image [https://i.imgur.com/SAHx0Qi.png]

Once the dust cleared, absolute shock came over Leon’s face as he saw who was responsible for stopping his attack. He quickly pulled his fist back and dashed backwards, creating an unnecessarily large amount of distance between them. His heart raced while Tiaran stared at him with a deep, red eyed glare.

‘That’s not who I think it is, is it? No, it can’t be!”

Leon slowly gathered his thoughts together as he focused on this silver haired assailant.

“T-Tiaran? What are you doing here?” Carmen softly asked.

“I should be asking you the same thing. You do know it’s past curfew right?” Tiaran replied with her usual monotone voice.

‘It is her!’

Leon’s eyes went wide as he heard Carmen addressing Tiaran, his senses now screaming for him to flee from this location. After a brief moment of panic, he exhaled slowly and composed himself. Leon cleared his throat and began to make small talk across the field.

“Hmph, it’s been awhile, huh Tiaran. Never thought I’d see your face again.” Leon said with a shaky voice, his mannerisms becoming more timid by the second.

Tiaran stared at him silently, her face continuing to show absolutely no emotions. Her lack of response sent chills down Leon’s spine and his anxiety began to rise even higher.

“Yeaaah, I guess you never were the chatty type.”

Leon awkwardly laughed as beads of sweat trickled down his cheek.

“Well, I guess we’ll be going then. Please, don’t mind us at all.”

He started to back away slowly until Eric ran over to his location. Eric looked at him with a confused expression, wondering why he was acting so strange all of a sudden.

“Leon, what the hell is up with you? Don’t tell me you're scared of this woman. Pfft, just put her in the dirt already!” Eric exclaimed. Leon looked Eric directly in the eyes and simply shook his head.

“I’m sorry, but this is where I take my leave. I want no part of this fight.”

Eric was dumbfounded by the response. He couldn’t believe a mercenary of Leon’s strength and caliber would back down from a fight.

“Well, if that’s how you feel, then we’ll do it ourselves!”

Eric pointed his finger at Tiaran and commanded Leon’s henchmen to handle their foe. Leon quickly turned around with a terrified expression.

“NO, DON’T!!!” He screamed as two of his men rushed towards Tiaran with great speed.

The first one sent a swift punch directly at her face, not holding back on his strength at all. However, Tiaran slightly tilted her head so the strike would miss. Within that same moment, she thrust her palm into his elbow, breaking his arm with effortless force.

As he screamed out in pain, she followed up with a violent kick to his knee, causing him to slump over. Once his head came forward, she gripped his face with both hands and aggressively twisted, snapping his neck like a twig.

The visceral break was loud and brutal, echoing across the field with impressive volume. The man’s limp body dropped to the ground once Tiaran let go, not even remotely phased by what she just did.

The second henchman skidded to a stop as he witnessed his peer die in a matter of seconds, now contemplating his next move. However, he didn’t get a chance to contemplate for long.

He blinked and Tiaran was no longer across from him, instead she was standing behind him. Before he could even turn around, she rapidly struck him with her palms no less than fifty times. Tiaran masterfully hit multiple Core Energy release points all over his body, striking them with enough force to completely block them.

The assault lasted for all of five seconds until blood trickled out of his eyes, ears, and mouth. He collapsed to the ground and his body was lifeless, blood pooling up with each passing moment.

‘Woah, I didn’t even see her move. I forgot how scary Tiaran is.’

Carmen’s jaw dropped as she watched her sister’s skill on full display.

At that moment, Eric was stunned that this woman dispatched two of their men so effortlessly. Before he could get a word out, Leon quickly grabbed his arm.

“Let’s go, you idiot!!” He exclaimed, pulling him back towards their belongings.

“But, what about my daughter!? We’re not through with her!” Eric replied, trying to fight against Leon’s tight grip.

Stolen story; please report.

“What!? Man, screw her!! With the amount of money we just got, we don’t need her at all!”

Leon’s tone began to grow more irritated as he continued to pull. “Now let’s go!!”

Eric looked over at Elise with a scowl until he ultimately decided to leave with Leon. They quickly picked up their bags and dashed out of the area, covering a large amount of distance as fast as they could. Their remaining henchmen followed suit, vanishing from the field and leaving behind an eerie silence.

“Did you know that guy?” Carmen asked as Tiaran helped her get off the ground.

“That’s not important. What I want to know is why were you two out here so late?” She replied with a tone colder than the night time breeze.

“Uhh, well… I think Elise could give you a better answer than I could.”

Carmen glanced over at Elise who was still crouched on the ground, gripping her arms and slightly trembling.

Tiaran looked at the pathetic sight of Elise and sighed, clearly not wanting to deal with whatever she had going on. Carmen noticed Tiaran’s lack of action and so she slowly approached Elise instead, getting down to her level.

“Hey, are you okay? Do you think you can stand up?” Carmen asked with a gentle tone, making sure not to touch her.

Elise took a moment to react before nodding her head slowly.

“Yeah… I’m okay.”

