Their heads turned towards the entrance at the same time. Before anyone had realized, a pale woman wearing a black suit and white gloves was standing by the doorway.
Her slender frame was slightly shorter than the 5 foot 9 Diana who sported wild long hair. In contrast to that fiery red, her dark blue hair cut in bob except for a long ponytail that flowing to the centre of her back.
Tranquil green eyes scanned the room through round lenses and her brows creased slightly. She then looked at her colleague and sighed,"Must you be always so rough Diana?"
Receiving that disappointed stare, the usually brutish woman quickly pointed to Damon and sought to explain,"It's not what you think Rosa this kid he—"
"Yeah! Can't you be a bit gentler?!" Damon jumped at the opportunity further the misunderstanding.
Clutching his stomach, he flashed sadden expression and whimpered,"Sure I was late, but I told you I was sick, and you still attacked me…"
"?" Rosa took a deep breath and eyed her colleague with suspicion.
"He's obviously lying!" Diana shouted, a hint of red filling her cheeks. "You know I'd never lay a hand on a sick person let lone a child! Right?"
With each word she moved closer, passing over the raised edge of the circle until she arrived in front of the crowd.
As they stood facing one another their contrasting appearances made her suddenly childish behaviour even more ironic however Damon did his best to hold his laughter.
Who knows how she would react if another peep came from his mouth.
Soon after he stepped outside the circle, Henry approached with Kayn who had just awoken in the commotion. "Nice job tripping her up…"
"It wasn't hard, but I got lucky since that beast isn't too bright." Damon casually remarked.
"I heard that you brat!!" Diana clenched her fist, struggling to contain her anger at those words. She would have struck him where he stood, but she could not help but hesitate knowing Rosa would have her promptly demoted from their partnership.
While she did her best to convince the icy woman, Vincent lowered his training sword on a rack and cautiously approached to smoothen the conversation.
His eyes flickered between the two women and his smile widened. Given that Rosa knew of his regular antics, he had no qualms with taking the blame.
"I was the one who told her they could handle."
"Huh…?" Diana was befuddled to hear someone defend her. She had assumed all the kids close to Damon shared the same view of her.
However, Rosa's eyes narrowed coldly as she looked at Vincent. "As expected. You had a hand in this"
"Well I don't deserve all the credit." The mischievous youth, awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and continued, "Besides nobody got hurt enough to need the infirmary, and I'm sure what you're here for is more important"
'...' Rosa stared at him for a few seconds more as if to peer through him. Without another word on the matter she shifted her attention back to Diana and said, "Lady Morrigan has summoned for us. We should be going now…"
"What about the rest of the lesson? There's still half an hour left." Diana inquired.
Following the establishment and opening of the orphanage as private training facility the director had created three combat arts meant to advance any form of martial arts. From the beginning she had been adamant that every child should be taught at least two by the end of September.
"I'll arrange for Keene to substitute." Rosa replied.
Damon felt a chill down his spine as heard the name.
Were he not standing so close, he would have doubted his ears. But as he looked over Rosa's face was devoid of any humour.
'That narrowed eyed snake is coming here to teach…? We can't let that happen!' Damon's expression paled as he shivered once more.
Diana was an unreasonable beast but at least they were certain she was still human.
Keene was a different story entirely!
Henry and Kayn gaped at Damon with similar expressions of fear written on their faces. Understanding what he was thinking they nervously started approaching the second attendants.
However, Vincent beat them to it with a suggestion.
"I could teach instead. I've mastered both Sarco Flow and Phantesia Echo, and I have more practice compared to Keene."
Hearing this Rosa fell silent as if contemplating. She could not argue that he would not make for a better teacher, but she was worried about the methods he planned on using.
Suddenly her emerald eyes squinted after a few seconds of deliberation.
She adjusted her glasses and said emotionlessly, "Your request has been approved, but lady Morrigan will be watching from her office so do try to keep things cordial."
