The day began with birds singing, a sunny morning with clear skies, resembling a painting by a famous artist.
Sun rays entered through the window, hitting Dante's face as he slept like a baby. It took him a while to wake up, but the sun eventually reached his eyes, and he grunted slightly as he turned to the other side of the bed. The warmth didn't diminish, so he had to overcome his laziness, open his eyes, and saw a young woman in front of him.
"What are you doing on the floor?" he yawned. The girl's body was on the floor as if she were dead, probably because the fight from the previous day was very intense.
He got up, went to the kitchen, placed coffee beans in the coffee maker, sat on the counter, and watched the girl lying on the floor, still asleep, for a few minutes.
Then, he heard the coffee maker signal that the coffee was ready. Dante grabbed two mugs and placed them on the table, went to the cupboard where there was a stock of food, took some bread, made toast, fried eggs, and grabbed a small container of honey.
Checking the time, it was still 7:45 AM, too early, but at nine, they would have the official opening of the Academy.
"I hope I don't have to do this every day," Dante said, standing up and sitting on the floor, poking Sara, who was sleeping like a log.
"Hey, wake up," Dante said, receiving no response. He continued poking and shaking her, but she didn't budge.
"She's not dead, but is she in a deep sleep? What a lazy woman," Dante wondered but decided it was better to wake her up. He pulled her by the arms and caressed her face.
"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty," Dante said in a gentle tone, "or I'll use my wish to do naughty things to you," Dante said with a smile, and the girl's eyes opened immediately, meeting his.
'Even asleep, she's selective, only hearing what she wants. Such a weird girl,' Dante thought. He felt like there were no weird people like him, but he was totally wrong.
"Good morning," Dante said with a charming smile that made her blush instantly, but the mood was destroyed when he added, "Sleeping on the floor doesn't seem very comfortable, huh?" The girl looked around, embarrassed, and threw a pillow at him while hiding her sleepy face.
"You're too cruel, you know?" she said, lowering her head onto her knees against the bed.
"Do you want to discuss cruelty when you show up just in a towel after a bath? Or when you used your wish so that I won't abandon you? That's cruelty, especially to me! A married man!" Dante countered, making her even more embarrassed. The worst part was she couldn't deny it because it was true... 'Since when did I become so irrational?' she questioned herself.
"Hey, it's alright. Let's have breakfast," Dante said, pulling the girl's arm, who still didn't know what had happened.
Sara got up and sat at the table; her clothes were wrinkled, and the strap of one of her blouses was almost revealing part of her chest, but Dante kept quiet, avoiding embarrassment.
"Toast and honey... never combined the two," Sara said, taking a bite of the toast, "Delicious..." she murmured.
"I know, I invented it," he said, smiling, 'She doesn't need to know that Valentina taught me about this combination.' It was a lie! It was one of the foods Valentina introduced to him when he was a child.
Sara didn't react and just kept eating. When she finished, she went to take a shower, and after ten minutes, she reappeared wearing a white uniform and a white schoolgirl skirt. The uniform had a white blazer and a golden tie; she also wore her identification tag, "Sara Vortex."
"I didn't think you would use your real name," he said, showing his identification, "Dante Rider."
"I didn't have a target on my back just for being who I am," she replied while Dante stood up from the chair. He looked at her for a few seconds and smiled. He slightly adjusted his black hair and straightened his clothes.
"I thought about giving up on it, but it would be a problem for you, so I'll ask again. Are you sure you want this partnership? We're sharing a room; rumors will spread, and your life will turn into hell with gossip and maybe even bullying. Maybe even your mother will be a target," Sara lowered her head, feeling a slight guilt for being so "inferior" to the point of needing protection like this.
The mere thought of Dante wanting to protect her like this already made her feel guilty; she was strong and knew she would face many problems, but she didn't back down. Gossip? Who cares!
Dante saw the girl's expression and put his hand on her head; she was a bit shorter than him, so it didn't look too strange. He caressed her head and said, "If you keep making those expressions, I'll fall in love, so just answer correctly, okay?" He laughed; it wasn't a lie, but he needed her to answer to avoid any regrets later.
"I already took the risk when I agreed to share the dorm. Besides, you're married! Stop these silly jokes!" The atmosphere changed completely, and Dante just nodded. He didn't want to dwell too much on things, but his mind was in constant motion, so ignoring something that could hurt Sara wasn't an option.
"I'll get ready now; I'll be right back," he said, leaving the girl behind, who decided to set the table while Dante got ready.
--
A few minutes passed, and Dante and Sara were now heading to the opening ceremony together. Although they didn't stay very close to each other, a pleasant aura could be felt even by the students watching both of them.
Many whispers passed through Dante's and Sara's ears during the walk. People wondered which families they came from, what kind of life they had, and above all... if they were a couple. Of course, they still didn't know; the list of names hadn't been revealed yet, and few people knew about the heirs being in this school. It was expected, but they still didn't know who they were.
Their attention was drawn when they entered the line leading to the gigantic training field of the Academy, where the opening ceremony would take place. They stood side by side and waited patiently.
"Hey... aren't those the idiots who woke up the entire first year?" a second-year student asked a tall, overly muscular young man.
"Tsk, arrogant fools trying to show off on the first day," the student continued, "At least she's cute, would make a good plaything," he added.