Elise composed herself slightly and began to stand, her face still looking pale and empty. Once the two were ready to go, Tiaran simply motioned for them to follow her. The walk back to campus was incredibly silent as they navigated through the dark and prickly forest.

The group finally arrived at the first year girl’s dorm and Tiaran turned around, looking Carmen and Elise directly in the eyes.

“Just this once, I’ll pretend what occurred tonight never happened. Don’t make a habit out of breaking curfew though… Now, hurry up and go inside.” Tiaran said with a stern tone, making sure they understood that there would be consequences next time.

Elise and Carmen quickly nodded and rushed through the door, not wanting to stick around in case Tiaran changed her mind. As they entered their room, Carmen took a seat on her soft bed. Elise started to walk towards her end of the dorm, but stopped halfway in route to her bed. She looked down and saw a single golden coin gleaming in the light.

Elise bent over and picked it up, examining it while deep in thought. Suddenly, she turned around and faced Carmen, bowing her head deeply.

“I’m so sorry, Carmen!! I did a terrible thing and I’ll completely understand if you never forgive me!” Elise said with an incredibly apologetic tone, her voice shaking with great intensity. Carmen was taken aback by the theatrics, having not expected Elise to act in such a way.

“Hey, it’s fine! I’m just glad that you’re okay. You don’t need to bow your head to me.”

“Fine!? Carmen, I literally stole every cent you had and gave it to really bad people! Why aren’t you mad at me!?”

Elise couldn’t understand why Carmen showed no hostility towards her, especially considering the justified circumstances. This type of response was completely foreign to her.

“Yeah, I get that, but you wouldn’t have done it without a really good reason. However, I do wish you would have just asked me for help. We could’ve come up with a solution together.” Carmen responded with a smile, standing from her bed and approaching Elise.

“And honestly, I should apologize to you for not realizing how much of a prick your father was. You clearly didn’t want anything to do with him, but I fell for his charm a little too easily.”

“No Carmen, I don’t blame you at all for that, everyone falls for his facade. That man has been such a thorn in my body… I just.. I wish he would die…”

Elise’s tone turned incredibly cold as the images of her father raced through her mind.

“Woah, that’s a bit extreme don’t you think?” Carmen replied, startled by the harshness of Elise’s wish.

“Not at all… If only you knew the things that man has done. Death would be him getting off easy…”

Elise’s expression became even darker, causing Carmen to quickly shift the conversation.

“Oh, I see… Well, uhh, If you’re ever in any more trouble, from now on just let me know. That’s what friends are for, right?”

Carmen hoped her lighthearted cadence would brighten Elise’s mood. To her surprise, Elise looked dumbfounded from the statement. It was clear she had never heard such a warm reply from anyone, let alone someone calling her a friend.

“Oh and I almost forgot. Did you drop this out there? I found it before we left.”

Carmen reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.

Elise’s eyes went wide as she slowly reached out, taking hold of the worn piece of parchment. She opened it up and saw that it was the deed to her grandmother’s bookstore. A single tear streaked down her face and within that same moment, she leapt into Carmen’s arms. The force was enough to knock her down and the two quickly fell to the ground.

“Wha!? Hey, I thought you hated doing stuff like this!?” Carmen exclaimed with a confused expression, shocked that Elise initiated contact like this.

“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

Elise's gratitude repeated through her loud cries, unloading her emotions like a never ending torrent. Carmen snickered at the display and simply patted Elise on the head as she continued to hug her tightly.

Once the tender moment ended, the two separated and sat on the floor. Elise rubbed her eyes and let out a big sigh of relief, feeling as though a massive weight had been removed from her shoulders.

“Sorry about that, I don’t know what came over me.” Elise said with a chuckle. “Been awhile since I’ve had a good cry.”

“No biggie! I’ve definitely been there before.”

The two enjoyed the moment, staying up through the night to chat and learn more about each other.

image [https://i.imgur.com/d60vRFl.png]

The start of the new week came and Carmen, along with Elise, sat in her first class of the day. Before the bell rang for dismissal, the instructor proceeded to quiet down the class and made an announcement shortly after.

“Alright everyone, now that the written portion of your exams are done, this week we move on to your combat midterm exam.” She said with a serious tone, shifting some papers on her desk. Excitement filled the room and she once again had to quiet everyone down.

“This semester, the format will be team based. Your homework for now is to form a team of three within Wyvern class and await further instructions. Choose your partners wisely as this could make or break your overall ranking at LaVeda. Class is dismissed.”

As soon as the instructor finished her announcement, everyone quickly gathered their things and exited the room.

“Let’s partner up, Elise! We’ll make a good team.” Carmen asked with a smile.

“Uhh, you should probably partner up with some else. If you’re with me, no one will want to be on our team and we need three people. I’ll figure something else out, so don’t worry about me.” She replied with her usual cold tone, feeling used to being alone in these situations.

“Oh there you go again. I’m joining your team, whether you like it or not. Besides, I might know someone that would party with us. Let’s go!”

Carmen linked her arm with Elise and pulled her along. Elise was annoyed by Carmen’s forwardness, but deep down she felt relieved to have a partner.