Duelcrest Academy

I didn't know exactly what had brought me there, in front of Sophia's room door.

After the end of the duel, the girl had left the classroom, immersed in silence.

The atmosphere couldn't have been more different from when she had struck Valentine to the heart. No celebrations and compliments, just... fear.

The leaderboard now read:

96 students remaining.

Carl Stuart's murderer had been defeated. But now a new monster, if possible even more dangerous, had risen from its ashes.

That was probably what the other students thought.

Personally, I didn't know what to think. On one hand, I couldn't help but feel my stomach churn, thinking back on the gruesome state Sophia's power had reduced Valentine's body into. On the other, I felt gratitude and admiration towards her. After all, she had risked her life to save not only mine but everyone's.

She had also clearly intended to finish off Valentine with a clean hit to the heart. What happened after was not her fault.

There was also something else driving me there: curiosity.

As I had thought, the sword had nothing to do with her powers. I needed to know more. If there were other students among us who possessed those inexplicable powers, I needed to know more. My survival depended on it.

So, when several students had asked to go to the infirmary, complaining of feeling sick due to the gory spectacle they had just witnessed, I tagged along.

Finding where Sophia had gone was easy. All I had to do was follow the trail of blood she had left on the floor.

I gathered my courage and knocked.

After a moment, I heard Sophia's muffled voice ask:

«Who is it?»

«I-it's me, Elizabeth. I would like to talk to you...»

There was a moment of silence, then:

«Okay, come in, the door's open. Give me five minutes. I'm washing all that blood off me.»

Sophia's voice betrayed irritation.

For a moment I thought about running away, but then I decided to enter.

Sophia's room was pretty much identical to mine.

But it kinda had a different feel to it. It was... empty? Aside from textbooks, scrolls of parchment, a pen and inkwell, there was practically nothing in there.

No personal effects.

I could hear the sound of running water through the bathroom door.

I moved the chair from the desk and sat down, waiting.

I began to try and think about how to start the conversation. So far, my encounters with Sophia had been anything but friendly.

And now that I knew how powerful she was...

I was almost thinking of slipping away with an excuse when I heard Sophia shout:

«I'm coming out. Turn around. If you peek, I'll make sure you end up like Valentine.»

«Huh?»

Why was she treating me like a horny teenager?

We were both girls, even if I had seen her coming out undressed from the bathroom, there would have been nothing strange about it.

Nevertheless, I decided to obey. I really didn't want to make her mad.

The door opened, and I heard Sophia's light footsteps enter the room and head towards the closet.

Despite my previous thoughts, I couldn't help but feel a certain nervousness.

I kept staring at the wall for several endless minutes.

«Okay, you can turn around.»

Sophia was sitting on the bed, her long black hair still wet. Accustomed to the impeccable form she had every day in class, seeing her like this, with her hair unkept and with her shirt untucked, was weird.

«So, what do you want?» Sophia burst out.

I felt myself blush. It was the second time she had caught me staring at her.

«I, uhm, congratulations, you were amazing...»

«Thanks...» Sophia interrupted me, sarcastically.

«Uh, aren't you happy you won?»

I thought she was irritated because I was bothering her, but maybe there was another reason.

«HAPPY?!» Sophia yelled.

She turned and punched the pillow.

It was incredible how the first impression I had of Sophia, the perfect and imperturbable ice queen, was being shattered more and more with each of our interactions.

«That motherfucker fooled me!» she muttered, pacing the room in long strides, «who the fuck can survive with a sword stuck in their heart!»

Hearing her cuss like that confirmed it. Despite her usual demeanor, she was actually a hot-head.

But I was starting to understand why she was angry. She had probably planned to only show a fraction of her power during the duel. Valentine, however, had pushed her to reveal to the whole class the full extent of her abilities.

Ignoring the protests of my survival instinct, I decided to reply:

«How was it again? Keeping a low profile? Those were your words, right?»

Sophia turned as red as a tomato:

«...! Very funny...»

"Revenge! Sweet revenge!"

