Lupusregina glanced over her shoulder. The soft crunch of grass under delicate shoes followed her—the sound of the timid blonde girl trying her best to keep up.
Asia Argento.
Her golden hair glowed faintly under the afternoon sun, her hands nervously clasped before her chest as she walked. She looked more like a lost lamb than a devil's servant.
'What should I even teach her…?' Lupus thought, sighing inwardly.
Healing? That was obvious—and probably why Lord Arthur had assigned Asia to her. But teaching wasn't exactly her strong suit. Lupus was a fighter, a hunter, someone who tore flesh and bone apart with ease… not someone who gently guided others.
She rubbed the back of her head, groaning quietly to herself. "I've never trained anyone in my life…"
"Lupus-san," Asia's soft voice interrupted her thoughts, hesitant and unsure, "are we… Are we there yet?"
"Hmm?" Lupus stopped walking, glancing around the quiet clearing they had entered. The trees surrounding them swayed lightly, the sunlight spilling between their leaves. "Yeah, this place will do."
"Do? For what?"
Lupus smiled—that faintly mischievous, wolfish grin that made even the bravest men uneasy. "For your first lesson, of course."
Asia blinked. "Lesson…?"
Without another word, Lupus reached into her cloak and pulled out a small, round object—a crystalline orb set in a silver frame, faintly pulsing with crimson light.
The moment she held it up, Asia could feel the air change. A strange pressure swept across the clearing, like the quiet before a storm.
"W-What is that?" Asia asked, stepping back slightly.
"An artifact." Lupus turned it in her hand, inspecting it briefly. "A little trinket that creates illusions—not fake ones, mind you. It'll feel real. Smell real. Hurt real. Perfect for training."
Asia's eyes widened. "I—I don't think—"
"Relax~" Lupus grinned, cutting her off. "You won't actually die. Probably."
"Probably?!"
Before Asia could protest further, Lupus pressed her thumb to the orb. The crystal pulsed once—then burst into light.
The world around them dissolved.
The peaceful meadow vanished, replaced by chaos. The smell of smoke and blood filled the air. Cries of pain echoed all around. The ground was scorched, the sky painted in shades of crimson and black.
Asia gasped, her knees trembling. "W-What is this?!"
"This…" Lupus' voice came from beside her, calm despite the infernal landscape, "is a battlefield."
Before Asia could turn to her, Lupus was gone.
Instead, a wounded soldier lay at her feet—his chest bleeding, eyes wide with terror. "Please… help me…"
Asia froze. Her Sacred Gear—Twilight Healing—flickered faintly on her hand.
"I-I…"
She knelt down instinctively, placing her hand over his wound. A warm, golden light began to spread, but it flickered weakly. Her heart was pounding too fast; the noise, the screams, and the smell of burning flesh—it all made her stomach twist.
Her magic failed halfway, and the illusionary man's body went limp.
Asia gasped, backing away. "No—no, no, no, no!"
From behind her, Lupus' voice echoed—distant, but sharp.
"You hesitated."
Asia spun around, but the battlefield shifted again. This time, there were more of them—injured devils, fallen angels, even humans—all screaming for her.
"Help me!"
"Please!"
"Don't let me die!"
Their voices blended into one overwhelming plea.
Asia's eyes brimmed with tears as she tried to move from one to another, healing as quickly as she could—but each failure cut deeper. Every time she faltered, another life faded away.
Finally, she collapsed to her knees, shaking.
"Stop… please… I can't—"
The world froze.
The flames halted mid-flicker. The cries stopped mid-breath.
Lupus appeared before her again, the artifact glowing faintly in her hand. Her eyes were calm—unreadable.
"So," she said softly. "That's how much you can handle before breaking."
Asia looked up at her through tears. "W-Why… why would you show me something like this?"
Lupus knelt down, her voice gentle but firm. "Because this is what the world looks like when you're too scared to act."
She touched Asia's trembling hand—the one that bore the mark of her Sacred Gear. "Your power is beautiful, Asia. Of course not as me. But beauty means nothing if you freeze when it matters most."
Asia's lip quivered. "I… I just didn't want to see anyone die…"
"And that's exactly why you have to be stronger." Lupus' expression softened for a fleeting moment. "You can't save everyone. But the ones you can save—you need to move fast enough, think sharply enough, and stay calm enough to reach them in time."
She stood up, deactivating the illusion. The burning world dissolved back into the quiet meadow.
Asia sat there, still trembling, her breathing uneven.
"Rest for now," Lupus said, glancing down at her. "We'll do this again tomorrow."
"Again?!"
"Of course. Until you can walk through that hell without breaking a sweat."
Lupus turned away, her red hair glinting in the sunlight.
'Lord Arthur said to train her,' she thought, a small smile tugging at her lips. 'Guess I'll just have to break her heart a few times first.'
Behind her, Asia's faint voice trembled in the wind—"I'll… try again tomorrow."
Lupus' grin widened.
'Good girl.'
❌❌❌
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