Lauryn Ewing hated Azariah Noah Aljanah.

Her loathing for Azariah was palpable, and she had every justifiable reason to despise him.

The boy who had taken everything from her: her parents, her brother, her status—everything.

Lauryn could never forget the day when she had begged him to save her family, only to be met with silence.

He hadn't lifted a finger to help them while he could have saved them just by sacrificing her.

But what Lauryn hated the most was his uncaring attitude.

She couldn't see the guilt and remorse in his eyes that she so desperately wanted to see after he had destroyed a loving family—her family.

His demeanor suggested that he believed he had done something noble by sparing her life—the way he talked, the way he acted, it all pointed to his arrogance.

And Lauryn hated him for it.

So, when the boy first approached her, expressing a desire to train under her, Lauryn's initial reaction was one of twisted joy.

She felt a sick sense of satisfaction thinking about all the things she could do to him in the name of training.

She relished the thought of watching him cry out in agony, his blood staining the ground, bones shattered.

She wanted to see him scream in pain, to beg for mercy as she had once done.

She wanted him to suffer as she had suffered.....

And then she realized...

she was becoming what she hated the most.

Someone who finds happiness in others' misery.

"Wait, can I use mana and I am not using

Rauch

, okay?" Lauryn shifted her gaze towards Azariah.

Coward

,' she thought.

And once again, she was reminded of what happened earlier, how he firmly refused to use Rauch.

That alone showed how selfish he is, how he only values his own life but has no regard for others' lives.

"Do you think you stand a chance if you don't use at least mana?" She growled, looking at him as though he were an idiot.

"And when you're learning to fight someone of a higher rank than you, use whatever you can."

"Why higher rank?" He asked, frowning.

"Because everyone in the academy is stronger than you," she replied, glaring at him.

"Now come."

Swish.

Without another word, he propelled himself forward, running toward her.

As soon as she was in his sights, Azariah swung the long blade forward, aiming for her guts.

"When fighting someone of a higher level than you, don't go for direct confrontation,"

Lauryn muttered, shifting her body slightly to dodge his attack by a hair's breadth.

"They can see your moves easily."

ARGHH

Zzmmmmmm

Clenching her fist, she delivered a swift punch to his face, causing the force field on his face to turn red as he was sent sprawling to the ground.

"Huff...Huff..."

If it hadn't been for the force field, his face would have been broken beyond recovery.

"Get up, Azariah." Her cold and devoid voice filled his ears as he slowly stood up from the ground.

This time, instead of rushing towards her, he cautiously walked towards her, his blade aimed forward.

Hupp!

With the distance between them only a meter apart, he threw his hammer with full force, his left hand glowing in shades of silver.

Swish!

As the hammer approached her chest, Lauryn spun her body.

Just as she stopped, Azariah arrived beside her, his blade high as he swung it down with full force, his hand glowing with a silver hue.

'What's that silver glow?'

she wondered but kept her thoughts to herself.

"Excellent speed," she remarked, "but you are wide open for an underhand attack."

She then leaned her body backward, making him miss his mark before she kicked him in his solar plexus.

Ugh!

Zzmmmmmm

A choked groan escaped Azariah's mouth as he staggered backward, the force field around his plexus turning bright red, absorbing and dispersing most of the force.

"When fighting someone higher than you, don't hesitate to aim for their weaknesses," Lauryn muttered as Azariah staggered to his feet.

"Be it their eyes, ears, mouth, nose, knees, or groin—attack without hesitation if necessary."

"What if...

Urgh

... She is a female?" Groaning, he asked as he stood up. "I can't attack them in their sensitive area, can I?"

'What a sick joke,

' she thought, looking at him in disgust.

If she hadn't heard rumors about him—about how he treats girls, how he doesn't value the lives of his maids—she might have thought otherwise.

But in her eyes, his question sounded like mockery.

And instead of replying, she took a step forward as Azariah retreated towards the weapon table.

Swish!

He once again thrust his blade forward, aiming at her neck, but this time Lauryn just tilted her head before grabbing his hand and squeezing it tightly, causing him to loosen his grip on the blade.

"Never lose your weapon in a fight," Lauryn said as she grabbed the hilt of the blade and aimed it at Azariah.

Swish!

Azariah dodged, turned, and did a flip over the table, landing perfectly before grabbing another blade.

"....Don't make useless moves," Lauryn complained as Azariah parried the blade she threw at him casually.

"Urgh.."

But even her casual attack was too much, as he groaned in pain from the force behind her attack grabbing his injured shoulder.

Zzmmmmmm

"And you died," she whispered, her blade stopping inches away from his nape.

"Look down," he grinned.

She did, and the blade in his hand nearly touched her guts.

'When did he do that?'

she wondered, her gaze firm as she looked back at him.

"Is this your mentality?" she asked, glaring at him. "Sacrificing yourself so you can take me down with you?"

Instead of replying, he lowered his weapon.

"You think sacrificing yourself will do anything good?"

Zzmmmmmm

Zzmmmmmm

Hitting his head with the hilt of the blade, she complained, the force field changing from blue to red in her rhythm.

"What's the point of dying when you can't be certain what will happen after that?"

Azariah just looked at her without replying... until Lauryn's words hit her back.

She... She was doing the same that day... Sacrificing herself.

"Take a rest for a while," Lauryn instructed with a sigh as she retrieved her weapon and walked back.

Azariah deactivated the force field around him as he leaned on the table to catch his breath.

"You are...

Huff... Huff...

a lot more lenient than I thought," Azariah mumbled as he took deep breaths.

"Don't say anything to provoke me. I am already trying my best to suppress my emotions," Lauryn replied as she took out another cigarette and lit it up.

"I knew you wouldn't do anything," Azariah mumbled to himself, and fortunately Lauryn didn't hear his words.

"Your left hand," Lauryn said, looking at his hand. "What happened to it?"

"... I lost it once," Azariah mumbled in reply as he touched his still-injured left shoulder.

"For a week, it was amputated."

"... Why?" Out of curiosity, she asked.

"As a punishment."

"For what?"

".... For asking to be loved."

"Don't ask for that," she replied, wondering why she was saying this. "Monsters don't deserve love."

Azariah fell silent after that, and Lauryn didn't ask anything more.

"We still have two hours before the classes starts."

Lauryn Ewing hated Azariah Noah Aljanah.

"Let's see how long you can survive."

But she also wants to see what the weak boy can do.

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