I tried my best to stay serious:

«Why didn't you tell me anything about what you had found out? I could have defeated him in your place if you did.»

Sophia stared at me and replied with a note of regret in her voice: «First of all, I wasn't sure if my hypothesis was correct. I couldn't make someone else risk their life just to confirm my theory, and then...» she clenched her fists, «I wanted to test myself.»

"Eh?"

Testing herself?

After all that talk about not taking risks?

Was she just lying again? Maybe she just thought that I wasn't strong enough to beat Valentine after all. She just didn't want to tell it to my face.

Weird, though. She usually didn't mince words.

«Well, in hindsight, maybe I should have told you,» Sophia continued bitterly, «now I'm the new public enemy number one. I'm surprised you're here. Aren't you afraid I'll cut you in half?»

«You would need to find someone else to torment then,» I joked.

«But I don't think you're like Valentine,» I continued in a softer tone, «you're not a monster like him. If you hadn't done anything, he would have killed us all, sooner or later. And during the duel, he was the one trying to kill you first, you were just defending yourself!» I tried to console her.

If I had learned something about that girl, it was that I shouldn't rely on appearances. I was sure that, despite what she had told me before the duel, it hadn't been easy for her to kill another human being.

Sophia looked at me, surprised. She turned her face and whispered:

«Yeah, maybe you're right.»

She sat back on the bed. She seemed to have calmed down a bit.

For a few minutes, we remained silent.

Then Sophia spoke again:

«Come on. I know you want to ask me something.»

I didn't have to think about what she meant.

«Your power is...?»

«I have no idea.»

«Huh?»

Sophia looked amused:

«I'm not trying to trick you this time. I really have no idea where it came from.»

She began to speak:

«As you know, I have pretty much no magical power. I can barely light a match with my wand. That's why I've always been passionate about swords since I was a child. If I couldn't be a great wizard, I would be a great swordswoman, I thought,» Sophia's gaze seemed nostalgic, «I trained and trained. One day, while I was swinging blows against a target dummy, something changed.»

Sophia's tone of voice lowered, as if she were telling a secret.

«It's as if something clicked in my brain. Suddenly, I realized that everything around me was held together by bonds. And those bonds were fragile. I cut that dummy in half with a single blow.»

«So you... can...?»

«To simplify things a lot, yes, I can cut anything. Whether it's a spell... or a person.»

After these words, she grabbed a book from the desk. She delicately passed a finger over the cover. It split in half.

I was astonished.

Of course, I had already seen Sophia's power in action. But seeing its effects at this distance...

It looked like magic but there was no wand in sight and I felt no mana coming off of her.

How was I ever going to beat her?

«I know what you're thinking already,» Sophia said amusedly, «my power has its limits, don't worry. But I certainly won't tell you what they are.»

«Don't worry, I'll find out on my own,» I replied.

At the moment, however, there was another thing that troubled me.

«So, did this power come out of nowhere?» I asked.

Sophia nodded:

«Yes, it appeared suddenly. And as you saw with Valentine, I'm not the only one who has one.»

«My power might not be anything compared to others,» she continued, furrowing her brow, «who knows what kind of freaks that piece of shit of a headmaster has found.»

It was clear now, the biggest threat to our survival would be other students with these powers.

Between me and me, I decided to call them innate powers.

After all, from what Sophia had told me, they were powers that appeared spontaneously, and were not the result of study or training.

In this bad situation, however, there was a positive note: Sophia seemed like a decent person.

Having such a strong girl on my side was reassuring.

After everything that had happened, the bad blood that had arisen between us after our first meeting seemed like a distant memory now.

Despite her a bad temper, I was beginning to appreciate her straightforwardness.

"Maybe I should try again."

«Uhm, Sophia...»

«Yes?»

«Would you like to be friends? It's better to have some allies in this situation, right?«

I extended my hand.

For a moment, I was sure she was going to take it.

But then a shadow covered Sophia's eyes. I could see a strange mix of sadness and determination in her gaze:

«No, I'm sorry.»

«Uhm... but why?»

«Because one day we'll be forced to kill each other. I don't want to kill a friend.»