Shadow Angel: Volume 1

The Physical Instructor

It has been two uneventful days for the students of Class 1-4. During that time, Cody met up with Evan and Mia to practice combat while he waited for the physical instructor to come. As he trained, he filled in the two on what had transpired upon his arrival at the DEA Academy doors. Cody shared with Evan and Mia about his newfound friendship with Milo, as well as the incident that occurred during the entrance ceremony. When he told them this, they were having lunch at a restaurant after their training concluded. Interestingly, Evan and Mia were familiar with Lucien Nanami and took the initiative to enlighten Cody about him.

From them, Cody learned that Lucien is a prodigy Slayer who is renowned for his exceptional Eldritch killstreak. As a child, Lucien's skills were recognized and tested by DEA when they tasked him with joining a team of Slayers to take down a Bat Eldritch. As a result, he passed and was immediately appointed as a Slayer. However, Lucien was known for creating trouble among his fellow Slayers and trainees. Evan provided an additional explanation about an incident wherein multiple casualties took place during a mission, and Lucien was held responsible for it. As punishment, he was sent to Morningstar City to attend DEA Academy as a student, hoping he would learn discipline. Once Evan and Mia were finished explaining, the two explicitly urged Cody to keep his distance from Lucien.

Cody was also beginning to notice a pattern within Milo's daily routine. Every morning and night, the purple-haired boy would go to the bathroom to change his attire. He even did this in the boys' locker room, but he hid inside a stall where no one could see him. Cody wasn't sure why he had such a habit, but he assumed that Milo had something on his body that he was uncomfortable exposing. For this, he decided to brush it off and respect his roommate's privacy.

Once two days were up, the students of Class 1-4 started their day by going to the gymnasium, where they would finally meet the physical instructor. Of course, the students had to remove their regular uniforms to don appropriate gym apparel that was distributed by DEA Academy staff. As soon as all twenty students were done changing, they all stood in the empty gym, waiting for someone to come. While they waited, some students were whispering to one another. As for Cody, he was too focused on Milo, who was the only one wearing sweatpants while everyone else wore shorts.

It wasn't long until Milo noticed his friend staring at him. "Cody, why are you staring at my legs?" he whispered, pinching his eyebrows together.

"It's just you're wearing sweatpants and all of our classmates are wearing shorts. Why's that?" Cody replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, well..." Milo hesitated for a little bit until he answered, "My legs get cold easily."

"Okay..."

Suddenly, Cody and Milo heard the gym's door open. As the students turned to their right, they saw Mr. Kim enter the building. They all watched as their homeroom teacher walked until he was finally in front of the students.

"Okay! Listen up, kids," Mr. Kim began. "I know all of you have been waiting for this moment for two days. Now, your assigned physical instructor will finally be here to meet you all." He turned to his left as he heard a door open. "And speak of the devil, here she comes now."

As the students turned to where Mr. Kim was looking, they all gasped. Approaching them was a woman with long fiery orange hair tied in a spiky ponytail. She wore a short-legged and sleeveless gray bodysuit with a red zipper under a black vest, long black gloves, and black knee-high boots with red soles and straps. This woman's most prominent feature was her sharp scarlet eyes, which made her look angry. Most of the students quietly stared at her, trembling at the sight of her. However, Cody tilted his head at her before raising an eyebrow at his classmates' demeanor.

"Oh god, it's her!" Milo whispered with wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" Cody replied.

Grabbing his friend's shoulder, Milo said, "Dude, that's Emma Chandler! She's one of Morningstar City's top Slayers!"