Ariel heard the voice and she clenched her fists angrily and thought, 'No! Not this voice! Not him! Not now!'
She reluctantly turned around and saw Abel and his subordinates.
He had a smirk on his face as he walked toward her.
She felt disgusted knowing that it was Abel.
She noticed that he had three of his subordinates with him.
Her instincts were telling her that he didn't have good intentions for her.
He smirked when he saw her stopping for him and he thought, 'Finally! I have you! At last! No more Eric! No more Darell! Just you with me... all alone!'
He approached her and casually said, "Congratulations! That was quite a spectacular battle earlier. Magnificent, even."
The memory of Darell's condition was still fresh in her mind, and her face darkened when she was reminded of it.
She glared at him and asked coldly, "What do you want?"
Abel pretended not to notice her tone and replied smoothly, "I know this isn't the best time to do this, but I would like to invite you for a meal at the dining hall. This would help you take your mind off the current circumstances."
Ariel let out a sigh of exasperation, already knowing what his true intentions were.
"Are you asking me out on a date?" she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion.
Abel's smile widened, and he replied, "If you want to think of it like that, then I wouldn't mind."
He made a quick gesture, and suddenly Ariel found herself surrounded by three of his subordinates, who had formed a human barricade around her.
Ariel looked at Abel with contempt, knowing that he had something up his sleeve.
Abel had always been persistent in pursuing her romantically, despite her constant rejections.
She had made it clear that her heart belonged to Eric, but Abel had refused to take no for an answer.
Abel had received word that Darell had been seriously injured.
He was overjoyed at the news, knowing that it was an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.
When one of his subordinates informed him that Eric was missing and Ariel was walking alone to the dorms, Abel saw it as a chance to finally make Ariel his own.
He ordered his subordinates to surround her, knowing that he had her cornered.
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Ariel let out a deep sigh when she saw Abel's subordinates close in around her.
She knew exactly what Abel was trying to do.
Abel's infatuation with her had only grown stronger over the past six years, and he had even tried to kidnap her in the past.
But Ariel had forgiven him, knowing that Eric would not hesitate to kill Abel without caring about the consequences if he ever succeeded in taking her away.
"You thought this was a good opportunity to get me, right?", she asked Abel, her voice trembling with anger.
"How many times do I have to repeat the same sentence? I DON'T LIKE YOU, ABEL! I WILL NEVER EVER LIKE YOU!", Ariel yelled, her voice echoing throughout the empty corridor. "You think nobody knows what you do with girls every night? You throw their naked and bruised bodies in the beasts' lairs to get rid of any evidence. I HATE SCUM OF THE WORLD LIKE YOU."
Abel simply shook his head and tried to feign innocence. "Of course not," he replied smoothly. "Those are some false allegations towards me. I only thought of your well-being so I approached you."
Ariel's frustration boiled over, and she struggled to contain her anger.
She glared at the subordinates surrounding her, her eyes glowing white as she tapped into her Hypnosis skill.
The subordinates suddenly stood there with blank expressions, completely under her control.
It was a useful skill she had learned at the Academy, and she had always hoped to use it for good, but now it seemed her only way out of this situation.
Abel noticed the blank expressions of his subordinates and sensed that something had gone wrong.
As he slowly backed away, he saw Ariel standing in front of him.
Before he could even speak, she grabbed his neck with an iron grip and lifted him up in the air.
Abel gasped for air and struggled to break free from her grasp, but Ariel's hold tightened around his neck.
In a cold, menacing tone, Ariel spoke, "I am not a toy to be played with, nor am I a weakling to be pushed around. I have power that can crush thousands of trash like you in an instant. I am a sword that cuts through anyone who dares to block my path. Do you understand?"
Abel's face turned red, and he struggled even more, but Ariel's grip on his neck remained firm.
She warned him one last time, "If you don't stop bothering me, I swear to hunt down every last member of your family, and I won't be bothered by any consequence."
Abel tried to nod his head, but he lost consciousness, and his body fell limp in Ariel's grip.
She released him and threw him away, disgusted.
Abel's body crashed against the wall and fell to the ground.
Ariel spat on his face and walked away.
Then she ordered Abel's subordinates to fight each other and make it look like there had been internal strife.
The subordinates would come out of the hypnosis after a few minutes, which gave Ariel enough time to leave before the instructors arrived.
As she walked toward the dorms, Ariel sighed, hoping that Abel and his subordinates would finally leave her alone.
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Meanwhile,
Eric sat atop the massive, lifeless body of a rank 04 Stone Tiger as he idly played with its head, deep in thought.
He let out a weary sigh as he rose to his feet, tucking the beast core into his pocket.
Despite the state of his gauntlets - dented and worn from battle - he continued to use them without faltering. Blood dripped from his gloves as he surveyed the aftermath of the battle.
Surrounding him were countless corpses of beasts, the air thick with the stench of death.
The once-lush forest was now in ruins, the trees torn apart and scattered about.
Craters of varying sizes pocked the ground, a testament to the fierce power that had been unleashed in the battle.
Eric stood in the midst of it all, alone but for the carnage that surrounded him.
He had woken up early in the morning, haunted by the recurring nightmare of the Scorched Raven General burning alive those he loved.
He knew he couldn't go back to sleep, so he quietly slipped out of the Medicine Hall, determined to clear his mind by going to the nearby Forbidden Forest.
The name spoke for itself, as only those who could defeat a rank 06 beast were allowed to enter its depths.
But Eric didn't care about the danger; he was focused on finding and slaughtering any beast that crossed his path.
As he massacred each creature, his thoughts drifted to Darell.
He couldn't understand why his friend would take such an extreme step, and wondered if it was because of others making fun of him.
But he quickly dismissed the thought, knowing that Darell wasn't someone who cared about other people's opinions.
Unlike the other noble kids and their families, who looked down on lower noble families and treated commoners as their servants, Darell treated everyone fairly.
Lost in thought, Eric didn't notice that he was being watched by someone, but the feeling quickly passed.
He looked up at the sky and realized that the sun was beginning to set, signaling the end of his hunt.
He stopped and made his way out of the forest, carrying the beast cores in his bag, his gauntlets battered and stained with blood.
Eric entered and moved silently through the corridors of the Academy, careful not to alert anyone to his presence.
He knew that he had to be there for his friend, even if it meant facing his own inner demons.
When he entered the medicine hall, he saw Darell lying unconscious on the bed, surrounded by Emma, Lilith, and Ariel.
They looked up as Eric entered, but didn't say anything, knowing that he needed his space.
Eric sat down next to them, his mind still preoccupied with thoughts of the forest.
He listened as the girls talked, trying to distract themselves from the tension and worry that hung in the air.
They discussed various topics, from the latest gossip to their next assignments, but Eric could sense the underlying unease that lingered beneath their words.