"Roger that" Vincent smiled and jokingly gave a salute. "I promise to not mess this up…"
'He's definitely going to mess this up huh…'
Damon and Henry shared the same thought as they watched their brother's charade. He had always done his pranks knowing the director was aware of what he was doing.
As both women walked towards the door, Diana look back and stressed that point,"That goes for all of you too. No one leaves the training room until Vincent dismisses class, and he will be grading your proficiency with each art".
"Grading…?" A collective groan immediately rolled across the room like thunder. Suddenly they were not so thrilled to attend the lesson.
Shortly after her figure passed through the doorway, a girl right in middle let out a whisper, "Does this mean we're getting a chance to leave the orphanage soon?"
Brought up behind the protected walls of Red-Hill, they had been given little opportunities to venture outside or interact with anyone beyond the forest besides the few kids who arrived with their parents for lessons.
Beside her, a girl in a puffy green blouse and brown shorts bit her lip and said, "I heard there are mutated beasts roaming outside because people started abusing their powers"
"The history teacher just said that to scare us…" Another girl quickly refuted.
Hearing this, Vincent turned and clapped his hands. "Alright everyone, gather around the board. We'll start with an explanation of how each art works."
"You were actually serious?" Damon asked as it dawned on him. He moved slight away from the group then took a seat on wooden floor.
"Of course. This is necessary for your survival out there" Vincent's smile disappeared as he stepped over to the chalk board. Picking up the chalk, his demeanour abruptly changed as he scribbled to two words on the black surface.
"We'll be starting with Phantesia Echo. It's much simpler than the Sarco Flow and only has one use."
*****
Elsewhere, on the second floor the director, Lady Morrigan sat in her office pursuing through a stack of documents that cluttered her desk.
Her crimson blouse and tailored black trousers quietly matched the attire of her subordinates, yet were rather striking when paired with her snow-pale skin and silky white hair. Her golden eyes, perceived the smallest details as she read through the cursive print layered on each white sheet.
Flip—
As her black-gloved hand elegantly turned another page the door cracked open.
"Did I make the correct decision director?" Rosa's voice cut through the quiet room as she and Diana entered.
"It wasn't a bad choice, but" Morrigan replied, eyes still on her file. "You won't know if it was correct one until they receive their scores."
Rosa shook her slightly and muttered,"Vincent might be a miscreant, but he has completed five missions already with a technically perfect score record. However, his clients often leave fairly poor comments on his personality…"
"I'd be happy to discipline him, if needed," Diana folded her arms with an unreadable expression.
"That won't be necessary," Morrigan said. She reached for a different file and handed it to them. "There is something more important needs your attention."
Rosa scanned the top page, and her brows furrowed. "Koinonia. Multiple child abductions. All from single-father homes. All vanish between school dismissal and parental return. No sign of forced entry."
"The pattern is escalating," Morrigan said. "And from what I've gathered, no one's doing anything about it, and the church has not made a move yet."
Diana's eyes didn't move from the report, but her jaw tightened. The paper trembled faintly in her hand. She did not need to read further. After all, she remembered Koinonia's capital vividly.
How could she ever forget the screams?
Since that day, the memory of flames and her father's body limp in her arms was forever etched upon her mind and body. With a sharp breath, she clenched her fist, and the file turned to ash.
"Use deadly force if necessary," Morrigan said, unfazed. "But keep the collateral to a minimum. Preparations for the Festival of Thousand Hymns have already begun, and we don't want to disrupt the churches plans sniffing around."
"I thought the event was merely a sham spurred on by the whims of some nobles?" Rosa asked.
Morrigan allowed herself a faint smile.
"It doesn't matter how a tradition started if there are people who truly believe it with all their hearts. Wouldn't it be quite sad to ruin that big day for them?
Rosa and Diana exchanged sceptical glances.
They had never considered the possibility that the director believed in floating figures in the sky. However, they knew better than to question the inner working of her mind.