Isalda's breath was heavy. Her skin was deathly pale. She panted, her chest rising up and down.
Her eyes were closed shut.
"Whatever struck her forehead, the weapon must have been lined with a poisonous liquid."
The doctor re-wrapped the bandages over her forehead, after inspecting the injury.
"Thank you for responding to my plea, Rithi. I was really scared. She started convulsing, all of a sudden. I came to you, because you're the greatest doctor I know."
"Ah, you flatter me, Jisvo." She smiled, moving her light green hair out of the way.
Placing the bandages back on, she continued scanning Isalda's body, looking for any more scars or anything else she needed to check up on.
Ailmer and Alize busted through the door, rushing to her side.
"Oh dear..."
"No way... someone managed to injure Isalda?" Ailmer spoke to himself.
Alize's voice was shaky. "Jisvo, h-how did this happen?"
"I..."
"You failed to protect her... that's what happened, isn't it?" Ailmer's voice was condescending and disappointed.
"You weren't there! I just wasn't-"
Ailmer grabbed Jisvo by the collar, driving him into the wall.
"You guys! Don't fight in my hospital!" Rithi yelled.
Ailmer turned his head to look at Rithi. When he turned around, Jisvo was still glaring at him.
"You really haven't changed at all, huh?" Ailmer dropped Jisvo.
"..."
"You want to cling to Isalda so desperately, but you don't even want to have the strength to protect her. I still wonder why she's friends with you."
Ailmer and Alize walked out, only after looking at Isalda for a few long moments.
"..."
"Lighten up. You've known Ailmer for a while, haven't you? He tends to be like that."
"Tends to be like that. Huh."
"I need to analyze what exactly entered her body. It doesn't match any poison in the database, but if I try harder enough, I'll be able to figure it out eventually."
"Once you figure out what exactly entered her body... what's next?"
"I'll be able to make an antidote. By reverse engineering it."
"Okay."
"I'll let you know when I figure out exactly what it is."
"...Thank you."
The sincerity of the gratitude was so strong, it made Rithi smile a bit. She felt the sorrow in the air.
"Jeez, kid! Lighten up, a little bit. I'm the best doctor after all."
Jisvo nodded.
. . .
. .
.
"This new power of mine..."
Julian's hair faded into a pale, white color. He blinked once, his eyes turning green.
When Eudora died, she must've inadvertently passed her [Envy] onto him.
"I do feel a lot lighter. And more nimble."
He hopped around, jumping side to side. He could clear meters of distance in an instant.
"And my senses..."
He could almost feel the things around him. He could feel the soft footsteps on the stone floor. He could feel the laughter of students just a few meters to his right.
"This is a weird feeling..."
"Julian? Is that you?"
Julian turned around quickly. The voice belonged to Lionel.
"Ah, yeah."
"You look different..."
"Really?"
"Yeah. But anyway, what are you doing here?"
"It appears that Eudora passed down her power to me. So, I'm just trying to test it out."
"Ah. Would you like to have a friendly spar with me, then? To test your new skills out. I too, would like to test my new power."
"Are you gonna use that pathmaker of yours?"
"Dear, no. If I used that power on you.. you'd die."
"Scary. Well, let's spar, then."
Julian picked up a wooden sword, tossing another one toward Lionel.
Skillfully, he caught it in the air.
"Y'know, I've never seen you fight before. I'm interested in what kind of-"
Clack!
Julian was forced to quickly raise his guard, blocking the incoming strike. It nearly caught him off guard.
He backed away.
Had he not inherited this newfound strength, that strike would've hit him.
"I didn't know you were a defensive type of guy."
Lionel threw an array of strikes at Julian, all in succession.
With every strike he threw, Julian got closer and closer to the fences that surrounded the training fields.
He ducked.
Julian timed his movement, pushing off Lionel's sword as it was about to strike him.
"An opening!"
"I'm not sure why you said that out loud..."
Lionel blocked Julian's thrust.
He sent Julian's sword into the air, pointing the tip of his wooden blade at Julian's throat.
"Amazing... I'm not as strong as I think."
"Heh. I won. But Julian, isn't it strange?"
"Huh?"
"I can sense this... strength in you. A strength that could've beat me. But you didn't utilize it."
"Are you talking about mana? In a traditional duel, you aren't supposed to-"
"No, no. A physical strength."
"I'm... not sure what you're talking about."
"Haah... never mind, captain."
"I have to become stronger. The headmaster used an ability on me that I had never seen before- say, that just made me wonder, Lionel. Why exactly do you dislike the headmaster?"
"..."
"..."
"He's changed his identity now, but the headmaster used to be a high-ranking official of a cult that manipulated my father into... harming me and my family."
"Ah."
"..."
"Sorry if I brought a sensitive topic up."
"No, no. It's fine. What about you, Julian? Why do you dislike the headmaster?"
"Initially, it was because he killed a friend of mine. I was only fulfilling my friend's last wish. But then, he did it again."
"He killed two friends of yours... The second person was Eudora?"
Julian nodded. Lionel kept his head down.
"Wow. I'm sorry."
"It's fine. I just need to obtain my vengeance."
"You've gone through more than me. If anything happens in our attempt to kill the headmaster... I'll save you."
"You'll save me?" Julian said with an unbelieving, mocking snicker.
"Yeah, I'll save you. But you have to kill the headmaster."
"You're saying that like I'll get into some sort of trouble that forces you to save me. I'm stronger and smarter than you think, y'know."
Lionel laughed.
"Really? I just beat you. So I guess I'm stronger."
The end's of Julian's lips curled.
"Haah. Is that so? Then fine. I'll be counting on you to save me, Lionel."