Dante usually stayed quiet and composed when it was only about him, but this guy had done something very wrong.
Dante was now seeing a expression on the face of a warrior woman that he never dreamed he could see, but it wasn't really a "dream" to see it; it was, in fact, a nightmare.
Dante turned to the girl and comforted her by caressing her head. "I'll be right back." He said, and she held him back.
"Don't do anything," she said with her head down while holding her clothes, but he just turned around and looked at her face again. Sara was pale; she thought it was just a joke and could ignore it, but that's not how things worked at school. Dante, on the other hand, knew that; his memories of the bullying he endured were rooted in his mind.
This girl, on the other hand, grew up being protected her whole life and never wanted to cause problems for anyone. She was aware of who she was, but she was still very young and didn't know how to defend herself verbally. But who was Dante? He was himself, and if someone messed with the people he wanted around, they were insulting him.
"Quiet," Dante said in a tone she had never seen before; he withdrew his arm holding her clothes and turned around. To where the voice came from and went towards the boy. The boy who had said such words saw the commotion and also wanted to act; he was eager for a fight and stood up, facing Dante, who was standing in front of him.
"What's wrong? Sad because I offended your girlfriend?" He said with a sarcastic smile. More students started laughing, and Dante stayed silent.
"What, not going to do anything?" He said, then put his hand on Dante's head. Dante was around 1.70 at this moment, and the boy probably 1.90 as a Demi-human with Leopard characteristics.
He glanced sideways and saw three more boys and a somewhat scared girl.
'Bullying, huh...' Dante thought, seeing the eyes of the green-haired girl; she was somehow forced to be there with them.
"I'm talking to you, freak." He said, pushing Dante's head back, making him take two steps back.
Everyone stopped to watch that; many admired the courage on both sides, but the truth was that most high-status people had already realized one thing... Sara Vortex, the Imperial Princess. If the princess was standing next to someone, that person wasn't normal. So many students stepped back and watched from afar.
"Repeat what you said," Dante said, looking into his eyes.
"What?" He asked confused.
"I told you to repeat it," Dante said, but the boy didn't say anything and tried to force Dante's head again, but Dante's hand didn't move.
"Well, who cares. I make the rules anyway," Dante said and then grabbed the boy's arm, and all they could hear was a strange sound, as if something were being ripped apart. Dante tore the boy's arm with brute force.
The boy almost fell to the ground from the pain; an excruciating scream came out of his mouth as blood gushed from his arms.
AHHH AHHHH HMMAA
Cutting the arm with a sword in a clean cut caused reasonably little pain, but tearing it off was a completely different situation. Tissues, joints, nerves, blood vessels, and muscles, everything was forcibly torn off; it was an agonizing experience that everyone witnessed with horror in their eyes.
The boy slightly fell to his knees on the ground while trying to stop the bleeding; his eyes were filled with pure horror.
"Demon!" He screamed desperately. "Help me! He's a demon!" The scream echoed, but no one took a step, not even to breathe. The grotesque scene was just too shocking for young eyes like theirs.
Dante, on the other hand, didn't care.
"There's one thing I love to remember," Dante said while holding the boy's head, who was trying to escape Dante's grip while still on his knees.
"If you're willing to hit, then you're willing to get hit, right?" Dante said and then started squeezing the boy's head, digging his nails into his skull.
"AHHHH" The boy writhed in pain and desperately tried to get Dante's hand off his head while screaming.
"STOP!" He shouted. "SOMEONE HELP ME!" He begged. "PLEASE STOP! HAVE MERCY, PLEASE!" He pleaded for help.
But no one raised a single finger to help him because this is the law of the Academy, the Strongest Dictates the Rules, a simply brutal academy for those who think this is a playground for tasteless jokes. This boy is an example of that; he's so pathetic that only the weak stood by him, and he pretended to be strong while truly strong people hid, even in the most innocent girl.
"Let this be a lesson to you all. I'm not joking, and next time, I will kill. If you think this school will protect you from me, you're mistaken." Dante said this and exploded the other arm of the boy, making blood spray on all sides of the corridor and set it on fire to heal. He couldn't let him die now, could he?
Everyone, without exception, looked at him in fear, a fear so genuine that turned into trauma; some managed to resist his act of cruelty, while others wondered "who he was?"
"Let's go," Dante said while leaving with Sara in silence. She was partly blaming herself for not being able to protect herself and was happy that someone protected her, but deep down in her soul, she was terrified. It was just a silly insult, and someone almost lost their life.
In the distance, a girl was watching Dante. She was about 1.60 meters tall, her hair was short and black as the night, and her eyes were piercing like a black abyss.
"A powerhouse like you, protecting a spoiled human princess... You're quite disappointing, Scarlet."
The girl, wearing the same uniform as Sara, continued forward towards the Grand Day, the Opening of the most prestigious Academy in the Worlds.
Elizabeth Tapes was ready to challenge the son of the greatest female vampire of all time. The resentment she carried for witnessing her mother impaled by a spear lingered in her mind all this time—a genuine trauma that she would never forget.
The disdain she felt for the name Scarlet burned like an endless flame of revenge. And she would achieve it, turning the son of that woman into a decomposing skeleton.
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N/A: This chapter has not been fully revised and is subject to change./ PS: I had to edit and shorten the chapter