. Endanger yourself as much as you want, but don’t drag others into it. You’re not gonna learn anything unless there’s some kind of repercussion. You could’ve gotten someone killed, so you’re gonna jump into that river as punishment. Actions have consequences, Iona. You need to learn that, right now.”
Hae gulped. He stood up, and stared at the water rushing past before him. He imagined how cold it would feel, the sharp bite of the freezing water digging into his flesh. He thought about the others, how scared they must have been when facing the creature. And he thought about how nauseating the inside of the demon’s stomach had been. Before he could make up his mind about jumping into the water, before he could figure out the best approach, he felt an impact on his back. And one moment later, he crashed into the water.
The dive felt like falling through a paper floor. For a split second, his entire body went numb, feeling nothing at all. But then, the cold set in, enveloping him completely. It started at his fingers and toes, and rapidly ate through the flesh until all he felt was pain from the frostbite. His heartbeat quickened, and he flailed his limbs around, desperately forcing his head back above the surface.
Hae gasped for air. Never before in his life had he felt such a shortness of breath. Panicked, he drew breath after breath as his heart beat out of his chest. His body was already convinced it was going to die, and his mind reinforced that idea soon after. He flailed and flailed, but it was as though he had forgotten how to swim. Rather than freezing to death, he was even more afraid of drowning before the cold could fully paralyze him.
Mister Belmont stood above him at the water’s edge, looking down at him with crossed arms. Hae’s eyes pleaded for help. Though he wanted to scream for it instead, the words simply wouldn’t come out. His entire being was focused on staying alive, and it couldn’t spare energy for anything else.
“Use your magic, Iona,” said Mister Belmont.
“The water’s only cold because you allow it to be.”
His voice reached him through a strange blur. Hae was losing his grasp on reality, and words no longer made much sense at all. But, “magic” - he recognized that word. Desperately, he tried his best to focus on his arms. He could barely even feel them anymore, but he strained his muscles until they cramped, until he felt at least something again. He focused on the pain, and moments later Hae released fire into the water from his palm.
The flame burned so hot that it instantly vaporized some of the water around him. He kept it burning tall and bright, until the water’s temperature slowly increased. It went from freezing cold to just cold, then to luke warm, and then to warm. Hae regained the feeling in his body, and steadied his breath. Eventually, his heartbeat came back down to normal, too.
When the water started getting too hot, he lowered the intensity of the flame without letting it go out. He looked up at Mister Belmont, who was grinning. Hae was furious. Deeply angry, he shouted.
“What’s so damn funny? I almost died!”
“But you didn’t,” shrugged Mister Belmont, still grinning from ear to ear.
“You survived, Iona. Wanna know what’s really funny, though?”
“What!” scowled Hae.
“There was never a need for you to go into the water in the first place,” laughed Mister Belmont.
“Demon blood evaporates on its own after a while if its temperature drops and it isn’t in an air-tight space. You’d know this if you’d paid any attention in class.”
“You’re telling me you pushed me into the water for nothing?!”
Mister Belmont nodded. “Basically, yeah!”
“So why’d you rub it off your coat, then?” asked Hae, still angry.
“To test you, you idiot,” responded Mister Belmont.
“If you’d realized how pointless that whole act was, I wouldn’t have thrown you into the river. But you proved to me that you weren’t just reckless, but also stupid on top of that. So, I had to make a point of it. Had to make sure the lesson lands the hard way.”
Hae hesitated. He knew there was some truth to what Mister Belmont was saying, but he was understandably frustrated regardless.
“Asshole,” he mumbled under his breath as he made his way to shore.
“Yeah, yeah.” Mister Belmont held his hand out to Hae.
“Is this another test or a trap or whatever? You just gonna let me fall once I take your hand?” asked Hae.
Mister Belmont’s expression hardened. “I’d never. That much you can count on.”
Hae took his hand, and Mister Belmont pulled him up to shore.
“Thanks, I guess,” said Hae.
Now that he was out of the water, he was beginning to feel cold again. He remembered what Mister Belmont had done earlier, and focused his fire magic on the surface of his skin and his clothes. And even though his jacket caught on fire for a brief moment, he managed to successfully dry himself off. He almost looked as good as new.
“See? You’re already learning,” smiled Mister Belmont.
“You thought for yourself, and pretty much nailed the execution, too. Didn’t even need to tell you to do that. Did it all by yourself.”
Hae stared at him. “You know I’m not gonna just forgive you, right?”
Mister Belmont chuckled quietly, and scratched his chin.
“Yeah, I know. No-one ever does.”