"We come here today, to mourn the loss of a fellow student. Although not a lot of many people knew Eudora, she is still a fellow student, to all of us."
The school rallied up together, all dressed finely in black.
Eudora was buried near the school grounds. Not too far from her place of death.
The speaker was none other than the headmaster. It was a rare appearance for him. He, too, was dressed in all black, with dark slicked hair, and an overall gloomy appearance.
The headmaster had no notable features.
"Some people say the headmaster has been the headmaster of this school for 200 years, despite being a regular human."
"Eek.. how freaky! Is he a ghoul?"
"He looks the part."
"Something about him is so amazing, though."
Chatter and conversation were bound to begin. Though, amidst the babble, not many were concerned about Eudora. The headmaster didn't even need to state how she died.
He finished with the speech, and went on, back into his cave.
Julian was in that tight, packed crowd. From a distance, he could see the headmaster's glad expression.
He bit his lip so hard, blood started to drip down onto his black polished shoes.
"That fucking…"
"You alright, Julian?"
Ian tapped Julian's shoulder.
Suddenly, the wetness of his cheeks and the piercing feeling at his lip became apparent.
"I'm… I'm fine.."
Slowly, Ian placed his hand on Julian's shoulder.
"Are you-"
"I said I'm fine!" Julian yelled. He shook his shoulders, throwing Ian's hand off.
Ian stared at him, sorrowfully. But Julian didn't even turn around.
. . .
. .
.
Between the area where the funeral was hosted and the school's actual campus, there was a deep forest, with a long winding path. The headmaster walked alone.
"Hm. I didn't expect you to pursue me so fast."
He has a walking cane, to assist him.
Julian's breath was heavy and rugged. He chased after him, panting heavily.
But he quickly regained his breath. He stood up straight.
"Why… why did you kill her?" Julian's voice was filled with rage. It was something never heard before.
The headmaster paused for a moment, stopping dead in his tracks.
"…"
He mumbled something, something that Julian could not hear.
"Speak louder, god damn it!"
"She was my enemy. Is that not something you understand? My enemies should be disposed of."
The headmaster spoke, solemnly.
Julian's footsteps grew louder and louder, the closer he approached the headmaster.
"You bastard!"
Julian swung at the headmaster, a wide and predictable swing.
[Cast: ???]
As soon as Julian's hand came into contact with the headmaster's shoulder, it flew back, at the exact same force.
"Ack!"
His body followed with his moving arm, flying into the nearby brick wall.
"Keuk!-"
He slid down, slowly.
Not once, did the headmaster turn around. He continued walking.
. . .
. .
.
(Julian's dorm room)
The room was quiet. Quieter than usual.
Normally, Eudora would be sparking up a conversation with Julian, or ridiculing him for not getting strong enough to fight the enemies of the future.
But now, she was gone.
Leonore and Lionel stared at Julian, closely deciding what their next word would be. Julian could see the look on their faces, the look of pity.
"Why are you guys making that face? It's... I-It's not like I knew her all that well, heh..."
Julian let out a lying laugh.
"What? I always saw you hang around her, though." Lionel quickly asked.
Leonore added "Right, master. When I look out the window, I always see you hanging out with either her or that elf and human duo."
Despite these clear accounts, Julian had no recollection.
"What are you- ha, never mind."
He let out a deep breath of air, falling onto his bed.
"We need to start preparing."
"Finally!" Lionel said, crossing his arms. "This lackadaisical, slow-moving planning of yours was starting to worry me."
"I didn't take things as seriously as I should've. But it's the least I could do, for Eudora. I'll kill that headmaster. Him and everyone who follows him."
"Now that's what I like to hear!"
"In the same way they brutalized Eudora, I'll brutalize the headmaster and everyone who follows him, tenfold."
"Yes!"
Amidst the encouraging chatter of Lionel and Julian, Leonore watched on.
That determination, that bloodlust emanating from Julian's words, reminded him of his master all those years ago.
"Hm."
. . .
. .
.
(Island between Sar and Anore)
Antoine swung his axe, fiercely. Despite its large size and apparent heaviness, he swung it with relative ease.
The island had already been claimed by the Great Kingdom of Sar. At this point, it was a base of operation for the Sar army, to easily move troops toward Anore, all while searching the island at the same time.
It was the dead of night. Besides the few lookouts that were left awake, Antoine was one of the few people awake, swinging his axe.
There was a look of despair in his eyes.
"General Antoine Unahar! I heard that you decided to pull back from Anore?"
The familiar voice struck Antoine's ears, like a ringing, irritating fly that constantly buzzed.
"..."
"You're bringing shame onto the kingdom."
Antoine's flow of swinging stopped, his axe digging into the soft soil.
"Rosi... why did they?-"
"Because of your lacking courage, my dearest little brother."
Rosi smiled, her eyes filled with ridicule. Being the older sister of Antoine, she looked quite similar to him. The same eyes, eye color, and hair. The noses were just somewhat different.
"..."
She reached up, patting his head.
"Sister... there's a force there... stronger than even you-"
Bash!
Rosi gave Antoine a knock on the head.
"Ow!"
"There's nothing I dislike more than a useless prick that's always making excuses."
Antoine kept his head down, staring at his feet. There was no use in trying to tell her.
"Besides, aren't you aware?"
She lifted his head up.
"I'm strong. Just because an enemy managed to beat you, doesn't mean that enemy is going to be able to beat me."
She grinned.