Chapter 161: The Dames

She moved to the clearing with her sword drawn.

It hurts.

She swung her sword vertically, rotating the sphere of mana inside her.

It hurts.

She swung it vertically this time. She thrusts. The leaves danced as she swings her sword. Her white hair swayed to the left, she produced sweat from her forehead, as she swings and swings that sword.

It hurts.

She forced the energy out of her body, it was the same energy that ravaged her body. She thought how violent this energy was, like razor winds that seem to cut through her pores. Using the energy inside her body was the same as trying to force blood out of tiny holes of her skin. Another part of her skin broke into a bloody mess, like a bag of blood poked by countless needles, her eyes grew bloodshot, and the vessels of her body tightened, and at last the energy that squirmed inside her abdomen burst, leaving her to crumble into a fetal position.

***

Alice Dame woke up with the blood on her dried. She wiped her forehead, she stood up and turned her attention to the sky. It was early morning, and soon her classes will have to start.

She clenched her fists and circulated the energy around her body. Most of her veins were clogged and so she had to forcibly push the energy out of her body. She took her sword, sheathed it, and wended her way out of the forest clearing. She walked the streets and went inside a shop. It was a shop with a man standing guard. He had the same hair as Alice Dame.

“Sister,’ the man said. “You are injured again!”

The man vaulted on his counter and hurried towards Alice. His eyes scanning the body of his sister.

“Damn it, I told you to not do this!”

“I am alright, Will,” she said. “My body is okay. It is the result of my training.”

“You are draining the blood of your body too much, Sister.”

“I am okay. You do not need to worry.”

“I will worry.”

“Okay.

She walked passed her brother and went up to her room. She could use the dormitory provided by the academy but she preferred her room. She slumped on a chair, and removed her top, letting her breasts hang, she grabbed the nearby gauzes and wrapped it below her breast. Her hands are shaking, and as she tended to her wound, she was wobbling.

Soon, she removed her skirt and underwear. She took the bandages and wrapped it around her thigh. After tending to her wounds, she grabs the uniform that she would use for today and wore it. She examined her face on the mirror. Putting gauzes, and making sure that her face was at least presentable. She walked out of her room and went down.

“Sister, I support you, I do, but this way of training your body, forcing it to acquire mana is dangerous. I know that you are trying to follow the path of magic, and I will not stop you. But as your brother, I worry that you will be hurt.”

“Brother, I am fine. This is the path that I choose. It may be bleak, but it is still the path that I choose.”

“I don’t know why you are doing this. But I support you for whatever goal you are trying to reach.”

“Don’t worry about it, Brother,” Alice said. “I will just fine.”

“No, I cannot allow that. We are the only ones left here, and how can I sit still when my Sister is working so hard as well? If you are injured, ill, and unable to move. Come to your room, and I will provide all the healing salve and bandages. Damn, I should be condoning you but you won’t give up on it.”

“Brother Will,” she looked at him. “Please be careful inside the dungeons, I heard that at times like these the dungeon is chaotic.”

“The Dance of Ninon huh, you are going to dance, right?”

“I will. I have to praise Ninon for her blessings. You don’t have to come, Brother. You are busy with the dungeons after all.”

“I am,” Will said. “Lately, the materials we can gather around the first floors are lower than usual. I can’t maintain the shop, and I have been selling golem cores and I am barely keeping us in red. However, it doesn’t matter as long as you keep safe.”

“Thank you, Brother.”

“No need to thank me. We are family, and we need to help each as long as we could. I hope you take care of yourself, Sister.”

“I always do,” Alice said.

Will smiled thinly and gestured for Alice to leave. Alive went out of her brother’s shop and turned her attention to the academy. She waded through the crowd, passed through the maze-like streets of the City of Babel and arrived at the academy where she was studying to further her knowledge.

Upon entering the campus gates, she was bathed by the eyes of the students who found her appearance unsightly. Covered in bandages, gauzes, the people around her are nobles who came from houses with influences. She was only a student here because of the accolades she received.

“It doesn’t matter,” she thought. She ambled through the crowd of students and stopped. She let her gaze travel to the young man whose gaze was sharp and back straightened like a blade. He was a head taller than everyone and he had eyes that naturally attracted her sight. His silver blond hair matched his eyes.

She turned her eyes away from the young man, she sorted out her hair, and walked in front of the young man, eyes pointed to the ground. When he was out of her sight, she continued making her way in this hall until she found her class. She went inside, went to her usual seat, and waited for the lecturer. She turned to the window and she was bathed by the light of the sun. The trees were swaying, and the wind caressed the pane.