The night had passed uneventfully, a rare respite for Evangeline who had expected another nightmarish episode. As the morning light filtered through the forest canopy, she awoke to find her team-mates still sleeping soundly. With a sense of responsibility and a touch of relief that the night had been peaceful, she gently roused them, coaxing them out of slumber one by one.
In the hushed stillness of dawn, the principal's voice sliced through the tranquility, her words dripping with sadistic glee. Her ominous laughter echoed through the forest, setting Evangeline's nerves on edge.
"Hello, dear students. I trust you're enjoying this test of survival?" The principal's voice oozed malevolence as she continued, "I'm here to inform you that over half of your peers have already been eliminated and expelled from the school. So, do be cautious not to meet the same fate – or worse. Good luck with the remainder of your challenge."
Her unsettling laughter lingered in the air even after she fell silent.
Evangeline's group exchanged uneasy glances. Somi and Lily appeared distraught, Yuriko seethed with anger, Soon-mi wore a worried expression, and Evangeline and Seiko remained strangely composed, as though this were just another ordinary occurrence.
Somi's voice trembled with anxiety as he posed a question that weighed heavily on everyone's minds. "What do we do now? What if we're eliminated or sent back? What if we don't make it out alive?"
Evangeline, attempting to dispel the rising tension, spoke reassuring words. "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll make it. Perhaps the principal is joking like last time, and nobody really got expelled."
However, her attempt at reassurance had an unintended effect. It seemed to heighten the anxiety among her teammates. Lily and Somi, overwhelmed with emotion, began to cry.
Soon-mi, ever the pragmatic one, reacted swiftly. She delivered a light smack to Lily and Somi's heads and said with unwavering confidence, "We made it through the first day, and we'll get through today too. Trust in your teammates."
Somi, his voice brimming with newfound conviction, chimed in, "And let's not forget that Seiko is here to protect us."
The group visibly relaxed, their worries momentarily put at bay. All eyes turned to Seiko, finding comfort in the wolf's presence. But before they could fully settle into this newfound assurance, an abrupt disruption occurred.
A peculiar portal, reminiscent of a swirling black hole, materialized directly above Evangeline's head. In an instant, it sucked both Seiko and Evangeline into its enigmatic depths, leaving the group dumbfounded and in shock.
Suddenly, an alarm reverberated through the forest, punctuated by the principal's panicked voice, suggesting that they were now in imminent danger.
The principal's voice, now laden with urgency, resounded through the forest. Arrows materialized, forming a mysterious path.
"Dear pupils, this is no longer a training session; we are under attack. Follow the arrows appearing in front of you as swiftly as possible to reach safety. Do not panic. For those who are injured and unable to move, rest assured that a teacher will promptly come to assist you," the principal urgently declared.
As Evangeline and Seiko emerged from the portal, darkness enveloped them for a brief moment before surrendering to normalcy. Yet, they found themselves in a different section of the forest, far from their group. With Seiko being the sole companion, their surroundings were swarming with menacing creatures. At the helm of this ferocious horde stood a demon-like figure. His hair, as white as snow, framed his sinister visage, partially obscured by a suit of ominous black armor. His hand gripped a sword stained with crimson, and a wicked grin adorned his face. A macabre scene unfurled before them, strewn with the lifeless bodies of teachers and students.
Then, in a tone that sent shivers down their spines, the ominous figure spoke, his words dripping with malice. "It appears I have stumbled upon some new prey," he sneered, his lips curling in a truly malevolent manner.
"Great, now we're in the company of a psychopath," Evangeline remarked with heavy sarcasm as they faced the menacing demon man.
Seiko chuckled softly, a stark contrast to the tense atmosphere that surrounded them. The demon man's command sent the horde of monsters charging toward them. Yet, there was no hint of panic on Evangeline and Seiko's countenances. With a fluid motion, Evangeline conjured a small ball of fire, and with a snap of her fingers, it erupted in the midst of the oncoming monsters. The flames consumed them all, leaving nothing but a momentary haze of smoke, which quickly dissipated into the air. Not a trace remained, not even ashes.
