At Celestia Academy, students were attending their morning classes. The halls buzzed softly with magical energy and quiet chatter. It was almost time for lunch break.
Zara sat at her desk, staring out the window, when Mia — seated beside her — leaned over and whispered just loud enough to grab her attention.
Elira, sitting nearby, perked up too.
"Zara," Mia said in a hushed tone, "I heard from a senior that the demon who attacked the academy yesterday... escaped."
Zara's eyes widened slightly. Her body tensed.
"Instructor Jason had an emergency meeting right after — all the teachers were there. Even the principal joined. And..." she glanced around nervously, "I heard the principal is sending magic letters to the major empires. Something serious is going on."
Zara furrowed her brow. She turned to Mia, her voice low and sharp.
"Wait — escaped? But wasn't that demon just a low-class one? How could it slip past Instructor Jason?"
Elira, sitting on the other side, narrowed her eyes and spoke calmly.
"If the principal joined the meeting... and the demon still escaped... then it probably wasn't a simple demon. It must've been high-level."
Mia shook her head in protest, frowning.
"No way. If it was high-class, how could my friend beat it up so badly?"
Elira's eyebrow twitched.
"Since when is Selena your friend, huh?"
Mia beamed at the question, her face lighting up like a fan girl.
"Ahh~! When she was fighting that demon, she looked so coool~!" she said, swaying her head like someone in love.
Elira sighed, exasperated, and turned toward Zara, who seemed completely lost in thought.
"What are you thinking about, Zara?"
Zara blinked and snapped back to reality at the sound of her name.
"Nothing important... Just wondering what to eat for lunch," she said casually.
Elira gave her a look that clearly said Are you an idiot...?
Zara coughed awkwardly and quickly turned her gaze back to her desk, where a small, fluffy creature lay sprawled out lazily.
She poked it gently.
"Fluff, that demon was low-level, right? How could it escape through the academy's security?"
The little creature, Fluff, sat up with a sleepy yawn.
[I didn't check its level. But... if it escaped, someone probably helped it. Someone strong.]
With that cryptic answer, Fluff lay down again, tail flicking lazily.
Zara's eyes narrowed.
Someone helped it? But who could possibly help a demon escape this academy...?
Her gaze turned cold.
Unless... they're stronger than even the principal.
In the training hall for new students, the space was eerily quiet.
Only one person remained.
A girl with striking blue hair, drenched in sweat, her body moving with sharp, fluid motions.
It was Selena.
Her expression was cold, unreadable — like a statue carved from ice. Yet her sword danced in her hands like it was part of her. Every swing cut through the air with violent grace, each step flowing into the next like choreography.
Her feet left trails of sweat on the polished floor. Her hands were trembling — not from fear, but from the toll of relentless training. She didn't stop. Not even for a second.
She moved like someone chasing something.
Or someone running from it.
Her sword struck the target dummy one last time — the impact echoing through the empty hall. She stood still for a moment, breathing hard, her chest rising and falling. Her shoulders shook — whether from exhaustion or emotion, it was impossible to tell.
Selena lowered her sword.
Her breath was heavy, her hands trembling. Sweat dripped from her chin onto the floor, pooling around her feet.
And then —her mind slipped back.
Six years ago.
She had been just a ten-year-old girl in a peaceful, quiet village.
That day, the village was alive with laughter. People were celebrating a festival — Magical lanterns floated in the sky, children danced in the streets, and the scent of sweet bread and stew filled the air.
Then the screams began.
A demon horde descended like a plague from the forest, fangs flashing, claws tearing, magic scorching the sky red. Chaos swallowed the village.
She remembered her father's panicked voice.He'd grabbed her and shoved her into a wooden cupboard, whispering:
"Stay hidden. Don't make a sound."
Then he turned, trying to save her little sister.
But he never had the chance.
A demon crashed through the wall. What followed was blood. Screams. Silence.
Through the crack in the cupboard door, Selena saw everything — her parents, her sister, torn apart.Her tiny hands clamped over her ears, but it couldn't block the sound.
It was the moment something in her heart turned to ice.
After that day, she wandered like a ghost.
Begging. Starving. Surviving.
Until two years ago, when a priestess from the temple saw her fighting off street thugs with a wooden stick — and sensed something powerful in her.
She was taken in. Given a sword. Given a name again.
Now, standing alone in the training hall, she clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
Her eyes narrowed, burning with rage.
Her voice came low, sharp, deadly.
"I will definitely kill every last demon."
Her voice echoed in the empty hall, sharp and cold:
"I will definitely kill every last demon."
A long silence followed.
But she wasn't alone.
High in the shadows of the audience seats, Instructor Jason sat quietly — arms folded, face unreadable. He hadn't said a word during her entire training session.
He'd been watching from the beginning.
As Selena lowered her sword, still trembling with fury, Jason exhaled slowly.
His eyes didn't hold judgment.
Only sorrow.
He looked at her the way someone might look at a child who'd lost everything — and hadn't yet realized the weight they were carrying.
"Selena..." he whispered under his breath, just loud enough for no one to hear,"...what are you turning yourself into?"
Then he stood and walked away, his cloak brushing behind him like a whisper in the air — leaving the girl in blue alone in the fading light of the training hall.