The demon man appeared genuinely astonished at the ease with which the monsters were dispatched.
"Seems like the tables have turned," Evangeline declared to the demon, her voice tinged with anticipation for the coming battle.
Gently placing Seiko on the ground, Evangeline sprinted with impressive speed towards the demon man. Her initial attack came in the form of a punch, met with the demon man's sword. However, as her hand made contact with the blade, it disintegrated, forcing the demon man to recoil.
"Are you afraid of me, demon?" Evangeline inquired with a chilling smile, her face concealed behind her mask. The demon's expression betrayed a hint of fear.
With calculated slowness, Evangeline advanced toward the demon man, whose resolve began to resurface. He charged, a dark sphere forming in his hand, and struck Evangeline head-on.
The demon man's astonishment was palpable as his attack was effortlessly absorbed by Evangeline's body. Before he could react, her iron grip seized his wrist, and a powerful punch struck his face. He was sent flying backward, losing several teeth in the process, his mouth now a bleeding mess. On the ground, he clutched his face, struggling to rise.
"I didn't expect you to be so weak, demon. Come on, get up. The battle's just beginning," Evangeline taunted, her eyes gleaming with excitement.
However, before she could take further action, Seiko's bored voice reached her ears.
"Evangeline, you do realize that right now you resemble more of a demon yourself? You're intimidating this guy here. Hurry up and finish him off. We've got bigger matters to attend to; after all, we're under attack," Seiko remarked with a yawn, displaying his utter lack of interest.
Evangeline sighed deeply, acknowledging the truth in Seiko's words. She materialized instantly before the demon man, prepared to end the battle. Her hand touched his face, and within moments, he was engulfed in brilliant blue flames. His agonized screams pierced the air, but to Evangeline, it was just background noise. After a few seconds, the flames vanished, leaving no trace of the demon, as if he had never existed.
"Let's get out of here; this place really repulses me with all these bodies around us," Evangeline remarked as she scooped up Seiko, who settled comfortably on her head.
Swiftly, they departed from the gruesome scene and followed the arrows guiding them to safety. However, after a few minutes, they encountered yet another demon, a woman who was part-elf and part-demon. She stood tall, her features unsettling – blond hair, crimson eyes, elongated fangs, and attire akin to the demon man's. Instead of a sword, she wielded a crystal ball. Spotting Seiko and Evangeline, she launched her crystal ball toward them with great speed. Evangeline clenched her fist and shattered the crystal ball into numerous fragments.
In an instant, darkness engulfed Evangeline and Seiko, and the half-elf, half-demon woman vanished from sight. Suddenly, something materialized before them, taking on human forms – duplicates of themselves.
"It couldn't have been worse," Seiko commented sardonically.
Simultaneously, the two doppelgangers charged toward Evangeline and Seiko, both sides preparing for an impending clash. Yet, just as they were about to collide with Evangeline and Seiko, they underwent another transformation – one into Mana and the other into a pink wolf.
Evangeline and Seiko found themselves in a state of astonishment at first, but then something extraordinary happened. Mana's double lunged toward Evangeline, wrapping her in a warm embrace, while Seiko did the same with the pink wolf. It took Evangeline and Seiko a moment to process this unexpected turn of events. For Evangeline, the sight of Mana from her past life was overwhelming, and a few tears welled up in her eyes, even though she understood that this was not reality. Seiko shared a similar reaction, nostalgia etching a wistful smile on his face.
"Evangeline, you know what? I love you very much," uttered Mana's double, her embrace growing even tighter.
Evangeline's lips curved into a heartfelt smile upon hearing those words. On Seiko's side, the pink wolf frolicked playfully with him. Then, without warning, Mana's double gently lowered Evangeline's mask and leaned in for a kiss. To Evangeline's surprise, she didn't resist; it was as if she had momentarily forgotten that they were ensnared in an illusion. The kiss was filled with an enchanting sweetness, evoking fluttering butterflies in Evangeline's stomach as their lips met, lost in the pleasure of their passionate embrace.